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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 11 Apr 2026 13:42:10 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Conservation news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Doug Allan, wildlife cameraman who filmed animals in extreme environments</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/doug-allan-wildlife-cameraman-who-filmed-animals-in-extreme-environments/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/doug-allan-wildlife-cameraman-who-filmed-animals-in-extreme-environments/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Apr 2026 13:42:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/11134010/doug-allan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317373</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Environment, Obituary, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[There are moments in natural-history films when the camera seems improbably close: a polar bear’s breath fogging the lens, a seal’s eye lingering, an orca pod moving with intent beneath fractured ice. The illusion is of proximity without disturbance. The reality is colder, slower and less certain. It depends on patience, judgment and a tolerance [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[There are moments in natural-history films when the camera seems improbably close: a polar bear’s breath fogging the lens, a seal’s eye lingering, an orca pod moving with intent beneath fractured ice. The illusion is of proximity without disturbance. The reality is colder, slower and less certain. It depends on patience, judgment and a tolerance for discomfort that most viewers never see. Doug Allan spent his career in such conditions. He worked where light is scarce, where equipment fails, and where the margin for error is thin. Much of his footage was gathered in the polar regions or underwater, environments that reward persistence and ingenuity. He liked the constraints. You could only be in one place at a time, he would say; if you weren’t there, you would not get the shot. Allan came to filmmaking indirectly. Born in 1951 in Dunfermline, he studied marine biology and began as a diver, including work with the British Antarctic Survey. A meeting with David Attenborough in Antarctica in the early 1980s redirected his path. He bought a camera, filmed emperor penguins, and sold the footage to the BBC. From there he became a principal cameraman on landmark series such as The Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet. His work helped define how audiences came to see remote ecosystems. The sequences were often brief on screen but long in the making. Allan might spend weeks waiting for an animal to appear, or return empty-handed after a day’s search. He accepted this as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/doug-allan-wildlife-cameraman-who-filmed-animals-in-extreme-environments/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/doug-allan-wildlife-cameraman-who-filmed-animals-in-extreme-environments/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The mother of orangutans</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/the-mother-of-orangutans/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/the-mother-of-orangutans/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Apr 2026 12:24:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Izzy Sasada]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/15042126/Orangutan-tapanuli_Junaidi-Mongabay3-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317372</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Borneo and Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Conservation, Great Apes, Rainforests, Women in conservation, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Dr Birutė Galdikas spent almost 50 years studying solitary and elusive orangutans in Borneo, at a time when no one believed it possible. Her pioneering work transformed scientific understanding of the great apes and their behavior.  She passed on March 24 at the age of 79. Dr. Galdikas was one of three women who revolutionised [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Dr Birutė Galdikas spent almost 50 years studying solitary and elusive orangutans in Borneo, at a time when no one believed it possible. Her pioneering work transformed scientific understanding of the great apes and their behavior.  She passed on March 24 at the age of 79. Dr. Galdikas was one of three women who revolutionised the study of great apes in the 1970s – along with Dr Jane Goodall who observed chimpanzees in Tanzania, and Dr Dian Fossey who studied gorillas in Rwanda. Together, they were called the “Trimates”.  At a time when women were rarely given such opportunities in science, these three women offered a window into the lives of our closest living ancestors.  Their work helped bring global attention to the protection of chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans and inspired generations of conservationists. Now, as this chapter comes to a close, the question isn’t just what they discovered, but what comes next.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/the-mother-of-orangutans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/the-mother-of-orangutans/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Venezuela’s new mining law could spell disaster for the Amazon, critics warn</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/venezuelas-new-mining-law-could-spell-disaster-for-the-amazon-critics-warn/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/venezuelas-new-mining-law-could-spell-disaster-for-the-amazon-critics-warn/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2026 18:39:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandrapopescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Amazon mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Destruction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gold Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Illegal Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indigenous Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Protected Areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rainforest Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tropical Forests]]></category>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317348</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, South America, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Mining, Biodiversity, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Governance, Illegal Mining, Mining, Protected Areas, Rainforest Deforestation, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Venezuela is close to passing a law to update the country’s mining regulations and attract private investment in gold, silver, coltan and other minerals. But advocacy groups say the law may end up exacerbating deforestation and pollution in mining areas where environmental damage is already an issue. The legislation is part of a broader effort [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Venezuela is close to passing a law to update the country’s mining regulations and attract private investment in gold, silver, coltan and other minerals. But advocacy groups say the law may end up exacerbating deforestation and pollution in mining areas where environmental damage is already an issue. The legislation is part of a broader effort to bring in international investment following the January capture of President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, which has expressed interest in Venezuela’s natural resources. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez introduced the bill to the National Assembly in early March, outlining a framework to allow private investment in mining while maintaining strong state control over the sector. While some environmental protections are included in the bill, critics say they’re not rigorous enough to prevent ongoing deforestation or human rights abuses in mining zones. The law passed by unanimous vote April 9 and now needs official approval from Rodríguez. “We denounce that this legal and political framework, rather than being a regulatory instrument for control and transparency, will only generate a veneer of legality for the current systematic plundering of the Amazon and the Guiana Shield, deepening the serious environmental deterioration and the violation of human rights that are taking place,” said a statement signed by 15 advocacy groups. The law reinforces state control over the country’s mineral resources while creating pathways for outside investment, allowing authorized private companies and joint ventures with the state to participate in mining operations. It also formalizes artisanal mining, requiring miners&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/venezuelas-new-mining-law-could-spell-disaster-for-the-amazon-critics-warn/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/venezuelas-new-mining-law-could-spell-disaster-for-the-amazon-critics-warn/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Africa’s solar costs could rise as China cuts export subsidies</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/africas-solar-costs-could-rise-as-china-cuts-export-subsidies/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/africas-solar-costs-could-rise-as-china-cuts-export-subsidies/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2026 16:42:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/10163543/2765584331_a4f7fbfd2d_k-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317346</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Energy, Energy Politics, Green Energy, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The end of China’s export tax rebates for solar panels and associated equipment could prompt a rush by power developers in African to secure supplies at the previous lower prices. Across Africa, a lack of reliable access to grid electricity is driving the adoption of mini-grids and off-grid solar applications, especially in rural areas. Solar [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The end of China’s export tax rebates for solar panels and associated equipment could prompt a rush by power developers in African to secure supplies at the previous lower prices. Across Africa, a lack of reliable access to grid electricity is driving the adoption of mini-grids and off-grid solar applications, especially in rural areas. Solar currently accounts for only 3% of electricity generation on the continent, but solar capacity is expanding rapidly, and the end of the 9% value-added tax rebate on Chinese exports of photovoltaic modules, cells and inverters as of April 1 could hasten adoption across Africa. “There’s a big acceleration of people trying to buy panels at the current reduced price with the rebate, which is why you’re seeing many projects rushing to start construction so they can procure panels at a lower cost,” Gerrit Jan Cronselaar, engineering project manager at GameChange Solar, a U.S.-based solar energy company, said at a March webinar organized by the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA), ahead of the end of the rebate. “Over the course of 2026, we are likely to see a wave of projects coming online as a result of this early push.” China is the world’s dominant producer and exporter of solar panels, and African countries depend heavily on the country for solar components. China is also phasing out export tax rebates for batteries, reducing them from 9% to 6% this month. They will be fully eliminated by January 2027. Storage systems including batteries ensure a more reliable&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/africas-solar-costs-could-rise-as-china-cuts-export-subsidies/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/africas-solar-costs-could-rise-as-china-cuts-export-subsidies/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Christianity can be an ally for Kenyan conservation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/christianity-can-be-an-ally-for-kenyan-conservation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/christianity-can-be-an-ally-for-kenyan-conservation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2026 15:25:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Peter Rowe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/10145100/PRowe_HeaderImage-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317342</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Community-based Conservation, Conservation and Religion, Environment, Forests, Green, Religions, and Spirituality and Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The influence of Christianity in public life in Kenya is undisputed. Indeed, for more than a century, everyday life in the country — from education to health care and politics — has, in many ways, been shaped by the faith. From missionary origins to indigenous expressions, Christianity has been, and remains, “one of the most [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The influence of Christianity in public life in Kenya is undisputed. Indeed, for more than a century, everyday life in the country — from education to health care and politics — has, in many ways, been shaped by the faith. From missionary origins to indigenous expressions, Christianity has been, and remains, “one of the most powerful sociocultural forces” in Kenya. Interestingly, however, despite the prominent place of Christianity, the entanglements between Christianity and conservation — itself a major sociopolitical contour in Kenya — have been sorely understudied. In this sense, Stuart Butler’s 2024 article for Mongabay exploring the dynamic intersection of Maasai traditional religion, Christianity, land privatization, and conservation in the Naimina Enkiyioo (Loita) Forest is, in part, a breath of fresh air. For too long, religious faith (of any kind) has been on the margins of mainstream conservation thinking and practice. While some major players in conservation have begun to increasingly partner with faith communities and faith-based organizations (see for example WWF and UNEP), the task of getting (mainly Western) conservation practitioners and organizations to take faith seriously remains an uphill battle. Perhaps part of the difficulty in mainstreaming religious faith into conservation thinking and practice are the popular, but often partial, narratives concerning how faith — and for the purposes of this piece, Christianity — relate to conservation. In particular, the narrative concerning the negative impact of Christianity on the environment has been well-circulated for over a half-century, popularized and propelled most notably by the publication of Lynn&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/christianity-can-be-an-ally-for-kenyan-conservation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Tropics take the brunt as hotter oceans drive large-scale humid heat waves: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/tropics-take-the-brunt-as-hotter-oceans-drive-large-scale-humid-heat-waves-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/tropics-take-the-brunt-as-hotter-oceans-drive-large-scale-humid-heat-waves-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2026 14:01:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Adam Litchkofski]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/10120444/0-Sunset_over_the_Pacific_Ocean_from_Maui_Hawaii-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317334</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, El Nino, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Heatwave, Nature And Health, Ocean Warming, Planetary Health, Public Health, and Temperatures]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As climate change intensifies, people around the world are learning firsthand how dangerous high temperatures can be. But prolonged heat becomes even more dangerous, and deadly, when paired with high humidity — a one-two punch known as a humid heat wave. Scientists report that humid heat waves have intensified rapidly over recent decades and are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As climate change intensifies, people around the world are learning firsthand how dangerous high temperatures can be. But prolonged heat becomes even more dangerous, and deadly, when paired with high humidity — a one-two punch known as a humid heat wave. Scientists report that humid heat waves have intensified rapidly over recent decades and are projected to worsen, raising the risk of significantly more heat-related mortalities. But quantifying the origins of these extreme weather events has remained challenging. A new study published in Nature Geoscience has identified and quantified a likely cause. It traced a strong connection between coastal waters heated by climate change and the development of humid heat waves that spread out over large areas inland — an effect especially pronounced in the tropics. “Compared with mid-to-high latitudes, the tropics encompass most [humid heat wave] high-risk areas and exhibit stronger land-ocean linkages, highlighting the critical role of tropical oceans,” according to the study conducted by researchers from Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Princeton University in the U.S., and Sun Yat-sen University in China. Humid heat waves — periods when high temperatures couple with high humidity — are particularly dangerous for human survival, Fenying Cai, study lead author with PIK, told Mongabay in a phone interview. Previous research indicated that even young, healthy people can experience dangerous heat stress when a wet-bulb thermometer (measuring ambient temperature plus relative humidity) has readings exceeding 31° Celsius (87.8° Fahrenheit), a point at which the body can no longer effectively&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/tropics-take-the-brunt-as-hotter-oceans-drive-large-scale-humid-heat-waves-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Record kākāpō breeding season with 95 rare parrot hatchlings: Photo of the week</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/record-kakapo-breeding-season-with-95-rare-parrot-hatchlings-photo-of-the-week/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/record-kakapo-breeding-season-with-95-rare-parrot-hatchlings-photo-of-the-week/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2026 09:31:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/10091515/unnamed-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317321</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[New Zealand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Governance, Parrots, Reintroductions, Rewilding, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The kākāpō is a flightless bird endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand, and one of the heaviest parrots in the world. It’s also critically endangered; after the introduction of predators to the islands off New Zealand, the adult kākāpō population plummeted to just 235 today. But this year, following a standout harvest of rīmu (Dacrydium cupressinum) berries, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The kākāpō is a flightless bird endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand, and one of the heaviest parrots in the world. It’s also critically endangered; after the introduction of predators to the islands off New Zealand, the adult kākāpō population plummeted to just 235 today. But this year, following a standout harvest of rīmu (Dacrydium cupressinum) berries, a staple of the kākāpō diet, at least 95 chicks are now growing. The previous record, in 2019, produced 73 fledglings. “2026 is now officially the biggest on record,” New Zealand’s Department of Conservation wrote on its kākāpō recovery Instagram account. In the photo above, kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) siblings Tīwhiri-A3 and Tīwhiri-A4, both named after their mother, are pictured on Pukenui Anchor Island in southern New Zealand, a predator-free island chosen as a kākāpō sanctuary. The photo was taken by Sarah Manktelow, a kākāpō recovery program ranger at the Department of Conservation. The chicks will be officially added to the species’ population count once they reach 150 days old, after which they’re considered fledglings. Not all the chicks are expected to make it to this stage. Ten chicks have died so far, and three more are currently receiving veterinary care. Every Friday, the Department of Conservation released data on the progress of the eggs, with an uploaded photo of the tally written in marker on the department’s refrigerator. This year, 80 nests produced at least 256 eggs. Of these, 148 were fertile, and 105 hatched. “Infertility and low hatching success is a key obstacle for the program, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/record-kakapo-breeding-season-with-95-rare-parrot-hatchlings-photo-of-the-week/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Indian border town adjacent to Bhutan is reeling from riverbed pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/indian-border-town-adjacent-to-bhutan-is-reeling-from-riverbed-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/indian-border-town-adjacent-to-bhutan-is-reeling-from-riverbed-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2026 09:15:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/10091236/822191f9-5c93-451f-9d73-c3f88dc8bc05-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317319</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Green, Plastic, Pollution, Rivers, Waste, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Jaigaon, a densely populated town on India’s border with Bhutan, is facing a crisis of poor waste disposal, reports contributor Chandrani Sinha for Mongabay India. Much of the town’s plastic, construction and medical waste gets dumped along the banks of the Torsa River. The river originates in the Chumbi Valley in the eastern Himalayas and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Jaigaon, a densely populated town on India’s border with Bhutan, is facing a crisis of poor waste disposal, reports contributor Chandrani Sinha for Mongabay India. Much of the town’s plastic, construction and medical waste gets dumped along the banks of the Torsa River. The river originates in the Chumbi Valley in the eastern Himalayas and flows through Bhutan before entering India at Jaigaon. Locals say they worry the rampant river pollution could impact the image of Jaigaon, a key tourist and trade point between India and Bhutan. “Our towns share an international border and a lot of tourist footfall takes place every year, as the town is growing population-wise, we demand a municipality facility to manage the solid waste and also other issues of Jaigaon,” Jayant Mundra, convenor for the Joint Forum of Business Association Jaigaon and vice president of the Jaigaon Merchant Association, told Mongabay India. Mundra added that during rains, much of the waste enters the river, and ends up in homes and public places. Environmental activists said the dumped waste is often openly burned, which releases toxic pollutants into the air. Downstream, the Torsa flows through ecologically sensitive floodplains that serve as habitat for Indian rhinos, elephants, and various migratory bird species. “River life depends on three things: flow, silt and oxygen in the water,” Dipankar Saha, former additional director of India’s Central Pollution Control Board, told Mongabay India. “But we excavate the river, pollute it. So, if we don’t manage the river system, then the river&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/indian-border-town-adjacent-to-bhutan-is-reeling-from-riverbed-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Novel research finds unexpected climate resilience in up to 36% of Amazon forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/novel-research-finds-unexpected-climate-resilience-in-up-to-36-of-amazon-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/novel-research-finds-unexpected-climate-resilience-in-up-to-36-of-amazon-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2026 03:23:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Justin Catanoso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09222759/1-Palms-along-river-in-Manu-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317301</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Biodiversity, Amazon Conservation, Amazon Destruction, Amazon Drought, Amazon Rainforest, Biodiversity, carbon, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Drought, Ecosystems, Environment, Forest Fragmentation, Forests, Nature's resilience, Precipitation, Research, Temperatures, Threats To The Amazon, Tipping points, Trees, Water, Wetlands, and wildfires]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Reports on the health and vitality of the Amazon — often dubbed as Earth’s lungs — have been grim for years. Record drought has stressed large swaths of the world’s largest rainforest. Major Amazon River tributaries, including the Rio Negro and Madeira River, hit their lowest levels in more than a century of measurement in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Reports on the health and vitality of the Amazon — often dubbed as Earth’s lungs — have been grim for years. Record drought has stressed large swaths of the world’s largest rainforest. Major Amazon River tributaries, including the Rio Negro and Madeira River, hit their lowest levels in more than a century of measurement in 2024. And experts warn that deforestation and wildfires are tipping parts of the biome from carbon sink to source. Yet in Manaus, a city at the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, forest ecologist Flávia Costa is upbeat as she highlights what appears to be a previously underappreciated underlying Amazon reality: Her research finds that the region’s vast wetlands, or shallow water table areas, have proven to be stubbornly drought resistant through years of intensifying climate change. In fact, her long-term research reveals that palm species and other wetland trees are not just surviving drought seasons, they’re maintaining their health and even adding biomass. That could mean these areas could serve as valuable refugia, as other parts of Amazonia degrade. Significantly, these shallow water table areas compose 36% of Amazonia and have been a crucial part of the evolving rainforest ecosystem for millions of years. Sturdy, resilient palms account for one in five tree species across the Amazon, which includes parts of nine nations, and of which Brazil occupies 60%. These forested wetlands and Costa’s research represent one bright spot in the Amazon’s otherwise gloomy projected trajectory for the 21st century — forecasts built on decades&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/novel-research-finds-unexpected-climate-resilience-in-up-to-36-of-amazon-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Half of seabirds are declining. Protecting marine flyways could help save them</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/half-of-seabirds-are-declining-protecting-marine-flyways-could-help-save-them/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/half-of-seabirds-are-declining-protecting-marine-flyways-could-help-save-them/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2026 01:00:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09230341/galapagos_2414294z-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317300</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Climate Change And Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Islands, Migration, Oceans, and Seabirds]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; Animals that cross borders often encounter conservation systems that stop at them. Migratory species move through jurisdictions with little regard for political boundaries, relying on habitats spread across large distances and governed by different rules. The result is patchy protection, overlapping threats, and declining populations. Seabirds make this problem clear. They range across entire [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; Animals that cross borders often encounter conservation systems that stop at them. Migratory species move through jurisdictions with little regard for political boundaries, relying on habitats spread across large distances and governed by different rules. The result is patchy protection, overlapping threats, and declining populations. Seabirds make this problem clear. They range across entire ocean basins, breeding on remote islands, feeding in distant waters, and passing through multiple national zones along the way. Nearly half of migratory species are in decline, and seabirds are among the most threatened groups. Their conservation requires coordination across places and seasons, which has been difficult to sustain. On land, one organizing idea has helped. The concept of “flyways” groups migration into broad, recurring routes. It has been used to align governments, focus research, and guide investment. Over time, it has helped coordinate conservation efforts, especially for waterbirds. A policy paper, published last month in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology, applies the same framework to the ocean. Overlap of the marine flyways and national waters (Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) in dark blue lines). Purple colored national waters denote CMS Parties and green represent Non-­ Party states. Maps are in Robinson projection, with (a) centered at 0° and (b) centered at 140° W. From Morten et al (2026) Recent advances in tracking have made this possible. By analyzing the movements of long-distance pelagic species, a team of researchers from BirdLife International, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and multiple&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/half-of-seabirds-are-declining-protecting-marine-flyways-could-help-save-them/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Antarctic fur seals now endangered as climate change reduces krill for pups</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/antarctic-fur-seals-now-endangered-as-climate-change-reduces-krill-for-pups/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/antarctic-fur-seals-now-endangered-as-climate-change-reduces-krill-for-pups/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 22:52:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09225117/Antarctic-fur-seal-DSC_0109-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317308</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Arctic Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ice Shelves, Mammals, Marine Mammals, Polar Regions, Sea Ice, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Antarctic fur seals are the smallest of the polar seals and live almost exclusively on the island of South Georgia. The latest assessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the global conservation authority, upgraded fur seal extinction threat from least concern to endangered. The last assessment was carried out in 2014. Recent research [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Antarctic fur seals are the smallest of the polar seals and live almost exclusively on the island of South Georgia. The latest assessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the global conservation authority, upgraded fur seal extinction threat from least concern to endangered. The last assessment was carried out in 2014. Recent research found that Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) populations have more than halved over the last 25 years, plummeting from nearly 2.2 million adult seals in 1999 to 944,000 in 2025. That&#8217;s a huge population loss in just three generations, Jaume Forcada, who has been studying fur seals at the British Antarctic Survey for more than 20 years, wrote in a statement. “Unless we address the root causes of climate change, we risk losing even more,” he added. The IUCN attributed the 50% population loss to reduced food availability: Warmer temperatures and shrinking sea ice caused by fossil fuel emissions led large schools of krill, the seal’s main prey, to move into deeper and colder waters. Fur seals are also competing with large fishing vessels, harvesting krill mostly for use as feed in aquaculture. In October 2025, Norway proposed doubling the krill catch limit in the Southern Ocean. Young seal pups under the age of 1 year are the most impacted by the habitat change; many are unable to survive to adulthood without sufficient food. The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) was also listed as vulnerable in the IUCN’s April 9 announcement. An outbreak of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/antarctic-fur-seals-now-endangered-as-climate-change-reduces-krill-for-pups/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Emperor penguins are now endangered amid climate change and melting ice</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/emperor-penguins-are-now-endangered-amid-climate-change-and-melting-ice/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/emperor-penguins-are-now-endangered-amid-climate-change-and-melting-ice/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 22:44:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09224119/Emperor-penguin-chicks-on-Rothschild-island_photo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317306</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Endangered Species, Ice Shelves, Penguins, Polar Regions, Sea Ice, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Emperor penguins are native to Antarctica, where record low sea ice over the last decade has dramatically changed their habitat. Populations of the world’s largest penguin have fallen so much that they have now officially moved from near threatened to endangered in the latest assessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the global [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Emperor penguins are native to Antarctica, where record low sea ice over the last decade has dramatically changed their habitat. Populations of the world’s largest penguin have fallen so much that they have now officially moved from near threatened to endangered in the latest assessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the global conservation authority, published April 9. “Penguins are already among the most threatened birds on Earth,” Martin Harper, CEO of BirdLife International, which coordinated the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) assessment for the IUCN Red List, wrote in a statement. “The emperor penguin’s move to Endangered is a stark warning: climate change is accelerating the extinction crisis before our eyes. Governments must act now to urgently decarbonise our economies.” In 2022, researchers found that four out of five emperor penguin colonies in western Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea had died due to a lack of sea ice. In 2019, satellite images found that at Halley Bay, farther North, the colony failed to reproduce for three years in a row. The sea ice broke up before penguin chicks grew their waterproof feathers or learned to swim. They all died before fledging. “It’s very hard to think of these cute fluffy chicks dying in large numbers,” Peter Fretwell, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey, told The Guardian in 2023 following the Bellingshausen colony losses. “The sea ice loss has been unprecedented and far quicker than we imagined.” Between 2009 and 2018, satellite images of 50 colonies across all of Antarctica&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/emperor-penguins-are-now-endangered-amid-climate-change-and-melting-ice/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Giant otters, river sentinels, now listed as threatened migratory species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/giant-otters-river-sentinels-now-listed-as-threatened-migratory-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/giant-otters-river-sentinels-now-listed-as-threatened-migratory-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 18:36:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gustavo Faleiros]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08224341/11190729853_d1e4efee8f_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317227</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Biodiversity, Amazon Conservation, Mammals, Rivers, Tropical Forests, Tropical Rivers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With evidence that the giant river otter is in an increasingly perilous state, delegates to the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) listed it as an animal requiring urgent conservation action at its March 2026 meeting in Campo Grande, Brazil. The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), endemic to tropical river systems in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With evidence that the giant river otter is in an increasingly perilous state, delegates to the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) listed it as an animal requiring urgent conservation action at its March 2026 meeting in Campo Grande, Brazil. The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), endemic to tropical river systems in South America, once lived east of the Andes mountains from northern Venezuela to Argentina, a territory covering 9,021,590 square kilometers (3,483,255 square miles). The proposal advocating for stronger protection, submitted by France, noted that it was listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2021, though it is extinct in Uruguay and Argentina, is critically endangered in Paraguay and  Ecuador and vulnerable in Brazil. The same document mentions a 50% decline in the giant otter population over the last 25 years. Individuals’ size has also been reduced, indicating a decrease in pups’ survival rates. Using climate projections such as reduced rainfall due to climate change, specialists point out that the downward trend in the species’ population will continue for a few decades. Illegal hunting for their fur wiped them out in large parts of their range; many populations never recovered, according to a 2025 report published by the Wildlife Conservation Society, a U.S.-based nonprofit. Although commercial hunting is no longer a serious threat, these otters still face serious challenges. Conflict continues, with local people competing for the fish that otters eat. Their habitat continues to disappear, frequently converted to farmland and cities. Rivers are dammed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/giant-otters-river-sentinels-now-listed-as-threatened-migratory-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09183217/Sem-Titulo-2.mp4" length="0" type="video/mp4" />
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					<title>New mahogany species found in Zanzibar — but fewer than 30 trees remain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/new-mahogany-species-found-in-zanzibar-but-fewer-than-30-trees-remain/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/new-mahogany-species-found-in-zanzibar-but-fewer-than-30-trees-remain/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 18:13:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09181234/Mahogany_scientists-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317292</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Endangered, Endangered Species, New Discovery, New Species, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A small group of mahogany trees were found growing along a 200-meter (650-foot) stretch of shoreline on Pemba Island, Zanzibar. Scientists have recently confirmed the tree is a new species, but with fewer than 30 left in the wild, it’s already critically endangered. “It’s an extraordinary finding that none of us expected,” Silvia Ceppi of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A small group of mahogany trees were found growing along a 200-meter (650-foot) stretch of shoreline on Pemba Island, Zanzibar. Scientists have recently confirmed the tree is a new species, but with fewer than 30 left in the wild, it’s already critically endangered. “It’s an extraordinary finding that none of us expected,” Silvia Ceppi of Istituto Oikos, a conservation nonprofit working in the area, told Mongabay. Ceppi said the mahogany trees were hiding in plain sight. The beach along the Tondooni peninsula where they grow is visited by thousands of residents and tourists each year. The trees, named Afzelia corallina after the ancient fossilized coral beds where they grow, also produce sweet-smelling crimson, white and pink flowers that resemble coral, the botanists write in a paper describing the species. Mongabay was with the team of researchers in December 2024 when they stumbled upon the first of these flowering trees during a botanical expedition to the 2,000-hectare (nearly 5,000-acre) Ngezi-Vumawimbi Forest Reserve, in the north of Pemba. The team initially thought it could be one of the rare Intsia bijuga trees that grew in the reserve’s nearby patch of coastal forest. But closer examination confirmed it was an Afzelia, or mahogany. Like a number of other mahogany species, the timber is attractive and sought after for furniture, which could explain why there are so few surviving on Pemba, located just 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Tanzanian mainland. A follow-up expedition in January found one of the 30 surviving trees was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/new-mahogany-species-found-in-zanzibar-but-fewer-than-30-trees-remain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Argentina approves Milei&#8217;s bill that eases protections for glaciers despite environmental backlash</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/argentina-approves-mileis-bill-that-eases-protections-for-glaciers-despite-environmental-backlash/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/argentina-approves-mileis-bill-that-eases-protections-for-glaciers-despite-environmental-backlash/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 18:05:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09180448/AP26098741938488-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317290</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Critical Minerals, Glaciers, Mining, and Protests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina&#8217;s Congress on Thursday approved a bill promoted by libertarian President Javier Milei that eases protections on glaciers to facilitate investments in mining for metals — a move that environmental groups vow to challenge in courts. The legislation, approved by the Senate in February, was passed with 137 votes in favor, 111 against and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina&#8217;s Congress on Thursday approved a bill promoted by libertarian President Javier Milei that eases protections on glaciers to facilitate investments in mining for metals — a move that environmental groups vow to challenge in courts. The legislation, approved by the Senate in February, was passed with 137 votes in favor, 111 against and three abstentions. According to mining sector estimates, the new regulatory framework could unlock over $30 billion in investments over the next decade. Approximately 70% of those funds are slated for new copper, gold and silver projects. Milei is expected to sign the legislation in the coming days. On his X account, Milei shared a statement from his party hailing the new framework as a “significant improvement” that will help “strike a balance between environmental protection and economic development, moving away from an approach that tended to stifle investment, job creation and growth.” Environmental advocates are shifting to legal action to prevent the law from taking effect. Groups including Greenpeace and the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation are organizing a public class-action lawsuit describing the bill’s passage as a flawed process that dismissed public concerns over water safety. “If they refuse to listen in Congress, they will be forced to listen in the courts,” the organizations said in a statement, urging citizens to join a lawsuit that argues the reform threatens water access and the fragile ecosystems surrounding glaciers. Opposition lawmakers have labeled the legislation unconstitutional, contending that it rolls back essential environmental protections. Mining Secretary Luis Lucero told&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/argentina-approves-mileis-bill-that-eases-protections-for-glaciers-despite-environmental-backlash/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/argentina-approves-mileis-bill-that-eases-protections-for-glaciers-despite-environmental-backlash/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Invasive plant drives ecological change in America’s gigantic Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/invasive-plant-drives-ecological-change-in-americas-gigantic-selway-bitterroot-wilderness-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/invasive-plant-drives-ecological-change-in-americas-gigantic-selway-bitterroot-wilderness-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 17:08:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lyle Lewis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09162539/SelwayBitterrootWilderness_LittleRockCreekLakeAndElCapitan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317142</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Invasive Species, Plants, Protected Areas, and Temperate Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness was part of the original class of lands designated under the United States’ 1964 Wilderness Act: 1.3 million acres, or about 526,000 hectares, of steep river canyons, cold subalpine ridges, dense forest, and weather so unforgiving it shapes everything that survives there. It remains one of the most remote places in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness was part of the original class of lands designated under the United States’ 1964 Wilderness Act: 1.3 million acres, or about 526,000 hectares, of steep river canyons, cold subalpine ridges, dense forest, and weather so unforgiving it shapes everything that survives there. It remains one of the most remote places in the continental U.S. The Selway offers a window into a broader global pattern: ecosystems that appear intact from afar are already being structurally reshaped by invasive species, climate change and hidden biodiversity loss. The idea of “untouched wilderness” persists in our imagination, but ecologically, it is no longer true. Its remoteness is literal. Trails disappear under the brush that regrows faster than crews can cut it. Fire and blowdowns reshape entire drainages in a year. Maps may show routes, but the land often says otherwise. Without intervention, trails vanish, reclaimed by vegetation and gravity. I know this because I’ve spent days clearing them. By 2016, roughly half the trails shown on topographic maps were already impassable, in a failure for recreation but a quiet triumph for wildlife. There are square miles of habitat here that likely haven’t seen a human in decades. The Selway River is one of the most technically demanding whitewater runs in North America. Rafts flip, boats wrap, and accidents turn fatal almost every year. People call it wilderness because it feels like one. But feeling wild and intact functioning are not the same thing. One of the largest elk herds in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/invasive-plant-drives-ecological-change-in-americas-gigantic-selway-bitterroot-wilderness-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Creating the North Atlantic’s largest MPA network: Interview with Azores President José Manuel Bolieiro</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/creating-the-north-atlantics-largest-mpa-network-interview-with-azores-president-jose-manuel-bolieiro/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/creating-the-north-atlantics-largest-mpa-network-interview-with-azores-president-jose-manuel-bolieiro/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 15:27:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maria José Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08153215/a.-BANNER-%C2%A9gianfrs-iNaturalist-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317158</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Europe, European Union, and Portugal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation leadership, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Marine, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[José Manuel Bolieiro says he’s been an environmentalist for as long as he can remember. He recalls captivating encounters with marine life as a teenager while diving in the North Atlantic waters of his native São Miguel, one of the nine islands that make up the Portuguese-administered Azores archipelago. The gaze of the moray eel [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[José Manuel Bolieiro says he’s been an environmentalist for as long as he can remember. He recalls captivating encounters with marine life as a teenager while diving in the North Atlantic waters of his native São Miguel, one of the nine islands that make up the Portuguese-administered Azores archipelago. The gaze of the moray eel remains etched in his memory: “It&#8217;s impressive because it watches us vigilantly, without aggression,” he tells Mongabay. Bolieiro’s early interactions with the ocean proved formative. A member of the Social Democratic Party, Bolieiro is a former mayor of Ponta Delgada, the largest city in the Azores, and has served as president of the regional government of the Azores since 2020, championing the establishment of a remarkable network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the biodiverse waters around the archipelago. The region is home to numerous species of dolphins and whales, sharks and turtles, and rich in corals, hydrothermal vent ecosystems and seamounts. The previous government of the Azores, which is run as an autonomous region of Portugal, had set a goal of protecting 15% of the archipelago’s waters. But Bolieiro dreamed bigger: He sought marine protection covering 30% by 2030. In 2024, the regional parliament approved legislation for the new Azores Marine Protected Areas Network, and it came into force on Jan. 1 of this year. At 287,000 square kilometers (110,800 square miles) — more than three times the land area of Portugal — it’s now the largest MPA network in the North Atlantic Ocean.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/creating-the-north-atlantics-largest-mpa-network-interview-with-azores-president-jose-manuel-bolieiro/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/creating-the-north-atlantics-largest-mpa-network-interview-with-azores-president-jose-manuel-bolieiro/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Invasives take over native plant spaces in Nepal’s cities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/invasives-take-over-native-plant-spaces-in-nepals-cities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/invasives-take-over-native-plant-spaces-in-nepals-cities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 13:25:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bibek Bhandari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09131111/Ageratum_houstonianum_-_Humber_Arboretum-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317276</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Crisis, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Habitat Degradation, Invasive Species, Plants, Research, urban ecology, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Until a few decades ago, botanist Bharat Babu Shrestha observed abundant growth of Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica) across large areas of Kathmandu. But the low-growing herb, distinguished by its kidney-shaped leaves and medicinal properties in the traditional Ayurveda, is now gradually vanishing from Nepal’s capital. Its disappearance has been attributed to shrinking open [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Until a few decades ago, botanist Bharat Babu Shrestha observed abundant growth of Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica) across large areas of Kathmandu. But the low-growing herb, distinguished by its kidney-shaped leaves and medicinal properties in the traditional Ayurveda, is now gradually vanishing from Nepal’s capital. Its disappearance has been attributed to shrinking open spaces, and largely due to the spread of another plant species creeping across Kathmandu: Crofton weed (Ageratina adenophora), locally known as kaalo banmara. The various species within the family of banmara — meaning “forest destroyer” in Nepali — the dense shrub with multi-colored flowers, with roots in Central and South America, is displacing many native species. “There has been no qualitative assessment in Kathmandu, but our observations show that our native vegetation has been dominated and displaced by many invasive species,” said Shrestha, a botany professor at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. “Our research in Nepal’s Parsa and Shuklaphanta national parks have concluded that invasive species have reduced almost half of the native species in those regions, indicating similar impacts in Kathmandu.” In Kathmandu, Crofton weed; the common lantana (Lantana camara), locally called kaade banmara; Santa Maria feverfew (parthenium weed, Parthenium hysterophorus), known as pati jhaar in Nepali; and blue billy goat weed (Ageratum houstonianum), locally called neelo gandhe, are said to be the dominant invasive species, according to experts. Shrestha said that species such as the common lantana or the polka dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya), which is native to Madagascar, have become popular ornamental plants in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/invasives-take-over-native-plant-spaces-in-nepals-cities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/invasives-take-over-native-plant-spaces-in-nepals-cities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>War on Iran disrupts efforts to save the Asiatic cheetah, world’s rarest big cat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-on-iran-disrupts-efforts-to-save-the-asiatic-cheetah-worlds-rarest-big-cat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-on-iran-disrupts-efforts-to-save-the-asiatic-cheetah-worlds-rarest-big-cat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 12:37:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kayleigh Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08102943/Kooshki_the_Cheetah_in_Miandasht_Wildlife_Refuge_10.tiff-enhance-4x-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317162</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iran, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cats, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Environmentalists, Endangered Species, Human-wildlife Conflict, Protected Areas, War, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Before the war began in February 2026, there was some rare good news for Iran’s imperiled Asiatic cheetahs. Rangers spotted and filmed a female in the North Khorasan province accompanied by five cubs — a first. No more than four had ever been seen before, and every individual counts. The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Before the war began in February 2026, there was some rare good news for Iran’s imperiled Asiatic cheetahs. Rangers spotted and filmed a female in the North Khorasan province accompanied by five cubs — a first. No more than four had ever been seen before, and every individual counts. The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is the world’s most endangered big cat, and the number counted in the wild rose to 27. Bagher Nezami, national director of the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project, told Iranian state-controlled media that these were &#8220;ID-carded&#8221; cheetahs, known individuals being monitored by researchers. Another five remain in breeding sites and six in captivity, he said. This represented a significant leap: In August last year, the Tehran Times reported that just 20 were left in the wild. Nine days after the sighting of the five cubs, the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, prompting a swift retaliation that has since escalated into a regional conflict with global repercussions — and poses a new threat to a big cat that hovers on the brink of extinction. Kushki (male) is one of the last surviving Asiatic cheetahs in northeastern Iran’s Miandasht Wildlife Refuge. Image by Ehsan Kamali / Tasnim News Agency via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). A species on the brink The Asiatic cheetah was once found throughout Central and Southwest Asia, with a range that spanned from the Arabian Peninsula to the Caspian Sea and as far east as India. However, this&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-on-iran-disrupts-efforts-to-save-the-asiatic-cheetah-worlds-rarest-big-cat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>On the shores of Lake Victoria, a youth-led campaign to revive a wetland</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/on-the-shores-of-lake-victoria-a-youth-led-campaign-to-revive-a-wetland/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/on-the-shores-of-lake-victoria-a-youth-led-campaign-to-revive-a-wetland/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 11:51:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Achieng’ Otieno]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09101708/Photo-2-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317251</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Environment, Environmental Activism, Governance, Government, Lakes, Plastic, Pollution, Tourism, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KISUMU, Kenya — On a December morning, the early sunshine casts a golden sheen on the waters of Lake Victoria in Kenya’s Kisumu county. The breeze from the lake carries the melody of birds, as a small wooden boat bobs gently on the languid waves. Occasionally, an African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) strikes, trapping a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KISUMU, Kenya — On a December morning, the early sunshine casts a golden sheen on the waters of Lake Victoria in Kenya’s Kisumu county. The breeze from the lake carries the melody of birds, as a small wooden boat bobs gently on the languid waves. Occasionally, an African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) strikes, trapping a fish in its beak. The atmosphere at Dunga Beach, on the lake’s shore, is serene. In a few hours, fishmongers will arrive to haggle with fishers who have spent the night pulling up their nets. Victor Ochieng’ Didi, 32, leads a group of Kenyan tourists down the wooden boardwalk on the lakeshore. They’re bird-watchers, here at the culmination of a full year’s planning to catch a glimpse of the papyrus gonolek bird (Laniarius mufumbiri), a near-threatened species found only in the wetlands of Central and East Africa. The possibility of bird-watching at this spot is the result of years of efforts by conservationists, especially youths from this region. Momentum to preserve the Dunga wetland, identified by scientists as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), has ebbed and flowed, but activists say they hope a push to designate it as a gazetted wetland under Kenyan law will bring more lasting protections. Bird-watching guide Victor Ochieng’ Didi. Image by Achieng’ Otieno for Mongabay. A home for rare wildlife Dunga Beach is part of the wetland that’s also known as the Dunga swamp. It’s not only a habitat for rare species, but also an important carbon sink. The papyrus&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/on-the-shores-of-lake-victoria-a-youth-led-campaign-to-revive-a-wetland/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>In Indonesia, a coastal vine used as medicine now signals ecological decline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-indonesia-a-coastal-vine-used-as-medicine-now-signals-ecological-decline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-indonesia-a-coastal-vine-used-as-medicine-now-signals-ecological-decline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 11:34:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christopel Paino]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09111444/Ipomoea-pes-caprae-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317249</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Sulawesi, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Environment, Erosion, Flowers, Marine Conservation, Medicinal Plants, Oceans, Plants, and Traditional Medicine]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SUMALATA, Indonesia — Following encounters while diving, Gusnar Ismail has long turned to the morning glory plants growing on sandbanks here on the north of Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island. “When I get stung or stabbed by an animal in the sea, I’ll go straight away to look for batata to use as medicine,” Gusnar told Mongabay [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SUMALATA, Indonesia — Following encounters while diving, Gusnar Ismail has long turned to the morning glory plants growing on sandbanks here on the north of Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island. “When I get stung or stabbed by an animal in the sea, I’ll go straight away to look for batata to use as medicine,” Gusnar told Mongabay Indonesia on March 14. Around the world, coastal communities have long self-medicated with what Gusnar calls batata to treat common ailments. The fast-growing batata vine (Ipomoea pes-caprae), commonly known as beach morning glory or bayhops, scrambles across beach dunes, unfurling fuchsia flowers throughout the tropics. Aboriginal societies have gathered the shoots and leaves to treat stings in waters off what is now Australia. In India, the plant is a ceremonial ingredient in countering evil spirits. Researchers from South Korea in a study published in 2022 in the journal Marine Drugs found an array of applications from beach morning glory around the world’s tropical and subtropical coastlines. “The dried leaves of the plant are used to treat arthritis in Nigeria, while the young leaves are boiled in coconut oil to treat sores in Indonesia,” the researchers noted. Beach morning glory is an abundant and resilient vine that carpets tropical beaches around the world. But where coastlines are upended by plantations, sand mining, infrastructure or heavy erosion, the green shoots and purple flowers can disappear from shorelines. “I&#8217;ve been observing the disappearance of coastal batata for a long time,” Gusnar told Mongabay Indonesia. Here on the northern&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-indonesia-a-coastal-vine-used-as-medicine-now-signals-ecological-decline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Chile’s ancient conifers host underground web of life that sustains forests: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chiles-ancient-conifers-host-underground-web-of-life-that-sustains-forests-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chiles-ancient-conifers-host-underground-web-of-life-that-sustains-forests-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 10:26:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sofia Moutinho]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandrapopescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ancient tree]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carbon Sink]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ecosystem health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Carbon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fungi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Protected Areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trees]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09101258/61_Chile_Fungi_DJI_0270-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317250</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Forests, Fungi, Logging, Plants, Protected Areas, Research, Temperate Forests, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In an isolated valley within Alerce Costero National Park in southern Chile, one tree towers above all others. At 30 meters (100 feet) high, this alerce abuelo or grandpa alerce, is estimated to be more than 2,400 years old. Its massive trunk and branches are covered in lichens, mosses and even other woody plant species [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In an isolated valley within Alerce Costero National Park in southern Chile, one tree towers above all others. At 30 meters (100 feet) high, this alerce abuelo or grandpa alerce, is estimated to be more than 2,400 years old. Its massive trunk and branches are covered in lichens, mosses and even other woody plant species that take root in the crevices of its bark. But beneath it, hidden underground, lies another hidden treasure: a community of fungi known as arbuscular mycorrhizae. These kinds of fungi establish unique partnerships with plants that are fundamental to keeping forests alive. More than 80% of all terrestrial plants are associated with these fungi, which form underground networks, penetrating roots and creating specialized structures called arbuscules that supply nutrients and water to the plant in exchange for carbon and sugars. Now, for the first time, scientists have sampled and analyzed the fungal community beneath alerce trees (Fitzroya cupressoides) in the Chilean national park, the country’s largest protected area for temperate coastal forests. Their research revealed that the ancient alerce abuelo hosts two and a quarter times more fungal diversity than its smaller, younger counterparts, highlighting the uniqueness of this old tree. “All the diversity you see above in the tree branches also happens belowground,” says lead author Camille Truong, a mycologist with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and the University of Melbourne in Australia and the study’s lead author. “All these root systems and the soil offer a habitat for thousands of fungi, and also&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chiles-ancient-conifers-host-underground-web-of-life-that-sustains-forests-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Second progress report shows little action on World Bank redress plan at Liberian plantation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/second-progress-report-shows-little-action-on-world-bank-redress-plan-at-liberian-plantation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/second-progress-report-shows-little-action-on-world-bank-redress-plan-at-liberian-plantation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 10:07:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/04104621/woman-sex-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317077</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Liberia, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Conflict, Corporate Responsibility, Crime, Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Peoples, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Law, Plantations, Rubber, Social Conflict, Social Justice, Violence, and West Africa]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A year after the World Bank approved a plan to redress community grievances over inadequate compensation and sexual harassment at Liberia’s Salala Rubber Corporation, a progress report provides little evidence that any of its key commitments have been implemented. In February, the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, published a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A year after the World Bank approved a plan to redress community grievances over inadequate compensation and sexual harassment at Liberia’s Salala Rubber Corporation, a progress report provides little evidence that any of its key commitments have been implemented. In February, the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, published a second report on progress with the action plan. “IFC will continue to engage with key stakeholders over the coming months to explore the feasibility of MAP implementation.” But Windor Smith, from the Liberian civil society organization Alliance for Rural Democracy, which works with affected communities around the Salala plantation, told Mongabay she does not know which stakeholders the IFC is engaging with. “The situation is still the same. There is no engagement, no consultation with the communities and supporting organizations.” Luxembourg-based multinational Socfin took over the rubber plantation in 2007 and received an IFC loan of $10 million to rehabilitate and expand it. Community members started voicing grievances soon thereafter. Dissatisfied with the company’s response, they filed a complaint with the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, IFC’s independent watchdog, in 2019, alleging sexual harassment, inadequate compensation for their rubber trees and food crops lost and a flawed land acquisition process. Read more about Socfin&#8217;s plantations in Africa. Four years later, the CAO completed its investigation, concluding that many of the complaints were valid. The IFC developed an action plan, which it committed to implementing along with Socfin. In contrast to what followed many previous CAO investigations, the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/second-progress-report-shows-little-action-on-world-bank-redress-plan-at-liberian-plantation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>In zoos, &#8216;peaceful&#8217; bonobos are just as aggressive as chimps, study suggests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/in-zoos-peaceful-bonobos-are-just-as-aggressive-as-chimps-study-suggests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/in-zoos-peaceful-bonobos-are-just-as-aggressive-as-chimps-study-suggests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 09:19:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Megan Strauss]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08223914/Bonobo_aggression_lowres-e1775690662435-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317225</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Great Apes, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study of our two closest living relatives finds that, at least in zoos, bonobos may not be more peaceful than chimpanzees. Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are only found south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where food is abundant and evenly distributed. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) range across West, Central and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study of our two closest living relatives finds that, at least in zoos, bonobos may not be more peaceful than chimpanzees. Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are only found south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where food is abundant and evenly distributed. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) range across West, Central and East Africa, where food can be variable and patchy. Different environmental pressures may have contributed to divergent social behavior between the closely related species. Chimpanzee societies are male-dominant, territorial, and marked by frequent aggression toward other groups. In bonobo societies, females often equal or outrank males, and they have a reputation for more peaceful intergroup relations. Bonobo females form coalitions to suppress male aggression. However, new findings are adding nuance: One recent comparative analysis challenged bonobos’ “hippy” image; and another recent paper documents the first known death of an infant bonobo resulting from an intergroup encounter. Building on this framework, Emile Bryon of Utrecht University in the Netherlands led a group of researchers in comparing aggression between chimpanzees and bonobos in zoos, where environmental conditions are more controlled. Their findings, published in Science Advances, compared behaviors such as chasing, hitting, wrestling and biting in nine groups of chimpanzees and 13 groups of bonobos housed in 16 European zoos. They found no difference in rates of overall aggression, or more severe contact aggression, between zoo-housed chimpanzees and bonobos. However, they did find species-level differences in who used aggression. Male chimpanzees were more aggressive than females, while&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/in-zoos-peaceful-bonobos-are-just-as-aggressive-as-chimps-study-suggests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>How the US rebuilt a collapsed fishery</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/how-the-us-rebuilt-a-collapsed-fishery/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/how-the-us-rebuilt-a-collapsed-fishery/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 05:50:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/05181346/53004022166_d1d0978bbe_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317247</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Marine, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Marine Crisis, Ocean, and Overfishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On the docks of Port Orford, a small fishing town on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Oregon, Aaron Longton runs a modest seafood business out of a garage converted into a processing room. On a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On the docks of Port Orford, a small fishing town on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Oregon, Aaron Longton runs a modest seafood business out of a garage converted into a processing room. On a recent morning, he lifted a redbanded rockfish from a sink full of ice water and passed it to Brian Morrissey, who works beside a cutting table turning the fish into tidy fillets. That day’s catch included hundreds of kilograms of rockfish (Sebastes babcocki) and lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus). Two decades ago, such abundance would have been difficult to imagine, reports contributor Jules Struck for Mongabay. The West Coast groundfish fishery, which spans more than 90 species living along the Pacific seabed from Washington state to California, once teetered near collapse. By 2000, federal authorities declared the industry a disaster. Stocks had been depleted by years of heavy fishing. Regulators responded with severe restrictions. Large sections of ocean were closed to trawling, quotas were slashed, and Congress funded a buyout that removed dozens of vessels from the fleet. Many fishers left the industry. Those who remained entered a very different system. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act required catch limits tied closely to scientific advice. A catch-share program introduced in 2010 allocated individual quotas to permit holders, allowing them to harvest fish throughout the year instead of racing one another at the start of the season.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/how-the-us-rebuilt-a-collapsed-fishery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Experts flag trafficking after monkey endemic to Borneo is found in Thailand</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/experts-flag-trafficking-after-monkey-endemic-to-borneo-is-found-in-thailand/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/experts-flag-trafficking-after-monkey-endemic-to-borneo-is-found-in-thailand/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 04:23:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09042141/proboscis-2-e1775708595608-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317245</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Habitat Loss, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The recent discovery of an injured proboscis monkey near a railway track in Thailand points to the likelihood of cross-border trafficking in the endangered species, reports Mongabay contributor Ana Norman Bermudez. Proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus), known for their distinctive long noses, are found only on the island of Borneo. The species is legally protected in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The recent discovery of an injured proboscis monkey near a railway track in Thailand points to the likelihood of cross-border trafficking in the endangered species, reports Mongabay contributor Ana Norman Bermudez. Proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus), known for their distinctive long noses, are found only on the island of Borneo. The species is legally protected in all three countries that share the island: Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. It’s also listed under Appendix I of CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty, meaning its international commercial trade is prohibited except for specific research or conservation breeding purposes. Bermudez reported that local residents found the injured animal in Thailand’s Samut Sakhon province in January and later brought it to a nearby clinic. That’s when clinicians identified it as a “foreign monkey” and transferred it to the Ban Pong wildlife rescue center run by Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). The monkey had suffered serious injuries, requiring the amputation of a finger and part of its tail. It’s currently recovering at Ban Pong, and while it can’t be returned to the wild, discussions about repatriating it to Borneo once it’s stable are being considered. “I believe this monkey was brought illegally, because there are no records of it in the CITES database,” Kanpicha Han-Asa, a veterinarian with DNP, told Mongabay. At least one other proboscis monkey lives in a private zoo in Thailand; Mongabay confirmed its presence at the zoo during a visit in March. “Where did these animals come from?&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/experts-flag-trafficking-after-monkey-endemic-to-borneo-is-found-in-thailand/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Indonesia’s plan to rezone national park sparks backlash</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/indonesias-plan-to-rezone-national-park-sparks-backlash/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/indonesias-plan-to-rezone-national-park-sparks-backlash/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 04:07:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09040539/Picture1-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317243</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Forests, National Parks, and Sumatran Elephant]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia is moving to rezone Way Kambas National Park, transforming the Sumatran sanctuary from a “cost center” into a “profit center.” As Mongabay’s Hans Nicholas Jong reports, the government has framed the initiative as a carbon-trading and luxury-tourism initiative to fund conservation for ecosystem restoration. The proposed land reclassification would cut the park’s strictly protected [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia is moving to rezone Way Kambas National Park, transforming the Sumatran sanctuary from a “cost center” into a “profit center.” As Mongabay’s Hans Nicholas Jong reports, the government has framed the initiative as a carbon-trading and luxury-tourism initiative to fund conservation for ecosystem restoration. The proposed land reclassification would cut the park’s strictly protected core area in half, from roughly 60,000 to 27,661 hectares (148,100 to 68,352 acres) while expanding nearly tenfold the area that can be used for carbon trading and development. The move has sparked criticism from environmental experts and activists. “If the reason for reducing the core zone is to increase the utilization zone for business, that’s not appropriate,” Indonesian ecologist Wishnu Sukmantoro, a member of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, told Mongabay. Counterintuitively, restoration and tree-planting projects can sometimes damage wildlife habitat. Carbon projects often prioritize high-density tree planting to maximize credits, but Sumatran elephants in Way Kambas rely on open grasslands for food. Replacing grass with dense forest could drive elephants into human settlements, increasing human-wildlife conflict, according to Irfan Tri Musri, director of the Lampung chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the country’s largest environmental advocacy group. Aida Greenbury, a sustainability expert with the advisory board of the World Bioeconomy Forum, also raised questions about the level of engagement with local communities and the process of free, prior, and informed consent. “Proper FPIC is essential for a high-integrity carbon project,” said Greenbury,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/indonesias-plan-to-rezone-national-park-sparks-backlash/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>24 new species found in ocean zone eyed for battery metals mining</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/24-new-species-found-in-ocean-zone-eyed-for-battery-metals-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/24-new-species-found-in-ocean-zone-eyed-for-battery-metals-mining/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 01:58:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Lizkimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[critical minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deep ocean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deep Sea Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Destruction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Discovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new species]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ocean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seafloor Mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09014340/CCZ-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317236</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deep Sea Mining, Environment, New Discovery, New Species, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers pulled 24 tiny new creatures from a deep abyss in the central Pacific Ocean, some with long, spindly legs and others with more squat, compact bodies. Some appeared to feed on the sediment itself, while others had large claws suggesting they prey on other creatures living in the mud. The discoveries, published in ZooKeys, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Researchers pulled 24 tiny new creatures from a deep abyss in the central Pacific Ocean, some with long, spindly legs and others with more squat, compact bodies. Some appeared to feed on the sediment itself, while others had large claws suggesting they prey on other creatures living in the mud. The discoveries, published in ZooKeys, come from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a roughly 6-million-square-kilometer (2.3-million-square-mile) expanse of seabed between Hawai‘i and Mexico. The newly described species are all amphipods, a diverse group of crustaceans. The shrimp-like creatures, most about a centimeter long, or less than half an inch, have evolved in the deep sea, some 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) below the surface, over millions of years. Among the finds was a completely new superfamily, Mirabestioidea, and a new family, Mirabestiidae, representing previously unknown evolutionary lineages. &#8220;If you imagine that on planet Earth, we know about carnivorous mammals, we know that bears exist and we know that the families of cats exist, it would be like finding dogs,&#8221; Tammy Horton, a researcher at the U.K.&#8217;s National Oceanography Centre and co-lead of the study, told Inside Climate News. Collage of the 24 new Amphipod species identified in Clarion-Clipperton Zone, CC BY, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton Scientists collected the specimens by extracting large cubes of mud from the seabed, known as box cores, and hauling them up to a research ship. After washing and sieving the cores, researchers found a variety of amphipods nestled among the mud and metallic nodules. During a weeklong&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/24-new-species-found-in-ocean-zone-eyed-for-battery-metals-mining/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Tracking environmental crime in the Amazon: A conversation with Alexa Vélez</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/tracking-environmental-crime-in-the-amazon-a-conversation-with-alexa-velez/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/tracking-environmental-crime-in-the-amazon-a-conversation-with-alexa-velez/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 01:37:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/06223007/amazon_241208_123215013-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315312</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conversations with Mongabay leaders]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Journalism, Interviews, Interviews With Environmental Journalists, Journalism, Mongabay, and Satellite Imagery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Environmental crimes rarely occur in isolation. A road cut into a forest may appear first as a faint line in satellite imagery. Months later it becomes a corridor for timber, wildlife, and sometimes cocaine. The early stages often unfold far from capitals and rarely attract immediate scrutiny. When the evidence does emerge, it tends to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Environmental crimes rarely occur in isolation. A road cut into a forest may appear first as a faint line in satellite imagery. Months later it becomes a corridor for timber, wildlife, and sometimes cocaine. The early stages often unfold far from capitals and rarely attract immediate scrutiny. When the evidence does emerge, it tends to arrive through a patchwork of sources: scientists sharing coordinates, local communities describing unfamiliar aircraft, or reporters willing to spend months tracing how a clearing became a network. Environmental journalism in Latin America has grown around precisely these kinds of fragments. The region contains some of the world’s most biodiverse landscapes and some of its most persistent environmental activities. Illegal mining, wildlife trafficking, and forest clearing often intersect with organized crime and political interests. Yet sustained reporting on these issues has historically been limited. Many large news organizations treat the environment as an occasional beat rather than a structural concern. Investigative work requires time, technical expertise, and sometimes the willingness to operate in difficult or dangerous conditions. In recent years the practice has begun to change. Satellite imagery, open databases, and new mapping tools allow reporters to track environmental change with greater precision than was possible even a decade ago. A clearing detected in a remote basin can be compared against historical imagery, connected to land concessions, and matched with field reporting. What once depended largely on eyewitness accounts now involves a blend of remote sensing, traditional reporting, and collaboration across borders. Those collaborations have become&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/tracking-environmental-crime-in-the-amazon-a-conversation-with-alexa-velez/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>EU citizens file complaint for delays in response to anti-shark fin campaign</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/eu-citizens-file-complaint-for-delays-in-response-to-anti-shark-fin-campaign/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/eu-citizens-file-complaint-for-delays-in-response-to-anti-shark-fin-campaign/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Apr 2026 23:01:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/16120532/fins-and-shark-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317223</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[European Union]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Fisheries, Fishing, Overfishing, Regulations, Saltwater Fish, shark finning, and Sharks]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The organizers of a campaign against shark finning in the European Union have filed a formal complaint against the EU Commission, accusing it of mishandling their case and missing deadlines. The European Citizens&#8217; Initiative (ECI) is an EU tool that allow citizens to participate in policy-making. The ECI known as &#8220;Stop Finning – Stop the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The organizers of a campaign against shark finning in the European Union have filed a formal complaint against the EU Commission, accusing it of mishandling their case and missing deadlines. The European Citizens&#8217; Initiative (ECI) is an EU tool that allow citizens to participate in policy-making. The ECI known as &#8220;Stop Finning – Stop the Trade&#8221; calls for legislative action by the European Commission to completely ban the shark fin trade in the EU. “The Commission made concrete commitments in July 2023 — including launching an impact assessment by year-end — and then simply stopped communicating,” Katharina Loupal, an organizer of the initiative, told Mongabay via email. In 2023, the EU banned shark finning for all EU- flagged vessels and all vessels in EU waters. However, loose shark fins can still be legally traded — imported, exported or transited — in European countries. Worldwide, shark populations have plummeted since the 1970s and they continue to be among the most threatened species on the planet. Shark fins are in high demand in China and other Asian markets, often passing through transit hubs first. Despite international protections for several species, illegal trade is rife, often involving organized crime. However, there is also a thriving legal trade in shark fins. The EU is a major fin exporter and transit hub, with Spanish and Portuguese fleets most commonly fishing for sharks in international waters. According to a 2022 International Foundation for Animal Welfare report, 45% of shark fin-related products imported into Hong Kong, Singapore&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/eu-citizens-file-complaint-for-delays-in-response-to-anti-shark-fin-campaign/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>March smashes record as most abnormally hot month for continental US, federal meteorologists say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/march-smashes-record-as-most-abnormally-hot-month-for-continental-us-federal-meteorologists-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/march-smashes-record-as-most-abnormally-hot-month-for-continental-us-federal-meteorologists-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Apr 2026 21:57:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08215150/AP26098596347546-scaled-e1775685405467-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317220</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change And Extreme Weather, El Nino, Extreme Weather, and Heatwave]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[WASHINGTON (AP) — March’s persistent unseasonable heat was so intense that the continental United States registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years of records, according to federal weather data. And the next year or so looks to turn the dial up on global warmth even more, as some forecasts predict a brewing El Nino will reach superstrength. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[WASHINGTON (AP) — March’s persistent unseasonable heat was so intense that the continental United States registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years of records, according to federal weather data. And the next year or so looks to turn the dial up on global warmth even more, as some forecasts predict a brewing El Nino will reach superstrength. Not only was it the hottest March on record for the U.S., but the amount it was above normal beat any other month in history for the Lower 48 states. March’s average temperature of 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit (10.47 degrees Celsius) was 9.35 F (5.19 C) above the 20th century normal for March. That easily passed the old record of 8.9 F (4.9 C) set in March 2012 as the most abnormally hot month on record — regardless of the month of the year — according to records released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The average maximum temperature for March was especially high at 11.4 F (6.3 C) above the 20th century average and was almost a degree warmer than the average daytime high for April, NOAA said. Six of the nation’s top 10 most abnormally hot months have been in the last 10 years. This February, which was 6.57 F (3.65 C) above 20th century normal, was the tenth highest above normal. “What we experienced in March across the United States was unprecedented,” said Climate Central meteorologist Shel Winkley. “One reason that’s so concerning is just the sheer volume of records, all-time&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/march-smashes-record-as-most-abnormally-hot-month-for-continental-us-federal-meteorologists-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>As EU-Mercosur agreement goes into effect, environmentalists raise red flags</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/as-eu-mercosur-agreement-goes-into-effect-environmentalists-raise-red-flags/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/as-eu-mercosur-agreement-goes-into-effect-environmentalists-raise-red-flags/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Apr 2026 21:56:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ramana Rech]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08214604/07_05_2022_Ato_alusivo_a_visita_a_23a_Feira_Nacional_da_Soja_52057648056-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317212</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, European Union, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Commodity agriculture, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Economy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Law, Law, Law Enforcement, Mining, Pesticides, Rainforest Destruction, Saving Rainforests, and Soy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In March, after decades of negotiations, the free trade agreement between Mercosur nations and the European Union (EU) was ratified by Paraguay, the last founding member of the Latin American bloc to give the green light to the deal. Already in its final stage, the document will be provisionally implemented in May, 2026, according to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In March, after decades of negotiations, the free trade agreement between Mercosur nations and the European Union (EU) was ratified by Paraguay, the last founding member of the Latin American bloc to give the green light to the deal. Already in its final stage, the document will be provisionally implemented in May, 2026, according to the European Commission. The agreement is being hailed as an economic boon for both EU and Latin American nations. However, it may cause a series of environmental impacts. According to various NGOs and environmental advocates, major problems for Latin America could include expansion of deforestation, mining, and pesticide imports and use. Other experts argue that the agreement could impose a series of environmental rules on already existing global trade – in addition to facilitating knowledge exchange among the parties. Good for trade, bad for the environment? Mercosur, as it’s known in Spanish, and Mercosul, in Portuguese, has been dubbed the Southern Common Market. It represents one of the world’s leading economic blocs, and its fifth-largest economy. It is composed of five member countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia) and seven associate members (Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and most recently Panama). In general terms, the treaty between Mercosur nations and the European Union provides for gradual reduction of import tariffs between the two continental blocs. In late February, the Brazilian government stated that the EU “commits to eliminating import tariffs on approximately 95% of goods that account for 92% of the value of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/as-eu-mercosur-agreement-goes-into-effect-environmentalists-raise-red-flags/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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