https://news.mongabay.com/list/rainforests/ Environmental science and conservation news Sun, 17 May 2026 12:42:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/rainforests/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ecuador-failing-to-end-yasuni-oil-drilling-interview-with-waorani-leader-juan-bay/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ecuador-failing-to-end-yasuni-oil-drilling-interview-with-waorani-leader-juan-bay/#respond 13 May 2026 14:23:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319326 - A voter referendum in 2023 required the Ecuadorian government to shut down the 43-ITT oil block by August 2024, and the decision was backed up in a 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).
- Since then, however, there’s been virtually no progress, Bay said, with the government having shuttered just 10 out of 247 oil wells in the block.
- Bay said communities continue to suffer from the environmental and cultural destruction caused by oil exploitation, as well as the internal divisions that formed between some Waorani communities.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ecuador-failing-to-end-yasuni-oil-drilling-interview-with-waorani-leader-juan-bay/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/long-dubbed-a-climate-refuge-warming-tasmanian-forests-need-our-help/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/long-dubbed-a-climate-refuge-warming-tasmanian-forests-need-our-help/#respond 12 May 2026 21:31:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319252 - But new research shows that the world’s climate refuges are not immune to threats: shifting rainfall, warming waters, sediment runoff, land-use change and other impacts are eroding the ecological conditions that sustain numerous species.
- In Tasmania, emerging pressures are impacting the island’s biodiversity, ranging from warming and sedimentation in forest streams affecting sensitive crayfish habitat, to declining oxygen levels putting the endemic Maugean skate at risk.
- Scientists say protecting climate refuges now requires active coordinated management between federal, state and local partners, with multimillion-dollar investments in watershed restoration and ongoing conservation efforts.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/long-dubbed-a-climate-refuge-warming-tasmanian-forests-need-our-help/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-jaguar-rivers-initiative-aims-to-reconnect-south-americas-fragmented-ecosystems/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-jaguar-rivers-initiative-aims-to-reconnect-south-americas-fragmented-ecosystems/#respond 12 May 2026 17:53:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319235 - Its goal is to protect the big cat and other threatened species, rewild native wildlife, and protect land throughout the basin, a biodiversity hotspot shared by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
- Many rivers form the borders between the four countries, and by collaborating on protections, the initiative seeks to reconnect fragmented habitat, using rivers and riparian forests to rebuild wildlife corridors.
- By 2030, the initiative plans to protect at least 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of land in these countries, preserving approximately 34 million metric tons of carbon at risk of being released through deforestation, fire and land-use change.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-jaguar-rivers-initiative-aims-to-reconnect-south-americas-fragmented-ecosystems/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-tree-rings-reveal-about-climate-change-in-the-amazon/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-tree-rings-reveal-about-climate-change-in-the-amazon/#respond 11 May 2026 20:41:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319162 - Their study revealed that over the past four decades, rainfall has become more intense during the wet season and scarcer during the dry season, indicating unprecedented extension of climate seasonality.
- Researchers point out that such intensification of extremes results from a combination of natural environmental variability, deforestation and climate change, with direct impacts on the forest and the carbon cycle.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-tree-rings-reveal-about-climate-change-in-the-amazon/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-law-to-help-bolivian-farmers-may-actually-increase-land-grabbing-critics-warn/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-law-to-help-bolivian-farmers-may-actually-increase-land-grabbing-critics-warn/#respond 11 May 2026 16:39:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319146 - But it also means they would lose protection from land seizure, which could allow big businesses to more easily buy up the land, some critics of the law say.
- The legislation could also help large landowners divide and sell their properties more easily, potentially leading to development and forest clearing in an area with one of the highest deforestation rates in the region.
- Last month, Indigenous groups started a march from the department of Pando to the capital, La Paz, to pressure the government to revoke the law.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-law-to-help-bolivian-farmers-may-actually-increase-land-grabbing-critics-warn/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/endangered-golden-headed-lion-tamarin-photo-of-the-week/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/endangered-golden-headed-lion-tamarin-photo-of-the-week/#respond 11 May 2026 15:38:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=319137 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/endangered-golden-headed-lion-tamarin-photo-of-the-week/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/paraguay-expanded-a-reserve-in-the-gran-chaco-why-is-deforestation-still-rising-there/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/paraguay-expanded-a-reserve-in-the-gran-chaco-why-is-deforestation-still-rising-there/#respond 08 May 2026 16:59:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318947 - Regulations are only selectively enforced by the government, if not entirely ignored, critics say.
- Property owners often exceed how much native vegetation they can legally clear on their land to make room for cattle pasture and agriculture.
- As the forest shrinks, Indigenous Ayoreo-Totobiegosode living in that part of the reserve have struggled to maintain voluntary isolation; they rely on the forest for food, shelter and medicine, and don’t have immunity to many outside diseases.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/paraguay-expanded-a-reserve-in-the-gran-chaco-why-is-deforestation-still-rising-there/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/forests-fires-and-fragile-gains-interview-with-wris-elizabeth-goldman/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/forests-fires-and-fragile-gains-interview-with-wris-elizabeth-goldman/#respond 08 May 2026 15:38:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319011 - While GFW’s data show that more than 4.3 million hectares (10.6 million acres) of tropical forest was cut down, this still represents the steepest single-year decline in two decades and offers a rare moment of optimism after consecutive years of forest destruction and record-breaking wildfires.
- Much of the improvement stems from Brazil, where renewed political will and enforcement under President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva played a decisive role.
- But while the decline suggests that protective policies and favorable weather can slow the destruction of the world’s forests, GFW’s Elizabeth Goldman warns that the progress is fragile.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/forests-fires-and-fragile-gains-interview-with-wris-elizabeth-goldman/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/conservationists-fear-fires-could-erase-years-of-orangutan-habitat-recovery/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/conservationists-fear-fires-could-erase-years-of-orangutan-habitat-recovery/#respond 08 May 2026 10:34:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318990 - The restoration project, led by the government, Yayasan IAR Indonesia and local communities, has replanted about 300 hectares (740 acres) with 150,000 trees to help keep critically endangered orangutans out of nearby farms.
- Conservationists say the fires, likely sparked by nearby land clearing for oil palm, spread rapidly through dry peat and scrub vegetation, despite the area still being in the rainy season.
- With severe El Niño conditions forecast later this year, conservation groups warn they lack sufficient resources to fully prepare for another major fire season like the devastating 2015 crisis.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/conservationists-fear-fires-could-erase-years-of-orangutan-habitat-recovery/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/deforestation-and-warming-could-push-amazon-to-tipping-point-by-2040s-study/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/deforestation-and-warming-could-push-amazon-to-tipping-point-by-2040s-study/#respond 07 May 2026 14:10:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318926 - This looming Amazon threshold modeled by researchers could be reached as early as the 2040s. Hitting this rainforest loss/global temperature threshold, or tipping point, could ultimately impact more than 70% of the Amazon Basin within decades, resulting in release of large amounts of carbon stored in forest and soils.
- Roughly 17-18% of the Amazon has already been deforested, and global temperatures are expected to rise to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels annually as early as 2030.
- Experts underline that the new findings reinforce the urgent need to halt Amazon deforestation, restore significant amounts of rainforest and drastically slash carbon emissions.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/deforestation-and-warming-could-push-amazon-to-tipping-point-by-2040s-study/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-one-forest-native-rats-remain-in-another-only-invaders/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-one-forest-native-rats-remain-in-another-only-invaders/#respond 07 May 2026 08:17:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=318923 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-one-forest-native-rats-remain-in-another-only-invaders/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/study-finds-microplastics-in-tadpoles-in-the-amazon-for-the-first-time/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/study-finds-microplastics-in-tadpoles-in-the-amazon-for-the-first-time/#respond 05 May 2026 10:01:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=318729 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/study-finds-microplastics-in-tadpoles-in-the-amazon-for-the-first-time/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/declining-australian-tree-health-is-as-big-a-problem-as-bushfires-commentary/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/declining-australian-tree-health-is-as-big-a-problem-as-bushfires-commentary/#respond 05 May 2026 00:31:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318695 - Threats to Australian tree species are multiplying like an invisible bushfire via a proliferation of introduced insects and pathogens, the authors suggest, ahead of his country’s first national forum on the topic later this month, Safeguarding Australia’s Tree Health, in Brisbane.
- “We recognize bushfires as a national crisis because their impacts are visible and immediate, but some ecological crises arrive more quietly. If we fail to notice them early, the damage can become harder to reverse for forests, for biodiversity, and for the communities that depend on them,” they write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/declining-australian-tree-health-is-as-big-a-problem-as-bushfires-commentary/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/can-listening-to-a-forest-reveal-whether-it-is-ecologically-healthy/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/can-listening-to-a-forest-reveal-whether-it-is-ecologically-healthy/#respond 04 May 2026 15:36:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=318687 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/can-listening-to-a-forest-reveal-whether-it-is-ecologically-healthy/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/solar-installation-and-deforestation-in-the-amazon-photo-of-the-week/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/solar-installation-and-deforestation-in-the-amazon-photo-of-the-week/#respond 04 May 2026 11:28:05 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=318660 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/solar-installation-and-deforestation-in-the-amazon-photo-of-the-week/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-guatemala-new-ai-technology-will-be-listening-for-illegal-deforestation/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-guatemala-new-ai-technology-will-be-listening-for-illegal-deforestation/#respond 30 Apr 2026 21:05:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318295 - The project is part of the $100 million AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, run by the Bezos Earth Fund for innovative uses of artificial intelligence for tackling biodiversity loss, climate change and food insecurity.
- The devices will be installed in parts of the reserve threatened by cattle ranching and illegal human settlements, accounting for thousands of hectares of annual forest loss in recent years.
- If successful, bioacoustics technology could be combined with camera traps, drone monitoring, satellite data and human observation to create a more efficient and data-driven conservation strategy, members of the project said.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-guatemala-new-ai-technology-will-be-listening-for-illegal-deforestation/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/endangered-javan-gibbon-baby-born-in-uk-rare-species-sanctuary/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/endangered-javan-gibbon-baby-born-in-uk-rare-species-sanctuary/#respond 30 Apr 2026 07:48:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=318454 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/endangered-javan-gibbon-baby-born-in-uk-rare-species-sanctuary/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-good-year-for-forests-changes-less-than-it-seems/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-good-year-for-forests-changes-less-than-it-seems/#respond 29 Apr 2026 17:55:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318421 - The reduction was largely due to a decrease in fire-related losses following the extreme droughts of 2024, highlighting how forest health is increasingly dictated by climate variability and rainfall extremes.
- While policy-driven successes in Brazil and Indonesia offer a blueprint for enforcement, these gains remain fragile and vulnerable to shifting political dynamics and weakening governance.
- The resilience of recent progress faces an imminent test in 2026, as forecasts for a returning El Niño threaten to bring back the dry conditions that historically trigger catastrophic forest loss.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-good-year-for-forests-changes-less-than-it-seems/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/brazilian-state-greenlights-deforestation-for-contested-open-pit-gold-mine/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/brazilian-state-greenlights-deforestation-for-contested-open-pit-gold-mine/#respond 29 Apr 2026 13:25:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=318392 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/brazilian-state-greenlights-deforestation-for-contested-open-pit-gold-mine/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/angolas-highest-mountain-and-its-unique-wildlife-are-now-protected/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/angolas-highest-mountain-and-its-unique-wildlife-are-now-protected/#respond 29 Apr 2026 04:36:08 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=318343 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/angolas-highest-mountain-and-its-unique-wildlife-are-now-protected/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/tropical-forest-loss-falls-in-2025-but-world-still-off-track-on-deforestation-goals/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/tropical-forest-loss-falls-in-2025-but-world-still-off-track-on-deforestation-goals/#respond 29 Apr 2026 04:10:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318333 - Despite the drop, the world still lost an area of tropical primary forest larger than Switzerland last year, leaving countries far off track from their 2030 goal of ending deforestation.
- Smaller forest-rich countries are losing remaining forests fastest, while major forest nations like Brazil show gains linked to stronger enforcement.
- Climate-driven fires, weak governance and commodity pressures continue to drive forest loss, making recent gains fragile and uncertain.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/tropical-forest-loss-falls-in-2025-but-world-still-off-track-on-deforestation-goals/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/why-forest-conservation-is-also-public-health/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/why-forest-conservation-is-also-public-health/#respond 22 Apr 2026 02:14:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317742 - Fieldwork found these native rodents only in intact forest, while degraded areas were dominated by invasive black rats, suggesting a shift in community composition linked to habitat change.
- Understanding which rodent species are present, where they live, and how their populations change is critical not just for biodiversity, but for identifying how pathogen dynamics may shift across landscapes.
- The research illustrates how improved ecological monitoring can connect conservation and public health, supporting the view that protecting ecosystems and managing disease risk are closely linked.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/why-forest-conservation-is-also-public-health/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/vaupes-river-contamination-identified-near-rapidly-expanding-amazonian-town/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/vaupes-river-contamination-identified-near-rapidly-expanding-amazonian-town/#respond 21 Apr 2026 21:48:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317894 - To verify this, Mongabay obtained water quality studies from the Corporation for Sustainable Development of the Northern and Eastern Amazon, which confirmed that sewage contamination and organic load are above safe limits and may impact public health and the quality of the aquatic ecosystem.
- Traditionally, the Macaquiño community downstream considers the Vaupés River to be a living being with whom they coexist and depend on it for bathing, fishing and human consumption.
- Public authorities in Mitú said the contamination stems in part from the municipality’s poorly constructed wastewater treatment plant, which was built on a flood zone and therefore frequently collapses, dumping untreated sewage into the river.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/vaupes-river-contamination-identified-near-rapidly-expanding-amazonian-town/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/studying-the-worlds-largest-gathering-of-forest-elephants-with-sound-and-field-observation/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/studying-the-worlds-largest-gathering-of-forest-elephants-with-sound-and-field-observation/#respond 19 Apr 2026 14:46:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316782 - Ivonne Kienast leads long-term research combining direct observation with acoustic monitoring, building a detailed record of elephant behavior, social structure, and change over time.
- Her work highlights how sustained presence, local collaboration, and incremental data collection shape understanding of both elephants and the broader forest system they inhabit.
- Kienast spoke with Rhett Ayers Butler, Mongabay founder and CEO, and David Akana, director of Mongabay Africa, over two weeks of conversations in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo during March 2026. Her responses have been edited and consolidated.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/studying-the-worlds-largest-gathering-of-forest-elephants-with-sound-and-field-observation/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/rehab-center-opens-for-brazils-golden-headed-lion-tamarins-amid-urban-sprawl-threat/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/rehab-center-opens-for-brazils-golden-headed-lion-tamarins-amid-urban-sprawl-threat/#respond 17 Apr 2026 21:10:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=317730 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/rehab-center-opens-for-brazils-golden-headed-lion-tamarins-amid-urban-sprawl-threat/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/10-forces-that-could-reshape-the-future-of-the-worlds-forests/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/10-forces-that-could-reshape-the-future-of-the-worlds-forests/#respond 16 Apr 2026 00:59:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316981 - Traditional funding for conservation is weakening as public aid declines, while new mechanisms—from carbon markets to direct financing for Indigenous and local communities—are expanding unevenly.
- Advances in remote sensing, AI and connectivity are improving monitoring and accountability, but are also enabling illegal activities and accelerating pressures in some regions.
- Growing demand for critical minerals, shifting trade rules and tighter political control over civil society are reshaping forest governance, fragmenting authority and redistributing risks and benefits.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/10-forces-that-could-reshape-the-future-of-the-worlds-forests/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indonesia-braces-for-possible-godzilla-el-nino-as-fire-season-escalates-early/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indonesia-braces-for-possible-godzilla-el-nino-as-fire-season-escalates-early/#respond 15 Apr 2026 04:12:41 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317563 - Some global forecasts suggest this year’s predicted El Niño could become one of the strongest in at least a decade, raising the risk of prolonged drought and widespread fires, although significant uncertainty remains over how intense it will ultimately be.
- Fire monitoring by the watchdog Pantau Gambut show that many hotspots are in oil palm and timber concession areas, which the group says suggests that legal permits alone do not guarantee fire-safe land management and highlights gaps in oversight and enforcement.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indonesia-braces-for-possible-godzilla-el-nino-as-fire-season-escalates-early/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/can-nature-outcompete-war-in-eastern-congo/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/can-nature-outcompete-war-in-eastern-congo/#respond 13 Apr 2026 23:26:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317207 - Emmanuel de Merode frames environmental decline as a consequence of how people earn a living, arguing that protecting biodiversity requires addressing energy access, jobs, and local economic systems.
- Virunga has developed an integrated model built around renewable energy, small business development, financial access, and localized security, aimed at shifting incentives away from conflict-linked and extractive activities.
- The proposed Green Corridor extends this approach across a national scale, testing whether a viable economic system can be built that depends on maintaining forests rather than clearing them, despite ongoing conflict and political constraints.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/can-nature-outcompete-war-in-eastern-congo/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/04/defying-conflict-to-track-the-worlds-rarest-chimpanzees/ https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/04/defying-conflict-to-track-the-worlds-rarest-chimpanzees/#respond 13 Apr 2026 16:46:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=videos&p=317407 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/04/defying-conflict-to-track-the-worlds-rarest-chimpanzees/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/the-mother-of-orangutans/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/the-mother-of-orangutans/#respond 11 Apr 2026 12:24:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=317372 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/the-mother-of-orangutans/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/venezuelas-new-mining-law-could-spell-disaster-for-the-amazon-critics-warn/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/venezuelas-new-mining-law-could-spell-disaster-for-the-amazon-critics-warn/#respond 10 Apr 2026 18:39:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317348 - While some environmental protections are included in the bill, critics say they’re not rigorous enough to stop the deforestation or human rights abuses already happening in the Venezuelan Amazon.
- The law describes a commitment to “ecological mining development” that critics call a dangerous attempt at greenwashing.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/venezuelas-new-mining-law-could-spell-disaster-for-the-amazon-critics-warn/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/from-virunga-to-kinshasa-the-drc-embarks-on-a-bold-conservation-gamble/ https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/from-virunga-to-kinshasa-the-drc-embarks-on-a-bold-conservation-gamble/#respond 09 Apr 2026 13:29:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317284 - According to people familiar with early discussions, the concept grew in part from Virunga National Park’s efforts to tackle an illegal war economy in North Kivu province and to try delivering alternative benefits to surrounding communities, including energy, agriculture and livelihoods.
- With uncertainty lingering over the conflict in eastern Congo, the government is now seeking to adapt elements of the Virunga conservation-and-development approach to a much larger landscape.
- While praised by some, observers, conservation groups and advocacy organizations caution that significant questions remain, particularly around the management of existing concessions — including agriculture, logging, oil and hydrocarbon blocks — as well as the protection of communities’ rights.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/from-virunga-to-kinshasa-the-drc-embarks-on-a-bold-conservation-gamble/feed/ 0