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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<title>Rhet A. Butler Archives</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/rhet-a-butler/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>The promise and perils of the 1995 Mekong River Agreement (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 09:52:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Long Pham]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/30141735/communities-tonle-sap-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315485</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Mekong River, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Dams, electricity, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Environmental Politics, Fish, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Hydropower, Law, Mekong Dams, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The 1995 Mekong Agreement was meant to be a cornerstone of cooperation for Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — promising equitable use, no significant harm, and joint management of the river. The Mekong River Commission was its steward, tasked with data sharing, project consultations, and protecting the basin’s health. Three decades on, the MRC’s 30-year [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The 1995 Mekong Agreement was meant to be a cornerstone of cooperation for Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — promising equitable use, no significant harm, and joint management of the river. The Mekong River Commission was its steward, tasked with data sharing, project consultations, and protecting the basin’s health. Three decades on, the MRC’s 30-year milestone in November 2025 painted a picture of “shared prosperity.” Officials highlighted flood warnings, environmental studies, and even China’s data-sharing nods. Despite the MRC’s claim that “working together is the only way forward” with “new solutions” to keep the Mekong a “river of life, not conflict,” this optimistic rhetoric has echoed for 30 years. In reality, the river faces “a death by a thousand cuts” — cumulative degradation from dams, sediment loss, sand mining, altered flows, and Lake Tonle Sap’s natural regulating role severely undermined — all of which the MRC’s 30-year approach has failed to stop. The 1995 Mekong Agreement and the disasters of dam-building spree Before 1995, the lower Mekong mainstream had zero large dams. The 1995 Agreement altered that. Laos built Xayaburi, operational since 2019, and Don Sahong, running since 2020. Those two alone sparked outrage from Cambodia and Vietnam over blocked fish routes and lost sediment. The PNPCA process, for prior notification and consultation, was supposed to lead to agreement. Instead, Laos treated objections as background noise and pushed ahead. Vietnam’s own tributary dams number 81; Laos, 75. Together, the basin’s total planned hydropower capacity is 23 gigawatts, drawing $50 billion&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Middle East conflict exposes Africa’s fossil fuel risks &#038; the case for clean energy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/middle-east-conflict-exposes-africas-fossil-fuel-risks-the-case-for-clean-energy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/middle-east-conflict-exposes-africas-fossil-fuel-risks-the-case-for-clean-energy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 04:43:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/10110222/UNDP-Sudan-Muhanad-Sameer-51014288750_befa1b7ee9_o-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315480</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Energy, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A deepening crisis in the Middle East could send economic shockwaves across sub-Saharan Africa, raising fuel costs, food prices and inflation across the region, according to a new analysis by energy consultancy Zero Carbon Analytics. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran, Oman and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A deepening crisis in the Middle East could send economic shockwaves across sub-Saharan Africa, raising fuel costs, food prices and inflation across the region, according to a new analysis by energy consultancy Zero Carbon Analytics. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran, Oman and the UAE. If the ongoing conflict continues, energy prices could spike, driving up costs across African economies, which heavily rely on imported oil and gas. “As a net importer of oil products, sub-Saharan Africa will not be immune from the fallout,” the analysis notes, warning that higher energy prices could increase the cost of imports and put pressure on national currencies and foreign reserves. The report analyzed import data and cash reserves across 29 African countries and found Senegal, Benin, Eritrea, Burkina Faso and Zambia are among the most vulnerable if oil prices remain elevated. These countries combine high dependence on imported fuel with limited foreign currency reserves, meaning they will quickly run out of money to pay for more expensive fuel. “The countries that are most exposed rely entirely on oil imports and already have low levels of international reserves,” Nick Hedley, who authored the analysis, told Mongabay. “This means when oil prices rise, these countries risk further depleting their holdings of U.S. dollars, gold and other reserves. This further weakens their currencies, making imports of all goods more expensive, which pushes up inflation.” The ripple effects could extend beyond fuel. Rising oil and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/middle-east-conflict-exposes-africas-fossil-fuel-risks-the-case-for-clean-energy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Can Singapore rewild its lost reptiles?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-singapore-rewild-its-lost-reptiles/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-singapore-rewild-its-lost-reptiles/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 02:06:34 +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/20/2026/03/04171924/Gimlett-s-reed-snake-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315032</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecological Restoration, Green, Herps, Lizards, Reintroductions, Reptiles, Snakes, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the older quarters of Singapore, fragments of forest persist like memories that refuse to fade. Within them live creatures that few residents ever see, and some that no longer exist there at all. The disappearance of species on an island is not always dramatic. Often it happens quietly, in decades of thinning habitat and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the older quarters of Singapore, fragments of forest persist like memories that refuse to fade. Within them live creatures that few residents ever see, and some that no longer exist there at all. The disappearance of species on an island is not always dramatic. Often it happens quietly, in decades of thinning habitat and interrupted life cycles, until absence becomes normal. A snake not recorded since 1904 leaves no trace in the soil, only a line in an archive. Selangor mud snake (Raclitia indica), which was rediscovered in Singapore in 2020 after an absence of 106 years. Photo credit: the Law Brothers Singapore’s ecological history is one of compression. Since the 19th century, most primary forest has been cleared for plantations, industry, and housing. Today only a sliver of original forest remains, surrounded by a landscape remade for human needs. Such transformation has exacted a toll on wildlife, especially terrestrial vertebrates. Estimates suggest that roughly a third of species across several groups have disappeared locally over two centuries. Snakes and lizards, however, tell a more complicated story. A recent analysis of Singapore’s squamates, the group that includes snakes and lizards, reconstructs a timeline of loss using historical records and statistical modeling. The pattern resembles two pulses of erosion. The first, in the early 1900s, coincides with the near-total conversion of primary forest. A second, smaller wave arrives late in the 20th century, as remaining secondary forests give way to rapid urbanization. Primary-forest specialists suffered most. Species able to tolerate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-singapore-rewild-its-lost-reptiles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Cambodian market survey a snapshot of a resilient — but stressed — Mekong</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/cambodian-market-survey-a-snapshot-of-a-resilient-but-stressed-mekong/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/cambodian-market-survey-a-snapshot-of-a-resilient-but-stressed-mekong/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 01:59:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stefan Lovgren]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09230405/DSC00753-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315459</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, Mekong River, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aquaculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Dams, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fish Farming, Freshwater Fish, Green, Mekong Dams, Rivers, Tropical Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — Sunrise is still a long way off when the first fishing boats slip into the landing site at this provincial town along the Mekong River in northern Cambodia. The night’s catch is hauled ashore and moved in tubs and woven baskets to a nearby side street off the town’s main boulevard. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — Sunrise is still a long way off when the first fishing boats slip into the landing site at this provincial town along the Mekong River in northern Cambodia. The night’s catch is hauled ashore and moved in tubs and woven baskets to a nearby side street off the town’s main boulevard. By daylight, vendors have arranged the fish across tarps and reed mats laid directly on the street. Snakeheads, catfish, barbs and loaches lie in dense, gleaming rows as the market swells into a blur of motion and sound. Motorcycles crowd the edges while buyers weave through narrow passageways. Vendors weigh, sort and pack fish for kitchens, restaurants and traders heading off to Phnom Penh. On this morning in early February, a team of Cambodian and international researchers also converged on the fish markets here and in Kratie, a town about 140 kilometers (87 miles) downstream, to begin a two-week survey documenting the aquatic wealth of the world’s most productive river system. More than 2 million tons of fish are harvested from the Mekong each year. Biologist and survey member Sudeep Chandra observes Chitala ornata for sale at the Stung Treng market. Image © Chhut Chheana/Wonders of the Mekong. The survey builds on a rare historical benchmark. In 1994, the late ichthyologist Tyson Roberts conducted a detailed inventory of fish species appearing in the main Stung Treng market. Three decades later, researchers are replicating that work, returning in the same seasons, to enable a direct comparison&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/cambodian-market-survey-a-snapshot-of-a-resilient-but-stressed-mekong/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Indigenous knowledge helps guide conservation of Australia’s endangered northern quoll</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-helps-guide-conservation-of-australias-endangered-northern-quoll/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-helps-guide-conservation-of-australias-endangered-northern-quoll/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 21:36:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nick Rodway]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09172923/northern-quoll-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315444</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Cultures, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Marsupials, Research, Traditional Knowledge, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Despite its widespread biodiversity, Australia holds an unenviable record when it comes to wildlife: the highest mammalian extinction rate in the world. Since the arrival of Europeans and colonial expansion, at least 40 terrestrial mammal species have been lost, and others are facing serious threats. Notable among these is the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Despite its widespread biodiversity, Australia holds an unenviable record when it comes to wildlife: the highest mammalian extinction rate in the world. Since the arrival of Europeans and colonial expansion, at least 40 terrestrial mammal species have been lost, and others are facing serious threats. Notable among these is the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), a small, carnivorous marsupial that ranges through tropical areas of the continent and is considered endangered on the IUCN Red List due to threats posed by introduced animals gone feral, habitat change, and landscape degradation. The loss of mammalian biodiversity has coincided with widespread threats to the preservation of First Nations cultural knowledge in Australia. Over the past two centuries, Indigenous people have been forcibly removed from their lands and resettled in other parts of the continent. During this time, traditional land management practices and cultural knowledge of local biodiversity have largely not been considered by the scientific establishment. Now, however, a recent study has used Indigenous cultural and ecological knowledge (ICEK) alongside Western scientific methods as way to help conserve northern quolls, and potentially other species, into the future. The study, published in January in the journal Wildlife Research, was led by members of the Martu people, whose traditional lands span portions of the western desert region in Western Australia, the country’s largest state. Northern quolls, known in the Martu language as wiminyji, were only identified by modern science in this part of the country in 2012, despite Martu elders knowing of the species’ presence&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-helps-guide-conservation-of-australias-endangered-northern-quoll/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Ecuador’s new ecological corridor connects Andes and Amazon ecosystems</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/ecuadors-new-ecological-corridor-connects-andes-and-amazon-ecosystems/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/ecuadors-new-ecological-corridor-connects-andes-and-amazon-ecosystems/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 19:54:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandrapopescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Protected Areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tropical Forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wildlife Corridors]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09194846/WCS_Llanganates-RBY_-%C2%A9-Victor-Utreras-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315451</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Corridors, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Protected Areas, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador has announced the creation of a new biological corridor designed to connect the eastern ranges of the Andes with the Amazon Rainforest, part of a larger initiative to strengthen ecological connectivity and protect biodiversity. The Llanganates–Yasuní Connectivity Corridor, officially announced this month, spans 2,159 square kilometers (834 square miles) across two provinces, connecting Llanganates [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador has announced the creation of a new biological corridor designed to connect the eastern ranges of the Andes with the Amazon Rainforest, part of a larger initiative to strengthen ecological connectivity and protect biodiversity. The Llanganates–Yasuní Connectivity Corridor, officially announced this month, spans 2,159 square kilometers (834 square miles) across two provinces, connecting Llanganates National Park with Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. It’s one of several projects in the country aiming to preserve ecological connectivity between the Andes and Amazon, a transition zone vital for species adaptation as climate change and human pressure reshape habitats. “By securing ecological connectivity between the Andes and the Amazon, we are helping safeguard biodiversity, strengthen climate resilience, and support local communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems,” WCS Ecuador country director Sebastian Valdivieso said in a press release. “This corridor reflects the power of collaboration between national authorities, local governments, civil society and international partners.” Yasuní Biosphere Reserve covers 27,564 km2 (10,643 mi2) of Amazon Rainforest, while Llanganates National Park covers 2,197 km2 (848 mi2) of high-elevation ecosystems in the Andes. The two protected areas appear close on a map but are actually separated by significant elevation differences, with parts of Llanganates reaching around 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) above sea level. Now, the corridor allows “altitudinal connectivity” between the two protected areas, according to WCS Ecuador, one of the organizations overseeing the project. The corridor will help protect species that need to migrate between different elevations, such as the black-and-chestnut eagle (Spizaetus isidori). It could&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/ecuadors-new-ecological-corridor-connects-andes-and-amazon-ecosystems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Mining rush for critical minerals threatens Amazon land reform settlements</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/mining-rush-for-critical-minerals-threatens-amazon-land-reform-settlements/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/mining-rush-for-critical-minerals-threatens-amazon-land-reform-settlements/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 18:49:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Cícero Pedrosa NetoIsabel HarariSam Cowie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09165555/para-mining-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315432</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Conservation, Amazon Mining, Amazon Rainforest, Biodiversity, Conservation, Copper, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Politics, Forests, Industry, Land Conflict, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Urbanization, Water, Water Crisis, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Families awaiting land reform in the Amazon now face a surge in mining that can destroy their chance at a decent life.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Leia em português. &nbsp; PARAUAPEBAS, Brazil — On a dirt road that cuts through the Rio Novo settlement in the southeast of Pará state, battered motorcycles carry small loads of organic food to sell in the city, while passing trucks loaded with minerals for export. Parauapebas, Brazil’s so-called “mining capital,” hosts numerous rural worker communities, including the 5,000 families of Terra e Liberdade, the largest landless encampment in Brazil. The city is also home to the largest open-pit iron ore mine in the world, in addition to other valuable deposits. The scene of historical land conflicts, such as the Eldorado dos Carajás massacre, in which 21 people died after being shot by military police during a protest in 1996, southeastern Pará is now witnessing a new front of dispute. Driven by the energy transition, mining companies are eyeing land in already established agrarian reform settlements, seeking deposits of three minerals essential to the arms and high-tech industries: copper, manganese and nickel. These elements are used in equipment such as chips, wind turbines, electric cars, military jets and warships. An exclusive survey by Repórter Brasil in partnership with Mongabay, based on data from the National Mining Agency (ANM), identified 676 mining processes for copper, manganese and nickel in Carajás since 1969. A quarter of them (166) were filed in the last five years (2021–25). Illegal copper mining area in the Carajás region, southeastern Pará. Image courtesy of Cícero Pedrosa/Repórter Brasil. Of the total number of requests, 292 (43%) relate to 82&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/mining-rush-for-critical-minerals-threatens-amazon-land-reform-settlements/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>In Malawi, farmers rebuild soil and livelihoods through agroecology</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-malawi-farmers-rebuild-soil-and-livelihoods-through-agroecology/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-malawi-farmers-rebuild-soil-and-livelihoods-through-agroecology/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 17:03:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kelvin Tembo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/06113706/5B-A-maize-field-cultivated-using-agroecology-concepts-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315323</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Agroecology]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Malawi, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Farming, Food, Food Crisis, and food security]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MZIMBA, Malawi – For years, life was defined by hardship for Grena Banda and her husband, Daniel Mwafulirwa, in Malawi’s northern district of Rumphi. Their small farm was their only reliable source of livelihood, yet it rarely produced enough. Climate change brought erratic rainfall, sometimes drought and sometimes heavy downpours that washed away fragile topsoil. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MZIMBA, Malawi – For years, life was defined by hardship for Grena Banda and her husband, Daniel Mwafulirwa, in Malawi’s northern district of Rumphi. Their small farm was their only reliable source of livelihood, yet it rarely produced enough. Climate change brought erratic rainfall, sometimes drought and sometimes heavy downpours that washed away fragile topsoil. At the same time, the cost of fertilizer kept rising beyond their reach. Each farming season began with hope but ended with anxiety, as yields rarely matched expectations. Feeding their children, paying school fees and meeting basic household needs felt like an ongoing uphill battle. “Year in, year out we were facing food shortages. We depended on fertilizer, but we could not afford enough of it,” Banda tells Mongabay. “Sometimes, we harvested so little that we did not know how we would manage until the next season.” As food insecurity deepened, Banda’s husband resorted to risky survival strategies. When crops failed and hunger loomed, he began entering the nearby Vwaza Game Reserve to hunt illegally. It was a decision driven by desperation. Mwafulirwa knew the risks — patrols, arrests and fines — but he also knew his children needed food. “I had no choice at the time. When you see your children hungry, you do things you never imagined you would do. Look at these scars,” he says, rolling up his sleeves and showing his wrists. “They are from handcuffs as I was arrested multiple times.” But today, Mwafulirwa no longer takes those risks, as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-malawi-farmers-rebuild-soil-and-livelihoods-through-agroecology/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Study maps tree-planting risks and rewards for climate and biodiversity</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-maps-tree-planting-risks-and-rewards-for-climate-and-biodiversity/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-maps-tree-planting-risks-and-rewards-for-climate-and-biodiversity/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 16:46:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09161006/Indonesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315415</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Afforestation, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecological Restoration, Ecosystem Restoration, Ecosystems, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Landscape Restoration, Mapping, Reforestation, Research, Restoration, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Establishing forests can capture carbon and boost biodiversity — but some biomes are a better bet than others, a recent study finds. Forest restoration has emerged as a top nature-based solution to mitigate climate change, with numerous high-profile initiatives launched over the past few decades. And while there’s enthusiasm for replanting degraded forest areas, or [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Establishing forests can capture carbon and boost biodiversity — but some biomes are a better bet than others, a recent study finds. Forest restoration has emerged as a top nature-based solution to mitigate climate change, with numerous high-profile initiatives launched over the past few decades. And while there’s enthusiasm for replanting degraded forest areas, or reforestation, there’s also a growing unease that establishing forests in ecosystems that historically had little of them, or afforestation, could harm biodiversity. The question is, how can we pinpoint the best places for afforestation and reforestation, or AR, on a global scale? A number of studies have tackled this challenge. For example, a 2025 Nature Communications study found that 195 million hectares (482 million acres) of land is suitable for reforestation when climate goals, nature, and people were taken into account. Though this represents an area the size of Mexico, it’s far smaller than previous estimates. Now, a recent study in Environmental Research Letters describes a different way of gauging the potential of AR across 13 biomes. The study finds that overall, many areas within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest biome offer the highest compatibility with biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration goals. However, there’s significant variation between areas, even within the same biome. In contrast, the study finds that all grasslands, shrublands and savanna biomes are poorly suited to AR. (a) Bivariate map of the spatial overlap between the habitat suitability index and carbon sequestration potential. Dark red areas have a high habitat&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-maps-tree-planting-risks-and-rewards-for-climate-and-biodiversity/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>The Cerrado is threatened but crucial for Brazil’s biodiversity &#038; water security (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-cerrado-is-threatened-but-crucial-for-brazils-biodiversity-water-security-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-cerrado-is-threatened-but-crucial-for-brazils-biodiversity-water-security-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 16:37:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Cássio Cardoso PereiraDomingos de Jesus RodriguesPhilip M. FearnsideRodolfo SalmWalisson Kenedy-Siqueira]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/17221415/Cerrado-Correntina-Bahia-Brazil-June-2023-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315420</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Cerrado, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Freshwater, Research, Savannas, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Brazilian Cerrado, recognized as one of the world’s most species-diverse and threatened ecodomains on the planet, faces increasing pressure from large-scale agriculture and land conversion. “Ecodomains” are large areas where the predominant native vegetation is of a given general type, such as the Cerrado. These areas, officially termed “biomes” in Brazil since 2004 (a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Brazilian Cerrado, recognized as one of the world’s most species-diverse and threatened ecodomains on the planet, faces increasing pressure from large-scale agriculture and land conversion. “Ecodomains” are large areas where the predominant native vegetation is of a given general type, such as the Cerrado. These areas, officially termed “biomes” in Brazil since 2004 (a use of this term different from that in the ecological sciences), include both enclaves of native vegetation other than the predominant one and large areas that have been converted to agriculture and other uses. Although the Cerrado ecodomain sustains many of Brazil’s main river basins and occupies 24% of the national territory, our group’s review article in Nature Conservation shows that more than 55% of its native vegetation has already been lost, mostly over the last five decades. Often overshadowed by the Amazon in international debates, the Cerrado has lost more than 1 million square kilometers (more than 386,000 square miles) of its original vegetation, an area larger than France and Germany combined. Even when there are small fluctuations in annual rates of clearing, the historical trend continues to be one of increasing conversion driven by agricultural expansion, urban growth, mining and land speculation. The result is an increasingly fragmented and ecologically fragile landscape. Graphic showing carbon distribution in the Cerrado, revealing it as an “inverted forest” due to the predominance of biomass stored below ground, courtesy of Walisson Kenedy-Siqueira. The Cerrado’s inverted forest One of the most striking characteristics of the Cerrado is its&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-cerrado-is-threatened-but-crucial-for-brazils-biodiversity-water-security-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>David Chivers, student of the singing apes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/david-chivers-student-of-the-singing-apes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/david-chivers-student-of-the-singing-apes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 14:26:48 +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/20/2026/03/08163951/David-Chivers-Selwyn-College-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315401</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Mammals, Obituary, Primates, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; Field primatology expanded rapidly in the late 20th century as biologists began to study apes and monkeys where they lived rather than only in museums or laboratories. Southeast Asia’s rainforests became an important setting for that shift. Among the researchers who helped shape the discipline there was David Chivers, a British primatologist whose work [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; Field primatology expanded rapidly in the late 20th century as biologists began to study apes and monkeys where they lived rather than only in museums or laboratories. Southeast Asia’s rainforests became an important setting for that shift. Among the researchers who helped shape the discipline there was David Chivers, a British primatologist whose work on gibbons and other forest apes combined long stretches of field observation with a commitment to conservation. He died on March 5th, aged 81. Chivers arrived at the University of Cambridge in 1963 and, in practice, remained there for the rest of his career. After studying medical sciences and physical anthropology, he turned away from clinical veterinary training to pursue research on primates. His doctoral work, completed in 1972, was based on field studies of siamangs in Peninsular Malaysia. At the time such projects demanded patience: weeks spent tracking animals through dense forest and learning their habits by steady observation. That work produced The Siamang in Malaya, a monograph published in 1974 that became a reference point for later studies of primate ecology. Chivers was interested both in behavior and in how primates fit into forest systems. Feeding patterns, fruit availability, and the role of animals in dispersing seeds all became part of the picture. David Chivers in 1970. His later research extended across Southeast Asia and beyond. In the mid-1980s he helped establish Project Barito Ulu in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, examining how fruit-eating wildlife contributed to forest regeneration. The project brought together international researchers&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/david-chivers-student-of-the-singing-apes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Critically endangered kākāpō parrot has standout breeding season</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/critically-endangered-kakapo-parrot-has-standout-breeding-season/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/critically-endangered-kakapo-parrot-has-standout-breeding-season/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 13:57:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09124416/Alice-and-chick-Rupi-by-Jake-Osborne-hi-res1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315416</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[New Zealand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Governance, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A total of 59 healthy kākāpō chicks have hatched over the last few weeks, according to the latest tally by Aotearoa New Zealand’s Department of Conservation. This marks one of the most successful recent breeding seasons for this critically endangered bird, whose last breeding season was four years ago. The kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus), a flightless bird [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A total of 59 healthy kākāpō chicks have hatched over the last few weeks, according to the latest tally by Aotearoa New Zealand’s Department of Conservation. This marks one of the most successful recent breeding seasons for this critically endangered bird, whose last breeding season was four years ago. The kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus), a flightless bird in the parrot family endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand, has a total population of 236 adults, up from a low of just 51 individuals in the 1990s. Around the same period, the surviving birds were relocated to three predator-free Aotearoa New Zealand islands — Whenua Hou, Pukenui and Te Kākahu-o-Tamatea — but they’ve still struggled with low reproduction rates. “Every new chick brings the species further from the brink of extinction,” Deidre Vercoe, the Department of Conservation’s operations manager for kākāpō, told Mongabay by email. “There’s always a sense of hope and optimism for the future.” Kākāpō only breed in years when the native rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) tree produces a heavy crop of fruits, which happens every 2-4 years. A chick named Tīwhiri-A1-2026, born on Feb. 14, was the first kākāpō to hatch in four years. Image courtesy of Lydia Uddstrom/New Zealand Department of Conservation. So far this year, 140 fertile eggs have been identified and 52 healthy chicks were born, with an extra seven chicks assumed via remote technology. The data are shared with the public every Friday, with an uploaded photo of the tally written in marker on the department’s refrigerator. Though more&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/critically-endangered-kakapo-parrot-has-standout-breeding-season/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>U.S.&#8217; hunger for Halloween trinkets is killing Vietnam&#8217;s painted woolly bats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/u-s-hunger-for-halloween-trinkets-is-killing-vietnams-painted-woolly-bats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/u-s-hunger-for-halloween-trinkets-is-killing-vietnams-painted-woolly-bats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 13:31:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/06154617/original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315361</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, North America, Southeast Asia, United States, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bats, Biodiversity, Cites, Conservation, Ecosystem Services, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Hunting, Illegal Trade, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Poaching, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With hues of orange and black on its wings and a furry, fluffy face, the painted woolly bat is a stunner. But its beauty has become a deadly liability. People want to hang the bats — dead and stuffed — on their walls, display them as collectibles and even set them in jewelry. In recent [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With hues of orange and black on its wings and a furry, fluffy face, the painted woolly bat is a stunner. But its beauty has become a deadly liability. People want to hang the bats — dead and stuffed — on their walls, display them as collectibles and even set them in jewelry. In recent years, taxidermied and framed bats have become popular as Halloween décor and, oddly, as Christmas tree decorations, sold to customers in the U.S., as well as Europe and Canada. This macabre trade first came to light in 2015 when scientists found dead bats, including painted woolly bats, for sale in Vietnam’s largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City. Then, nearly a decade later, scientists realized that it wasn’t just a few stores selling bats: There’s also a huge online market. In 2024, researchers from the Bat Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, documented nearly 800 bats for sale on Amazon.com, eBay and Etsy over a three-month period. Their “Dying for décor” study, published in the European Journal of Wildlife Research, suggests that the trade is global. A quarter of the bats sold online were from a single species: painted woolly bats (Kerivoula picta). After a successful awareness campaign by conservation organizations, eBay and Etsy banned the sale of bat products on their sites in 2025. Painted woolly bats are nocturnal and sparsely distributed in the landscape, roosting in small groups. Image by faridmuzaki via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0). Now, a new study&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/u-s-hunger-for-halloween-trinkets-is-killing-vietnams-painted-woolly-bats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Electrocution, conflict, poaching mark grim start to year for Sumatran elephants</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/electrocution-conflict-poaching-mark-grim-start-to-year-for-sumatran-elephants/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/electrocution-conflict-poaching-mark-grim-start-to-year-for-sumatran-elephants/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 10:17:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Junaidi Hanafiah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09093305/Arus-Listrik-yang-dipasang-warga-di-Kebun-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315409</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, human-elephant conflict, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Poaching, Sumatran Elephant, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CENTRAL ACEH, Indonesia — A Sumatran elephant found dead in Indonesia’s Central Aceh district in late February was the latest case of electrocution to kill one of Indonesia’s remaining critically endangered elephants, officials in the semiautonomous region of Aceh province say. In a separate incident a day later, a farmer died after encountering an elephant [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CENTRAL ACEH, Indonesia — A Sumatran elephant found dead in Indonesia’s Central Aceh district in late February was the latest case of electrocution to kill one of Indonesia’s remaining critically endangered elephants, officials in the semiautonomous region of Aceh province say. In a separate incident a day later, a farmer died after encountering an elephant herd near his family’s corn field. According to a senior conservation official in Aceh, Cyclone Senyar, which killed more than 1,000 people in late November, may have disrupted elephant movement patterns and increased the risk of such encounters. In a further incident, police in Sumatra’s Riau province on Mar. 3 announced they would charge 15 people after uncovering an alleged poaching ring linked to the shooting of an elephant on Feb. 2. The elephant was found on a palm oil concession operated by PT Riau Andalan Pulp &amp; Paper, a subsidiary of Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd, known as the APRIL Group. “We suspected that the animal was looking for food,” said Anwar, a resident of Karang Ampar village in Ketol subdistrict after the body of the elephant was found there. The body of the female Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), aged around 20 years old, was discovered on the outskirts of Karang Ampar on Feb. 20. “Its trunk was entangled in a wire that had been put up around the land,” Anwar said, referring to an electrified fence. He added that encounters with elephants had increased in frequency. In much of Sumatra, farming&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/electrocution-conflict-poaching-mark-grim-start-to-year-for-sumatran-elephants/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Ugandans affected by pipeline discontented over rehabilitation efforts: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/ugandans-affected-by-pipeline-discontented-over-rehabilitation-efforts-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/ugandans-affected-by-pipeline-discontented-over-rehabilitation-efforts-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 07:20:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Musinguzi Blanshe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/06153056/IMG_5484-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315351</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Activism, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Governance, Government, and Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[People whose land was acquired by the Ugandan government for the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) say livelihood restoration programs offered by project developers have not changed their lives for the better, a new report says. The 1,443-kilometer (897-mile) crude oil pipeline — the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[People whose land was acquired by the Ugandan government for the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) say livelihood restoration programs offered by project developers have not changed their lives for the better, a new report says. The 1,443-kilometer (897-mile) crude oil pipeline — the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world — will transport oil from Hoima in midwestern Uganda to the coastal port of Tanga in neighboring Tanzania for export. Ugandan officials say the pipeline is almost 80% complete, and the country expects oil exports to begin before the end of 2026. Almost a third of the 246 people surveyed in a report commissioned by the Uganda-based nonprofit Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) expressed dissatisfaction with how the project was being handled. Residents affected by the project said agricultural inputs were delivered late and that some of the seeds and seedlings were of poor quality with low germination rates. These included inputs like bean and maize seeds, coffee seedlings, banana shoots and fertilizers. For the report, AFIEGO interviewed affected people from 10 districts in Uganda, through which the pipeline traverses. According to official estimates, the pipeline project has affected 3,648 people in Uganda. Of these, 203 individuals were physically displaced and 177 chose to receive alternative housing. Participants take part in focus group discussions during data collection for the AFIEGO report in Uganda’s Lwengo district in October 2025. Image courtesy of AFIEGO. EACOP Ltd., the company constructing the pipeline, leads the process for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/ugandans-affected-by-pipeline-discontented-over-rehabilitation-efforts-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Thailand tightens embrace of fossil fuels amid Middle East conflict</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/thailand-tightens-embrace-of-fossil-fuels-amid-middle-east-conflict/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/thailand-tightens-embrace-of-fossil-fuels-amid-middle-east-conflict/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 04:34:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09042939/GP0STO5PY-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315404</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, and Oil]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On March 4, Thailand’s government ordered the Ministry of Energy to secure new energy sources within a week to reduce the nation’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil. The directive follows the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, after the Feb. 28 bombing of Iran by the U.S. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On March 4, Thailand’s government ordered the Ministry of Energy to secure new energy sources within a week to reduce the nation’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil. The directive follows the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, after the Feb. 28 bombing of Iran by the U.S. and Israel. Iran closed the strategic waterway as a direct response to the military strikes, blocking a major chokepoint that handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Approximately 30% of Thailand’s LNG and 50% of its crude oil passes through this strait. Officials initially said Thailand had a 61-day fuel reserve, but Deputy Prime Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn clarified that total reserves can last 90 days when including supplies that don’t come via the strait. To bridge the immediate gap, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved an urgent purchase of three additional one-time LNG shipments for March and April. To manage the energy crisis, the government has also ordered coal-fired power plants to operate at full capacity. In addition, it has instructed PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company PTT, to maximize domestic gas production in the Gulf of Thailand. Experts warn these measures threaten Thailand’s updated emissions reduction pledge under the Paris climate agreement, which commits to a 47% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. “They can say that this is a temporary measure that’s [being used] for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/thailand-tightens-embrace-of-fossil-fuels-amid-middle-east-conflict/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Precision conservation: the rise of place-specific strategies where protection works best</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/where-conservation-works-best-the-rise-of-place-specific-strategies/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/where-conservation-works-best-the-rise-of-place-specific-strategies/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 00:04:21 +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/20/2023/04/28211141/st_pl_raja-ampat_230617-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315006</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Conservation, Environment, Green, Remote Sensing, and Satellite Imagery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Conservation has long wrestled with a deceptively simple question: not whether to act, but where action will matter most. Forest restoration, protected areas, wildlife corridors, and enforcement patrols all compete for limited funding across landscapes that differ enormously in ecology, governance, and human pressures. A growing body of research argues that improving outcomes depends less [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Conservation has long wrestled with a deceptively simple question: not whether to act, but where action will matter most. Forest restoration, protected areas, wildlife corridors, and enforcement patrols all compete for limited funding across landscapes that differ enormously in ecology, governance, and human pressures. A growing body of research argues that improving outcomes depends less on inventing new tools than on deploying existing ones more selectively — directing interventions to places where they are most likely to deliver benefits relative to doing nothing. A 2025 perspective by Rebecca Spake and colleagues, published in Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution, describes this idea using a new label: “precision ecology.” The authors argue conservation science should move beyond estimating average effects of interventions. The goal is to predict site-specific outcomes, allowing managers to tailor actions to local conditions. The proposal draws inspiration from precision medicine, which uses patient-level data to match treatments to individuals. At its core, the argument is pragmatic. Conservation operates in heterogeneous systems, where the same intervention can succeed in one place and fail in another. As Spake and colleagues note, implementation outcomes vary across landscapes due to complex ecological and social factors, making “one-size-fits-all” strategies unreliable. The paper outlines statistical approaches — many adapted from economics and machine learning — designed to estimate how the impact of a treatment varies with environmental context. In principle, such methods could identify which forest stands would gain the most carbon from restoration, which rivers would benefit most from buffer zones, or where invasive-species&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/where-conservation-works-best-the-rise-of-place-specific-strategies/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Pascale Moehrle pressed Europe to take its seas seriously</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/pascale-moehrle-pressed-europe-to-take-its-seas-seriously/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/pascale-moehrle-pressed-europe-to-take-its-seas-seriously/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Mar 2026 04:14:33 +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/20/2026/03/07041402/Pascale-Moehrle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315398</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Obituary, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In recent decades Europe’s seas have become a test of whether environmental policy can keep pace with ecological decline. Scientific advice on fisheries has grown more precise, satellite monitoring has expanded, and governments have pledged to restore marine ecosystems. Yet many fish stocks remain under strain, and destructive fishing practices continue in areas meant to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In recent decades Europe’s seas have become a test of whether environmental policy can keep pace with ecological decline. Scientific advice on fisheries has grown more precise, satellite monitoring has expanded, and governments have pledged to restore marine ecosystems. Yet many fish stocks remain under strain, and destructive fishing practices continue in areas meant to protect biodiversity. The gap between commitments and outcomes has become a familiar feature of marine policy. Environmental groups have tried to narrow that gap by translating scientific findings into political pressure. Their work often takes place in committee rooms, regulatory consultations and court filings rather than at sea. Success depends on persistence: years spent arguing for tighter catch limits, enforcement of existing rules, or the protection of habitats that are easily damaged but slow to recover. Among the figures who devoted much of their professional life to that effort was Pascale Moehrle, executive director and vice-president of Oceana in Europe from 2019 to 2025. Her death was announced by Oceana on March 4th, 2026. Over a career in conservation that began in the early 1980s, Moehrle became a prominent voice urging European governments to manage fisheries more cautiously and to treat marine ecosystems as core environmental policy instead of peripheral to it. When Moehrle assumed leadership of Oceana’s European office, debates over fisheries and marine protection were intensifying across the European Union. Scientific assessments had long warned that many fish stocks were under pressure, and that destructive fishing practices were damaging seabed habitats. The political&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/pascale-moehrle-pressed-europe-to-take-its-seas-seriously/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>200 dead, more missing in another DRC mine collapse</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/200-dead-more-missing-in-another-drc-mine-collapse/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/200-dead-more-missing-in-another-drc-mine-collapse/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 21:09:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay Africa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/05/10155525/ArtisanalMiners_RubayaDRC_GlobalWitness-edit-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315392</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Extreme Weather and mine]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than 200 people have died and dozens are missing after a landslide on March 3 at the Kasasa site in the Rubaya mining area in Masisi territory, North Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. &#8220;I saw the ground collapse and [bury] many people who were there. I can&#8217;t say exactly how many, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than 200 people have died and dozens are missing after a landslide on March 3 at the Kasasa site in the Rubaya mining area in Masisi territory, North Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. &#8220;I saw the ground collapse and [bury] many people who were there. I can&#8217;t say exactly how many, but there were several people involved in the incident. The mine was busy as usual,&#8221; a witness who requested anonymity told Mongabay by phone. Amateur videos that have gone viral (but could not be independently verified by Mongabay) show bodies lying on the ground, with witnesses reporting that people had lost their lives and been pulled from the rubble. Since February 2025, parts of the eastern DRC, including Rubaya, have been under the control of M23, an armed group allegedly backed by Rwanda. This represented a major escalation of a long-simmering conflict in the politically volatile region. The local M23 Congo River Alliance authorities in Rubaya, including the mayor of Rubaya and his deputy, confirmed that the landslide took place but did not provide any figures about the casualties. Congolese Minister of Mines Louis Watum Kabamba, a member of President Felix Tshisekedi’s government, announced that more than 200 people, including children, had died in the disaster, which occurred on March 3 at around 3 p.m. A miner speaking on condition of anonymity, contacted by Mongabay by telephone, confirmed having seen a dozen bodies by Wednesday morning, noting that the number of victims could rise as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/200-dead-more-missing-in-another-drc-mine-collapse/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Restoration of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest may hinge on market for native plants</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/restoration-of-brazils-atlantic-forest-may-hinge-on-market-for-native-plants/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/restoration-of-brazils-atlantic-forest-may-hinge-on-market-for-native-plants/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 18:18:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sarah Derouin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/06163307/Araucaria-angustifolia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315372</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Forest, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Ecological Restoration, Endangered Species, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Plants, Rainforest Conservation, Rainforests, Reforestation, Restoration, Saving Rainforests, Trees, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The forests of the world are teeming with life, from the towering trees down to the microscopic organisms that quietly recycle and refuel the soil. That’s why clearing forests leads to biodiversity loss, problems with water and soil quality, and less carbon storage. In Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, restoration projects have been underway for decades to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The forests of the world are teeming with life, from the towering trees down to the microscopic organisms that quietly recycle and refuel the soil. That’s why clearing forests leads to biodiversity loss, problems with water and soil quality, and less carbon storage. In Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, restoration projects have been underway for decades to combat clearing. While some successes have been noted, there are still barriers to starting — and sustaining — restoration efforts in the region. This is especially the case for privately owned land. Now, new research in the journal Ambio digs in to how to better balance reforestation efforts with economic benefits for landowners in the Atlantic Forest. “We wanted to go beyond the classic, cliché narrative that says biodiversity has an invaluable market value and many active principles … we wanted to answer which ones,” says study lead author Pedro Medrado Krainovic, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of São Paulo. The researchers were curious if they could find the reforestation sweet spot of increasing biodiversity, creating economic incentives and providing social support — a combination known as bioeconomics. In particular, they wanted to know if native plant species in restored patches of the Atlantic Forest could help bridge the gap between forest restoration goals and economic opportunities, by measuring how many of these species could be economically exploited. The team surveyed vegetation in areas undergoing forest restoration, noting the variety and abundance of native plants. Using patent records for plants in medical, cosmetic and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/restoration-of-brazils-atlantic-forest-may-hinge-on-market-for-native-plants/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Sri Lankan waters under ‘close watch’ following wreckage of Iranian warship</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/sri-lankan-waters-under-close-watch-following-wreckage-of-iranian-warship/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/sri-lankan-waters-under-close-watch-following-wreckage-of-iranian-warship/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 17:15:23 +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/20/2026/03/06164217/Image-No-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315375</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Oil Spills, Pollution, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[GALLE, Sri Lanka — On March 4, an Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena sank some 40-50 nautical miles off the southern coast of Galle, an important maritime route in Sri Lanka. According to the Sri Lanka Navy, at least 180 personnel were initially on board the ship and it was returning from the International Fleet [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[GALLE, Sri Lanka — On March 4, an Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena sank some 40-50 nautical miles off the southern coast of Galle, an important maritime route in Sri Lanka. According to the Sri Lanka Navy, at least 180 personnel were initially on board the ship and it was returning from the International Fleet Review 2026, a maritime exercise held in Visakhapatnam, India, when it sent out a distress signal. Following the incident, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian warship in international waters, describing it as the first such sinking of an enemy ship by a U.S. submarine since World War II. For Sri Lanka, a strategic location at the confluence of important maritime routes, it is both a politically and environmentally distressing moment.  Speaking to media in Colombo, Buddhika Sampath, spokesman for the Sri Lanka Navy, said search and rescue troops were deployed as soon as the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received the distress call. “We didn’t see a ship except for some oil patches and life rafts,” Sampath told local journalists at a media briefing. “The Navy rescued 32 individuals aboard the ship, but by the time we reached the frigate, several bodies were floating near the vessel,” he said. Map shows Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone. Image courtesy of the Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase, Flanders Marine Institute. No oil spill yet Speaking to Mongabay, Sampath confirmed that an oil spill has not been detected yet. A total of 90 bodies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/sri-lankan-waters-under-close-watch-following-wreckage-of-iranian-warship/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Nations not on track to meet UN 2030 pesticide risk reduction targets: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/nations-not-on-track-to-meet-un-2030-pesticide-risk-reduction-targets-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/nations-not-on-track-to-meet-un-2030-pesticide-risk-reduction-targets-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 16:46:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/01/16203216/pexels-gilmer-diaz-estela-6345502-scaled-e1673901240276-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315348</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Agroecology, Biology, Chemicals, Conservation, Crops, Environment, Environmental Policy, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Industrial Agriculture, Industry, Pesticides, Pollution, Public Health, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The world’s nations committed to halving overall threats to biodiversity from pesticides and other highly hazardous chemicals by 2030 at the 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference in 2022. But new research finds most countries are trending in the wrong direction when it comes to ecological risks from pesticides, with the U.N.’s global risk reduction target [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The world’s nations committed to halving overall threats to biodiversity from pesticides and other highly hazardous chemicals by 2030 at the 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference in 2022. But new research finds most countries are trending in the wrong direction when it comes to ecological risks from pesticides, with the U.N.’s global risk reduction target unlikely to be met without substantial changes to agricultural systems. In fact, only one country, Chile, is currently on track to meet the U.N. target of reducing pesticide risk by 50% by 2030, according to recent findings by a team of environmental scientists from German university RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, and published in the journal Science. Pesticide risk in this context is defined as the probability of chemical compounds — including insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides — used to control agricultural pests having adverse effects on species not directly targeted by the pesticides and, thus, on ecosystems more broadly — and ultimately on humans. The new study found that the applied toxicity of insecticides has increased for pollinating insects such as honey bees. Image by Louise Docker via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). To determine global pesticide risk, the study researchers looked at data on pesticide use from 2013 to 2019 in 65 nations that collectively represent nearly 80% of global crop acreage. They then combined these statistics with data on the toxicity of 625 pesticides for eight different species groups, including aquatic invertebrates and plants, fish, pollinating insects, soil organisms, and terrestrial arthropods, plants and vertebrates. This&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/nations-not-on-track-to-meet-un-2030-pesticide-risk-reduction-targets-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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						<item>
					<title>The rate of global warming is accelerating, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-rate-of-global-warming-is-accelerating-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-rate-of-global-warming-is-accelerating-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 15:37:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bobby Bascomb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/06153633/Glacial_melt_water_carving_the_ice_river_source_Himalayas_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315354</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Global Warming, Ocean, Ocean Warming, Planetary Health, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Earth has been steadily warming since the start of the Industrial Revolution, when humans began emitting greenhouse gases at scale. And while the rate of warming has been largely constant for the past half-century, a recent study finds it has accelerated over the last decade — an alarming trend for Earth systems, biodiversity and human [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Earth has been steadily warming since the start of the Industrial Revolution, when humans began emitting greenhouse gases at scale. And while the rate of warming has been largely constant for the past half-century, a recent study finds it has accelerated over the last decade — an alarming trend for Earth systems, biodiversity and human health. Since the 1970s, the average global temperature has increased by roughly 0.2° Celsius (0.36° Fahrenheit) per decade. “That was pretty constant, but in recent years there have been some really record-breaking hot years globally,” study co-author Stefan Rahmstorf, a professor of physics of the ocean at Potsdam University in Germany, told Mongabay in a video call. The last three years are the three warmest on record – as are all ten of the years since 2015. That sudden spike prompted a debate among climate scientists, Rahmstorf said. They questioned if the sudden warming was indeed an acceleration, or natural variation that could be explained by three other factors — El Niño, volcanic eruptions, or solar flares — which can all affect global temperatures. To find out, Rahmstorf and study co-author Grant Foster, a statistician, applied statistical analysis to global temperature data to weed out the influence of those three factors. “We filter out known natural influences in the observational data, so that the ‘noise’ is reduced, making the underlying long-term warming signal more clearly visible,” Foster said in a press release. What remained was predominantly the human-caused warming signal. The results were dramatic: since 2015,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-rate-of-global-warming-is-accelerating-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Indonesian communities push to reclaim lands following company permit revocations</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesian-communities-try-to-reclaim-lands-following-company-permit-revocations/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesian-communities-try-to-reclaim-lands-following-company-permit-revocations/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 14:44:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tonggo Simangunsong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/22101035/DJI_20250319104412_0009_D-1200x800-1-e1772730336844-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315271</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Corporate Environmental Transgessors, Corporate Responsibility, Corporations, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Law, and Law Enforcement]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MEDAN, Indonesia — Sahala Pasaribu, 35, walks on customary land his family has not been able to manage for more than three decades since PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL), a pulpwood company, took control of it. Now, after the government decided to revoke the company&#8217;s permit in January, he hopes it’s possible. &#8220;We feel free [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MEDAN, Indonesia — Sahala Pasaribu, 35, walks on customary land his family has not been able to manage for more than three decades since PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL), a pulpwood company, took control of it. Now, after the government decided to revoke the company&#8217;s permit in January, he hopes it’s possible. &#8220;We feel free to manage our own land without the intimidation we often faced,&#8221; said Sahala, head of Natinggir village in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province. He succeeded his father, Tomu Pasaribu, who died in 2024. He has already begun replanting the land with secondary crops, such as corn and vegetables. His family also plans to restore a customary forest, which they say is sacred. But whether he, and others from dozens of Indigenous communities whose lands were held by the company, can legally reclaim their customary lands remains unclear. At the start of 2026, the government decided to revoke PT TPL’s forest utilization permit, along with those of 27 other companies, over violating environmental and forestry regulations it said contributed to deadly floods and landslides in November 2025. But according to officials, lands under these permits will be managed by state-owned companies under the sovereign investment agency Danantara. Some companies have also indicated they will appeal the revocations of their permits. Pressure from communities on the government for clarity about whether they can take back lands has so far gone unanswered. Mongabay reached out to Danantara and the ministries of environment and forestry but did not receive a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesian-communities-try-to-reclaim-lands-following-company-permit-revocations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>This bird is disappearing from Indonesia&#8217;s forests for its song</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/this-bird-is-disappearing-from-indonesias-forests-for-its-song/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/this-bird-is-disappearing-from-indonesias-forests-for-its-song/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 06:05:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/06055408/Indonesia-Songbird-e1772777002290-768x468.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315320</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Conservation, Habitat Loss, Poaching, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The rising popularity of songbird singing competitions in Indonesia has led to the dramatic decline of the white-rumped shama, a bird known locally as murai batu. Mongabay Indonesia video contributor Rizky Maulana Yanuar recently reported that keeping such birds is deeply rooted in local culture. In Javanese society, a man is considered to be successful [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The rising popularity of songbird singing competitions in Indonesia has led to the dramatic decline of the white-rumped shama, a bird known locally as murai batu. Mongabay Indonesia video contributor Rizky Maulana Yanuar recently reported that keeping such birds is deeply rooted in local culture. In Javanese society, a man is considered to be successful when he has a job, a house, a vehicle, a wife and a bird, Yanuar reported. Murai batu (Copsychus malabaricus) are highly coveted for their melodic voice and beauty. In contests, the birds are judged on the duration of their song, volume, rhythm, showmanship and physical presentation. Winning these prestigious contests significantly increases a bird’s market value. Champion birds can sell for tens of thousands of dollars, and prizes for the owners can even include cars. While there are plenty of facilities breeding the birds in captivity, buyers say wild-caught birds are superior. This high demand has created a financial lifeline for rural residents facing economic uncertainty. “As a farmer, harvests are very uncertain. Sometimes I have work, sometimes I don’t,” says Peni Mak Lajang, a Sumatran native who turned to poaching murai batu because of the high prices. Peni sold his first murai batu for 800,000 rupiah ($48), back when he could capture five birds in a week. Now, he considers it a “blessing” if he can catch even one in a month. Constant pressure to collect wild murai batu for singing contests has caused them to vanish from most forests across Java and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/this-bird-is-disappearing-from-indonesias-forests-for-its-song/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate or biodiversity? Global study maps out forestation’s dilemma</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/climate-or-biodiversity-global-study-maps-out-forestations-dilemma/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/climate-or-biodiversity-global-study-maps-out-forestations-dilemma/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 02:45:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/05160753/5343928380_7661771c5f_o-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315265</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Crisis, Biodiversity Hotspots, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Climate Change And Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Degraded Lands, Earth Science, Ecological Restoration, Ecology, Ecosystem Restoration, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Fungi, Global Warming, Global Warming Mitigation, Green, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, IPCC, Landscape Restoration, Logging, National Parks, Oceans And Climate Change, Parks, Plants, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Research, Restoration, Saving Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Timber, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Planting trees is a vital strategy to combat both climate change and the biodiversity crisis. As forests grow, they sponge carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide renewed habitat for threatened animals, plants, fungi and countless unseen lifeforms. That ability of forests to help slow climate change has driven a push to reforest degraded lands [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Planting trees is a vital strategy to combat both climate change and the biodiversity crisis. As forests grow, they sponge carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide renewed habitat for threatened animals, plants, fungi and countless unseen lifeforms. That ability of forests to help slow climate change has driven a push to reforest degraded lands or even plant new forests where none existed before. It’s also spurred other strategies, like the cultivation of bioenergy crops coupled with carbon capture. But these approaches require a lot of land, and they could potentially put pressure on the species that live in these spots — if a forestation project or hectares of bioenergy row crops subsume native grasslands, for example. A recent analysis shows that around 13% of globally important, biodiversity-rich land overlaps with areas earmarked for these types of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects. “It&#8217;s unfortunate that we face multiple global problems all at once, including both climate change and biodiversity loss,” said Mark Urban, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut in the U.S., who wasn’t involved in the research. “When we try to fix one, we can make things worse for the other.” Agroforestry in Ethiopia. Image by Trees ForTheFuture via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, used five existing models that guide climate action in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels to map out locations tabbed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/climate-or-biodiversity-global-study-maps-out-forestations-dilemma/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Antarctic krill sustainability label questioned</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/antarctic-krill-sustainability-label-questioned/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/antarctic-krill-sustainability-label-questioned/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Mar 2026 22:46:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bobby Bascomb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/05224303/Gentoo_Life_204386763-1-e1772750731654-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=315314</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Fish, Fisheries, Marine Mammals, Ocean, and Whales]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) recently released a draft report for its fourth recertification of krill fishing in Antarctica by Aker QRILL Company. The certification would allow Aker to put an MSC label on its products that tells consumers the krill came from a sustainable well-managed fishery. However, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) recently released a draft report for its fourth recertification of krill fishing in Antarctica by Aker QRILL Company. The certification would allow Aker to put an MSC label on its products that tells consumers the krill came from a sustainable well-managed fishery. However, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), a U.S.-based advocacy group, issued a formal objection to that determination, citing concerns about overfishing of a critical resource in a sensitive ecosystem. “Everything that lives in Antarctica either eats krill or eats something that eats krill,” Holly Parker Curry, ASOC’s marine protected areas campaign director, told Mongabay in a video call. It’s the base of the food chain but krill biomass has declined by 70-80% in parts of the Southern Ocean since the 1970s. That’s roughly when people started harvesting the tiny crustaceans for aquaculture fish food and dietary supplements for people. Climate change and shrunken sea ice are also contributing the dramatic drop in krill populations; krill depend on sea ice for part of their life cycle. In its said, “Antarctic krill is one of the best managed species in the world … [and] the total catch is limited to below 1% of the total biomass.” Curry said that assessment is strictly accurate, but the devil is in the details. “It&#8217;s not just about how much is caught, that&#8217;s important too, but it&#8217;s really where it&#8217;s caught,” Curry said. “A lot of the fishing for krill in the Southern Ocean, it all happens essentially in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/antarctic-krill-sustainability-label-questioned/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Satellite images identify vulture breeding colonies by their droppings</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/satellite-images-identify-vulture-breeding-colonies-by-their-droppings/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/satellite-images-identify-vulture-breeding-colonies-by-their-droppings/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Mar 2026 19:21:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/05140548/Vulture_11.NestingColony_BomaPlateauSouthSudan_MeganClaase-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315248</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Chad, East Africa, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Birds Of Prey, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Poaching, Poisoning, Predators, Raptors, Scavengers, Vultures, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Populations of Rüppell’s vultures have fallen by more than 90% over the past four decades. Knowing exactly where these critically endangered birds breed can allow conservationists to put protective measures in place. But Rüppell’s historically occupied a vast swathe of West, Central and East Africa; finding their remaining colonies is a daunting task. A team [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Populations of Rüppell’s vultures have fallen by more than 90% over the past four decades. Knowing exactly where these critically endangered birds breed can allow conservationists to put protective measures in place. But Rüppell’s historically occupied a vast swathe of West, Central and East Africa; finding their remaining colonies is a daunting task. A team of researchers says it has successfully tested a way to find vulture colonies remotely, pinpointing dozens of potential sites across seven countries using open-access satellite imagery. The vultures helped. Like other cliff-nesting birds, their droppings lavishly daub cliff faces below their nests with whitewash. Bulgarian ornithologist Ivaylo Angelov, zoomed in on satellite images of mountainous areas across more than 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles), seeking out cliffs over 20 meters (65 feet) high as well as sites documented in old bird atlases of the region. Ivaylo Angelov studies a Rüppell’s vulture nesting colony in Ethiopia in 2009. Image courtesy of Nikolay Terziev. Angelov and his colleagues pinpointed 232 previously undocumented nesting sites. Most of these were in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad, but they found others in the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. The work took weeks but was “immensely satisfying.” “I love geography, I love travel, and it was an absolute joy for me to zoom in and check all these incredible mountains,” Angelov says. “I had the feeling that I’m there.” In the region surrounding Sudan’s Jebel Marra mountains, in the southwest of the country, the team located&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/satellite-images-identify-vulture-breeding-colonies-by-their-droppings/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>25 years after ‘disaster’ declaration, major U.S. fishery makes a comeback</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/25-years-after-disaster-declaration-major-u-s-fishery-makes-a-comeback/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/25-years-after-disaster-declaration-major-u-s-fishery-makes-a-comeback/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Mar 2026 19:01:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jules Struck]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/05173540/53012320328_74d1dd9457_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315179</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America, Pacific, Pacific Northwest, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bycatch, Conservation, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Marine Animals, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Marine Crisis, Marine Ecosystems, Mrn-oceans, Oceans, Overfishing, Regulations, Saltwater Fish, Sustainability, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PORT ORFORD, Oregon, U.S. — Aaron Longton reached down into the rinsing sink in his garage-turned-fish-processing facility on the Oregon coast and hoisted a redbanded rockfish by its fat bottom lip. The homely fish was next in line for the dressing table, where Brian Morrissey, Longton’s “cutter-in-chief,” would deftly slice it into neat fillets, setting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PORT ORFORD, Oregon, U.S. — Aaron Longton reached down into the rinsing sink in his garage-turned-fish-processing facility on the Oregon coast and hoisted a redbanded rockfish by its fat bottom lip. The homely fish was next in line for the dressing table, where Brian Morrissey, Longton’s “cutter-in-chief,” would deftly slice it into neat fillets, setting aside its guts and bones for crabbing chum. Morrisey had about 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of the rockfish (Sebastes babcocki) to get through that day, and 90 kg (200 lbs) of lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), he said, his knife unzipping yet another fish. An unthinkable abundance only 20 years ago. “These fish were really severely limited to us,” said Longton, founder of Port Orford Sustainable Seafood, a company that sells fish via a subscription program. “Now, we have huge quotas.” Redbanded rockfish (Sebastes babcocki), one of the groundfish species whose stock has been rebuilt on the U.S. West Coast, being processed at Port Orford Sustainable Seafood. Image by Jules Struck for Mongabay. The groundfish Longton hauls to his processing room from the pier down the street are the spoils of a painstakingly rebuilt industry. Twenty-six years ago, the West Coast groundfish industry, which encompasses more than 90 species of bottom-dwelling fish off Washington, Oregon and California, had overfished itself to near devastation. In response, fisheries authorities closed vast tracts of the ocean to trawling and slashed fishing quotas, throwing many fishers into painful retirement. But in the aftermath, an unlikely corps materialized of fishers, scientists, conservationists&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/25-years-after-disaster-declaration-major-u-s-fishery-makes-a-comeback/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Bringing storytelling to science: John Cannon’s approach to reporting on nature</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/bringing-storytelling-to-science-john-cannons-approach-to-reporting-on-nature/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/bringing-storytelling-to-science-john-cannons-approach-to-reporting-on-nature/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Mar 2026 17:40:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/05173144/PCT-SEKI-2024-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315287</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Journalism, Interviews With Environmental Journalists, Journalism, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For John Cannon, reporting on nature begins with a story grounded in the truth. “Evidence-based reporting [is] at the heart of what we do at Mongabay,” he says. “I believe it’s perhaps the most profound way we can contribute to making things better.” With a biology degree from Ohio State University and a graduate degree [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[For John Cannon, reporting on nature begins with a story grounded in the truth. “Evidence-based reporting [is] at the heart of what we do at Mongabay,” he says. “I believe it’s perhaps the most profound way we can contribute to making things better.” With a biology degree from Ohio State University and a graduate degree in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Cannon has dedicated himself to this belief, reporting from around the world, including several countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. He also was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger. That background fuels Cannon’s curiosity as a journalist. “I find science’s disentangling of life’s mysteries on Earth incredibly inspiring, especially as we try to find our way out of the crises of climate change and biodiversity loss,” he says. Ultimately, his time is spent “connecting conservation science with the daily lives of people affected by the problems that face us today” as well as “finding ways to illustrate how interconnected we all are.” Cannon hiking through Dogon country in Mali, 2011. Image courtesy of Anne-Claire Benoit. Today, based in California with his wife and two cats adopted while living in Gaza, Cannon balances his work at Mongabay with a love of mountain biking, skiing and hiking, including taking on Spain’s Camino de Santiago and the Pacific Crest Trail across the U.S. and Canada. Cannon began writing for Mongabay as a correspondent in 2014, joined full-time in 2016, and is now a staff features writer. His&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/bringing-storytelling-to-science-john-cannons-approach-to-reporting-on-nature/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Climate change is messing with tropical plants’ flowering times, study shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/climate-change-is-messing-with-tropical-plants-flowering-times-study-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/climate-change-is-messing-with-tropical-plants-flowering-times-study-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Mar 2026 17:39:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
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											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
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							<![CDATA[The flowering times for many plant species have shifted due to climate change, with most of the change occurring in temperate zones. Researchers assumed the tropics, which are largely the same temperature year-round, would be insulated from such climate change-driven changes to flowering times. However, a new study challenges that assumption. Researchers examined more than [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[The flowering times for many plant species have shifted due to climate change, with most of the change occurring in temperate zones. Researchers assumed the tropics, which are largely the same temperature year-round, would be insulated from such climate change-driven changes to flowering times. However, a new study challenges that assumption. Researchers examined more than 200 years of flowering plant data from herbarium collections of tropical plants across Africa, Asia and South America. They identified 33 plant species with distinct annual flowering times, and recorded data from 8,000 individual plant specimens collected between 1794 and 2024. They found that the flowering times shifted by an average of two days per decade; approximately one-third of the species flowered earlier and two-thirds shifted later. However, there were some anomalies. Brazilian amaranth trees (Peltogyne recifensis), for example, now flower 80 days later than they did in the 1950s. By 1995, the Ghanaian rattlepod shrub (Crotalaria mortonii) flowered 17 days earlier than it did in the 1950s. Study lead author Skylar Graves, from the University of Colorado Boulder in the U.S., said the findings show that herbarium specimens can be used to examine the climate impacts on plants over time. “Herbarium specimens are functionally a global and multigenerational dataset of plants,” she told Mongabay by email. “These specimens can be used for countless purposes, and with enough collections taken … you can use them to compare anything you want at any scale.” The shifts observed in tropical plant flowering times is comparable to those&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/climate-change-is-messing-with-tropical-plants-flowering-times-study-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Seafood fraud is rampant, imperiling fish populations, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/seafood-fraud-is-rampant-imperiling-fish-populations-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/seafood-fraud-is-rampant-imperiling-fish-populations-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Mar 2026 17:36:33 +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/20/2026/03/05142725/1-wholesale-seafood-market-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315255</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
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											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Illegal Fishing, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Saltwater Fish, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, and Wildlife Crime]]>
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							<![CDATA[The global fisheries and aquaculture sector produces more than 150 million metric tons of food per year, valued at nearly $200 billion. Yet it’s plagued with fraud, according to a new report. The report, published Feb. 10 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency, both United Nations bodies, says [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[The global fisheries and aquaculture sector produces more than 150 million metric tons of food per year, valued at nearly $200 billion. Yet it’s plagued with fraud, according to a new report. The report, published Feb. 10 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency, both United Nations bodies, says that up to roughly 20% of aquatic products are intentionally mislabeled as the wrong species or otherwise fraudulent, posing environmental and health risks. “A global 20% seafood fraud rate isn’t just a statistic; it’s a dire warning,” Max Valentine, a campaign director at U.S.-based marine conservation NGO Oceana, said in a statement. (An Oceana policy adviser to the NGO’s Europe branch contributed to the FAO report, but Valentine wasn’t involved with it.) “Consumers are falling victim to a bait and switch, and the fishers who play by the rules are paying the price. This is a global problem that every nation must work together to combat at its source.” The report, presented at the World Seafood Congress held Feb. 9-11 in Chennai, India, calls for governments and industry stakeholders to establish better traceability systems, use advanced detection methods, and educate the public. “Tools of great relevance are national legislation and national and international standards, which are vital in defining acceptable products and practices,” the report says. A tuna on board a fishing vessel in Indian waters in 2012. The vessel was operating outside of Indian regulations on registration and ownership, according to the international NGO&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/seafood-fraud-is-rampant-imperiling-fish-populations-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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