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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?location=norway&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/norway/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<title>Norway environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/norway/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Norway’s multibillion-dollar bet on forests: An interview with Minister Eriksen</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/norways-multibillion-dollar-bet-on-forests-an-interview-with-minister-eriksen/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/norways-multibillion-dollar-bet-on-forests-an-interview-with-minister-eriksen/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Nov 2025 09:54:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/24152906/Banner-ZB-Rhett-Butler-gabon_220163-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310090</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Negotiating Africa's Energy Future]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Congo Basin and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Interviews, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With the announcement of two major forest finance initiatives at the climate talks in Belém, Brazil, there is renewed hope that the Congo Basin, home to the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest, could finally secure the sustained, equitable climate funding it has long been promised. The first was the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF), unveiled by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With the announcement of two major forest finance initiatives at the climate talks in Belém, Brazil, there is renewed hope that the Congo Basin, home to the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest, could finally secure the sustained, equitable climate funding it has long been promised. The first was the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF), unveiled by Brazil, which is backed by $6.7 billion in commitments. A lion’s share of this funding is coming from a $3 billion pledge from Norway. The second was the official launch of the Canopy Trust on Nov. 17. The trust, operationalized by the Switzerland-based Catalytic Finance Foundation, has already raised $93 million, with a goal of mobilizing $1 billion by 2030 to support sustainable enterprises and early-stage, high-impact forest projects in the Congo Basin. It does so by leveraging public and philanthropic money to attract private investments. Over the past two decades, the Congo Basin has attracted financing from a growing constellation of forest funds, often with big ambitions but with uneven delivery and results. Early efforts included the African Development Bank-hosted Congo Basin Forest Fund established in 2008, which mobilized about $186 million, followed by the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), now the dominant player, channeling performance-based finance and much of the $1.5 billion pledged at COP26 held in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021. Newer instruments such as the Global Environment Facility’s Congo Basin Sustainable Landscapes Program add to this crowded landscape. Finance also flows from other channels like the World Bank, the European Union-backed ECOFAC&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/norways-multibillion-dollar-bet-on-forests-an-interview-with-minister-eriksen/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/norways-multibillion-dollar-bet-on-forests-an-interview-with-minister-eriksen/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310090</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Plans to dispose of mining waste in Norway’s Arctic Ocean worries Sámi fishers, herders</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/plans-to-dispose-of-mining-waste-in-norways-arctic-ocean-worries-sami-fishers-herders/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/plans-to-dispose-of-mining-waste-in-norways-arctic-ocean-worries-sami-fishers-herders/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Nov 2025 02:29:24 +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/20/2025/11/17131346/54688375400_59afc653f6_5k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309636</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critical Minerals, Culture, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Marine Conservation, Mining, Oceans, Protected Areas, Waste, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Norwegian government has granted permission for the construction and operation of the Nussir copper mine in Hammerfest, a municipality on the northwestern coast of the island of Kvaløya, in Norway. The company plans to pipe between 1 million and 2 million metric tons of mining waste, or tailings, annually to the bottom of Repparfjord, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Norwegian government has granted permission for the construction and operation of the Nussir copper mine in Hammerfest, a municipality on the northwestern coast of the island of Kvaløya, in Norway. The company plans to pipe between 1 million and 2 million metric tons of mining waste, or tailings, annually to the bottom of Repparfjord, a nationally protected salmon fjord in the Norwegian Arctic that Indigenous Sámi fishers depend on for their livelihoods. The Nussir mining project is owned by Canadian company Blue Moon Metals. The Norwegian Environmental Agency issued Nussir ASA, the project’s previous owner, its environmental license after it confirmed the company’s plan to securely place the tailings at the bottom of the sea. However, this has faced strong opposition from some Sámi Indigenous people and environmental activists, who say they fear the mine and marine waste deposit will destroy vital marine habitats for species such as Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and disrupt traditional breeding and migration areas for reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Blue Moon Metals plans to dispose of its Nussir copper mine tailings at the bottom of the Repparfjord, a national salmon fjord in Finnmark in Norway. Photo by: Lone Bjørkmann “The biggest social impact is the feeling that no place is safe, that local culture and the environment can only survive until someone finds a commercially viable project,” Frode Elias Lindal, a Green Party local representative for the Alta municipality council and Finnmark county council, who is part Sámi and part Norwegian, told Mongabay via email.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/plans-to-dispose-of-mining-waste-in-norways-arctic-ocean-worries-sami-fishers-herders/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/plans-to-dispose-of-mining-waste-in-norways-arctic-ocean-worries-sami-fishers-herders/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309636</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Europe’s competition over Indigenous Sámi resources: Voices from the land (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/voices-from-the-land-europes-competition-over-indigenous-sami-resources-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/voices-from-the-land-europes-competition-over-indigenous-sami-resources-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2025 07:00:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Áslat Holmberg]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/03/31072953/Sami-Indigenous-people-tends-a-reindeer-in-Sweden-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306285</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Voices from the Land]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conflict, Critical Minerals, Energy, Environment, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, and Natural Resources]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections on urgent issues shaping our time — environmental destruction, our relationship with nature, and systemic injustice. We write from the heart of our communities, where [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections on urgent issues shaping our time — environmental destruction, our relationship with nature, and systemic injustice. We write from the heart of our communities, where the impacts of these urgent crises are deeply felt, but also where solutions are rooted. Through this series, we speak from our territories, and ensure our truths are part of the global conversation. There is no “postcolonial” for Indigenous peoples. On the contrary, for centuries, the Sámi — the only recognized Indigenous people in the European Union — have been losing lands and waters to our neighbors. For us, colonialism lies in the structures that continue to dominate our lives while we live alongside the neighboring nations that have settled on our lands for good. One aspect of this coexistence: competition for the same resources and areas. In recent years, there have been several protest movements to protect Sámi territories, known as Sápmi in North Sámi, which were colonized by Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. In Riehpovuotna (also known as Repparfjord) on the Norwegian side of Sápmi, Sámi and environmental groups have opposed the Nussir copper mine, licensed to dump tailings into a national salmon fjord. As I write, in August 2025, activists and Sámi reindeer herders are on top of the mine site, inside the security zone, halting blasting operations. Last week, three Sámi&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/voices-from-the-land-europes-competition-over-indigenous-sami-resources-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/voices-from-the-land-europes-competition-over-indigenous-sami-resources-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306285</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New study maps the fishmeal factories that supply the world’s fish farms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-study-maps-the-fishmeal-factories-that-supply-the-worlds-fish-farms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-study-maps-the-fishmeal-factories-that-supply-the-worlds-fish-farms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2025 21:05:00 +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/20/2025/05/15155241/india1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299162</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, China, Indonesia, Mauritania, Norway, and Peru]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Marine Animals, Nutrition, Oceans, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fish farms boomed globally in recent decades — more than half the world’s seafood now comes from aquaculture — but it’s not a boom all environmentalists support. One argument that critics of industrial aquaculture make is that the fishmeal and fish oil used to make the feed for popular carnivorous species like salmon is not sustainably [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fish farms boomed globally in recent decades — more than half the world’s seafood now comes from aquaculture — but it’s not a boom all environmentalists support. One argument that critics of industrial aquaculture make is that the fishmeal and fish oil used to make the feed for popular carnivorous species like salmon is not sustainably or ethically sourced. Yet it’s been hard to have a comprehensive understanding of where the fishmeal and fish oil comes from — until now. In April, scientists published the first-ever open-source map of fishmeal and fish oil factories around the world. The team found 506 factories across some 60 countries, and in most cases were able to identify the companies that own them. The scientists, who were affiliated with the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada and published the paper in the journal Science Advances, also collected critical data on the types of fish many of the factories use and whether the raw material they process is whole fish or fish byproducts. “Understanding where FMFO production occurs is essential for addressing its environmental, social, and economic impacts,” Lauren Shea, who served as lead author of the study while a UBC master’s student, said in a statement, using the common acronym for fishmeal and fish oil. “Knowing that, along with what species are being used and how it affects local environments and economies, can support the development of more transparent and responsible aquaculture practices.” Map shows fishmeal and fish oil factories. Dark blue dots represent factories&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-study-maps-the-fishmeal-factories-that-supply-the-worlds-fish-farms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-study-maps-the-fishmeal-factories-that-supply-the-worlds-fish-farms/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299162</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>With deep-sea mining plans in limbo, Norwegian companies fold or dig in</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/with-deep-sea-mining-plans-in-limbo-norwegian-companies-fold-or-dig-in/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/with-deep-sea-mining-plans-in-limbo-norwegian-companies-fold-or-dig-in/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Apr 2025 08:34:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/21170043/FK210726-Dive443-BubblegumCoral-20210728-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297813</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic, Arctic Ocean, Europe, European Union, and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Environment, Environmental Law, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Industry, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Mining, Oceans, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. BERGEN, Norway — It’s been nearly five months since the Norwegian government paused its controversial plans to launch deep-sea mining in Arctic waters. This proposed industry aims to generate supplies of critical minerals, but critics say the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. BERGEN, Norway — It’s been nearly five months since the Norwegian government paused its controversial plans to launch deep-sea mining in Arctic waters. This proposed industry aims to generate supplies of critical minerals, but critics say the cost to the marine environment could be devastating. Some Norwegian deep-sea mining companies have faced significant financial struggles due to the delay, with one going bankrupt and another slashing costs. Yet other firms, and the government itself, remain optimistic, insisting the industry&#8217;s future is still secure. Anette Broch Mathisen Tvedt, the young CEO of the Bergen-based deep-sea mining startup Adepth Minerals, is in the latter camp. She told Mongabay the delay isn’t ideal, but that she’s not overly concerned. “I&#8217;m not worried about the future of deep-sea mining,” Tvedt said during an interview at Bergen University’s natural history museum. “This is a lengthy process, but I believe our government will initiate the process.” Tvedt, whose friendly demeanor makes her one of the more approachable figures in the Norwegian deep-sea mining industry, said Adepth will use the time leading up to the licensing round, tentatively planned for 2026, to focus on data analysis and the development of new seabed mining technologies. She said the company is also using this time to raise public awareness about its work, which she says is gaining broader support due to global events such as the Russian war in Ukraine and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/with-deep-sea-mining-plans-in-limbo-norwegian-companies-fold-or-dig-in/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297813</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rare polar bear cub footage offers crucial conservation insights</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/rare-polar-bear-cub-footage-offers-crucial-conservation-insights/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/rare-polar-bear-cub-footage-offers-crucial-conservation-insights/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Apr 2025 10:16:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/02092355/Photo2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296895</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Bears, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Polar Bears, Research, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[To a layperson, it’s footage of adorable polar bear cubs with their moms against the backdrop of endless Arctic snow. For researchers who study the animals, however, it’s a rare and incredibly important observation that could potentially inform conservation strategies. Scientists have captured rare footage of female polar bears emerging from maternal dens with their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[To a layperson, it’s footage of adorable polar bear cubs with their moms against the backdrop of endless Arctic snow. For researchers who study the animals, however, it’s a rare and incredibly important observation that could potentially inform conservation strategies. Scientists have captured rare footage of female polar bears emerging from maternal dens with their cubs for the first time. The clips give them a glimpse into a rarely observed life stage that has critical implications on the survival of polar bear cubs and, therefore, the species. A study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management details how researchers combined data from satellite collars and remote cameras to understand den emergence behaviors and trends among polar bear families in Svalbard, a remote archipelago in Norway. The work was done as a collaboration between the nonprofit organization Polar Bears International, the Norwegian Polar Institute, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and the University of Toronto Scarborough. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) give birth in dens that they dig up deep beneath the snow. After birth, the cubs remain in the den for many months and grow as much as 20 times their birth weight. The dens, typically about 20° Celsius (36° Fahrenheit) warmer than the external ambient temperature, keep the cubs warm in the first few months of their life. “It&#8217;s almost like an extension of the womb where you have this very stable environment that allows cubs to develop,” Louise Archer, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at the University&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/rare-polar-bear-cub-footage-offers-crucial-conservation-insights/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296895</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Political appointments in Indonesian climate program spark outcry over accountability</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/political-appointments-in-indonesian-climate-program-spark-outcry-over-accountability/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/political-appointments-in-indonesian-climate-program-spark-outcry-over-accountability/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Mar 2025 08:59:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/09/28154349/fire-in-indonesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295969</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Norway, Southeast Asia, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Emission Reduction, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forests, Funding, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Peatlands, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Norwegian government is monitoring growing concerns over Indonesia’s decision to appoint political figures with little climate expertise to oversee a climate forestry program largely financed by Norway. Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has come under scrutiny recently for naming several fellow members from his political party, the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Norwegian government is monitoring growing concerns over Indonesia’s decision to appoint political figures with little climate expertise to oversee a climate forestry program largely financed by Norway. Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has come under scrutiny recently for naming several fellow members from his political party, the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), to key positions within the office responsible for the FOLU Net Sink 2030 initiative. This aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Indonesia’s forestry and other land use (FOLU) sector by curbing deforestation, preventing forest fires, and increasing reforestation efforts. The ultimate goal is for Indonesia’s forests to absorb more carbon than they release by 2030, a part of the country’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. To coordinate, monitor and evaluate the program, the government established an operation management office (OMO). However, in a Jan. 31 decree, Forestry Minister Raja restructured the OMO by appointing PSI cadres to the office, raising concerns over political favoritism. Raja is one of the founders of the PSI and currently serves as its secretary-general, the party’s No. 2. The appointments have also drawn criticism due to the OMO’s relatively high monthly salaries, ranging from 8 million rupiah at the lowest level to 50 million rupiah for leadership positions ($500-$3,000). Critics say these salaries are excessive for a government-backed environmental initiative, particularly at a time when the government is cutting the budget for several agencies, including those related to the environment. Raja has defended the appointments, saying the OMO&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/political-appointments-in-indonesian-climate-program-spark-outcry-over-accountability/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295969</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Norway poised to sail past opposition with deep-sea mining licensing plans</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/norway-poised-to-sail-past-opposition-with-deep-sea-mining-licensing-plans/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/norway-poised-to-sail-past-opposition-with-deep-sea-mining-licensing-plans/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2024 19:19:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/07163849/orca-in-norway-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=288293</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic, Arctic Ocean, Europe, European Union, and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Environment, Environmental Law, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Industry, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Mining, Oceans, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Norway is poised to move forward with plans to mine for seabed minerals along its continental shelf despite public opposition. On June 26, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy released a proposal for the first licensing round for mining of seabed minerals, setting out areas where companies could eventually apply for licenses. The proposal included a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Norway is poised to move forward with plans to mine for seabed minerals along its continental shelf despite public opposition. On June 26, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy released a proposal for the first licensing round for mining of seabed minerals, setting out areas where companies could eventually apply for licenses. The proposal included a total of 386 blocks, constituting nearly 106,000 square kilometers (40,900 square miles), an area about the size of Iceland, that could potentially be used for mining activities. In January, Norway earmarked a total of 281,000 km2 (108,500 mi2) for mining after a majority of Parliament voted to push forward with the industry. The proposed blocks include areas rich in sulfides and manganese crusts, which contain in-demand minerals such as copper, zinc, cobalt and rare earth elements. Some proposed blocks overlap with active hydrothermal vent systems, although the government has said it will not allow mining to take place at active vent sites. The licensing round proposal included a three-month public consultation period, which closed Sept. 26. Astrid Bergmål, a state secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Energy, told Mongabay the government will review all public consultation responses before announcing which areas to officially open for mining. She added that the government will base its decisions on “new, updated knowledge obtained by both state and commercial actors.” However, the government has given no indication that the granting of these license areas could be delayed or stopped based on feedback it had received. Terje Aasland, Norway’s minister&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/norway-poised-to-sail-past-opposition-with-deep-sea-mining-licensing-plans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-288293</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How Europe’s only Indigenous group is inspiring a greener Christianity</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/how-europes-only-indigenous-group-is-inspiring-a-greener-christianity/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/how-europes-only-indigenous-group-is-inspiring-a-greener-christianity/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2024 17:21:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Last]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/17090558/1231573-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284430</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic, Europe, Norway, and Sweden]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Christianity, Climate Change, Conservation, Culture, Fish, Fishing, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Logging, Mining, Religions, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Arctic Norway, among the Indigenous Sámi people, there is a custom: When cutting down a tree, tap its trunk three times. On the one hand, it’s simply practical advice: Only old, dead trees will ring hollow. Test the trunk, and you’ll know which trees are young and healthy, and leave them more time to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Arctic Norway, among the Indigenous Sámi people, there is a custom: When cutting down a tree, tap its trunk three times. On the one hand, it’s simply practical advice: Only old, dead trees will ring hollow. Test the trunk, and you’ll know which trees are young and healthy, and leave them more time to grow. But when Tore Johnsen, a Lutheran priest researching the spiritual customs of the Sámi, asked for an explanation, he heard the practice held another meaning: It was, also, a threefold blessing — a knock for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Sámi are Europe’s only recognized Indigenous group, occupying a broad homeland that spans Arctic Europe from Norway to Russia. For millennia before the arrival of Christian missionaries, Johnsen found, the rites and rituals of Sámi communities helped sustain a distinctive worldview that emphasized respectful equilibrium with the natural world. “Sámi traditions and our practices all have to do with collaboration — with the place, with animals, with everything that grows,” said Lovisa Mienna Sjöberg, a Sámi theologian at the Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Norway. “You should not take more than is your part to take.” But more than 600 years after their first encounters with missionaries, Sámi communities are also some of northern Europe’s most devoutly Christian. Mixing Indigenous cosmology and ethics with Christian stories, imagery and theology, the Sámi have, over centuries, evolved a multilayered faith of their own, often in the face of bitter oppression and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/how-europes-only-indigenous-group-is-inspiring-a-greener-christianity/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284430</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Norwegian salmon farms gobble up fish that could feed millions in Africa: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/norwegian-salmon-farms-gobble-up-fish-that-could-feed-millions-in-africa-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/norwegian-salmon-farms-gobble-up-fish-that-could-feed-millions-in-africa-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2024 14:14:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/26145241/salmon-farming-norway-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279186</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, European Union, and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Aquaculture, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Politics, Resource Conflict, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Norwegian salmon farms are taking huge amounts of wild fish from West Africa, mining the food security of the region, according to a report from the U.K.-based NGO Feedback. The analysis comes as the industry faces a wave of public opposition after revelations of high mortality rates and the sale of fish deemed unfit for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Norwegian salmon farms are taking huge amounts of wild fish from West Africa, mining the food security of the region, according to a report from the U.K.-based NGO Feedback. The analysis comes as the industry faces a wave of public opposition after revelations of high mortality rates and the sale of fish deemed unfit for human consumption, along with accusations of antitrust violations by the European Commission. The report, titled “Blue Empire,” was produced with other organizations including Greenpeace Africa and The West African Association for the Development of Artisanal Fishing and published in January. It quantifies the use of fishmeal and fish oil imported from Mauritania, Senegal and the Gambia in the production of feed for salmon farms in Norway, the world’s main producer of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). According to the report, in 2020, Norwegian salmon farms required almost 2 million metric tons of edible wild fish to produce fish oil intended for feeds that produced nearly 1.5 million metric tons of farmed salmon. Up to 7% of these wild fish (123,000-144,000 metric tons) were small pelagic species caught along the coasts of West Africa, where they could have fed between 2.5 million and 4 million people, according to the report. Other major suppliers of fish oil to Norway are Denmark, the United States, Peru and Iceland. “The Norwegian salmon farming industry, which is the biggest in the world, has an enormous feed footprint and a huge appetite for wild caught fish,” Natasha Hurley, director of campaigns at&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/norwegian-salmon-farms-gobble-up-fish-that-could-feed-millions-in-africa-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279186</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>EU parliament expresses disapproval of Norway’s deep-sea mining plans</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/eu-parliament-expresses-disapproval-of-norways-deep-sea-mining-plans/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/eu-parliament-expresses-disapproval-of-norways-deep-sea-mining-plans/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Feb 2024 19:21:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/08142228/bearded-seal-norway-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=278683</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic, Arctic Ocean, Europe, European Union, and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Environment, Environmental Law, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Industry, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Mining, Oceans, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The European Parliament has voted in favor of a resolution that raises concerns about Norway’s deep-sea mining intentions in Arctic waters. While the resolution itself doesn’t carry any legal power to stop Norway, experts say it sends a “strong signal” that the European Union — which Norway is not a part of, but is a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The European Parliament has voted in favor of a resolution that raises concerns about Norway’s deep-sea mining intentions in Arctic waters. While the resolution itself doesn’t carry any legal power to stop Norway, experts say it sends a “strong signal” that the European Union — which Norway is not a part of, but is a close partner to — doesn’t support its plans. The resolution presented a litany of issues related to Norway’s deep-sea mining plans, including the possibility that extracting minerals from the Arctic seabed could disrupt fisheries, release methane stored in sub-glacial ecosystems and Arctic permafrost soils, and lead to a general loss in biodiversity and the functioning of marine ecosystems. It also noted that seven EU states, several international companies and organizations like the IUCN have called for a moratorium, a precautionary pause, or ban on deep-seabed mining. The resolution also stated that Norway’s own Environment Agency raised concerns with the Norwegian government’s environmental impact assessment containing “significant knowledge gaps on nature, technology and the potential environmental effects” for proposed its mineral extraction activities. The motion for this resolution received overwhelming support, with 523 members of the European Parliament voting in favor of it during a parliamentary session that took place in Strasbourg, France, on Feb. 7. Only 34 members voted against the resolution, and 59 abstained from voting. Catherine Chabaud, a French member of the European Parliament, whose political group, Renew Europe Group, supported this resolution, said the vote indicates a “strong position of the parliament.”&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/eu-parliament-expresses-disapproval-of-norways-deep-sea-mining-plans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-278683</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Really a sad day’ as Norway votes to allow deep-sea mining in Arctic waters</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/really-a-sad-day-as-norway-votes-to-allow-deep-sea-mining-in-arctic-waters/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/really-a-sad-day-as-norway-votes-to-allow-deep-sea-mining-in-arctic-waters/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jan 2024 20:11:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/01/09195228/49605177353_d8543127ea_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=277492</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Marine Conservation, Mining, Oceans, Renewable Energy, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Norway’s parliament has officially voted to allow deep-sea mining to go forward in the Norwegian Sea, despite warnings from scientists and conservationists that it could damage the marine environment. This result was already anticipated in December 2023 after Norway’s minority government negotiated a deal with opposition parties to open up the ocean off Norway’s coast [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Norway’s parliament has officially voted to allow deep-sea mining to go forward in the Norwegian Sea, despite warnings from scientists and conservationists that it could damage the marine environment. This result was already anticipated in December 2023 after Norway’s minority government negotiated a deal with opposition parties to open up the ocean off Norway’s coast to deep-sea mining. The government previously proposed opening a 329,000-square-kilometer (127,000-square-mile) portion of the Norwegian Sea to deep-sea mining. However, this was later reduced to 281,000 km2 (108,500 mi2), an area nearly the size of Italy. Most of this region falls across Norway’s extended continental shelf, which is technically in international waters, but over which Norway has jurisdiction. Another portion falls within the territorial waters of the Svalbard archipelago, which Norway claims as its own exclusive economic zone, although this is contested by nations such as Russia, Iceland, the U.K. and several EU countries. Experts say they believe the next step could be the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, the government agency responsible for regulating petroleum resources, inviting companies to bid for exploration licenses, which could happen as early as this year. However, there’s currently no public timeline of forthcoming events. Activists gathered outside Norway&#8217;s parliament, protesting the country&#8217;s plans for deep-sea mining. Image by Greenpeace. Norway intends to mine for minerals such as magnesium, cobalt, copper, nickel and rare-earth metals found in manganese crusts on seamounts and sulfide deposits on active, inactive or extinct hydrothermal vents. The government says seabed mining is necessary to ensure that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/really-a-sad-day-as-norway-votes-to-allow-deep-sea-mining-in-arctic-waters/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-277492</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Norway proposes opening Germany-sized area of its continental shelf to deep-sea mining</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/norway-proposes-opening-germany-sized-area-of-its-continental-shelf-to-deep-sea-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/norway-proposes-opening-germany-sized-area-of-its-continental-shelf-to-deep-sea-mining/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2023 16:04:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/04/20131619/walrus-norway-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267686</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic, Arctic Ocean, Europe, European Union, and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Environment, Environmental Law, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Industry, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Mongabay Data Studio, Oceans, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Norway is moving forward with plans to mine its continental shelf to procure minerals critical for renewable energy technologies. However, some scientists, members of civil society and even industry leaders have raised concerns about Norway’s proposal, arguing that deep-sea mining in this part of the ocean could cause widespread environmental harm. The nation’s Ministry of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Norway is moving forward with plans to mine its continental shelf to procure minerals critical for renewable energy technologies. However, some scientists, members of civil society and even industry leaders have raised concerns about Norway’s proposal, arguing that deep-sea mining in this part of the ocean could cause widespread environmental harm. The nation’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has proposed opening up a 329,000-square-kilometer (127,000-square-mile) portion of the Norwegian Sea to deep-sea mining, an area nearly the size of Germany. The region overlaps with many marine areas previously flagged by Norwegian research institutes and government agencies as vulnerable or valuable. A study by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), a government agency responsible for regulating petroleum resources, found that this area holds significant quantities of minerals such as magnesium, cobalt, copper, nickel and rare-earth metals. Investigators found these minerals on manganese crusts on seamounts and sulfide deposits on active, inactive or extinct hydrothermal vents at depths of 700-4,000 meters (2,296-13,123 feet). A sliver of this proposed mining area is within Norway’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The rest falls across the adjoining continental shelf — the gently sloping seabed stretching out from Norway’s mainland into the ocean — in international waters beyond Norway’s jurisdiction. However, Norway gained access to the continental shelf that borders its EEZ in 2009 after filing an application with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, a U.N. body that manages extended access to the nations’ continental shelves. Norway’s access applies only to the seabed, not&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/norway-proposes-opening-germany-sized-area-of-its-continental-shelf-to-deep-sea-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-267686</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sámi rights must not be sacrificed for green energy goals of Europe (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/sami-rights-must-not-be-sacrificed-for-green-energy-goals-of-europe-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/sami-rights-must-not-be-sacrificed-for-green-energy-goals-of-europe-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Mar 2023 15:21:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karin Nutti Pilflykt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/03/31072953/Sami-Indigenous-people-tends-a-reindeer-in-Sweden-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266596</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, European Union, Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Energy, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Mining, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Growing up in Gällivare/ Váhtjer, a Swedish village in Sápmi, north of the Arctic Circle, the threats facing Sámi people were a daily reality. We are Europe’s only Indigenous people, but colonialism means our territory, Sápmi, is split across four countries: Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. But across these national borders, the same pressures bear [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Growing up in Gällivare/ Váhtjer, a Swedish village in Sápmi, north of the Arctic Circle, the threats facing Sámi people were a daily reality. We are Europe’s only Indigenous people, but colonialism means our territory, Sápmi, is split across four countries: Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. But across these national borders, the same pressures bear down on us, from mining to forestry and wind farms. Fish drying outside a Sámi cabin. Image by Jan-Eerik Paadar / Sámediggi Saamelaiskäräjät (the Sámi Parliament) via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). For outsiders’ commercial gain, our land has been seized, our people displaced, and the reindeer herding that’s been the foundation of our lives for millennia, eroded. Adjacent to my village is Malmberget, a scene of deep mine iron ore extraction, and a little over 100 kilometers away is Kiruna, the world’s largest underground iron mine. Both are owned by Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB), the 100% state-owned Swedish mining company. Kiruna is one of the nine out of 12 mines in the north of Sweden which are on Sámi land. These mines – as well as the infrastructure accompanying them – have caused pollution, devastated ecosystems, poisoned the lichen that our reindeer survive on, and  taken away our reindeer grazing areas. A Sámi herd of reindeer in Finland. Image by Sámediggi Saamelaiskäräjät (the Sámi parliament) via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). More mining Now a new danger has emerged. European Union policymakers want to secure the &#8216;critical raw materials&#8217; which its Member States need for the green energy&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/sami-rights-must-not-be-sacrificed-for-green-energy-goals-of-europe-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/sami-rights-must-not-be-sacrificed-for-green-energy-goals-of-europe-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-266596</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia opens its ‘ocean account’ for sustainable marine management</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indonesia-ocean-account-maritime-marine-fisheries-ecosystem-economic/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indonesia-ocean-account-maritime-marine-fisheries-ecosystem-economic/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jan 2023 16:20:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/06/22052226/indonesia_komodo_uw_170979-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265093</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian Fisheries and Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Europe, Indonesia, Norway, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Protected Areas, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government is designing a new scheme to measure the long-term benefits provided by the country’s marine and coastal ecosystems. The mechanism, known as ocean accounting and in development since 2021, is part of the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries’ wider efforts to promote sustainable marine management. Proponents say it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government is designing a new scheme to measure the long-term benefits provided by the country’s marine and coastal ecosystems. The mechanism, known as ocean accounting and in development since 2021, is part of the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries’ wider efforts to promote sustainable marine management. Proponents say it will allow managers to estimate the monetary value of marine resources, ecosystem services and degradation trends over a given period of time. The ocean accounting system will serve as the standard indicator for the government in policymaking and zoning regarding Indonesia’s fisheries, conservation areas, and marine essential ecosystems such as seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and coral reefs. “We’ve been working on the ocean account with the primary intention to know the marine assets that we have, kind of like using the ATM to check our savings,” Hendra Yusran Siry, secretary of the fisheries ministry’s zoning office, told Mongabay in an interview. A mangrove forest has sprung up in an area that had previously been cleared for fish-farming ponds in the Tanakeke Islands off Sulawesi, Indonesia. Today, the mangrove growth is dense and filled with many marine species of high economic value. Image by Wahyu Chandra/Mongabay Indonesia. Hendra said the ocean account would specifically show the importance of a marine resource to the ecosystem and how much the economic and environmental cost would be if that resource were converted for commercial use. Hendra also said his office has been working in tandem to develop the tools&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indonesia-ocean-account-maritime-marine-fisheries-ecosystem-economic/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indonesia-ocean-account-maritime-marine-fisheries-ecosystem-economic/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-265093</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>For Norway salmon farms giving up deforestation-linked soy, Cargill proves a roadblock</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/for-norway-salmon-farms-giving-up-deforestation-linked-soy-cargill-proves-a-roadblock/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/for-norway-salmon-farms-giving-up-deforestation-linked-soy-cargill-proves-a-roadblock/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Jul 2021 15:40:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sheryl Lee Tian Tong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sheryl Lee Tian Tong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/05/08180424/MRadwin_AquacultureReport_NorwayCoastalPens-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=244583</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Europe, Norway, South America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Deforestation, Environment, Finance, Forests, Monitoring, Rainforests, Soy, Supply Chain, Tropical Forests, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Two major salmon producers in Norway now have deforestation-free soy supply chains, following no-deforestation commitments made by Brazilian soy suppliers to the European salmon industry, according to new analysis published by watchdog group Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN). Soy-derived products are heavily used in the production of salmon feed, where they serve as a protein source. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Two major salmon producers in Norway now have deforestation-free soy supply chains, following no-deforestation commitments made by Brazilian soy suppliers to the European salmon industry, according to new analysis published by watchdog group Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN). Soy-derived products are heavily used in the production of salmon feed, where they serve as a protein source. In Norway, the four aquaculture feed giants, Mowi, BioMar, Skretting and Cargill Aqua Nutrition, largely buy soy protein concentrate (SPC) from one of three Brazilian suppliers: CJ Selecta, Caramuru and Imcopa. Earlier this year, the three Brazilian SPC suppliers committed to an international ban on buying soybeans grown on land deforested after August 2020. While all three have bought deforestation-free soybeans and produced deforestation-free SPC for their European customers for years, under the new commitment, the entirety of their soybean operations, including portions external to the salmon value chain and in markets outside Europe, will become deforestation-free — entirely eliminating links to deforestation in their supply chains. For majority of Norway’s four main feed suppliers, the move has also cleared their value chains of deforestation risk. The only exception is Cargill Aqua Nutrition, which itself provides “deforestation-free” feed, but whose U.S.-based parent company, Cargill, has been linked to deforestation activities in South America. RFN’s report, released June 14, analyzed the soy supply chains of 10 of the biggest Norwegian salmon producers five months after the ban was announced. It found that two of the companies, Nordlaks and Bremnes Seashore, had fully cut all links to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/for-norway-salmon-farms-giving-up-deforestation-linked-soy-cargill-proves-a-roadblock/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-244583</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Billions in fishing subsidies finance social, ecological harm, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/billions-in-fishing-subsidies-finance-social-ecological-harm-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/billions-in-fishing-subsidies-finance-social-ecological-harm-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Jul 2021 14:37:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/07/07115014/GP0STQO6M_High_res-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=244578</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Developing Countries, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overexploitation, Overfishing, Subsidies, and Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new report shows that the world’s top fishing nations are using subsidies worth billions of dollars to exploit the high seas and the waters of other nations, including some of the world’s least-developed countries. Published by researchers at the University of British Columbia and supported by the NGO Oceana, the report takes a shrewd [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new report shows that the world’s top fishing nations are using subsidies worth billions of dollars to exploit the high seas and the waters of other nations, including some of the world’s least-developed countries. Published by researchers at the University of British Columbia and supported by the NGO Oceana, the report takes a shrewd look at “harmful fishing subsidies,” payments made by governments that allow fishing fleets to operate beyond their normal capacity. The researchers found that 10 countries — China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the U.S.A., Thailand, Taiwan, Spain, Indonesia and Norway — spent more than $15.3 billion on harmful fishing subsidies in 2018, which has likely contributed to a number of social, economic and ecological issues. About 60% ($9.2 billion) of these harmful fishing subsidies used by these 10 nations were spent on domestic fishing, while 35% ($5.4 billion) was spent on traveling long distances to fish in the waters of 116 other nations. The remaining 5% ($800 million) was spent on fishing in the high seas, which are parts of the ocean beyond any nation’s jurisdiction. China was found to be the top provider of harmful fishing subsidies, worth about $5.9 billion, followed by Japan at $2.1 billion and the European Union at $2 billion. Kathryn Matthews, chief scientist at Oceana, says the report shows the scale and magnitude of harmful fishing subsidies, which can transfer the risk of overfishing from one place to another. “It was reasonably well understood by the community that works on this&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/billions-in-fishing-subsidies-finance-social-ecological-harm-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/billions-in-fishing-subsidies-finance-social-ecological-harm-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-244578</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Norwegian poultry producer bars Brazilian soy due to deforestation risk</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/norwegian-poultry-producer-bars-brazilian-soy-due-to-deforestation-risk/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/norwegian-poultry-producer-bars-brazilian-soy-due-to-deforestation-risk/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2021 16:15:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/06/24173839/brazil_0322_SHARP_TW-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=242926</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Green, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Soy, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Gårdsand, a Norwegian poultry producer, has developed a new feed recipe that excludes Brazilian soy due to concerns about deforestation risk. According to Rainforest Foundation Norway, an organization that campaigns on forest issues like deforestation linked to commodity supply chains, Gårdsand reformulated its poultry feed as a response to rising deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Gårdsand, a Norwegian poultry producer, has developed a new feed recipe that excludes Brazilian soy due to concerns about deforestation risk. According to Rainforest Foundation Norway, an organization that campaigns on forest issues like deforestation linked to commodity supply chains, Gårdsand reformulated its poultry feed as a response to rising deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Gårdsand has now completely eliminated soy from its supply chain, using other sources of protein. &#8220;We’ve followed the situation in Brazil with increasing concerns over the past years,&#8221; said May Iren Varlid Aarvold, Marketing Leader at Gårdsand, in a statement. &#8220;Forest fires and deforestation numbers keep escalating at an alarming rate. Knowing that soy production is a driver behind the ongoing deforestation, we find the risk of including this commodity in our supply to be so high that we’ve excluded soy entirely from our supply chain, and shifted to other protein sources.&#8221; Poultry fed with Gårdsand&#8217;s new recipe are labelled “produced without soy – for the sake of tropical forests” in Norway’s “Meny” supermarkets under the &#8220;Lerstang&#8221; brand. Deforestation for soy plantations and cattle ranches endanger the habitats of Amazon primates and prevent their movement to new locations. Rivers further limit the ability of small primates to move. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Gårdsand&#8217;s move follows a decision last year by Bremnes Seashore, a salmon producer, to exclude Brazilian soy from its fish feed, while the soy suppliers to the Norwegian aquaculture companies Caramuru, Imcopa and CJ Selecta have indicated they will do the same.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/norwegian-poultry-producer-bars-brazilian-soy-due-to-deforestation-risk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/norwegian-poultry-producer-bars-brazilian-soy-due-to-deforestation-risk/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-242926</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Governments, companies pledge $1 billion for tropical forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/04/governments-companies-pledge-1-billion-for-tropical-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/04/governments-companies-pledge-1-billion-for-tropical-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Apr 2021 16:47:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aurora SoláRhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/04/23152336/amazon_200815_header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=241946</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Norway, United Kingdom, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Carbon Credits, Carbon Emissions, climate finance, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forests, Politics, Rainforests, Redd, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new initiative to mobilize at least $1 billion to reward tropical countries for halting deforestation was announced April 22, Earth Day, at the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. The initiative, called the LEAF Coalition (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance), will offer significant economic incentives for protecting tropical forests [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new initiative to mobilize at least $1 billion to reward tropical countries for halting deforestation was announced April 22, Earth Day, at the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. The initiative, called the LEAF Coalition (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance), will offer significant economic incentives for protecting tropical forests by selling carbon credits for avoided deforestation. Part of the goal is to prevent developing nations from having to choose between ecological integrity and economic progress. Launched by Norway, the U.K. and the U.S., LEAF is a public-private alliance that also involves companies including Amazon, Airbnb, Bayer, Boston Consulting Group, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), McKinsey, Nestlé, Salesforce, and Unilever. Emergent, a U.S. nonprofit set up by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in late 2019 for this purpose, will provide the platform and function as an intermediary buyer, speeding up and standardizing the credit-buying process for both forest-nation sellers and international buyers. Drained, cleared, and burned peat forest in Indonesian Borneo. Photo by Rhett A. Butler The marketplace created by LEAF aims to offer a consistent, long-term source of demand for developing countries that manage to effectively protect their tropical forests. The goal is to make forests more valuable to those countries if they are left standing. &#8220;Finally, tropical forest countries can be assured that financial rewards are available if they can demonstrate reduced deforestation,” Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in a statement. The announcement is one of a series of global events taking place in 2021&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/04/governments-companies-pledge-1-billion-for-tropical-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-241946</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Minke whales for dinner’: Norway’s controversial whale hunt is still on</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/minke-whales-for-dinner-norways-controversial-whale-hunt-is-still-on/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/minke-whales-for-dinner-norways-controversial-whale-hunt-is-still-on/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2021 20:14:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/03/10160900/13931746457_15587b229b_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=240405</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Europe, and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Ecosystems, Fisheries, Global Environmental Crisis, Hunting, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Whales, Whaling, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Norway plans to kill up to 1,278 minke whales this year, according to a recent announcement made by the country’s fisheries ministry. This is the same quota as the previous two years, although whalers only killed 503 common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in 2020, and 429 in 2019. “Norwegian whaling is about the right to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Norway plans to kill up to 1,278 minke whales this year, according to a recent announcement made by the country’s fisheries ministry. This is the same quota as the previous two years, although whalers only killed 503 common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in 2020, and 429 in 2019. “Norwegian whaling is about the right to utilize our natural resources,” Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, Norway’s minister of fisheries and seafood, said in a statement in Norwegian. “We manage on the basis of scientific knowledge and in a sustainable manner. In addition, whales are healthy and good food, and Norwegians want minke whales on their dinner plate.” In 1982, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) issued a global moratorium on commercial whaling, which went into effect in 1986. But Norway, despite being a member of the IWC, formally objected to this ruling, and has continued to kill whales every year since 1993. While proponents argue that Norway’s whaling program is sustainable, some scientists, conservationists, and animal welfare advocates disagree, arguing that it is unsustainable, unethical, and runs counter to the country’s conservation goals. Minke whale. Image by Len2040 / Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0). “Humans have a very poor track record of doing anything sustainable when it comes to whaling, and we shouldn&#8217;t continue to allow those kinds of processes to occur, just because someone says they can do it sustainably,” Ari Friedlaender of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and told Mongabay in an interview. “The fact that there is an international ban on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/minke-whales-for-dinner-norways-controversial-whale-hunt-is-still-on/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-240405</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Through war, wildfire and pandemic, the world’s seed vaults hold strong</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/through-war-wildfire-and-pandemic-the-worlds-seed-vaults-hold-strong/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/through-war-wildfire-and-pandemic-the-worlds-seed-vaults-hold-strong/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Dec 2020 12:00:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/12/08093804/svalbardvault_ccbysa4.o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=237655</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Lebanon, Norway, Syria, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change, COVID-19, Crops, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Fires, food security, Forest Destruction, Forests, Genetics, Governance, Green, and Happy-upbeat Environmental]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[By the time the war broke out in Syria, researchers from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) had already duplicated and safely transported most of their genetic treasure trove to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the remote Arctic island of Spitsbergen, Norway. The ICARDA facility in Tel Hadia, just [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[By the time the war broke out in Syria, researchers from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) had already duplicated and safely transported most of their genetic treasure trove to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the remote Arctic island of Spitsbergen, Norway. The ICARDA facility in Tel Hadia, just south of Aleppo, Syria, once stored the largest collection of crop diversity from the Fertile Crescent, one of the world’s earliest centers of agriculture. When the facility was abandoned in 2014, more than 80% of its collection was backed up in the Norwegian vault. “When the Arab Spring started, Syria was still considered a very secure and stable country, and then it became complete chaos, as we know,” Ola Westengen, an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Life Science who was coordinator of operations and management at the Svalbard Global Seed Bank at the time of the seed rescue, told Mongabay. “[B]ut one should not give the impression that the seeds were somehow smuggled out or sent out in a clandestine way, everything was by the book.” The safe and peaceful transfer of the samples from Syria, despite extreme conditions, Westengen says, is a testament to how well the international system of gene banks is working. The entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, a remote archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Photo by Subiet via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Westengen is the co-author of a newly published paper in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/through-war-wildfire-and-pandemic-the-worlds-seed-vaults-hold-strong/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/through-war-wildfire-and-pandemic-the-worlds-seed-vaults-hold-strong/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-237655</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>481 and counting: Norway’s whaling catch hits four-year high</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/481-and-counting-norways-whaling-catch-hits-four-year-high/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/481-and-counting-norways-whaling-catch-hits-four-year-high/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Aug 2020 09:05:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/08/27085627/8628266356_e49fd51299_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=234289</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, European Union, and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Environment, Fisheries, Green, Hunting, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Species, Whales, and Whaling]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Four hundred and eighty-one. That’s how many minke whales Norway has killed so far this year, according to new data released by the country’s Fishermen’s Sales Organization, or Råfisklaget. That’s 52 more than all of last year, and 76 more than the two years before that. What’s more, this year’s whaling season has yet to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Four hundred and eighty-one. That’s how many minke whales Norway has killed so far this year, according to new data released by the country’s Fishermen’s Sales Organization, or Råfisklaget. That’s 52 more than all of last year, and 76 more than the two years before that. What’s more, this year’s whaling season has yet to end, so additional whales may still be slaughtered. Overall, this whaling season is the “deadliest in years,” according to the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), a Washington, D.C.-based NGO. “The current increase in numbers shows how desperately Norway is clinging to its whaling activities,” Fabienne McLellan, co-director of international relations at Swiss NGO OceanCare, told Mongabay in an email. “It’s just cynical to classify the whaling industry, which is artificially kept alive through subsidies, to be of systemic importance during the COVID19 crisis.” A minke whale killed by Norwegian whalers. Image by Michael Tenten / IMMCS. In 1982, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) placed a global moratorium on commercial whaling activities, but Norway formally objected to this ruling. Eleven years later, the Nordic country resumed commercial whaling, and since 1993 has hunted more than 14,000 minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). During their migration in the North Atlantic Ocean, male and female minke whales tend to segregate, with females traveling further north along the Norwegian coast. As a result, about 70% of whales killed in the Norwegian hunts are females, and pregnant ones at that, McLellan says. “Pregnant females are slower and accordingly also easier to kill,” she&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/481-and-counting-norways-whaling-catch-hits-four-year-high/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/481-and-counting-norways-whaling-catch-hits-four-year-high/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-234289</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Svalbard reindeer rebounding better than hoped after nearly going extinct</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/svalbard-reindeer-rebounding-nearly-extinct/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/svalbard-reindeer-rebounding-nearly-extinct/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Dec 2019 11:48:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/12/06071152/Svalbardrein_pho-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=225097</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic, Arctic Ocean, and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Reindeer and caribou populations have been declining dramatically over the past few decades. But one subspecies of reindeer seems to be doing better, a new study has found. The wild Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), which lives in the harsh archipelago of Svalbard off Norway in the Arctic Ocean, was nearly hunted to extinction in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Reindeer and caribou populations have been declining dramatically over the past few decades. But one subspecies of reindeer seems to be doing better, a new study has found. The wild Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), which lives in the harsh archipelago of Svalbard off Norway in the Arctic Ocean, was nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries. But its protection in 1925, including a ban on hunting, has helped the reindeer population bounce back, previous estimates suggest. To find out how many Svalbard reindeer live across the archipelago today, Mathilde Le Moullec, who completed her Ph.D. from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology this year, and her colleagues systematically surveyed more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) of Svalbard between 2013 and 2016. They mostly walked, sometimes 30 to 40 kilometers (18 to 25 miles) a day, and also used a small boat to reach sites that were difficult to get to on foot. In the end, Le Moullec’s team estimated there were about 22,000 Svalbard reindeer across the islands — a population size double that of a previous estimate based on opportunistic counts from 1968 to 2008, the researchers report. “At a global level, the abundances of the 12 reindeer subspecies found throughout the Arctic today appear to have declined, and the species has been listed as vulnerable (i.e., about 40% decline over the past 10–30 yr) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature,” the researchers write in the paper published in The Journal of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/svalbard-reindeer-rebounding-nearly-extinct/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/svalbard-reindeer-rebounding-nearly-extinct/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-225097</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Commitments worth $63 billion pledged for ocean protection</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/commitments-worth-63-billion-pledged-for-ocean-protection/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/commitments-worth-63-billion-pledged-for-ocean-protection/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Oct 2019 12:10:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Monica Evans]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/10/28113954/marine_190179-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=223897</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Sea Change]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Ocean Warming, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[2163-3717]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Governments, businesses, organizations and research institutions made commitments toward improving marine health and productivity worth more than $63 billion at the Our Ocean 2019 conference in Oslo on Oct. 23 and 24. A total of 370 commitments were made at the conference, which was initiated by former U.S. secretary of state John Kerry in 2014 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Governments, businesses, organizations and research institutions made commitments toward improving marine health and productivity worth more than $63 billion at the Our Ocean 2019 conference in Oslo on Oct. 23 and 24. A total of 370 commitments were made at the conference, which was initiated by former U.S. secretary of state John Kerry in 2014 and has run annually ever since. Our Oceans brings together international leaders to share knowledge and experiences, and to commit to action for healthier oceans. This year, 500 people from more than 100 countries attended, as well as 100 youth delegates. “These commitments are not just empty promises,” said Norway’s minister of foreign affairs, Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, in her opening address. The conference emphasizes public accountability, and recent research by Oregon State University shows that past Our Oceans commitments have resulted, among other things, in more than one-third of the ocean area now under protected status. Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway speaks at the opening of the Our Ocean conference in Oslo on October 23. Image by Stine Østby / Medvind / MFA, Oslo. This year’s high-figure commitments, which are a considerable boost from the $10 billion committed last year, reflect a new level of focus and urgency around ocean protection, as its role in mitigating the advance and impacts of climate change becomes ever clearer. “For decades, the ocean has acted as a buffer against the impacts of global warming; but it has come at a price,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Erna&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/commitments-worth-63-billion-pledged-for-ocean-protection/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-223897</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New research teases apart complex effects of naval sonar on whales</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/new-research-teases-apart-complex-effects-of-naval-sonar-on-whales/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/new-research-teases-apart-complex-effects-of-naval-sonar-on-whales/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Mar 2019 03:49:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/03/27111407/Wensveen-et-al-photo-4.4f1fd143861d424787b8828a62749206-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=216917</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans and Sea Change]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Norway, Pacific Ocean, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Noise Pollution, Oceans, Research, Technology, Water, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[2163-3717]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Whales can behave quite differently in response to sonar depending on where they live and what they’re doing, new research has found. The pair of studies, on different species and in different oceans, adds to scientists’ understanding of how to protect whales from these sounds. Navies use sonar to detect stealthy submarines, and researchers have [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Whales can behave quite differently in response to sonar depending on where they live and what they’re doing, new research has found. The pair of studies, on different species and in different oceans, adds to scientists’ understanding of how to protect whales from these sounds. Navies use sonar to detect stealthy submarines, and researchers have linked sonar training exercises to hearing loss, deadly mass strandings, and interference with whale communication. Most strategies to temper the effects of sonar use the volume of the noise as a guide, Brandon Southall, a biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said in a statement. But loudness didn’t turn out to be the best predictor of blue whales’ (Balaenoptera musculus) responses to a series of sonar blasts in research published March 4 in the Journal of Experimental Biology. A blue whale creating a bow wave. Image by NOAA via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain). “Some whales responded when the sound was barely audible, while others seemingly ignored it and kept feeding at quite loud levels,” said Southall, the paper’s lead author. A separate study, on northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) in the Greenland Sea, found that these beaked whales — a group that’s among the most affected by sonar — changed their behavior, whether they were as close as 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles) to the source of the sonar or as far away as 28 kilometers (17 miles). In that research, the scientists fixed data-gathering tags to 12 bottlenose whales and used underwater microphones&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/new-research-teases-apart-complex-effects-of-naval-sonar-on-whales/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/new-research-teases-apart-complex-effects-of-naval-sonar-on-whales/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-216917</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Citigroup limits financing for mines that dump tailings at sea</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/citigroup-limits-financing-for-mines-that-dump-tailings-at-sea/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/citigroup-limits-financing-for-mines-that-dump-tailings-at-sea/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jun 2018 06:05:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jim Tan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Maria Angeles Salazar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/06/12053754/featured_citi-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=207377</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Norway, and Papua New Guinea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Environment, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Mining, Oceans, Pollution, Research, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Several mines around the world dispose of potentially toxic mine waste directly into the ocean. Environmentalists have criticized the practice, arguing that the waste smothers ocean habitat and leaches harmful chemicals and heavy metals that can poison marine life. Last month Citigroup, a major shareholder in four mining companies that either actively dispose of mine [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Several mines around the world dispose of potentially toxic mine waste directly into the ocean. Environmentalists have criticized the practice, arguing that the waste smothers ocean habitat and leaches harmful chemicals and heavy metals that can poison marine life. Last month Citigroup, a major shareholder in four mining companies that either actively dispose of mine waste into the ocean or propose to do so, agreed not to finance any new operations that pipe mine waste into the sea. Citigroup’s move comes after pressure from an international coalition of NGOs that launched a campaign this year to end the disposal of mine waste in natural water bodies. The coalition, led by the Washington, D.C.-based environmental NGO Earthworks, is calling for a global ban on the practice and pressuring financial institutions to stop funding mining operations that engage in it. Earthworks announced Citigroup’s move in a May 2 press release. “Citi’s decision says loud and clear: ocean dumping is dirty, unnecessary and wrong,” Ellen Moore, who coordinates the Ditch Ocean Dumping campaign for Earthworks, told Mongabay. There are few signs of life on the bottom of Jøssingfjord in southern Norway 35 years after dumping ceased at the Tellnes titanium mine. Scientists believe it may never recover. Image by Erling Svensen. Toxic tailings One of the key problems miners face is how to safely dispose of the huge quantities of waste rock and tailings produced in the mining process. The tailings, a fine-particle slurry left over after the target metal has been extracted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/citigroup-limits-financing-for-mines-that-dump-tailings-at-sea/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-207377</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Norwegian government report sharply critical of funding for tropical forest conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/norwegian-government-report-sharply-critical-of-funding-for-tropical-forest-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/norwegian-government-report-sharply-critical-of-funding-for-tropical-forest-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 May 2018 14:37:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/05/31142740/Deforestation-on-the-Peru-Brazil-border_peru_aerial_0986-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=207127</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Funding, Rainforests, Redd, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A recent report by Norway’s Office of the Auditor General had some tough criticisms for the country’s International Forests and Climate Initiative (NICFI), one of the chief funders of REDD+ initiatives around the world. Over the last 10 years, NICFI has granted a total of 23.5 billion Norwegian krone (about $2.9 billion) to projects aimed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A recent report by Norway’s Office of the Auditor General had some tough criticisms for the country’s International Forests and Climate Initiative (NICFI), one of the chief funders of REDD+ initiatives around the world. Over the last 10 years, NICFI has granted a total of 23.5 billion Norwegian krone (about $2.9 billion) to projects aimed at conserving tropical forests and reducing associated greenhouse gas emissions in several developing countries. Norway even paid three countries directly to protect their forests and draw down emissions: Brazil, in particular, has been a major recipient of funds from Norway, receiving 7.4 billion krone (more than $900 million), while Indonesia and Guyana have each received 1.1 billion krone (about $134 million). Germany and the UK are also among the top three donors of funds to protect tropical forests in developing nations. But in a statement, the Office of the Auditor General noted that Norwegian contributions from 2008-2016 made up 51 percent of the total funds paid out by those three countries. &#8220;The prerequisite for increased support from other countries has not been met, and Norwegian contributions make up a larger proportion than anticipated,&#8221; Per-Kristian Foss, Norway’s Auditor General, said. That was far from the harshest criticism in the report, however. The Office of the Auditor General said that its investigation found “that progress and results are delayed, that current measures have uncertain feasibility and effect, and that the risk of fraud is not well-managed.” The report identifies some key challenges that are preventing successful implementation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/norwegian-government-report-sharply-critical-of-funding-for-tropical-forest-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-207127</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Religious leaders mobilize to protect indigenous people and forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/religious-leaders-mobilize-to-protect-indigenous-people-and-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/religious-leaders-mobilize-to-protect-indigenous-people-and-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 May 2018 15:39:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Willie Shubert]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/05/02021552/1024px-Laos_-_Luang_Prabang_124_-_Buddha_statues_at_Wat_Chom_Si_6582787449-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=206344</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation and Religion]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Colombia, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Global, New York, Norway, and Peru]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Conservation, Indigenous Peoples, Rainforests, Religions, Saving Rainforests, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[What if the moral and spiritual influence of the world’s religious communities and their leaders were directed towards protecting rainforests and their indigenous guardians? Is this an appropriate role for religious and faith-based communities to take on?  The coalition of religious and indigenous leaders behind the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative believe it is. Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[What if the moral and spiritual influence of the world’s religious communities and their leaders were directed towards protecting rainforests and their indigenous guardians? Is this an appropriate role for religious and faith-based communities to take on?  The coalition of religious and indigenous leaders behind the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative believe it is. Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Taoist religious leaders joined forces with indigenous peoples from Brazil, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Meso-America and Peru at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo in 2017 to launch the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative (IRI) and are committed to mobilizing billions of people of faith to stand up for rainforests and their protectors. The IRI global steering committee reconvened at the UN Headquarters in New York on April 19, 2018 to give a briefing on this initiative and to receive consultation. “We are here tonight at this stage to listen,” said Reverend Fletcher Harper a writer, preacher and executive director of Green Faith as he addressed the diverse group of indigenous leaders and other attendees in New York. “There is a great deal of historical inertia from which we must overcome and much blindness from which we must repent and for which we will need your help,” said Rev. Harper. “We are here to listen. We are in your debt. We hope to be worthy of your partnership.” Panel Speakers at the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative Briefing and Consultation, UN Headquarters New York. Pictured Front (left to right): Dr. Kusumita Pedersen, Professor&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/religious-leaders-mobilize-to-protect-indigenous-people-and-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/religious-leaders-mobilize-to-protect-indigenous-people-and-forests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-206344</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rainforests: the year in review 2017</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/rainforests-the-year-in-review-2017/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/rainforests-the-year-in-review-2017/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Jan 2018 11:30:29 +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/20/2018/01/04111306/indonesia_sulawesi_171067-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=202601</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Australia, Borneo, Brazil, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Global, Indonesia, Latin America, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nigeria, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, South America, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Carbon Emissions, Cattle, Commodity Roundtables, Community Forests, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Dams, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Fires, Forests, Green, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Logging, Mining, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Ranching, Remote Sensing, Satellite Imagery, Technology, Tropical Forests, Wildtech, Year-end review, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Between America&#8217;s abandonment of leadership on conservation and environmental policy, Brazil&#8217;s backtracking on forest conservation, massive forest fires worldwide, and the revelation of a sharp increase in global forest loss in 2016, 2017 was a rough year for tropical rainforests. Still, there were bright spots, including the establishment of new protected areas, better forest monitoring [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Between America&#8217;s abandonment of leadership on conservation and environmental policy, Brazil&#8217;s backtracking on forest conservation, massive forest fires worldwide, and the revelation of a sharp increase in global forest loss in 2016, 2017 was a rough year for tropical rainforests. Still, there were bright spots, including the establishment of new protected areas, better forest monitoring and research, and continued progress in recognizing the critical role local and indigenous communities play in forest conservation. The following is a short review of some of the more notable developments and trends for tropical forests in 2017. This review is not exhaustive, so feel free to add developments we missed via the comment function at the bottom. Reviews from past years: 2018 [Update 12/30/18] | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2009 Forest loss As reported in Mongabay&#8217;s last year-end review, there wasn&#8217;t a major update on global forest loss in 2016. In 2017 however, we got updates for both 2015 and 2016, and the numbers weren&#8217;t pretty: last year global forest loss hit the highest level on record (the dataset goes back to 2000). While much of that &#8220;loss&#8221; — which includes all tree cover loss, ranging from deforestation to harvesting of plantations to instances where blocks of forests have lost all their leaves from, for example, fire and beetle infestation — occurred outside the tropics, Brazil, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malaysia, Bolivia and Laos made the top 10 list for 2016 in terms&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/rainforests-the-year-in-review-2017/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-202601</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Spot the pattern: Whisker-prints and citizen science</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/spot-the-pattern-whisker-prints-citizen-science/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/spot-the-pattern-whisker-prints-citizen-science/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Sep 2017 15:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lalini Pedris]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sue Palminteri]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/09/14093830/GP-Baffin-Isl-bears-watching_web-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=199094</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Alaska, Arctic, Canada, and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Polar Bears, Research, Technology, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Recent advancements in technology and social media have spurred the growth of citizen science, a phenomenon through which non-scientists contribute to the collection of scientific data. According to Nature, results collected by citizen scientists “can be valuable and can help both to generate data and to inform policy.” More importantly, as the University of Manitoba’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Recent advancements in technology and social media have spurred the growth of citizen science, a phenomenon through which non-scientists contribute to the collection of scientific data. According to Nature, results collected by citizen scientists “can be valuable and can help both to generate data and to inform policy.” More importantly, as the University of Manitoba’s Whiskerprint Project shows, citizen science can not only aid researchers, but also cultivate the next generation of environmental stewards and enrich STEM education among fledgling scientists. Led by University of Manitoba professor and behavioral ecologist Dr. Jane Waterman, the Whiskerprint Project is pioneering the use of whisker pattern analysis to identify individual polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba. In an interview with Mongabay-Wildtech, Waterman addressed the need to identify and track individuals in order to investigate bear behaviors and interactions, potential human-polar bear conflict, and impacts of climate change on the bears – whose habitat requires sea ice currently under threat. The “virtual mark-and-capture” method of identification and data collection offers a noninvasive process through which direct human contact with polar bears can be limited. Polar bear mother and cubs cross the ice. Each bear&#8217;s whiskers create a &#8220;print&#8221; of black markings unique to the individual. Photo credit: George Powell Waterman explained that as a polar bear’s whiskers grow, they part the bear’s fur, revealing spots where the animal’s black skin can be visible against its white coat. These spots create a distinctive pattern on each side of the bear’s face that can be used to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/spot-the-pattern-whisker-prints-citizen-science/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-199094</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Warnings and protests mark Brazilian President Temer’s trip to Norway</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/06/warnings-and-protests-mark-brazilian-president-temers-trip-to-norway/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/06/warnings-and-protests-mark-brazilian-president-temers-trip-to-norway/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2017 18:02:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/06/22175027/9080912651_35bf7a28c4_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=196790</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and Norway]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Traditional People, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazilian President Michel Temer will be greeted with protests when he arrives in Norway tomorrow for an official visit with Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Meanwhile, Norwegian government officials are warning Temer that his country risks losing millions in financial aid that Norway pays to Brazil to help rein in deforestation in the Amazon. Deforestation in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Brazilian President Michel Temer will be greeted with protests when he arrives in Norway tomorrow for an official visit with Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Meanwhile, Norwegian government officials are warning Temer that his country risks losing millions in financial aid that Norway pays to Brazil to help rein in deforestation in the Amazon. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from 2015 to 2016 jumped 29 percent over the previous year, the highest rate of loss recorded since 2008. Political efforts to weaken environmental regulations are largely seen as responsible for the increase, though dry conditions in the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, and Brazil&#8217;s foundering economy, which has devalued Brazil’s currency and made agricultural exports more profitable, are also to blame. Temer himself proposed legislation that would scale back protections for blocks of forested land seen as highly desirable by the bancada ruralista, the rural lobby of agribusiness and mining interests who supported Temer’s rise to power and the impeachment of his predecessor, President Dilma Rousseff, last year. In a letter sent to Brazilian Minister of Environment Jose Sarney Filho, Norway&#8217;s Environment Minister, Vidar Helgesen, noted the &#8220;worrying upward trend&#8221; in deforestation since 2015, according to reporters with Reuters who saw a copy of the letter. Norway has made annual contributions to Brazil — totaling $1.1 billion since 2008 — to reward the South American country for its progress in slowing the deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon. Because those payments are contingent on results, however, Helgesen warned in the letter&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/06/warnings-and-protests-mark-brazilian-president-temers-trip-to-norway/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-196790</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Religious leaders: Rainforest protection a ‘moral imperative’</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/06/religious-leaders-rainforest-protection-a-moral-imperative/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/06/religious-leaders-rainforest-protection-a-moral-imperative/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jun 2017 15:22:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/06/20144024/co05-0623-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=196685</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Global, Norway, South America, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Redd, Saving Rainforests, Social Justice, Solutions, Sustainable Development, Traditional People, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Religious leaders from around the world are meeting for the first time with conservationists and scientists in Norway this week to develop the ethical case for protecting tropical forests. “There is a dimension to this fight that will require a global, tectonic shift in values,” said Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Religious leaders from around the world are meeting for the first time with conservationists and scientists in Norway this week to develop the ethical case for protecting tropical forests. “There is a dimension to this fight that will require a global, tectonic shift in values,” said Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, in a statement. “It is not the realm of policy, commerce or science, but of spirit, faith and moral conviction.” King Harald V of Norway with an indigenous group in Brazil. Photo courtesy of Rainforest Foundation Norway The event marks the launch of the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative. From June 19 through 21, heads of various religions, including Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism, are sitting down with government officials, indigenous leaders, and NGO representatives to hammer out a roadmap for rainforest conservation at the Nobel Peace Center. The aim is to address the massive loss of forest happening every year, equivalent to an area the size of Austria according to the organizers of the conference, by leveraging the growing sentiment in many of the world’s spiritual and religious communities that we all have an obligation to protect these areas. “The world’s religions, each in its own unique way, ground a moral call to action to protect tropical rainforests,” said William F. Vendley, the secretary general of Religions for Peace, in the press release. “Through multi-religious partnership, the wisdom of each religious tradition can be a resource to help us to cultivate the values and virtues essential for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/06/religious-leaders-rainforest-protection-a-moral-imperative/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-196685</doi>				</item>
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