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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?post_type=post&#038;byline=gerry-mcgovern" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/gerry-mcgovern/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2026 05:45:42 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Gerry McGovern Archives</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/gerry-mcgovern/</link>
	<width>32</width>
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				<item>
					<title>Accidental discovery reveals new climate threat to emperor penguins</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/accidental-discovery-reveals-new-climate-threat-to-emperor-penguins/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/accidental-discovery-reveals-new-climate-threat-to-emperor-penguins/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Mar 2026 05:42:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/17031546/Image1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315816</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Climate, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, data, Environment, Global Warming, Penguins, satellite data, Sea Ice, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The plight of the emperor penguin might be more dire than previously thought. For the first time, scientists have used satellite data to discover new locations in Antarctica where the birds go to shed and replace their feathers every year, an event known as molting. However, they also found that these molting sites might have [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The plight of the emperor penguin might be more dire than previously thought. For the first time, scientists have used satellite data to discover new locations in Antarctica where the birds go to shed and replace their feathers every year, an event known as molting. However, they also found that these molting sites might have melted from under the penguins, potentially causing fatalities. Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri), native to Antarctica, are the biggest of the penguin species. Since they heavily rely on sea ice for their survival, global warming is one of the major threats to their existence. A 2021 study estimated that the birds could lose 98% of their colonies and become “quasi-extinct” by the end of the century if sea ice continues to decline at projected rates. Every year, around late January, emperor penguins move to stable sea ice attached to a coastline to molt. It&#8217;s a life stage that scientists dub &#8220;catastrophic molting” because, unlike other animals, penguins shed all their feathers at once. Molting, however, is a vulnerable life stage. For one, the process of shedding and growing new plumage consumes a lot of energy. Over the four to five weeks of molting, the birds also lose 40-50% of their body weight. “Because the penguin is not waterproof during that period, they can&#8217;t go out into the sea to forage and hunt,” Peter Fretwell, senior geographic and remote-sensing scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, who discovered the new molting sites, told Mongabay in a video interview.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/accidental-discovery-reveals-new-climate-threat-to-emperor-penguins/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The hidden cost of fisheries subsidies</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-hidden-cost-of-fisheries-subsidies/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-hidden-cost-of-fisheries-subsidies/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Mar 2026 01:33:37 +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/20/2026/03/09225936/greenpeace-GP0STU67J-16x9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315384</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Economics, Environment, Environmental Economics, Fishing, Oceans, Overfishing, and Subsidies]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In public finance, some costs are politely kept off the books. The ocean has long been one of them. Governments often speak of “blue growth” and “sustainable use,” yet many policies still treat marine ecosystems as a kind of free input: available, resilient, and cheap to replace. The result is ecological decline. It is also [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In public finance, some costs are politely kept off the books. The ocean has long been one of them. Governments often speak of “blue growth” and “sustainable use,” yet many policies still treat marine ecosystems as a kind of free input: available, resilient, and cheap to replace. The result is ecological decline. It is also a fiscal problem. States end up assuming risks they would not tolerate on land. Fishing provides a clear example. For decades, a large share of industrial effort has been propped up by public money. One influential analysis of high-seas fishing found that governments subsidized high-seas fleets by about $4.2 billion in 2014—more than the estimated net economic benefit of that fishing—and that without subsidies, as much as 54% of the high-seas fishing grounds currently exploited would have been unprofitable at the prices and costs prevailing at the time. The high-seas fishing fleet. High-seas vessels by flag state and gear type, as detected by GFW in 2016. Figure from Sala et al (2018) That framing is useful: some “profitable” activity may depend as much on government support and permissive accounting as on market demand. The subsidy patterns are not subtle. A summary of research on “harmful” subsidies lists the top ten providers in 2018, led by China at $5.9 billion and followed by Japan, Korea, Russia, and the United States. It also notes that these subsidizers spent more than $5.3 billion on fishing activity in the waters of 116 other nations, effectively shifting fishing pressure into&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-hidden-cost-of-fisheries-subsidies/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The Dutch Nitrogen Crisis</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/03/the-dutch-nitrogen-crisis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/03/the-dutch-nitrogen-crisis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 21:48:38 +0000</pubDate>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alejandroprescottcornejo]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/09/07134900/cow-netherlands-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=specials&#038;p=315815</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Dutch Nitrogen Crisis]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, European Union, and Netherlands]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Biodiversity, Chemicals, Ecosystems, Environmental Policy, Farming, Food, Governance, Nitrogen Cycle, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[What happens when biodiversity conservation and food systems collide? As the top meat exporter in the European Union, the Netherlands has become a case study in the ecological limits of industrial farming. When courts forced action to protect fragile ecosystems, it set off mass farmer protests, political upheaval, and a tug-of-war between regulation, technology and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[What happens when biodiversity conservation and food systems collide? As the top meat exporter in the European Union, the Netherlands has become a case study in the ecological limits of industrial farming. When courts forced action to protect fragile ecosystems, it set off mass farmer protests, political upheaval, and a tug-of-war between regulation, technology and entrenched interests. Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo traces how nitrogen pollution from industrial livestock pushed Dutch ecosystems to the brink and sparked one of Europe’s most disruptive environmental policy battles. From courtroom rulings to grassroots revolt, we explore the science, power struggles and economic pressures behind the crisis — and what it predicts about the coming battles over our food systems. &nbsp;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/03/the-dutch-nitrogen-crisis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Pharmaceutical companies move away from horseshoe crab biomedical testing</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/pharmaceutical-companies-move-away-from-horseshoe-crab-biomedical-testing/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/pharmaceutical-companies-move-away-from-horseshoe-crab-biomedical-testing/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 21:24:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/16212306/Horseshoe_crab_in_sand-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315813</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Health, Marine, Marine Animals, Medicine, Ocean, and Wildilfe]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Horseshoe crabs were crawling along the shallow sandy bottoms of Earth’s oceans 200 million years before the first dinosaurs came on the scene. But some populations have declined dramatically with the rise of humans, raising concerns they may be headed toward extinction. One of the biggest drivers of their population collapse is their unsustainable harvest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Horseshoe crabs were crawling along the shallow sandy bottoms of Earth’s oceans 200 million years before the first dinosaurs came on the scene. But some populations have declined dramatically with the rise of humans, raising concerns they may be headed toward extinction. One of the biggest drivers of their population collapse is their unsustainable harvest for their blood to be used in pharmaceuticals. Now, two major pharmaceutical companies, Amgen Inc. and Abbott Laboratories, have publicly announced they will shift toward synthetic blood instead. The copper-based blood of horseshoe crabs contains an enzyme called limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) that can help detect bacterial endotoxin contamination in vaccines, injectable drugs and many other pharmaceutical products. To maintain the safety of those drugs, thousands of horseshoe crabs are captured from the wild annually for their blood. The animals, which are more closely related to spiders than to crabs, are returned to the sea after their blood has been drawn, but many don’t survive the ordeal. Coastal development and habitat degradation are also taking a toll. Synthetic replacements for LAL were developed in 2016, but not widely adopted by pharmaceutical companies — until now. Amgen and Abbott Laboratories announced in February 2026 that they’re transitioning away from horseshoe crab blood for biomedical testing. Kendyl Van Dyck is a biodiversity associate with As You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes corporate responsibility. She told Mongabay in an email that the pharmaceutical industry was slow to move away from harvesting horseshoe crabs, “because endotoxin testing is highly&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/pharmaceutical-companies-move-away-from-horseshoe-crab-biomedical-testing/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/pharmaceutical-companies-move-away-from-horseshoe-crab-biomedical-testing/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Glyphosate found in South African baby cereal; watchdog group calls for ban</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/glyphosate-found-in-south-african-baby-cereal-watchdog-group-calls-for-ban/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/glyphosate-found-in-south-african-baby-cereal-watchdog-group-calls-for-ban/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 17:30:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/16172631/pexels-ekaterina-bolovtsova-4867894-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315799</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Chemicals, Food, food security, Health, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In February, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) released a report documenting concentrations of glyphosate in wheat and maize that exceeded default maximum residue limits. ACB also found traces of the herbicide in bread and baby cereal. “Finding glyphosate in baby cereal was very disturbing. Babies are the most vulnerable. It shouldn’t be there. We [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In February, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) released a report documenting concentrations of glyphosate in wheat and maize that exceeded default maximum residue limits. ACB also found traces of the herbicide in bread and baby cereal. “Finding glyphosate in baby cereal was very disturbing. Babies are the most vulnerable. It shouldn’t be there. We know that glyphosate is an endocrine disruptor, so if young babies are being fed this every day, that is highly problematic. It can affect their physical health and development,” Zakiyya Ismail, research coordinator at ACB, said in a phone call with Mongabay. Following its discovery, ACB formally requested that South Africa’s agriculture ministry deregister and ban glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs). So far, the request has not been acted upon. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup and other widely used herbicides, is South Africa’s most-used herbicide and is commonly applied to Roundup Ready genetically modified crops. “Glyphosate is not approved for use on wheat here in South Africa, yet we found it in wheat flour and in baby cereals made from wheat. Why?” Ismail asked before adding that ACB is looking for answers. Mongabay contacted both Bayer and South Africa’s Department of Agriculture for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Glyphosate works by blocking a plant’s ability to produce certain amino acids, which prevents them from growing. However, glyphosate can also enter the human body through food, contact with contaminated surfaces or inhalation. Research has linked GBHs to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/glyphosate-found-in-south-african-baby-cereal-watchdog-group-calls-for-ban/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Cambodia&#8217;s Supreme Court denies release of five imprisoned environmental activists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/cambodias-supreme-court-denies-release-of-five-imprisoned-environmental-activists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/cambodias-supreme-court-denies-release-of-five-imprisoned-environmental-activists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 17:04:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/16171105/IMG_0033-1200x800-copy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315778</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Endangered Environmentalists, Environment, Environmental Activism, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Featured, Governance, Human Rights, Law Enforcement, and Protests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Five environmental activists in Cambodia will remain in prison, where they have been for more than 622 days, after the country&#8217;s Supreme Court decided not to allow them to go free as they appeal their convictions. On July 2, 2024, Ly Chandaravuth, Phuon Keoraksmey, Long Kunthea and Thun Ratha were sentenced to six years each [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Five environmental activists in Cambodia will remain in prison, where they have been for more than 622 days, after the country&#8217;s Supreme Court decided not to allow them to go free as they appeal their convictions. On July 2, 2024, Ly Chandaravuth, Phuon Keoraksmey, Long Kunthea and Thun Ratha were sentenced to six years each in prison for plotting against the government. Yim Leanghy received a sentence of eight years, along with a fine of 10 million riel (about $2,500), for plotting against the government and insulting Cambodia&#8217;s king. The five activists are members of Mother Nature Cambodia, a group that has campaigned against logging, dams and the mining of coastal sand for export. Five other members of the group also received sentences in absentia in 2024. Mongabay chronicled the lead-up to their trial in the film The Clearing, as well as their acceptance of the Right Livelihood Award “for their fearless and engaging activism to preserve Cambodia’s natural environment in the context of a highly restricted democratic space.” Chandaravuth, Keoraksmey, Kunthea, Ratha and Leanghy have appealed their sentences, which stem from charges related to their environmental activism. All five had also previously been jailed on the same charges before being released on bail in 2021. Ly Chandaravuth leaves the Supreme Court on Feb. 23, 2026, after his trial on an application for release. Image courtesy of LICADHO. Phuon Keoraksmey before she was taken to prison on July 2, 2024. Image courtesy of Mother Nature Cambodia. The original date for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/cambodias-supreme-court-denies-release-of-five-imprisoned-environmental-activists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>How a community defended its ancestral forest from logging</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 15:45:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/09162922/gabon_massaha_2149_25-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315762</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo, Congo Basin, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Conservation Technology, Deforestation, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Communities, Land Rights, Logging, Mapping, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, satellite data, Solutions, Technology, Traditional Knowledge, Tropical Forests, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; To the cartographers of the modern conservation world, the forests of northeastern Gabon can appear almost empty. Satellite images show a deep green canopy stretching across the Congo Basin. Global datasets classify large tracts as “intact forest landscapes”, areas supposedly free of industrial disturbance and largely untouched by people. On paper, such forests look [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; To the cartographers of the modern conservation world, the forests of northeastern Gabon can appear almost empty. Satellite images show a deep green canopy stretching across the Congo Basin. Global datasets classify large tracts as “intact forest landscapes”, areas supposedly free of industrial disturbance and largely untouched by people. On paper, such forests look pristine. The reality, as residents of the village of Massaha know well, is more complicated. In recent years the community has been fighting to protect a stretch of rainforest south of their village from industrial logging. The forest, known locally as Ibola Dja Bana Ba Massaha—“the reserve of all Massaha’s children”—lies within a concession once allocated to a logging company. For generations the people of Massaha have hunted, fished and farmed there. Sacred lakes and ritual sites lie beneath the canopy. The remains of ancestral villages dot the forest floor. Yet none of this appeared on the maps that guided official decisions. The gap between these two views of the forest is the subject of a recent study examining Massaha’s campaign to document its territory. The researchers compared global conservation maps and colonial-era cartography with a detailed map created by the community itself. The result reveals something striking: the forest that appears empty in official datasets is, in fact, layered with history and meaning. Image courtesy of Ivindo FM. Massaha’s map emerged from an unusually collaborative process. Using participatory geographic tools, villagers gathered to project satellite images of their territory onto a wall. Elders identified&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>An ancient fishing tradition in Indonesia could help build a more sustainable fishery</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/an-ancient-fishing-tradition-in-indonesia-could-help-build-a-more-sustainable-fishery/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/an-ancient-fishing-tradition-in-indonesia-could-help-build-a-more-sustainable-fishery/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 15:06:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/04/07003120/NG_1787-e1773673576432-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315781</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Fisheries, Indigenous Communities, Marine, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the remote coastal areas of eastern Indonesia, a centuries-old tradition is providing a contemporary blueprint for sustainable development. The practice, known as Sasi Laut, imposes temporary fishing closures of six to 12 months to allow sedentary marine species such as sea cucumbers and shellfish to replenish. A new study published in Marine Policy reveals [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the remote coastal areas of eastern Indonesia, a centuries-old tradition is providing a contemporary blueprint for sustainable development. The practice, known as Sasi Laut, imposes temporary fishing closures of six to 12 months to allow sedentary marine species such as sea cucumbers and shellfish to replenish. A new study published in Marine Policy reveals that these traditional marine management systems near the islands of Maluku and Papua mirror Indonesia’s Blue Economy Roadmap 2023, a national plan to boost the maritime sector’s GDP contribution to while maintaining healthy oceans. Sasi is more than just a conservation tool, according to study author Arnoldus Ananta of James Cook University in Australia; it’s a powerful governance system. “Decisions about when to close fishing areas, which species to protect, and when and how to harvest are made collectively by the community through customary institutions,” Ananta told Mongabay. “This collective control creates a structural barrier against the risks of privatization and industrialization associated with Blue Growth.” “Blue Growth” refers to the industrial and commercial expansion of the maritime economy, which often prioritizes large-scale development. Remote communities frequently face the greatest risk from such development, the study notes. But Ananta said a practice like Sasi leaves “no open access windows for exploitation” when outside commercial actors, like large fishing companies or tourism investors, seek access to marine resources. Instead, they encounter a community with recognized control rights over closure periods and harvest events. Co-author Reniel Cabral cautions that such temporary closures are not enough to stop&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/an-ancient-fishing-tradition-in-indonesia-could-help-build-a-more-sustainable-fishery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/an-ancient-fishing-tradition-in-indonesia-could-help-build-a-more-sustainable-fishery/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Brazil is both the world&#8217;s environmental treasure and its most exposed victim (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/brazil-is-both-the-worlds-environmental-treasure-and-its-most-exposed-victim-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/brazil-is-both-the-worlds-environmental-treasure-and-its-most-exposed-victim-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 12:22:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Igor OliveiraRobert Muggah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/14131603/AP24129518949054-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315758</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Cerrado, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Climate Change, Commentary, Deforestation, Disasters, Economics, Editorials, Flooding, food security, Hydropower, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In May 2024, floodwaters submerged much of Porto Alegre. Brazil&#8217;s fourth-largest city lost bridges, hospitals, and months of economic output. Hundreds died. The images briefly commanded global attention. Then the news cycle moved on. What it left behind was something more consequential than headlines: a preview of what Brazil&#8217;s climate future looks like, playing out [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In May 2024, floodwaters submerged much of Porto Alegre. Brazil&#8217;s fourth-largest city lost bridges, hospitals, and months of economic output. Hundreds died. The images briefly commanded global attention. Then the news cycle moved on. What it left behind was something more consequential than headlines: a preview of what Brazil&#8217;s climate future looks like, playing out in real time. Porto Alegre was not a freak event. It was a signal, and the signal is getting louder. Few large economies are more directly exposed to climate and nature breakdown than Brazil. It is not merely a country at risk from a changing climate. It is a country whose entire economic model, social contract, and physical geography depend on the stability of natural systems that are now destabilizing faster than its institutions can adapt. The Central Market is flooded after heavy rain in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Thursday, May 9, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner A nation uniquely exposed Brazil has already warmed by roughly 1 to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. On higher trajectories, parts of the Amazon and the Cerrado savanna could exceed 3 degrees by the 2040s, a threshold at which compounding effects on water, agriculture, and human health become extremely difficult to manage. A systematic review of more than 20,000 Brazilian climate projections found severe risks across all six biomes &#8211; Amazônia, the Cerrado, the Caatinga, Mata Atlântica, the Pampas, and the Pantanal.  The paradox is that Brazil is simultaneously one of the world&#8217;s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/brazil-is-both-the-worlds-environmental-treasure-and-its-most-exposed-victim-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/brazil-is-both-the-worlds-environmental-treasure-and-its-most-exposed-victim-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Climate-resilient housing models slow to gain ground in disaster-prone Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/climate-resilient-housing-models-slow-to-gain-ground-in-disaster-prone-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/climate-resilient-housing-models-slow-to-gain-ground-in-disaster-prone-bangladesh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 06:06:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abusiddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13192957/Billal-Hossain-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315738</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Climate Change And Extreme Weather, Climate Justice, Community Development, Disasters, Environment, environmental justice, Extreme Weather, Governance, Impact Of Climate Change, Infrastructure, NGOs, and Poverty Alleviation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh’s low-lying terrain combined with the crisscrossed river network, which is cause for recurring floods, tidal surges and river erosion, and frequent cyclones make it vulnerable to climate change-related devastations. Between 2008 and 2024, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) recorded 123 disaster events that triggered huge displacement, including about 11.3 million people who experienced [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh’s low-lying terrain combined with the crisscrossed river network, which is cause for recurring floods, tidal surges and river erosion, and frequent cyclones make it vulnerable to climate change-related devastations. Between 2008 and 2024, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) recorded 123 disaster events that triggered huge displacement, including about 11.3 million people who experienced pre-emptive evacuations during cyclones. IDMC assessed that many such movements, however, only last for a short period of time, but every year disasters still leave tens of thousands of people without hope of returning to their homes immediately after. In such a context, safe housing is a survival need instead of merely an infrastructural demand. However, the concept of safe or sustainable housing for the disaster victims still remains a donor-funded matter, as the use of climate-and-disaster-resilient construction plans and materials are not popular in Bangladesh. “Sustainable and safe housing is the first line of defense in disaster risk reduction,” says Mohammad Abu Sadeque, executive director of Centre for Housing and Building Research (HBRC), a private sector research hub focused on creating sustainable, affordable, and climate-resilient housing solutions. Sadeque has observed that conventional housing, especially in Bangladesh’s rural and low-income areas, often lacks structural safety and durability against cyclones and tidal surges, riverbank erosion, flooding, flash floods, salinity intrusion, earthquakes and heat stress. According to the government’s disaster-related statistics of 2021, more than half of the country’s households are non-concrete. Living in fragile tin-roofed or mud-walled structures, millions of families are exposed to the mounting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/climate-resilient-housing-models-slow-to-gain-ground-in-disaster-prone-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/climate-resilient-housing-models-slow-to-gain-ground-in-disaster-prone-bangladesh/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Are government subsidies undermining conservation efforts in Australia?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/are-government-subsidies-undermining-conservation-efforts-in-australia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/are-government-subsidies-undermining-conservation-efforts-in-australia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 00:43:36 +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/20/2026/03/02184406/Duck-billed_platypus_Ornithorhynchus_anatinus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315097</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Analysis, Biodiversity, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Finance, and Subsidies]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Australia has long struggled to reconcile its environmental ambitions with the structure of its economy. The country is both a global biodiversity stronghold and a major exporter of resources, agricultural commodities, and energy. A new study led by Paul Elton of the Australian National University suggests that this tension is embedded not only in land [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Australia has long struggled to reconcile its environmental ambitions with the structure of its economy. The country is both a global biodiversity stronghold and a major exporter of resources, agricultural commodities, and energy. A new study led by Paul Elton of the Australian National University suggests that this tension is embedded not only in land use but in fiscal policy. Public spending, the authors argue, continues to favor activities that degrade ecosystems at a scale far exceeding efforts to conserve them. The paper, Biodiversity-harmful subsidies in Australia, offers the first systematic estimate of “biodiversity-harmful subsidies” at the federal level. Using a framework developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the researchers examined direct payments and tax concessions in the 2022–23 budget. They identified A$26.3 billion in subsidies judged by experts to cause at least moderate harm to biodiversity. That amounts to about 1.1% of Australia’s GDP and, by their calculation, far exceeds current federal spending on conservation. The idea of a harmful subsidy is broader than it may sound. Governments rarely pay explicitly to destroy habitats. Instead, they lower costs for activities that transform landscapes or intensify resource extraction. Subsidies can underprice energy, encourage land clearing, sustain fishing effort that would otherwise be uneconomic, or make transport cheaper in ways that expand infrastructure footprints. According to the study, the largest share of damaging support flows to fossil fuel production and consumption, followed by transport infrastructure and support for sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. Biodiversity-harmful subsidies by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/are-government-subsidies-undermining-conservation-efforts-in-australia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/are-government-subsidies-undermining-conservation-efforts-in-australia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The toughest toad in town</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-toughest-toad-in-town/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-toughest-toad-in-town/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Mar 2026 08:09:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Julia Lima]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/15080523/Screenshot-2026-02-26-at-14.55.53-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315772</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Destruction, Habitat Loss, Research, and Wildilfe]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Meet our story hero: the admirable red-belly toad. A tiny amphibian found nowhere else on Earth but a small forest patch in southern Brazil. Listed as a critically endangered species, it is capable of amazing things. In 2014, it stopped the construction of a hydroelectric dam that would have destroyed its home. In 2024, catastrophic [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Meet our story hero: the admirable red-belly toad. A tiny amphibian found nowhere else on Earth but a small forest patch in southern Brazil. Listed as a critically endangered species, it is capable of amazing things. In 2014, it stopped the construction of a hydroelectric dam that would have destroyed its home. In 2024, catastrophic floods swept through the habitat this little survivor depends on. Did it make it through? Make sure to watch the full video. In search of the tiny toad that stopped a damThis article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-toughest-toad-in-town/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-toughest-toad-in-town/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>In search of the tiny toad that stopped a dam</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/03/in-search-of-the-tiny-toad-that-stopped-a-dam/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/03/in-search-of-the-tiny-toad-that-stopped-a-dam/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Mar 2026 07:58:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Felipe RosaJulia LimaThamys Trindade]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Lucia Torres]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13145116/Mongabay_Thumbnail_Toad_Featured-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=videos&#038;p=315546</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Endangered, Habitat Destruction, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Research, and Wildilfe]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Arvoreznha, Brazil — Meet the admirable red-belly toad — a tiny amphibian found nowhere else on Earth but a small forest patch in southern Brazil. Don’t let its size fool you. In 2014, it made history by halting the construction of a hydroelectric dam that would have wiped out its only home. With just over [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Arvoreznha, Brazil — Meet the admirable red-belly toad — a tiny amphibian found nowhere else on Earth but a small forest patch in southern Brazil. Don’t let its size fool you. In 2014, it made history by halting the construction of a hydroelectric dam that would have wiped out its only home. With just over 1,000 individuals left in the wild, the species is listed as critically endangered. In addition to climate change, the little toad suffers from the advance of agriculture and the threat of wildlife trafficking. But this tiny hero doesn&#8217;t shy away from a challenge. In 2024, catastrophic floods swept through southern Brazil, submerging entire landscapes — including the fragile habitat this little survivor depends on. Did it make it through? Or was this finally too much? Michelle Abadie, a researcher who has been studying the species for more than 15 years, went to the field to find out. Mongabay joined her on this mission to discover why even the smallest creatures can have an outsized impact. Curious to see what happens next? Press play. Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover questions and topics that matter to you. Are there any inspiring people, urgent issues, or local stories that you’d like us to cover? We want to hear from you. Be a part of our reporting process—get in touch with us here! Banner image: Collage of a red-bellied toad and a bridge broken by flood. Small hippo, big dreams: Can Moo Deng, the viral pygmy hippo, save her species? This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/03/in-search-of-the-tiny-toad-that-stopped-a-dam/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/03/in-search-of-the-tiny-toad-that-stopped-a-dam/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Mass pilot whale stranding in Indonesia raises questions about ocean health</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/mass-pilot-whale-stranding-in-indonesia-raises-questions-about-ocean-health/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/mass-pilot-whale-stranding-in-indonesia-raises-questions-about-ocean-health/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Mar 2026 07:28:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/03201534/Alexandre-Rouxs-photo-licensed-as-CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315755</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Environment, Marine Mammals, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Villagers in central Indonesia rescued 34 short-finned pilot whales following a mass stranding on March 9, but despite their overnight efforts were unable to save 21 others. Mongabay Indonesia’s Ebed De Rosary reports that residents first discovered the pod in the shallow waters off Deranitan village, in East Nusa Tenggara province, at approximately 3:30 p.m. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Villagers in central Indonesia rescued 34 short-finned pilot whales following a mass stranding on March 9, but despite their overnight efforts were unable to save 21 others. Mongabay Indonesia’s Ebed De Rosary reports that residents first discovered the pod in the shallow waters off Deranitan village, in East Nusa Tenggara province, at approximately 3:30 p.m. local time. Local police coordinated with the local naval garrison and representatives from the fisheries ministry to launch a joint rescue operation. Working past midnight, teams of officials, security personnel and residents using boats managed to guide 34 of the whales back out into deeper waters. Of the 21 whales that perished, authorities identified The largest was a male measuring 5.1 meters (16.7 feet). The species, Globicephala macrorhynchus, is not considered threatened on the IUCN Red List. Imam Fauzi, head of the marine conservation area agency in Kupang, the provincial capital, said necropsies were conducted immediately to determine the cause of death. While the fisheries ministry is investigating the incident, local environmental NGOs like Walhi NTT are urging the government to expand the scope into a &#8220;thorough scientific investigation&#8221; to identify the root ecological triggers. Christofel Oktavianus Nobel Pale, head of the aquatic resources management program at Nusa Nipa University, said the region’s unique topography, characterized by shallow waters, narrow bays and steep gradients, can disrupt the sensitive echolocation systems pilot whales use to navigate. &#8220;Pilot whales have high social cohesion; when one individual, perhaps sick or disoriented, enters shallow water, the rest follow even&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/mass-pilot-whale-stranding-in-indonesia-raises-questions-about-ocean-health/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/mass-pilot-whale-stranding-in-indonesia-raises-questions-about-ocean-health/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous knowledge confirms what scientists observe: Large birds are disappearing</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-confirms-what-scientists-observe-large-birds-are-disappearing/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-confirms-what-scientists-observe-large-birds-are-disappearing/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 23:21:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bobby Bascomb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandrapopescu]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13212401/Toco_toucan_-_panoramio_-_Basa_Roland-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315748</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Endangered, Indigenous Peoples, Population, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Many Indigenous peoples and local communities live in close contact with nature and learn to identify the wildlife around them from an early age. New research published in the International Journal of Conservation draws on that knowledge to better understand a scientifically documented trend: large bird populations are shrinking. Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, an ethnobotanist with the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Many Indigenous peoples and local communities live in close contact with nature and learn to identify the wildlife around them from an early age. New research published in the International Journal of Conservation draws on that knowledge to better understand a scientifically documented trend: large bird populations are shrinking. Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, an ethnobotanist with the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, and lead author of the study, first noticed that trend as a graduate student doing field work in the Tsimane’ Indigenous community in the Bolivian Amazon. “Many elders told me that the large birds they had grown up seeing in the forest had become much rarer. Species that were once common in their childhood were now difficult to encounter,” Fernández-Llamazares told Mongabay in an email. He cited similar accounts from Indigenous peoples and local communities in other parts of the world and from very different ecosystems. Large birds from their youth were disappearing, while smaller species seemed to be on the rise — a pattern scientists were also finding. “What had not been explored before was whether these global patterns were also reflected in the long-term ecological memories of people who interact with birds on a daily basis,” he said. So, researchers surveyed 1,434 people across three continents and 10 sites as part of a broader Local Indicators of Climate Change Impacts (LICCI) project, an international research initiative to understand how Indigenous and local communities observe the changing climate in their territories. Respondents were asked to name three birds that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-confirms-what-scientists-observe-large-birds-are-disappearing/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-confirms-what-scientists-observe-large-birds-are-disappearing/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>A fish a day: More than 300 freshwater species described in 2025</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/a-fish-a-day-more-than-300-freshwater-species-described-in-2025/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/a-fish-a-day-more-than-300-freshwater-species-described-in-2025/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 21:07:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13175721/Nothobranchius-iridescens-Lutandula-CD-23-21-wild-caught-male-copyright-Bela-Nagy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315739</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Animals, Freshwater Ecosystems, Freshwater Fish, New Species, and Taxonomy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Taxonomists described 309 new species of freshwater fish in 2025, according to a report released by SHOAL, the IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group (FFSG) and the California Academy of Sciences (CAS). With nearly one new description each day of the year, the tally is the highest since 2017, and the third-highest since 1758, when scientists [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Taxonomists described 309 new species of freshwater fish in 2025, according to a report released by SHOAL, the IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group (FFSG) and the California Academy of Sciences (CAS). With nearly one new description each day of the year, the tally is the highest since 2017, and the third-highest since 1758, when scientists began keeping records. The new fish species come from five continents and a diversity of habitats, including limestone caves, peat swamps, wetlands and rivers. Most are endemic and some are already at risk of extinction. Asia topped the list with 165 newly described fish species, followed by South America with 91, Africa with 30, North America with 20, and Europe with three. “If there’s one thing this report shows, it’s that our planet’s rivers and wetlands are still full of surprises,” Michael Edmondstone from SHOAL told Mongabay in an email. “We hope this report sparks curiosity about freshwater life.” Some of the intriguing new species include two cave-dwelling fish in China — Yang’s plateau loach (Triplophysa yangi) and the Sichuan mountain cave loach (Claea scet) — both of which are adapted to permanent darkness. Museum specimens stored in Germany revealed two new species from East Africa. From the Democratic Republic of Congo, scientists described four new killifish (Nothobranchius spp.) species. They live in wetlands where the fish hatch, grow and reproduce in rain puddles all within a few weeks. When the water dries up, drought-resistant embryos stay buried in mud, waiting for the next rains&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/a-fish-a-day-more-than-300-freshwater-species-described-in-2025/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Costa Rica’s head start may mask tougher EUDR road ahead</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/costa-ricas-head-start-may-mask-tougher-eudr-road-ahead/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/costa-ricas-head-start-may-mask-tougher-eudr-road-ahead/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 17:49:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claudia Geib]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13171951/Examining-coffee-plants-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315717</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Costa Rica, European Union, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Coffee, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, International Trade, Sustainability, Trade, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Costa Rica’s famous coffee industry says it’s nearly ready for EUDR. The upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires that all coffee shipped into the EU not come from recently deforested land, prompting Costa Rica to develop a pilot program with its largest coffee cooperative. The initial program provided tools and training to help growers, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Costa Rica’s famous coffee industry says it’s nearly ready for EUDR. The upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires that all coffee shipped into the EU not come from recently deforested land, prompting Costa Rica to develop a pilot program with its largest coffee cooperative. The initial program provided tools and training to help growers, processors, roasters and exporters comply with the new rules. Over the past year, this pilot has expanded, giving these resources to all coffee producers nationally — and bringing Costa Rica closer to being one of the first nations to certify an entire sector as EUDR-ready. Costa Rica’s success serves as an important case study for the coffee industry, both in how others might prepare for the new rules, and why they may struggle in comparison. “I think we’ve seen a lot of discourse that says it&#8217;s basically impossible to comply with this law, and pilots like [Costa Rica’s] showcase that this is a wrong narrative,” said Janina Grabs, associate professor of sustainability research at the University of Basel in Switzerland, who studies agricultural commodities. “But they also showcase the alternative narrative, which is more truthful, which is that it&#8217;s going to be harder for some to comply than others.” Coffee is one of seven commodities covered by the EUDR; the others are cattle, cocoa, palm oil, rubber, soy and timber. While coffee’s impact is fractional compared to the massive deforestation undergone for cattle, palm oil and soy, the World Resources Institute estimates that between 2001&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/costa-ricas-head-start-may-mask-tougher-eudr-road-ahead/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Photos show the dramatic dawn flight of migrating snow geese</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/photos-show-the-dramatic-dawn-flight-of-migrating-snow-geese/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/photos-show-the-dramatic-dawn-flight-of-migrating-snow-geese/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 17:46:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13170100/AP26071638876152-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315721</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KLEINFELTERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Birdwatchers gather before dawn at Middle Creek in Pennsylvania to witness thousands of migrating snow geese lifting off from the reservoir in a swirling mass. The display lasts only minutes before the birds fan out to nearby farm fields to feed as they continue their annual spring migration north toward New [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KLEINFELTERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Birdwatchers gather before dawn at Middle Creek in Pennsylvania to witness thousands of migrating snow geese lifting off from the reservoir in a swirling mass. The display lasts only minutes before the birds fan out to nearby farm fields to feed as they continue their annual spring migration north toward New York and Quebec. For a few short weeks each year, the migration draws crowds of nature lovers to the refuge, which was created decades ago to attract waterfowl and now welcomes about 150,000 visitors annually. &nbsp; Tundra swans and other waterfowl gather on a manmade reservoir at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area for a stopover, Monday, March 9, 2026, in Kleinfeltersville, Pa. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Snow geese take off from a reservoir at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Kleinfeltersville, Pa. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Snow geese take to the sky at sunrise after a stopover at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Monday, March 9, 2026, in Kleinfeltersville, Pa. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) &nbsp; By Roberty F. Bukaty, Associated Press Banner image: Snow geese take off to resume their northern migration after a stopover at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Kleinfeltersville, Pa. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/photos-show-the-dramatic-dawn-flight-of-migrating-snow-geese/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Disastrous floods in Colombia reignite debate over hydroelectric dam</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/disastrous-floods-in-colombia-reignite-debate-over-hydroelectric-dam/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/disastrous-floods-in-colombia-reignite-debate-over-hydroelectric-dam/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 17:12:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Euan Wallace]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandrapopescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme weather events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hydropower]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Impact Of Climate Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indigenous Communities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Renewable Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Research]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13164229/DSC08870-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315701</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change And Extreme Weather, Dams, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Hydropower, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Communities, Nature And Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MONTERÍA, Colombia — In the suburb of La Palma, in the city of Montería, Córdoba, two boys stand knee-deep in water. A shimmering film of dirt spreads across its opaque surface. The two are piling family possessions into an upturned refrigerator – a makeshift raft used to ferry their belongings toward dry land. Across the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MONTERÍA, Colombia — In the suburb of La Palma, in the city of Montería, Córdoba, two boys stand knee-deep in water. A shimmering film of dirt spreads across its opaque surface. The two are piling family possessions into an upturned refrigerator – a makeshift raft used to ferry their belongings toward dry land. Across the street, Ana Castillo, 33, watches them from her doorway. Her home sits just a few inches above the water. By her side, a dark stain rising 1 meter (3.3 feet) up the wall marks where the water line was just a few days earlier. “This took us by surprise,” Castillo says. Broom in hand, she tries to sweep the last of the water from her front room. “It’s sad to see your things half-submerged in water.” La Palma is one of the 27 neighborhoods in Montería affected by severe flooding during the region’s dry season. What began as torrential rain in early February turned into a regional disaster: 24 municipalities in Cordoba were affected, and seven people died. The causes are still under debate; while scientists have pointed to unstable weather patterns and the influence of climate change, locals, some experts and high-ranking politicians say high water levels in the Urra Dam, a hydroelectric project long contested by Indigenous communities, have aggravated the floods. In the neighbourhood of La Palma, Montería, two young men attempt to use a fridge as a makeshift canoe. Image by Euan Wallace. Amid the debate, authorities continue to grapple with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/disastrous-floods-in-colombia-reignite-debate-over-hydroelectric-dam/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>South Africa endorses treaty to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/south-africa-endorses-treaty-to-triple-global-nuclear-energy-capacity-by-2050/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/south-africa-endorses-treaty-to-triple-global-nuclear-energy-capacity-by-2050/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 16:47:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13164313/Koeberg_Nuclear_Powerplant_-_Entry_Prohibited_beach_sign-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315710</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Energy, Nuclear Power, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[South Africa has endorsed the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy Capacity by 2050, joining 33 other countries that signed the nonbinding pledge during the United Nations climate summit in Dubai in 2023. Tsakane Khambane, spokesperson for South Africa’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy, told Mongabay via email that the move marks a “significant moment” beyond [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[South Africa has endorsed the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy Capacity by 2050, joining 33 other countries that signed the nonbinding pledge during the United Nations climate summit in Dubai in 2023. Tsakane Khambane, spokesperson for South Africa’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy, told Mongabay via email that the move marks a “significant moment” beyond South Africa’s borders. It reflects a commitment to “energy security, expanding energy access, and achieving climate goals,” Khambane said. The decision was announced during the Africa Energy Indaba held March 5 in Cape Town. There, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, minister of electricity and energy, said nuclear power is of “structural necessity” for South Africa’s future energy mix. But Ramokgopa said the biggest challenge for African countries to expand nuclear power is fairer financing from international lenders, multilateral institutions and supplier countries. “If the world is serious about tripling nuclear capacity by 2050, Africa must be central to that ambition. That requires financing structures aligned with developmental realities,” he said. Currently, more than 80% of South Africa’s electricity supply is derived from coal, a primary driver of climate change. Renewables such as wind, solar and hydro contribute around 10%, while nuclear power, primarily from the Koeberg plant, accounts for about 4% of the country’s electricity generation. South Africa is pursuing a diversified energy mix that includes coal, nuclear, renewables and hydropower. However, the government says it expects the composition to change significantly in the coming decades as renewable and nuclear energy expand. Growing demand coupled with an unreliable&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/south-africa-endorses-treaty-to-triple-global-nuclear-energy-capacity-by-2050/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Forest advocates accuse EU energy firm of Dutch biomass certification fraud</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/forest-advocates-accuse-eu-energy-firm-of-dutch-biomass-certification-fraud/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/forest-advocates-accuse-eu-energy-firm-of-dutch-biomass-certification-fraud/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 16:21:42 +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/20/2023/05/25141443/wood-pellets-burning-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315699</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, European Union, Global, Malaysia, and Netherlands]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bioenergy, Biomass Burning, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Climate Change Policy, Controversial, Deforestation, Energy, Energy Politics, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Government, Green Energy, Industry, Sustainability, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For years, a battle has raged between EU nations that claim their forest biomass certification policies safeguard against deforestation, promote sustainability and enable carbon-emissions reductions, even as forest advocates have argued that those policies fail to combat climate change, are badly flawed or outright fraudulent. EU policymakers remain entrenched today, defending their certification schemes as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For years, a battle has raged between EU nations that claim their forest biomass certification policies safeguard against deforestation, promote sustainability and enable carbon-emissions reductions, even as forest advocates have argued that those policies fail to combat climate change, are badly flawed or outright fraudulent. EU policymakers remain entrenched today, defending their certification schemes as a means of complying with laws to stop burning coal and for achieving national net-zero goals, despite evidence that burning wood pellets to make energy is dirtier than coal. But now forest advocates are turning up the pressure in the Netherlands in an unprecedented way. In a possible first-of-its-kind action, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service is considering a criminal investigation against RWE, one of the Netherlands’ largest energy providers. RWE faces allegations made by two forest advocacy groups that the company, which has collected billions of euros in Dutch biomass subsidies, misrepresented itself by claiming that hundreds of thousands of tons of wood pellets imported from Malaysia came entirely from sawmill waste. The two advocacy groups, Comite Schone Lucht and Biofuelwatch, say their research establishes that those pellets come mostly from whole trees, contributing to Malaysian deforestation. The Public Prosecution Service, the sole authority responsible for investigating and prosecuting Dutch criminal offenses, is expected to decide how to proceed by the end of March. Research shows that “biomass burning power plants emit 150% the CO2 of coal, and 300-400% the CO2 of natural gas, per unit energy produced.” Image by GIZ Bush Control and Biomass&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/forest-advocates-accuse-eu-energy-firm-of-dutch-biomass-certification-fraud/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Oil patch appears after IRIS Dena sinking in Sri Lanka; origins still unverified</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/oil-patch-appears-after-iris-dena-sinking-in-sri-lanka-origins-still-unverified/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/oil-patch-appears-after-iris-dena-sinking-in-sri-lanka-origins-still-unverified/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 08:55:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13081115/IMG_4196-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315691</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Environmental Activism, Environmental Law, Law, Marine, Marine Ecosystems, Oceans, Oil, Oil Spills, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HIKKADUWA, Sri Lanka — On Saturday, March 7, three days after the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was torpedoed by a U.S Navy submarine close to the southern coast off Galle in Sri Lanka, fishers and coastal communities noticed a thick oil patch along the coast of Hikkaduwa. Hikkaduwa is one of the most pristine coastal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HIKKADUWA, Sri Lanka — On Saturday, March 7, three days after the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was torpedoed by a U.S Navy submarine close to the southern coast off Galle in Sri Lanka, fishers and coastal communities noticed a thick oil patch along the coast of Hikkaduwa. Hikkaduwa is one of the most pristine coastal belts in the south of Sri Lanka, frequented by tourists throughout the year with a peak tourism season from December to March. Even as authorities say the oil spill has been brought under control to some extent, environmentalists express concerns about the possible environmental implications of the oil spill on marine ecosystems in Hikkaduwa and its environs. The frigate was torpedoed by USS Charlotte, a U. S. Navy submarine. The Iranian-flagged IRIS Dena was returning from the International Fleet Review 2026, a multinational naval exercise held in Visakapatnam, India. The incident occurred in international waters, around 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers or 46 miles) off the island’s southern coast. “As soon as we were informed by the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department (CCD) about the appearance of several oil patches along Hikkaduwa coast on March 7 morning, we deployed teams to check on the situation,” Samantha Gunasekara, chair of Sri Lanka’s Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA), told Mongabay. He said that ever since March 4, the day the warship was attacked, local teams have been alerted via a WhatsApp group to watch for evidence of any environmental impacts. “We obtained photographs from coastal&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/oil-patch-appears-after-iris-dena-sinking-in-sri-lanka-origins-still-unverified/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Study finds livestock pushing lions away from shared rangeland in Kenya</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-finds-livestock-pushing-lions-away-from-shared-rangeland-in-kenya/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-finds-livestock-pushing-lions-away-from-shared-rangeland-in-kenya/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 20:05:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12195736/Lions_Kenya_MaraPredatorConservationProgram-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315684</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Cattle, Cattle Pasture, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Endangered Species, Human-wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Land Use Change, Lions, Mammals, National Parks, Pasture, Predators, Top Predators, Tourism, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Lions, Africa’s largest predators, are a near-universal source of fear for the continent’s wildlife. But in Kenya, it’s the king of the jungle that’s now becoming fearful — of domestic livestock. In Kenya, most wildlife is found outside formally protected areas. The lions, zebras and elephants that attract tourists mostly live in pastoralist rangeland. For [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Lions, Africa’s largest predators, are a near-universal source of fear for the continent’s wildlife. But in Kenya, it’s the king of the jungle that’s now becoming fearful — of domestic livestock. In Kenya, most wildlife is found outside formally protected areas. The lions, zebras and elephants that attract tourists mostly live in pastoralist rangeland. For farmers and herders, this can be both a curse — coexistence is hard work where predators sometimes attack livestock and cattle compete with wild herbivores for grass — and a blessing — many community-owned conservancies profitably lease portions of their land to tourism operators for safaris and lodges, generating revenue for their members. In most conservancies’ grazing plans, herders can make use of the entire landscape. This allows grazing pressure to be more evenly distributed, but it also assumes that when herders and their livestock aren’t present in an area, other herbivores and the predators that hunt them make free use of the space. Niels Mogensen, a biologist with the Mara Predator Conservation Program, a Kenya Wildlife Trust initiative aimed at preserving large carnivores, says no one had actually checked to see if this was true before now. A lioness with cubs, Mara Conservancy, Kenya. Image by Ross Pollack via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).  Between 2015 and 2023, he and his colleagues carried out surveys at seven community-owned wildlife conservancies in the Mara ecosystem. They covered nearly 69,000 kilometers (43,000 miles) in total, collecting data about the presence of lions, and wild and domestic herbivores.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-finds-livestock-pushing-lions-away-from-shared-rangeland-in-kenya/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-finds-livestock-pushing-lions-away-from-shared-rangeland-in-kenya/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Conservationists are burning out — and some are breaking</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/conservationists-are-burning-out-and-some-are-breaking/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/conservationists-are-burning-out-and-some-are-breaking/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 18:24:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12182249/Greater_sage-grouse_surveys_in_southwestern_Idaho_52848937361-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315680</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Environmental Activism, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Conservation has long been framed as a moral calling. For many who enter the field, it is precisely that sense of purpose that sustains difficult work in remote places, under uncertain funding, and against problems that rarely yield quick victories. Yet the same intensity of commitment now appears to be exacting a psychological toll, Mongabay’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Conservation has long been framed as a moral calling. For many who enter the field, it is precisely that sense of purpose that sustains difficult work in remote places, under uncertain funding, and against problems that rarely yield quick victories. Yet the same intensity of commitment now appears to be exacting a psychological toll, Mongabay’s Jeremy Hance reports. Reports of burnout, depression and suicide among conservation professionals have prompted some leaders to describe a crisis within the sector itself. Part of the strain reflects the condition of the natural world. Wildlife populations have fallen sharply in recent decades, ecosystems are being degraded, and climate risks continue to mount. Those tasked with slowing these losses confront them daily, often with limited tools and little assurance that their efforts will succeed. The result is a form of grief that is both chronic and socially unrecognized. Unlike bereavement for a person, sorrow for species or landscapes rarely elicits public sympathy, yet it can be just as consuming. Structural features of the profession compound the problem. Conservation relies heavily on short-term grants, modest salaries, and a workforce motivated by passion rather than financial reward. Early-career scientists and field staff may endure unstable employment, long separations from family, and exposure to danger, particularly in regions affected by conflict or illegal resource extraction. Women face additional pressures related to pay, caregiving and career progression. Men, meanwhile, may be less likely to acknowledge distress in cultures where stoicism is expected. The paradox is that a field devoted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/conservationists-are-burning-out-and-some-are-breaking/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>At least 50 people killed and 125 others reported missing after landslides sweep Ethiopia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/at-least-50-people-killed-and-125-others-reported-missing-after-landslides-sweep-ethiopia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/at-least-50-people-killed-and-125-others-reported-missing-after-landslides-sweep-ethiopia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 18:11:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12180754/AP26071399976176-e1773338909762-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315677</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Ethiopia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Extreme Weather, Flooding, and Mudslides]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — At least 50 people have died and 125 others are missing after landslides hit three districts in southern Ethiopia following a week of heavy rains, a local official said Thursday. The landslides happened in Gamo Zone and affected the Gacho Baba District, Kamba District and Bonke District, according to Gamo [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — At least 50 people have died and 125 others are missing after landslides hit three districts in southern Ethiopia following a week of heavy rains, a local official said Thursday. The landslides happened in Gamo Zone and affected the Gacho Baba District, Kamba District and Bonke District, according to Gamo Zone director of disaster response Mesfin Manuqa. Manuqa said that one person was pulled out of the mud alive during the rescue operation. The Gacho Baba District communication chief, Abebe Agena, said most of those who died were found buried in the mud. It is not yet clear how many households were affected. Tilahun Kebede, president of the South Ethiopia Regional State, expressed his sorrow over the disaster and urged residents to move to higher ground as rains continue. “Given that it is the rainy season and these types of disasters could happen again, I am calling on communities living in the highlands and flood-prone areas to take the necessary precautions,” he said. Mudslides and floods caused by heavy rainfall are common in Ethiopia, especially during the rainy season. In July 2024, a deadly mudslide caused by heavy rain claimed the lives of 229 people in southern Ethiopia. By Associated Press Banner image: Locals search for the bodies of mudslide victims in the Gacho Baba district of the Gamo Zone in southern Ethiopia on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Gacho Baba District Government Communication Affairs Department via AP)This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/at-least-50-people-killed-and-125-others-reported-missing-after-landslides-sweep-ethiopia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Why saving seagrass meadows could help save the world’s coastlines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/why-saving-seagrass-meadows-could-help-save-the-worlds-coastlines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/why-saving-seagrass-meadows-could-help-save-the-worlds-coastlines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 16:48:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12125427/green-turtle-and-green-grass-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315651</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Blue Carbon, Climate Change, Climate Change And Biodiversity, Climate Change And Coral Reefs, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Environment, Marine, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Marine Crisis, Marine Ecosystems, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Seagrass meadows might not catch the eye like coral reefs, but they play an important and often unsung role in coastal protection, particularly as climate change increasingly eats away at shorelines. Protecting and restoring seagrass meadows, experts say, is a key “nature-based solution” that can also soak up and store carbon. Seagrasses reduce erosion and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Seagrass meadows might not catch the eye like coral reefs, but they play an important and often unsung role in coastal protection, particularly as climate change increasingly eats away at shorelines. Protecting and restoring seagrass meadows, experts say, is a key “nature-based solution” that can also soak up and store carbon. Seagrasses reduce erosion and bind sediments with their roots, similar to how a forest stabilizes soil, says Oscar Serrano Gras, a research fellow at the Blanes Center for Advanced Studies (CEAB) in Spain and Edith Cowan University in Australia. “They naturally have this capacity to protect the shoreline from erosion,” he adds. That also means they are incredibly efficient at storing carbon dioxide. Across the globe, the increasing strength and duration of storms, as well as their frequency, is chipping away at coastlines due to climate change. That’s linked to flooding, damage to infrastructure, and potentially hazardous cliff falls. “The fact that we are losing this protection belt of seagrass along the shorelines also contributes to coastal erosion,” Gras says. Cymodocea nodosa seagrass in Spain, also known as Little Neptune grass. Restoring and protecting seagrass can have climate and coastal protection benefits. Image courtesy of Liam McGuire/Ocean Image Bank. Reducing waves, binding sediment When seagrass meadows are healthy and abundant, they can form a belt along the coastline that helps slow down waves and reduce their height. “Seagrass creates additional resistance to fluid motion, which reduces wave energy,” says Heidi Nepf, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/why-saving-seagrass-meadows-could-help-save-the-worlds-coastlines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Outlook for migratory species worsens amid habitat loss &#038; avian flu, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 16:03:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gloria Dickie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12132145/Sea-Turtle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315646</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Arctic, Asia, Central Asia, Chad, East Africa, Europe, Global, Kenya, Serengeti, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Corridors, Diseases, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Jaguars, Mammals, Mapping, Migration, Mining, Poaching, Sea Turtles, Sharks, Sharks And Rays, Species, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From shorebirds flying between their Arctic breeding grounds and southerly foraging ranges to freshwater fish returning to native spawning streams, migratory animals are struggling. About half of all migratory species populations protected under a global treaty are now in decline, with the situation worsening in just the last two years, according to a new United [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From shorebirds flying between their Arctic breeding grounds and southerly foraging ranges to freshwater fish returning to native spawning streams, migratory animals are struggling. About half of all migratory species populations protected under a global treaty are now in decline, with the situation worsening in just the last two years, according to a new United Nations-backed report. When the first State of the World’s Migratory Species report was published in 2024, 44% of migratory species populations listed under the U.N. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) were declining, according to data from the IUCN Red List, the world’s most comprehensive guide to global extinction risk. Since then, the proportion of imperiled CMS-listed species rose to 49%, according to updated Red List data and new research. Though the next status report isn’t due until around 2030, conservation advocates said the deteriorating situation required an interim report, as many countries are moving in the wrong direction when it comes to conserving wildlife that depend on various habitats to complete their life cycles. “This [interim report] is saying there are some alarming trends in the meantime; that we don’t want to wait six years to talk about this,” said CMS executive secretary Amy Fraenkel. Jaguars have no subspecies. Their range extends from Mexico to Argentina, but some populations are cut off, at risk of inbreeding and the demise that comes with it. Image by Gregoire Dubois. The convention, established in 1979, aims to conserve migratory species by protecting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>If Florida reefs aren’t protected, storms will increase flooding &#038; costs: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/if-florida-reefs-arent-protected-storms-will-increase-flooding-costs-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/if-florida-reefs-arent-protected-storms-will-increase-flooding-costs-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 15:54:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12050147/b-FKNMS_-_Reef_34136062951-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315628</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Florida, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Coral Bleaching, Coral Reefs, Economy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Hurricanes, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Ecosystems, Microplastics, Oceans, Pollution, Storms, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Healthy reefs aren’t just about colorful fish — they also shield shorelines from intense tropical storms. If Florida’s reefs keep degrading, flooding during tropical storms could get much worse, increasing risks to people and costing nearly a billion dollars a year in damage to buildings and economic disruption annually, a new Earth’s Future study finds. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Healthy reefs aren’t just about colorful fish — they also shield shorelines from intense tropical storms. If Florida’s reefs keep degrading, flooding during tropical storms could get much worse, increasing risks to people and costing nearly a billion dollars a year in damage to buildings and economic disruption annually, a new Earth’s Future study finds. Coral reefs act as natural breakwaters, absorbing up to 97% percent of an incoming wave’s energy, with the top of the reef taking the bulk of the impact. Globally, around 200 million people benefit from this kind of natural flood protection, according to a 2014 Nature Communications study. But around the world, coral reefs are in trouble. The most recent bleaching event, driven by record temperatures, hit more than 80% of reefs. Reefs are also battling coral diseases, pollution, microplastics, physical damage and other threats. In the Florida Keys, live coral cover has declined by about 90%, over the last 40 years, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Degraded reefs aren’t as strong, and crumbling coral means they aren’t as able to cushion the impact of waves. As waves become more forceful, they erode sediment, deepening the seafloor closer to shore. “Waves break relative to their water depth. &#8230; Now, all of a sudden, you make that water deeper, that means a bigger wave can come in closer to shore,&#8221; says Curt Storlazzi, a researcher at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the study’s first author. In a previous study,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/if-florida-reefs-arent-protected-storms-will-increase-flooding-costs-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Marine biologist Edie Widder chases bioluminescence in new ‘Life Illuminated’ film</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-biologist-edie-widder-chases-bioluminescence-in-new-life-illuminated-film/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-biologist-edie-widder-chases-bioluminescence-in-new-life-illuminated-film/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 14:40:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12015655/4-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315615</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Bioluminescence, Conservation, Environment, Film, Fish, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Marine Ecosystems, Oceans, Research, Saltwater Fish, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The documentary A Life Illuminated will make its Washington, D.C., premiere on March 19, the first night of the D.C. Environmental Film Festival, where Mongabay is a media partner. The film traces the career arc of U.S. marine biologist Edie Widder, an expert on bioluminescence who’s made headlines for decades, and documents her team’s attempt [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The documentary A Life Illuminated will make its Washington, D.C., premiere on March 19, the first night of the D.C. Environmental Film Festival, where Mongabay is a media partner. The film traces the career arc of U.S. marine biologist Edie Widder, an expert on bioluminescence who’s made headlines for decades, and documents her team’s attempt to capture a remarkable deep-water phenomenon called “flashback” on camera. The film, directed by U.S. documentary filmmaker Tasha Van Zandt, has been on the film festival circuit since September, when it made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In the film, Widder meditates on the importance of the deep sea, which usually refers to waters below 200 meters (660 feet) in depth, a zone many experts call the world’s largest habitat. In the deep sea, most creatures can emit light, a trait few land-dwelling animals possess. (Fireflies are a notable exception.) The film’s plot toggles between previous Widder expeditions and a recent one to the waters off the Azores, a Portuguese-administered archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, to document flashback. The term refers to the way a wide variety of organisms, from the macro to the micro, will simultaneously light up in response to a flash of light from, say, a submersible. Those who’ve witnessed the phenomenon speak about it with awe: Before the flashback, the sea is pitch-black to the human eye, a seeming void. The flashback then envelops the submersible in an ephemeral snowstorm. Edie Widder, a marine biologist and bioluminescence&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-biologist-edie-widder-chases-bioluminescence-in-new-life-illuminated-film/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Modest controls put on freewheeling squid fleet at South Pacific fisheries meeting</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/modest-controls-put-on-freewheeling-squid-fleet-at-south-pacific-fisheries-meeting/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/modest-controls-put-on-freewheeling-squid-fleet-at-south-pacific-fisheries-meeting/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 14:22:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12141145/a.-BANNER-Humboldt-squid-%C2%A9Joescience1-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315645</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Pacific and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Cruelty, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Forced labor, Illegal Fishing, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Saltwater Fish, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, and Wildlife Crime]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A lower limit on the size of the fleet targeting jumbo flying squid in the South Pacific Ocean, improved controls at ports and the introduction of electronic monitoring systems on board vessels to rein in illegal practices and labor abuses: These were the main outcomes of the 14th meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A lower limit on the size of the fleet targeting jumbo flying squid in the South Pacific Ocean, improved controls at ports and the introduction of electronic monitoring systems on board vessels to rein in illegal practices and labor abuses: These were the main outcomes of the 14th meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), which concluded in Panama on March 6, marking steps toward tighter regulation of fisheries, especially for squid, in the vast swath of ocean the body manages. “It&#8217;s a part of the world&#8217;s largest squid fishery … so it was very positive that attention was being paid to it,” Dave Gershman, a senior officer on international fisheries at the U.S.-based think tank The Pew Charitable Trusts, who attended the meeting as an observer, told Mongabay just minutes after the closure. “But this is only the start of what&#8217;s needed to put in place science-based management.” The SPRFMO annual meeting took place in Panama City March 2-6. The intergovernmental organization includes 17 members (16 countries and the European Union) and was established in 2012 with the aim of ensuring the long-term conservation and better regulation of fishing activities (except for tuna fishing) in the high seas of the South Pacific, an area encompassing about 59 million square kilometers (23 million square miles). The most anticipated decisions at this year’s meeting concerned tightening regulation of the jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) fishery, following increased fishing activity and signals of declining stock. Decision-makers also took steps&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/modest-controls-put-on-freewheeling-squid-fleet-at-south-pacific-fisheries-meeting/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Indonesia’s orangutan trafficking cases reveal need for a change in approach (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesias-orangutan-trafficking-cases-reveal-need-for-a-change-in-approach-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesias-orangutan-trafficking-cases-reveal-need-for-a-change-in-approach-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 13:08:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Onrizal Onrizal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/11212405/Juv-of-Sumatran-orangutan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315549</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Commentary, Conservation, Crime, Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Governance, Government, Great Apes, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Orangutans, Pet Trade, Trade, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Crime, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For months, four infant orangutans lived in limbo in Thailand — not as pets, but as evidence. Confiscated in two separate trafficking cases, they were cared for at the Khao Pratubchang Wildlife Rescue Centre while investigators built their files. On Dec. 23, 2025, the babies finally came home: three Sumatran orangutans and one critically endangered [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[For months, four infant orangutans lived in limbo in Thailand — not as pets, but as evidence. Confiscated in two separate trafficking cases, they were cared for at the Khao Pratubchang Wildlife Rescue Centre while investigators built their files. On Dec. 23, 2025, the babies finally came home: three Sumatran orangutans and one critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, handed over by Thai authorities and repatriated for rehabilitation in North Sumatra. The images were moving — and they mattered. But a hard truth sits behind every heartwarming handover: if the pipeline stays open, the next baby will already be on the move. Just five weeks later, on Jan. 30, 2026, Indonesian officers in East Aceh stopped a truck carrying 53 packages filled with hundreds of protected wildlife specimens and parts, allegedly bound for Thailand. Seen together, these episodes read less like isolated crimes and more like a repeating pattern: seizure, repatriation, new shipment. Wildlife trafficking is an adaptive, transnational business. Repatriation is essential and humane, but it is not a strategy. Prevention is the strategy, and prevention starts by making trafficking unprofitable. Juvenile orangutans confiscated from a trafficker in Indonesia&#8217;s Aceh province in 2015. Photo by Junaidi Hanafiah for Mongabay. Transnational supply pipeline, not “petty crime” Orangutan trafficking and the broader trade in protected wildlife function like a supply chain: capture at the source → local collectors → transporters → cross-border smugglers → end-market buyers. In this chain, couriers are replaceable; organizers and financiers are not. Infant orangutans are especially lucrative because&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesias-orangutan-trafficking-cases-reveal-need-for-a-change-in-approach-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesias-orangutan-trafficking-cases-reveal-need-for-a-change-in-approach-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>The dark side of smiling sloths</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-dark-side-of-smiling-sloths/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-dark-side-of-smiling-sloths/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 08:30:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12080354/sloth-on-tree-2026-01-09-07-08-25-utc-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315643</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Endangered, Extinction, Social Media, Tourism, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The apparent friendliness of “smiling” sloths have made them tourist darlings, but have also put a target on their backs. In their home range of South and Central America, tourism companies encourage customers to take photos with sloths, and the government fears the smuggling of animals across country borders. The rise in sloth trafficking has [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The apparent friendliness of “smiling” sloths have made them tourist darlings, but have also put a target on their backs. In their home range of South and Central America, tourism companies encourage customers to take photos with sloths, and the government fears the smuggling of animals across country borders. The rise in sloth trafficking has led the governments of Brazil, Costa Rica and Panama to propose stricter rules for the international trade of two sloth species, with the goal of preventing them from sliding into extinction.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-dark-side-of-smiling-sloths/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-dark-side-of-smiling-sloths/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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