<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" >

	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?s=&#038;type=post&#038;location=asia" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/asia/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:31:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
		<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
		<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
		<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4</generator>

<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Asia environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/asia/</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
</image> 
				<item>
					<title>How burnt coconut helped discover new to science endemic species in Sri Lanka</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-burnt-coconut-helped-discover-new-to-science-endemic-species-in-sri-lanka/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-burnt-coconut-helped-discover-new-to-science-endemic-species-in-sri-lanka/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Sep 2026 14:13:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/12093329/Banner-1.-Spiny-Mouse-Mus-dumbara.-Suyama-Boyagoda-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329510</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Habitat Loss, Mammals, Mountains, Research, Rodents, and Species]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO —  As dusk settled over the paddy fields at Puwakpitiya, a village on the northern edge of Knuckles Mountain Range locally known as Dumbara mountains in Central Sri Lanka, researchers began laying traps along the uneasy boundary between farmland and forest. They were targeting small terrestrial mammals moving through the landscape. On the ground, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO —  As dusk settled over the paddy fields at Puwakpitiya, a village on the northern edge of Knuckles Mountain Range locally known as Dumbara mountains in Central Sri Lanka, researchers began laying traps along the uneasy boundary between farmland and forest. They were targeting small terrestrial mammals moving through the landscape. On the ground, drift fences were created to lead animals to pitfall traps, while box style Sherman live traps were baited with feed. But the usual rodent lure — peanut butter — failed to attract the mice in Sri Lanka, so the researchers instead turned to something more familiar to the local mice — pieces of burnt coconut. On  March 11, 2004, one of the pitfall traps caught a small mouse that looked different. Six days later, a second specimen was caught in a baited trap. Both were females, not larger than a child&#8217;s palm, with fulvous-gray pelage broken by spiny guard hairs and a slender, naked tail longer than the head and body. Externally, the animal resembled Mayor&#8217;s mouse (Mus mayori), a species endemic to Sri Lanka’s highlands, but differed in tail length and head shape, offering initial clues about a new species. The species is so far known only from Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Mountain Range, and the image shows Puwakpitiya, the village from where researchers found the first specimens of Dumbara spiny mouse (Mus dumbara) after they set traps along the forest edge beside a sprawling paddy field. Image courtesy of Suyama Boyagoda. The two mice&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-burnt-coconut-helped-discover-new-to-science-endemic-species-in-sri-lanka/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-burnt-coconut-helped-discover-new-to-science-endemic-species-in-sri-lanka/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329510</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Migratory bird species increasingly at risk, report finds, but there is still hope</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/migratory-bird-species-increasingly-at-risk-report-finds-but-there-is-still-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/migratory-bird-species-increasingly-at-risk-report-finds-but-there-is-still-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2026 13:54:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/11125304/Image_5_Lesser-and-Greater-Flamingos-at-Lake-Natron-%E2%94%AC%D0%B9-Akshita-Rabdiya-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329459</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, and Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Change Denial, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat Loss, Migration, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every year, billions of birds take to the skies, responding to changing seasons, navigating to breeding sites or escaping the cold of winter. The newest edition of BirdLife International’s State of the World’s Birds report says 45% of migratory bird species are in decline — 11% are threatened with extinction, the authors write. Launched at [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every year, billions of birds take to the skies, responding to changing seasons, navigating to breeding sites or escaping the cold of winter. The newest edition of BirdLife International’s State of the World’s Birds report says 45% of migratory bird species are in decline — 11% are threatened with extinction, the authors write. Launched at the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 11, the report is the first to focus on migratory birds. Migratory birds are sensitive indicators of wider ecosystem health, the report’s lead author Lucy Haskell, senior science officer at BirdLife, told Mongabay in an interview. They play a vital role in connecting ecosystems, cultures and people. “This report is about migratory birds, but it also serves as a warning about the state of the planet in general,” she said. Invasive species, agricultural expansion, climate change, residential and commercial development and hunting are major threats facing multiple species across the globe. The report found that seabirds and shorebirds are particularly threatened, while species that depend on marine habitats, forests and coastal wetlands are also increasingly imperiled. An Egyptian vulture in Spain. This species’ ongoing recovery is an example of how concerted conservation action can have a positive impact, experts say. Image © Lars Petersson. Last year, the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, officially confirmed the extinction of the slender-bill curlew, last seen in Morocco in 1995. It’s a poignant example of the pressures facing birds the world over, the experts say. Seven other migratory avian&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/migratory-bird-species-increasingly-at-risk-report-finds-but-there-is-still-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/migratory-bird-species-increasingly-at-risk-report-finds-but-there-is-still-hope/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329459</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Javan rhinos survive eruption in Indonesia, but single habitat leaves species vulnerable</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/javan-rhinos-survive-eruption-in-indonesia-but-single-habitat-leaves-species-vulnerable/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/javan-rhinos-survive-eruption-in-indonesia-but-single-habitat-leaves-species-vulnerable/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2026 01:33:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/06081629/Fk7E_IMG_20231005_174838-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329426</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Asian Rhinos]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Environment, In-situ Conservation, Javan Rhinos, Mammals, Megafauna, Rhinos, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s critically endangered Javan rhinos appear to be safe despite an ongoing eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau near their last remaining habitat, conservation authorities said. Ardi Andono, head of Ujung Kulon National Park, home to the world’s only wild population of Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus), said on Sept. 7 that the rhinos’ habitat had been [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s critically endangered Javan rhinos appear to be safe despite an ongoing eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau near their last remaining habitat, conservation authorities said. Ardi Andono, head of Ujung Kulon National Park, home to the world’s only wild population of Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus), said on Sept. 7 that the rhinos’ habitat had been minimally affected by vibrations and noise from Anak Krakatau, which began erupting on Sept. 4. Mount Anak Krakatau, an active volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, lies about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the park on Java’s southwestern tip, and its recent eruption sent ash across parts of both islands, disrupting air travel and prompting some schools and fishing activities to halt. “The Javan rhinos remained safe and still appear normal,” Ardi told Mongabay in a WhatsApp message, adding that his park rangers continue to stand on guard. A female calf of the Javan rhinoceros with her mother. Image courtesy of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The number of Javan rhinos remaining in the wild is disputed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates the current minimum population of Javan rhinos at about 50, a figure used by conservation groups such as Save the Rhino International, while Indonesia’s forestry ministry puts the population at 87 to 100. The government’s figures have previously faced scrutiny after a 2023 investigation by Indonesian environmental group Auriga Nusantara found that rhinos not seen by camera traps for years, including some later&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/javan-rhinos-survive-eruption-in-indonesia-but-single-habitat-leaves-species-vulnerable/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/javan-rhinos-survive-eruption-in-indonesia-but-single-habitat-leaves-species-vulnerable/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329426</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Children’s health at risk in south Borneo as El Niño intensifies Indonesia wildfires</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/childrens-health-at-risk-in-south-borneo-as-el-nino-intensifies-indonesia-wildfires/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/childrens-health-at-risk-in-south-borneo-as-el-nino-intensifies-indonesia-wildfires/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2026 13:22:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Riyad Dafhi Rizki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/10131034/Raina-dan-Raihan-2-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329368</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, South Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Climate, El Nino, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Heatwave, Pollution, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANJARMASIN, Indonesia — Siti Sarah slept in fits and starts through August as the fires broke out around her village and surrounding peatlands. One fire on Aug. 18 at first seemed a safe distance away, but in a heartbeat the flames were within 100 meters (330 feet) of her home in Pengayuan, a village in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANJARMASIN, Indonesia — Siti Sarah slept in fits and starts through August as the fires broke out around her village and surrounding peatlands. One fire on Aug. 18 at first seemed a safe distance away, but in a heartbeat the flames were within 100 meters (330 feet) of her home in Pengayuan, a village in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan province. “The fire seemed to leap up,” Siti told Mongabay Indonesia. “All of a sudden it was right there — it grew so fast.” Cries for help echoed around the village as Siti joined the community’s firefighting press. “I also helped put out a fire,” she said. “By whacking it with a piece of wood.” Two days later, firefighters scrambled to extinguish yet another blaze in the village grounds, dousing the flames before they could reach any homes. Across Indonesia, community and government firefighters have been battling fires like this since the main dry season began in July, many of them burning across carbon-rich peatlands in the low-lying deltas and plains of Borneo and Sumatra. In recent decades, Borneo’s peatlands have been drained for oil palm plantations to meet rising global consumer demand for palm oil. Fire is often used as a cheap way to clear land, but the flames can quickly run out of control across drained peatlands, which become a tinderbox when desiccated by El Niño-fueled drought. Commuters on the road try to shield their noses from the thick haze as they drive. Image by Riyad Dafhi Rizki/Mongabay Indonesia. In&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/childrens-health-at-risk-in-south-borneo-as-el-nino-intensifies-indonesia-wildfires/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/childrens-health-at-risk-in-south-borneo-as-el-nino-intensifies-indonesia-wildfires/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329368</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s high-altitude wildernesses &#038; wildlife are increasingly under threat (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-high-altitude-wildernesses-wildlife-are-increasingly-under-threat-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-high-altitude-wildernesses-wildlife-are-increasingly-under-threat-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 19:49:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Geraldine WerhahnSabita Gurung]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/08101747/10-Pallass-cat-kittens-in-Mongolia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329285</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Commentary, Conservation, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Livestock, Mammals, Mountains, Natural Resources, Pasture, Traditional Knowledge, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Changes like increasing geological and glacial instability driven by the warming climate are a growing concern across the Himalayas. Our hearts go out to the thousands of families across Nepal, China, and around the world grieving their loved ones and searching for those missing after the recent catastrophic flash flood at the Nepal-China border. Though [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Changes like increasing geological and glacial instability driven by the warming climate are a growing concern across the Himalayas. Our hearts go out to the thousands of families across Nepal, China, and around the world grieving their loved ones and searching for those missing after the recent catastrophic flash flood at the Nepal-China border. Though nearly 400 kilometers (almost 250 miles) to the northwest of the recent flash flood zone, our study area in Nepal’s Limi Valley in Upper Humla — a landscape with several villages and a rich wildlife heritage, that we have spent years trying to understand and protect — is also affected by such changes. Limi Valley has been wild for as long as we&#8217;ve studied it, but not anymore. After many days of travel to reach the study area recently, our team was excited to check on the Himalayan wolves, to see if its family would be denning in the same spot as last year. We found no wolves. Instead, we found thousands of sheep and goats, trailed by herders from lower-lying villages, free-ranging herd dogs, and patches of burning vegetation. A Himalayan wolf in its natural habitat in Limi Valley, northwestern Nepal. Photo courtesy of Himalayan Wolves Project. Every season we return, there is less wild left to find. Upper Humla’s once-pristine high-altitude habitats are suffering from human encroachment advancing at an unprecedented pace, pushing wildlife into ever-smaller pockets of shrinking habitat. While formal protection of this unique ecosystem has been on the political agenda&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-high-altitude-wildernesses-wildlife-are-increasingly-under-threat-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-high-altitude-wildernesses-wildlife-are-increasingly-under-threat-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329285</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kashmir’s water bodies have declined for decades. Is conservation keeping pace?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 17:58:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hashim Quraishi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/09082340/Wular-Lake-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329254</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Ecosystems, Environment, Fellows, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Lakes, Research, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For generations, Kashmir’s wetlands, lakes and rivers have been woven into the landscape around its towns and villages. Paddy fields once stretched across parts of the valley, while canals and springs were familiar features of everyday life. But much of that landscape has changed. A new study published in Water Science assessing six decades of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For generations, Kashmir’s wetlands, lakes and rivers have been woven into the landscape around its towns and villages. Paddy fields once stretched across parts of the valley, while canals and springs were familiar features of everyday life. But much of that landscape has changed. A new study published in Water Science assessing six decades of land use and land cover change in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the northernmost part of India finds that the extent of water bodies declined between 1960 and 2020, while built-up areas expanded markedly, particularly after the 1990s. The researchers found that socioeconomic factors including urbanization, population growth, literacy, per capita income and passenger and freight traffic were more strongly associated with many of these changes than the climatic variables they examined, including annual precipitation and mean maximum and minimum temperatures. The findings raise a broader question for Jammu and Kashmir: As development continues to reshape the landscape, are conservation initiatives and land use planning keeping pace with the pressures on the region’s water bodies? The authors caution that the study is not based on primary field surveys. Because land use records were available mainly at decadal intervals, the researchers interpolated data between those years to create an annual data set for their statistical analysis. They acknowledge that this approach can inflate some statistical measures and say the results should be interpreted primarily as associations rather than precise predictions. Still, the broad direction of change is clear. The sun peeks through a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329254</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Vantara works with lobbyist tied to Trump Jr. and pro-hunting groups</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/vantara-works-with-lobbyist-tied-to-trump-jr-and-pro-hunting-groups/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/vantara-works-with-lobbyist-tied-to-trump-jr-and-pro-hunting-groups/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 10:00:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/28134946/imgonline-com-ua-FrameBlurred-VhBkv70B1PrWP-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327730</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, North America, South Asia, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Crime, Governance, Politics, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Checkmate Government Relations, a lobbying firm founded by a hunting friend of Donald Trump Jr., recently represented Vantara, a controversial private Indian zoo that has been in the spotlight over the questionable origins of some of its more than 150,000 animals, which include protected and endangered species. Tristan Breijer, the head of the U.S.-based lobby [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Checkmate Government Relations, a lobbying firm founded by a hunting friend of Donald Trump Jr., recently represented Vantara, a controversial private Indian zoo that has been in the spotlight over the questionable origins of some of its more than 150,000 animals, which include protected and endangered species. Tristan Breijer, the head of the U.S.-based lobby firm Checkmate&#8217;s London office, sent an unsolicited email “representing the Vantara initiative in the United Kingdom,” sometime before July, according to a source who asked not to be named. Breijer is a lobbyist and has a history of representing pro-hunting groups in Europe. Vantara is a massive private zoo that sprawls over 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares): It&#8217;s about four times the size of Central Park in New York City and is run by Anant Ambani, the son of one of Asia’s richest men, Mukesh Ambani. The zoo, which claims to be an animal rescue facility with about 2,000 species, came under scrutiny after media reports surfaced that it allegedly acquired endangered animals illegally. A report by CITES, the global treaty that regulates commercial international trade in endangered wildlife, flagged irregularities in some of its animal imports. Vantara has denied wrongdoing and India’s top court dismissed similar allegations after an investigation last year. Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, at Vantara. Image by Bohoindian via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). In the email allegedly sent by Breijer, he invited the recipient to a roundtable meeting hosted by Vantara on the sidelines of the Animals&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/vantara-works-with-lobbyist-tied-to-trump-jr-and-pro-hunting-groups/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/vantara-works-with-lobbyist-tied-to-trump-jr-and-pro-hunting-groups/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327730</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rescuers scramble to save orangutans as El Niño-boosted fires spread across Borneo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-scramble-to-save-orangutans-as-el-nino-boosted-fires-spread-across-borneo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-scramble-to-save-orangutans-as-el-nino-boosted-fires-spread-across-borneo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 07:03:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rendy Tisna]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/09065221/orangutan-named-Sampurna-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329232</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Disasters, El Nino, Endangered Species, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Great Apes, Impact Of Climate Change, Orangutans, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANJARMASIN, Indonesia — As a strengthening El Niño fuels wildfires across much of Indonesia, NGO and government conservationists are at work in forests here trying to save an increasing number of orangutans from burning landscapes. “Seven individuals were rescued through August,” said Heribertus Suciadi, spokesperson for Yayasan International Animal Rescue Indonesia (YIARI), a Borneo-based NGO [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANJARMASIN, Indonesia — As a strengthening El Niño fuels wildfires across much of Indonesia, NGO and government conservationists are at work in forests here trying to save an increasing number of orangutans from burning landscapes. “Seven individuals were rescued through August,” said Heribertus Suciadi, spokesperson for Yayasan International Animal Rescue Indonesia (YIARI), a Borneo-based NGO working to establish and maintain sustainable orangutan populations. The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is one of three orangutan species in the world, and the only one found on the island of Borneo. All three species of orangutan are critically endangered and native to Indonesia. The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) are both found on the island of Sumatra. The most recent assessment by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, estimated just over 100,000 Bornean orangutans remained in the wild. But that survey was conducted in 2016, and conservationists estimated a projected decline in the Bornean species population of around 86% between 1950 and 2025. Researchers attribute this population collapse over three generations to habitat loss and direct killing. Orangutans also reproduce exceptionally slowly, with Bornean females typically giving birth to a single offspring about every seven to eight years, making populations particularly slow to recover from losses. In addition, major wildfire crises accelerate the decline. “Recurrent forest fires, especially in peat forests, cause additional sharp declines about once every decade,” the IUCN noted. Indonesian meteorologists expect an intense fire season through October as climate forecasts point to a strengthening El&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-scramble-to-save-orangutans-as-el-nino-boosted-fires-spread-across-borneo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-scramble-to-save-orangutans-as-el-nino-boosted-fires-spread-across-borneo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329232</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sickles, sarees and smoke: Women on the frontlines of Uttarakhand forest fires</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sickles-sarees-and-smoke-women-on-the-frontlines-of-uttarakhand-forest-fires/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sickles-sarees-and-smoke-women-on-the-frontlines-of-uttarakhand-forest-fires/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 20:50:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Swati Thapa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/08160244/Lila-Devi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329123</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forestry, Forests, Gender, Governance, and Mountains]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the village forests of Uttarakhand, in the Himalayan region of northern India, a tree can be charred at its base while maintaining a green canopy at its peak. The distinct separation between burnt and unburnt wood is a physical marker of how high the flames reached. For the local women who rely on these [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the village forests of Uttarakhand, in the Himalayan region of northern India, a tree can be charred at its base while maintaining a green canopy at its peak. The distinct separation between burnt and unburnt wood is a physical marker of how high the flames reached. For the local women who rely on these woods for survival, the aftermath of wildfire means their daily chores take twice as long, forcing them deeper into the forest just to gather basic fodder and firewood when those closer to home are unusable. Uttarakhand is the most fire-prone state in the Indian Western Himalayas, with increased fire incidence in the region coinciding with high-altitude warming that exceeds the global rate. Beyond individual fire events, the fire season itself is expanding. While the season usually lasts for about 12 weeks starting in mid-March, Uttarakhand now experiences winter fires, an alarming shift from what was previously snow season, hinting at a deeper ecosystem-level impact. This trend has only escalated, with the state recording a sharp spike in forest fire activity during the first four months of 2026. This period is not just witnessed but experienced through each of the human senses. Trails of grey smoke engulf the bright blue sky. Along with the fog-like situation, the air carries soot, sometimes covering the roofs of houses with snow-like ash. “We are all coughing our lungs out; during that time, our eyes are bloodshot, irritated by all the smoke, and it’s hard to breathe in the thick&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sickles-sarees-and-smoke-women-on-the-frontlines-of-uttarakhand-forest-fires/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sickles-sarees-and-smoke-women-on-the-frontlines-of-uttarakhand-forest-fires/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329123</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Singkil peat swamp: The embattled orangutan capital of the world</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/singkil-peat-swamp-the-embattled-orangutan-capital-of-the-world/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/singkil-peat-swamp-the-embattled-orangutan-capital-of-the-world/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 19:04:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/04195723/AM8I3043-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328824</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forest Destruction, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Great Apes, Habitat Degradation, Illegal Logging, Mammals, Orangutans, Peatlands, Primates, Protected Areas, Tropical Deforestation, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep within Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, one of the most important peat swamp forests left on Earth is being cleared, drained, and burned. The Singkil peat swamp is the largest of three remaining coastal peat swamp forests on Sumatra’s west coast, alongside Kluet and Tripa. Together, these extraordinary peatlands form what’s been called “the orangutan capital [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep within Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, one of the most important peat swamp forests left on Earth is being cleared, drained, and burned. The Singkil peat swamp is the largest of three remaining coastal peat swamp forests on Sumatra’s west coast, alongside Kluet and Tripa. Together, these extraordinary peatlands form what’s been called “the orangutan capital of the world,” supporting some of the highest densities of Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) ever recorded. But Singkil is being destroyed. A worker inside the Singkil peat swamp, a legally protected wildlife reserve and crucial orangutan habitat, July 2026. Image by Global Conservation. The Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve is nationally protected under Indonesian law. Clearing forest and establishing oil palm plantations inside the reserve is illegal. Yet forest is being cleared and burned, peat is being drained, and canals are being dug into the swamp, lowering water tables and transforming ancient forests into land for agriculture and oil palm. Satellite investigations have documented extensive illegal clearing and plantation expansion inside the reserve. And Indonesia’s fire season has now begun. Fires are lit and illegal clearing is taking place in the Singkil peat swamp, Leuser Ecosystem. Image by Global Conservation. An orangutan seen in the Leuser Ecosystem, the last place on earth where tigers, orangutans, elephants and rhinos still coexist. Image by Global Conservation. For peatlands, fire can be devastating. Once drained, peat dries out and becomes highly flammable. Fires can smolder deep underground for weeks or even months, continuing to burn beneath the surface and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/singkil-peat-swamp-the-embattled-orangutan-capital-of-the-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/singkil-peat-swamp-the-embattled-orangutan-capital-of-the-world/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328824</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Why is Amazonian wildlife turning up at a Bangkok market?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-amazonian-wildlife-turning-up-at-a-bangkok-market/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-amazonian-wildlife-turning-up-at-a-bangkok-market/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 14:03:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gloria Dickie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/07110651/1.-POSSIBLE-BANNER-DSC05680-copy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328961</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Latin America, Oceania, South America, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Rights, Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Crime, Environmental Law, Ethics, Governance, Health, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Law, Pet Trade, Pets, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK, Thailand — In the narrow alleys of Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market, the world’s wildlife is for sale. Ensnared in jungles, fished out of rivers and plucked from wetlands across the globe, hundreds of exotic species are packed onto transcontinental flights only to end up on display in what experts say ranks as one of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK, Thailand — In the narrow alleys of Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market, the world’s wildlife is for sale. Ensnared in jungles, fished out of rivers and plucked from wetlands across the globe, hundreds of exotic species are packed onto transcontinental flights only to end up on display in what experts say ranks as one of the largest wildlife markets on Earth. Here, alongside Thai milk tea vendors and mango sticky rice stalls, visitors need only veer a few steps from the tourist path to end up in the market’s “Pets” zone — an arguably liberal use of the term. This section of the market hosts a menagerie of domestic and wild animals alike, often crammed into cages with little water and no respite from temperatures that soar beyond 32° Celsius (90° Fahrenheit). From Africa, there are spurred tortoises, fennec foxes, gray parrots, serval cats, and ball pythons. Giant bush babies retail for 48,000 baht (about $1,450), with signs advertising the nocturnal African primates as &#8220;newly arrived.&#8221; Miniscule meerkats dressed in tutus, sometimes presented in petting zoo sandboxes, are among the most plentiful animals at Chatuchak. Masked palm civets, sugar gliders, squirrels, rainbow lorikeets, and eclectus parrots are on offer from Asia and Oceania. As are baby raccoons, prairie dogs, iguanas, goats, cats, baby pigs, among others. Much of the planet is represented in this market; meerkats, like the one pictured here, hail from Southern Africa and are dressed up to be sold as an adorable pet. Image by Gloria Dickie. To&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-amazonian-wildlife-turning-up-at-a-bangkok-market/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-amazonian-wildlife-turning-up-at-a-bangkok-market/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328961</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Urban water quality pose challenges to low-income communities in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/urban-water-quality-pose-challenges-to-low-income-communities-in-sri-lankas-commercial-capital/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/urban-water-quality-pose-challenges-to-low-income-communities-in-sri-lankas-commercial-capital/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Sep 2026 06:49:03 +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/20/2026/09/05051051/3-Slave-Island-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328892</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Development, Drinking Water, Environment, Natural Resources, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — As part of his morning routine, Nalin Kaluwitharana from “Ranjan Wijerathnapura,” a low-income settlement in the heart of Colombo, waters his home garden before setting off to work. Like many others in his neighborhood, he works as a three-wheeler driver. “We obtain pipe-borne water provided by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — As part of his morning routine, Nalin Kaluwitharana from “Ranjan Wijerathnapura,” a low-income settlement in the heart of Colombo, waters his home garden before setting off to work. Like many others in his neighborhood, he works as a three-wheeler driver. “We obtain pipe-borne water provided by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB). In the wake of drought conditions, NWSDB has requested people to use water sparingly. But we need water for our daily needs and have no alternatives but to rely on tap water,” he told Mongabay. Despite increasing utility tariffs, he continues to water the plants to keep them green and his surroundings alive. Kaluwitharana and a majority of houses in this settlement do not have water storage facilities and are dependent on the state utility to obtain water directly from the water line. The routine  water cuts and maintenance work disrupt the regular water supply, inconveniencing them. Linda Arulanantham is from the same neighborhood. “Immediately after a water cut, the water turns muddy. We use a water filter to make sure that the water we drink is clean,” she said. But every household doesn’t have a water filter system, and water safety in urban low-income settlements is often neglected. Community water supply schemes In Sri Lanka, community water supply schemes were established around the 1990s to provide safe drinking water to rural communities. Ananda Vijitha Kumara Mapa, director general at the Department of National Community Water Supply (DNCWS) told Mongabay that community water supply&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/urban-water-quality-pose-challenges-to-low-income-communities-in-sri-lankas-commercial-capital/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/urban-water-quality-pose-challenges-to-low-income-communities-in-sri-lankas-commercial-capital/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328892</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Marine conservation collides with mining in Indonesia’s biodiversity-rich Moramo Bay</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/marine-conservation-collides-with-mining-in-indonesias-biodiversity-rich-moramo-bay/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/marine-conservation-collides-with-mining-in-indonesias-biodiversity-rich-moramo-bay/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Sep 2026 16:48:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[La Ode Risman Hermawan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/04163930/2.-Aktivitas-tambang-batu-gamping-berbatasan-langsung-dengan-KKD-Teluk-Moramo-2400x890-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328786</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Southeast Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Environment, Fisheries, Governance, Illegal Mining, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Mining, Natural Resources, Oceans, Pollution, Protected Areas, Saltwater Fish, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SOUTH KONAWE, Indonesia — A marine protected area in Indonesia’s Southeast Sulawesi province is home to a critically depleted population of humphead wrasse. The species presence helped the area gain its protected status, but mining permits overlap parts of the conservation zone and line its coast. A 2024 government survey, published the following year, found [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SOUTH KONAWE, Indonesia — A marine protected area in Indonesia’s Southeast Sulawesi province is home to a critically depleted population of humphead wrasse. The species presence helped the area gain its protected status, but mining permits overlap parts of the conservation zone and line its coast. A 2024 government survey, published the following year, found just 22 humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) across 10 sampling stations — an average density of 1.17 fish per hectare — in the Moramo Bay local marine protected area (LMPA) in Southeast Sulawesi’s South Konawe district. It recorded no fish at three sites where the species was still observed in 2018. Officials and researchers say the bay’s coral reefs face mounting pressure from sedimentation, pollution, vessel activity and other threats, but no study has established a direct link between mining and the wrasse’s decline. “In a polluted area … this fish will definitely disappear,” Sasanti Retno Suharti, a coral reef fish ecology researcher who has been researching humphead wrasse since 2006, told Mongabay Indonesia in August. “It will move far away into deeper waters.” “If it is no longer there, eventually the crown-of-thorns starfish will take over and feed on the corals,” she added. “The ecosystem will be damaged.” The presence of humphead wrasse was one reason Southeast Sulawesi first proposed Moramo Bay as a LMPA in 2011. The proposed area expanded to 21,786 hectares (53,834 acres) in 2016 from 10,371 hectares (25,627 acres) in 2014. In 2021, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries designated&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/marine-conservation-collides-with-mining-in-indonesias-biodiversity-rich-moramo-bay/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/marine-conservation-collides-with-mining-in-indonesias-biodiversity-rich-moramo-bay/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328786</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Illegal gold mining continues in Indonesia’s Aceh despite government crackdown pledge</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/illegal-gold-mining-continues-in-indonesias-aceh-despite-government-crackdown-pledge/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/illegal-gold-mining-continues-in-indonesias-aceh-despite-government-crackdown-pledge/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Sep 2026 11:15:26 +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/20/2026/01/06094908/Nagan-Raya1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328689</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Global, Indonesia, Leuser Ecosystem, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Gold Mining, Governance, Great Apes, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAGAN RAYA, Indonesia – Two weeks after government and law enforcement leaders vowed to crack down on illegal gold mining in the semiautonomous Indonesian province of Aceh, local communities on the ground say excavators are still at work in the forest interior. “Excavators continue to access the verges of the rivers. Similarly, fuel and supplies [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAGAN RAYA, Indonesia – Two weeks after government and law enforcement leaders vowed to crack down on illegal gold mining in the semiautonomous Indonesian province of Aceh, local communities on the ground say excavators are still at work in the forest interior. “Excavators continue to access the verges of the rivers. Similarly, fuel and supplies keep being sent to this mining site,” Amran, a community leader from Seunagan in Nagan Raya district, told Mongabay Indonesia. Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, is Indonesia’s westernmost region and home to crucial high-conservation-value tropical forests and peatlands, including the Leuser Ecosystem, a stronghold for Sumatran elephants, orangutans, rhinos, sun bears, and tigers. Yet these habitats remain under pressure from lucrative extractive industries. In late July, top government, security, and law-enforcement officials in Aceh convened to order all illegal gold mining in the region to be halted by Aug. 17, Indonesia’s independence anniversary. However, sources on the ground around some of Aceh’s known illegal mining locations told Mongabay Indonesia that many of these operations continued working as normal as of late August. “Diesel is always out of stock at gas stations because it’s being used by the heavy equipment digging for gold by the riverbanks and on the mountainside,” said Razali, who lives in Fajar in South Aceh district. At a mining site in Pidie district, people reported still seeing the tarpaulin shelters used by miners. “If it&#8217;s just an announcement, it won&#8217;t have any effect,” Hamdani, a resident of Tangse in Pidie district,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/illegal-gold-mining-continues-in-indonesias-aceh-despite-government-crackdown-pledge/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/illegal-gold-mining-continues-in-indonesias-aceh-despite-government-crackdown-pledge/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328689</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>South Korea’s ‘sea women’ seek justice after marine habitat devastated by harbor work</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/south-koreas-sea-women-seek-justice-after-marine-habitat-devastated-by-harbor-work/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/south-koreas-sea-women-seek-justice-after-marine-habitat-devastated-by-harbor-work/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Sep 2026 10:30:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andrew Jeong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/05031044/KimChoon-hee-scaled-cropped-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328703</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, Global, and South Korea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Development, Ecosystems, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Infrastructure, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[GUMAN-RI, South Korea — This fishing village, on the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, is filled with scars. Every summer, typhoons rumble in from the Pacific Ocean to snap trees and flip fishing boats. Huge ships, including a 4,000-ton cargo vessel in 2005, have sunk or run aground on the rocky coast, sullying marine [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[GUMAN-RI, South Korea — This fishing village, on the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, is filled with scars. Every summer, typhoons rumble in from the Pacific Ocean to snap trees and flip fishing boats. Huge ships, including a 4,000-ton cargo vessel in 2005, have sunk or run aground on the rocky coast, sullying marine food sources. In the 1950-1953 Korean War, dozens of villagers were massacred. Time and time again, however, the resilient residents of Guman-ri have figured out a way to soldier on. But their latest setback has stupefied them. In 2021, South Korean construction giant Ssangyong Engineering &amp; Construction Co. began work to expand and repair the breakwaters at the local harbor. Since then, the surrounding marine habitat has slowly withered away. By early 2025, the lush seabed had become a graveyard for dead marine plants and animals. Guman-ri, a fishing village on the eastern coast of South Korea, on Aug. 16, 2026. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay. Gone are the glimmering abalones, chunky sea snails, and translucent green seaweed that once populated the waters around the cape, despite its designation as a protected marine area. In their place is white, dusty cement debris, which the villagers have blamed on the construction of the breakwaters. The habitat’s demise is itself an environmental tragedy. But it has brought an emotional and financial death knell to the village’s nearly two dozen haenyeo, the “sea women,” who dive to harvest a variety of shellfish and marine plants without oxygen&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/south-koreas-sea-women-seek-justice-after-marine-habitat-devastated-by-harbor-work/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/south-koreas-sea-women-seek-justice-after-marine-habitat-devastated-by-harbor-work/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328703</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study analyzes danger of parasites to Bengal tigers in South Asia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/study-analyzes-danger-of-parasites-to-bengal-tigers-in-south-asia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/study-analyzes-danger-of-parasites-to-bengal-tigers-in-south-asia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Sep 2026 09:15:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/03140621/Sundarban_tiger_swimming-e1788444411184-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328586</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Diseases, Mammals, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A typical roundworm measures roughly 2.7% of the average length of a Bengal tiger or weighs just three-millionths of one percent of the largest of the world’s big cats. Though these parasites do not pose a major threat to Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris), researchers across South Asia, the cat’s native range, warn that parasitic infections [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A typical roundworm measures roughly 2.7% of the average length of a Bengal tiger or weighs just three-millionths of one percent of the largest of the world’s big cats. Though these parasites do not pose a major threat to Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris), researchers across South Asia, the cat’s native range, warn that parasitic infections can act as silent killers, particularly when the big cats are weakened by poor nutrition, injury or other diseases. South Asia is home to roughly 4,367 Bengal tigers: 3,682 in India, 429 in Nepal, 131 in Bhutan and 125 in Bangladesh, according to the latest estimates. The IUCN lists the Bengal tiger as an endangered species, although it is classified as critically endangered in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi researchers, analyzing fecal samples collected from wildlife across the Sundarbans mangrove forest, detected the highest parasite infection rate in Bengal tigers. A study published by the Bangladesh Forest Department in July makes recommendations to address the issue. Sultan Ahmed, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Sylhet Agricultural University and one of the authors of the study, told Mongabay, “The most important recommendation is to keep the mangrove forest away from human interference.” Assigned by the Forest Department, the researchers collected fecal samples in two phases in 2024 and 2025. According to their analysis, the highest parasite infection rate, 85.3%, was detected in Bengal tigers, followed by 84.9% in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), 73.6% in deer and 66.7% in wild pigs. In molecular analysis, roundworms (including&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/study-analyzes-danger-of-parasites-to-bengal-tigers-in-south-asia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/study-analyzes-danger-of-parasites-to-bengal-tigers-in-south-asia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328586</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A ‘lost’ Philippine pigeon reappears after 20 years — but its forest is disappearing</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-lost-philippine-pigeon-reappears-after-20-years-but-its-forest-is-disappearing/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-lost-philippine-pigeon-reappears-after-20-years-but-its-forest-is-disappearing/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2026 17:28:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/03173737/MBH-Camera-Trap-01_cover-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328564</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Camera Trapping, cameras, Conservation, Forests, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Technology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A camera trap on the Philippine island of Mindoro has photographed one of the country’s rarest birds, confirming that the critically endangered Mindoro bleeding-heart pigeon still survives in the wild. Captured in August in the Puerto Galera rainforest, the image is the first confirmed photograph of the species Gallicolumba platenae in two decades, according to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A camera trap on the Philippine island of Mindoro has photographed one of the country’s rarest birds, confirming that the critically endangered Mindoro bleeding-heart pigeon still survives in the wild. Captured in August in the Puerto Galera rainforest, the image is the first confirmed photograph of the species Gallicolumba platenae in two decades, according to the nonprofit organization Center for Conservation Innovation Ph Inc. (CCIPH). “For an extremely rare and secretive species, a single image can carry enormous weight,” CCIPH researchers wrote in a Sept. 3 announcement. “It confirms that the bird continues to survive within the landscape.” Juan Carlos Gonzalez, an ornithologist and curator for birds at the Museum of Natural History at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, independently confirmed that the image shows a Mindoro bleeding-heart. “This record not only proves that this very rare species continues to persist in these steep rainforests, but solidifies the importance of Puerto Galera as a UNESCO biosphere reserve and an important sanctuary for this critically endangered species,” Gonzalez told Mongabay by email. Mindoro Bleeding-heart captured via camera trap. Image courtesy of CCIPH. Alex Berryman, who oversees species conservation assessments for Asia at the NGO BirdLife International, also separately confirmed the identification. “There is no doubt that this refers to a Mindoro bleeding-heart,” Berryman told Mongabay by email. Berryman said the orange-red spot on the bird’s otherwise white chest, together with the iridescent green plumage on its head and neck, make it readily identifiable. Gonzalez also pointed to its blue-green&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-lost-philippine-pigeon-reappears-after-20-years-but-its-forest-is-disappearing/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-lost-philippine-pigeon-reappears-after-20-years-but-its-forest-is-disappearing/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328564</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>From seizure to sentence: Weak prosecution leaves tigers vulnerable to trafficking in Southeast Asia: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/from-seizure-to-sentence-weak-prosecution-leaves-tigers-vulnerable-to-trafficking-in-southeast-asia-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/from-seizure-to-sentence-weak-prosecution-leaves-tigers-vulnerable-to-trafficking-in-southeast-asia-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2026 13:13:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/28035444/1.-Sumatran-tiger-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327188</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Global, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Business, Cats, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Health, Law, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Medicine, Organized Crime, Poaching, Threatened species, Tigers, Trade, Traditional Medicine, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When tiger poachers and traffickers are apprehended in Southeast Asia, they frequently get away without consequences: Fewer than half of arrests and seizures in the cat’s Southeast Asian range countries are backed up by penalties or convictions, according to a recently published report by Canadian conservation think tank the GuArdean Centre for Conservation Research, wildlife [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When tiger poachers and traffickers are apprehended in Southeast Asia, they frequently get away without consequences: Fewer than half of arrests and seizures in the cat’s Southeast Asian range countries are backed up by penalties or convictions, according to a recently published report by Canadian conservation think tank the GuArdean Centre for Conservation Research, wildlife trade watchdog TRAFFIC, and WWF International. This means there’s little deterrent for a lucrative illegal industry that’s driving tigers toward extinction, experts say. Black market trade in their skins, bones, teeth and other body parts is an extremely lucrative business; most are headed to China, the top consumer. Researchers assessed publicly available records related to 259 tiger-related seizures in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos between 2019 and 2024 — seven of the 10 countries where wild tigers still survive. Heather Sohl, the tiger trade lead at WWF and a co-author of the report, noted that these cases represent just a fraction of the trade, “only those which were intercepted and reported.” That level of wildlife crime could have a “massive impact” on wild tiger populations, she said. Based on their findings, the study’s authors are calling for a raft of measures to strengthen sentencing in an effort to fight the international criminal organizations that mastermind tiger trade and other wildlife crime in the region. A young Bengal tiger walks along a path through elephant grass in India’s Kaziranga National Park. Image by Steve Winter/Big Cat Voices. Little deterrent for tiger poachers and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/from-seizure-to-sentence-weak-prosecution-leaves-tigers-vulnerable-to-trafficking-in-southeast-asia-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/from-seizure-to-sentence-weak-prosecution-leaves-tigers-vulnerable-to-trafficking-in-southeast-asia-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327188</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>During Nepal floods, decentralized, community-based warning saved lives</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/during-nepal-floods-decentralized-community-based-warning-saved-lives/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/during-nepal-floods-decentralized-community-based-warning-saved-lives/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2026 08:16:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/03073256/AP26240258398778-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328510</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Himalayas, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate Change, Communication, Disasters, early warning, and Global Environmental Crisis]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — At 9:10 a.m. on Aug. 26, head teacher Rajendra Dawadi received frantic phone calls about a flood heading downstream toward Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School. He ordered his roughly 900 students to run for higher ground. Ten minutes later, the flood hit the evacuated school. When flood waters receded, the whole compound was buried [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — At 9:10 a.m. on Aug. 26, head teacher Rajendra Dawadi received frantic phone calls about a flood heading downstream toward Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School. He ordered his roughly 900 students to run for higher ground. Ten minutes later, the flood hit the evacuated school. When flood waters receded, the whole compound was buried under debris, with only a fragment of the school’s roofline left showing. There were two “systems” that warned people about the impending danger that day: one built by the state relying on sensors and SMS messages, the other relying on community-based ties. Only the second worked reliably, and in the case of Dawadi and many other survivors, it even arrived first. But not everyone was as lucky. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), as of Sept. 3, a total of 1,252  people have died, with 4,216 more missing and roughly 1.6 million people affected across five districts in Nepal. Headteacher Rajendra Dawadi of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, talks to relatives on his mobile phone in Trishuli Valley in Nepal. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh) Communication researcher Bhuwan KC observed that while one-half of the corridor (upstream) had no information at all, the other had information, but that information couldn’t convey urgency and scale. In areas nearest to the border, on both the Nepal and China sides, everything happened in just seven minutes. The sensors were knocked out immediately. But farther down, in Trishuli Bazaar, Betrawati and toward Muglin and Devghat, people&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/during-nepal-floods-decentralized-community-based-warning-saved-lives/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/during-nepal-floods-decentralized-community-based-warning-saved-lives/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328510</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s flood disaster puts its hydropower-first strategy, exports to the test</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2026 16:12:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rudra Pangeni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/02160152/nepal-flood-2026-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328384</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Disasters, Energy, Environment, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Industry, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal&#8217;s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The Aug. 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and which knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal&#8217;s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The Aug. 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and which knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a debate on whether Nepal should rethink its overall strategy or just adopt better-engineered plants. Amid this, the flood could jeopardize the country&#8217;s clean energy targets and push it to adopt more solar power. Immediate impacts The flashflood crippled a combined installed generation capacity of 281 megawatts, including a solar power plant, and damaged four other under-construction projects, totaling a capacity of 700 MW. One of the oldest hydroelectric plants, the 14.1-MW Devighat Hydroelectric Plant, commissioned 42 years ago, was wiped out. Further downstream, the flood badly damaged a 25-MW solar power plant, according to data compiled by Mongabay from official sources. Similarly, with a hub of a transmission line washed away on the Trishuli River’s banks, another 150 MW of power from different power plants is cut off from the national grid system. Transmission lines, including a substation on the Trishuli riverbank, were also destroyed. While officials are assessing the damage, estimates put losses at hundreds of billions of Nepali rupees, according to media reports. They say they can’t yet provide timelines for when the affected projects will resume generation. Around 983 engineers and workers are feared trapped inside the tunnels or power houses and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328384</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Philippines fast-tracks critical minerals, raising Indigenous, environmental concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippines-fast-tracks-critical-minerals-raising-indigenous-environmental-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippines-fast-tracks-critical-minerals-raising-indigenous-environmental-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2026 16:01:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/02140321/8166319417_53fda9a02a_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328354</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Loss, Forests, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Philippines is moving to accelerate critical-mineral development across millions of hectares of land, raising concerns that expanded mining and faster permitting could put pressure on forests, ancestral domains, and Indigenous communities’ ability to give or withhold consent. In an executive order signed on Aug. 18, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. established a national framework for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Philippines is moving to accelerate critical-mineral development across millions of hectares of land, raising concerns that expanded mining and faster permitting could put pressure on forests, ancestral domains, and Indigenous communities’ ability to give or withhold consent. In an executive order signed on Aug. 18, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. established a national framework for developing the country’s critical-minerals industry. The order identifies at least 9 million hectares (22 million acres) of prospective areas that could host mineral resources, and calls for policies that promote downstream processing, investment, and “responsible and sustainable mining practices.” Executive Order No. 122 directs the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through its Mines and Geosciences Bureau, to implement a national exploration and mineral reservation program. It also orders mining applications streamlined through a virtual one-stop shop that will allow national and local permits and clearances to be processed simultaneously rather than sequentially. The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC), an environmental and Indigenous rights legal group, says the policy could expose a much larger area to mineral exploration and development. The 9-million-hectare figure represents about 30% of the country’s land area, and is more than 11 times the 813,575 hectares (2.01 million acres) currently covered by approved mining projects, according to the LRC. EO 122, however, describes the 9 million hectares as prospective areas with potential mineral resources, rather than as approved mining projects. Rogelio Andrada II, a forestry professor and director of the Institute of Renewable Natural Resources at the University&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippines-fast-tracks-critical-minerals-raising-indigenous-environmental-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippines-fast-tracks-critical-minerals-raising-indigenous-environmental-concerns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328354</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Displaced by a typhoon, Taiwan’s Bunun people fear for the future of their culture</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/displaced-by-a-typhoon-taiwans-bunun-people-fear-for-the-future-of-their-culture/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/displaced-by-a-typhoon-taiwans-bunun-people-fear-for-the-future-of-their-culture/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2026 11:46:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aylin Ho]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/02093853/35083d2b-2651-4f46-b379-9b094f1504e0-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328304</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, Global, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Culture, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Human Rights, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, and Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[TENGJHIH HAMLET, Taiwan — Nestled high on a mountain slope in southern Taiwan, Tengjhih was a key settlement of the Bunun Indigenous people. Today, however, little remains but memories of the hamlet.  Wild grass sprouts around abandoned houses. Stray dogs have made the empty streets their territory. The children’s toys and chairs scattered across the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[TENGJHIH HAMLET, Taiwan — Nestled high on a mountain slope in southern Taiwan, Tengjhih was a key settlement of the Bunun Indigenous people. Today, however, little remains but memories of the hamlet.  Wild grass sprouts around abandoned houses. Stray dogs have made the empty streets their territory. The children’s toys and chairs scattered across the ground hint at a hurried departure. Bunun leader Dahu Ismahasan is visibly moved as he looks at what is left of his village.  “When we were children, we played here. We were happy, innocent,” he says.  But “now the village is destroyed,” says Dahu, who is president of the Bunun tribal council.  Dahu and fellow villagers had to leave Tengjhih in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, which killed 755 people in 2009 across Taiwan. The deadliest storm in the island’s recorded history brought torrential rainfall, causing floods and landslides primarily in mountainous Indigenous territories. At the time, Indigenous peoples accounted for only 2.1% of Taiwan’s total population; yet in the aftermath of Morakot, around 70% of areas deemed unsafe by the government were located in Indigenous territories.  View from the mountain road that leads to Tengjhih, a Bunun Indigenous settlement, in southern Taiwan on Aug. 6, 2026. Image by Aylin Ho for Mongabay. Nobody in Tengjhih died during Morakot, but the typhoon destroyed the only road leading to the hamlet.  With Tengjhih declared a &#8220;high-risk zone&#8221;, authorities in 2009 began permanently resettling its 150 residents, mostly in surrounding lower-elevation areas like Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s third-largest city,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/displaced-by-a-typhoon-taiwans-bunun-people-fear-for-the-future-of-their-culture/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/displaced-by-a-typhoon-taiwans-bunun-people-fear-for-the-future-of-their-culture/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328304</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Logging operations uncovered at Cambodian senator’s dam in the Cardamoms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2026 01:30:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/10/09140647/Lutrogale_perspicillata_-_Jurong_Eco_Garden-harrison-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328129</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Global, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Carbon Credits, Carbon Market, Carbon Sequestration, climate finance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corruption, Crime, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Energy, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Habitat Loss, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Logging, Logging, Natural Resources, Old Growth Forests, Rainforests, Selective Logging, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“They are clearing the forest for the reservoir,” said Phan, a resident of O’Soam commune in Cambodia’s western province of Pursat. “These days, every few days, there is only one timber truck because it is the raining season, but during the dry season, there are three or four timber trucks [per day].” Phan, who spoke [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“They are clearing the forest for the reservoir,” said Phan, a resident of O’Soam commune in Cambodia’s western province of Pursat. “These days, every few days, there is only one timber truck because it is the raining season, but during the dry season, there are three or four timber trucks [per day].” Phan, who spoke to Mongabay by phone, requested that neither his full name nor his village name be published for fear of retribution from the developers of the 70-megawatt (MW) Stung Russei Chrum Kandal hydropower dam, also known as the Middle Russei Chrum River dam. Construction on the dam, which spans the Russei Chrum River in neighboring Koh Kong province, began in 2023 inside Phnom Kravanh National Park, one of Cambodia’s largest protected rainforests. The dam is one of many being built in the Cardamoms as Cambodia pushes for “clean” energy security, but recent satellite imagery indicates that large-scale logging is happening beyond the authorized construction sites. This map shows where the two dams are being built inside Cambodia&#8217;s protected Kravanh National Park. Image by Emilie Languedoc/Mongabay. Access to the site, Phan added, has been restricted and checkpoints are closely guarded by armed men in Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) uniforms. “We used to enter for fishing and laying fishing equipment, yet we are not allowed to enter anymore,” he said. “They have checkpoints, they have troops — they say the troops came to protect the forests. But the company set them up as security guards; we cannot&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328129</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rooting tree seed production in local knowledge boosts forest restoration outcomes (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rooting-tree-seed-production-in-local-knowledge-boosts-forest-restoration-outcomes-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rooting-tree-seed-production-in-local-knowledge-boosts-forest-restoration-outcomes-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Sep 2026 20:25:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ahmad MuhammadNur Estya Binte RahmanSigit SutiknoZu Dienle Tan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/01200434/Selumo_planting_2-e1788293106470-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328254</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Landscape Restoration, Nature-based climate solutions, Plants, Reforestation, Restoration, Solutions, Traditional Knowledge, Trees, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Since the launch of global restoration initiatives such as the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), large-scale tree planting has become the hallmark of many restoration projects. Ambitious targets, such as The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees campaign and the World Economic Forum’s One Trillion Tree Initiative, highlight the potential of tree-based restoration in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Since the launch of global restoration initiatives such as the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), large-scale tree planting has become the hallmark of many restoration projects. Ambitious targets, such as The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees campaign and the World Economic Forum’s One Trillion Tree Initiative, highlight the potential of tree-based restoration in achieving the triple goals of climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and social well-being. However, this fascination with the number of trees planted often obscures the more complex challenges of ensuring tree survival, resilience, and adaptation in the face of climate change. Addressing these challenges requires not only technical expertise but also place-based knowledge that communities living within and around these forests have accumulated over generations. In the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, forest restoration does not occur in a vacuum: Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are dependent on forests for their livelihoods and subsistence. Their familiarity with the local species, landscapes, and ecological rhythms makes them indispensable partners in restoration efforts. Engaging IPLCs is especially important when it comes to the delicate process of collecting, storing, and caring for plant propagules and seedlings (hereafter referred to as seed), which can contribute to higher survival rates and more resilient forest stands over time. This commentary examines how integrating IPLC knowledge into the upstream process of seed propagation can strengthen forest restoration outcomes in Southeast Asia, and what enabling conditions are needed to support their meaningful participation. Natural forest in Indonesia. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rooting-tree-seed-production-in-local-knowledge-boosts-forest-restoration-outcomes-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rooting-tree-seed-production-in-local-knowledge-boosts-forest-restoration-outcomes-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328254</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Indonesia, 20 Indigenous subtribes seek common ground amid mining divisions</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-indonesia-20-indigenous-subtribes-seek-common-ground-amid-mining-divisions/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-indonesia-20-indigenous-subtribes-seek-common-ground-amid-mining-divisions/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Sep 2026 16:46:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/01161500/23f9659d-gp0sua2mg-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328173</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Papua, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Law, Mining, and Natural Resources]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ARBOREK, Southwest Papua, Indonesia — For generations, Raja Ampat’s Indigenous communities have governed different forests, reefs and islands according to their customary systems. Those communities have distinct identities and territorial claims, which sometimes overlap or lead to disputes. Recently, nickel mining has created new divisions, with some communities seeing the industry as an economic opportunity, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ARBOREK, Southwest Papua, Indonesia — For generations, Raja Ampat’s Indigenous communities have governed different forests, reefs and islands according to their customary systems. Those communities have distinct identities and territorial claims, which sometimes overlap or lead to disputes. Recently, nickel mining has created new divisions, with some communities seeing the industry as an economic opportunity, while others fear it will damage the land and sea on which they depend. Against that backdrop, representatives of 20 Indigenous subtribes gathered in the tiny island village of Arborek from Aug. 20-23, 2026, to find common ground and strengthen their collective voice over the future of Raja Ampat. The gathering, called Heyul Pelei Koranu Fyak, takes its name from the two major Indigenous groups in Raja Ampat, the Maya and Biak. Heyul Pelei is a Maya term meaning grand gathering, while Koranu Fyak in Biak means Indigenous people. The gathering, , was the culmination of a consolidation effort among Indigenous communities in Raja Ampat that began in 2025. It was organized by the Forum Gelar Senat Masyarakat Adat Raja Ampat in collaboration with Institut USBA, an Indigenous-focused organization based in Southwest Papua, and Greenpeace Indonesia. As night fell on the first day, representatives from each participating subtribe introduced themselves and shared stories from their respective villages. Many spoke about struggles over land, resources and environmental protection. The gathering ultimately produced a common resolution opposing mining in Raja Ampat. The Indigenous community of Arborek village welcomed the participants of the Heyul Pelei Koranu Fyak gathering,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-indonesia-20-indigenous-subtribes-seek-common-ground-amid-mining-divisions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-indonesia-20-indigenous-subtribes-seek-common-ground-amid-mining-divisions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328173</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Singapore spending billions to adapt to climate change, but deforestation continues</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/singapore-spending-billions-to-adapt-to-climate-change-but-deforestation-continues/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/singapore-spending-billions-to-adapt-to-climate-change-but-deforestation-continues/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Aug 2026 16:49:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robin Hicks]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/27151420/Save-our-forests-banner-Maju-protest-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327585</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Development, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SINGAPORE — At a rare public demonstration against a state development plan, 22-year-old environmental studies student Saw Yun Ya called on the Singaporean government to redo an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for Maju Forest, arguing that it had overlooked the climate and health effects of clearing the site. The EIA for Maju, a 23-hectare (57-acre) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SINGAPORE — At a rare public demonstration against a state development plan, 22-year-old environmental studies student Saw Yun Ya called on the Singaporean government to redo an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for Maju Forest, arguing that it had overlooked the climate and health effects of clearing the site. The EIA for Maju, a 23-hectare (57-acre) patch of regenerating forest bordered by housing in central Singapore, was announced in July, prompting an unusually impassioned public backlash in the conservative city-state. Maju is one of several secondary forests facing development as the 744-square-kilometer (287-square-mile) city looks to address an acute housing crunch amid a growing population. Forests at Sembawang, Woodlands, Tengah and Gillman Barracks are also on the chopping block. Secondary forests cover about 16% of Singapore’s land area, having regrown over abandoned villages and plantations after much of the population was moved into high-rise housing from the 1960s. The island lost almost all of its primary forests in the British colonial era. Singapore’s EIAs assess the pollution, waste and biodiversity impacts of developing an area, and have identified critically endangered species such as the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) at sites including Maju and Gillman Barracks. But residents and environmental groups say EIAs do not adequately account for the climate and health benefits provided by forests. A protester at a rally against deforestation on Aug. 16 holds a banner reading: &#8220;Know your enemy,&#8221; in reference to sites that could be used as alternatives to forest to build&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/singapore-spending-billions-to-adapt-to-climate-change-but-deforestation-continues/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/singapore-spending-billions-to-adapt-to-climate-change-but-deforestation-continues/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327585</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Gold miners breach a crucial refuge for rescued Sumatran orangutans</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gold-miners-breach-a-crucial-refuge-for-rescued-sumatran-orangutans/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gold-miners-breach-a-crucial-refuge-for-rescued-sumatran-orangutans/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Aug 2026 14:37:47 +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/20/2026/08/28100815/orangutan-in-sumatra-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327699</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Gold Mining, Governance, Great Apes, Illegal Mining, Mining, Orangutans, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JANTHO, Indonesia — Illegal gold miners in Indonesia’s Aceh province have breached a crucial reintroduction forest for critically endangered Sumatran orangutans rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. “The result of our monitoring indicates that maybe dozens of excavators are suspected of operating in the Jantho forest area,” said Afifuddin, campaign and advocacy lead at the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JANTHO, Indonesia — Illegal gold miners in Indonesia’s Aceh province have breached a crucial reintroduction forest for critically endangered Sumatran orangutans rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. “The result of our monitoring indicates that maybe dozens of excavators are suspected of operating in the Jantho forest area,” said Afifuddin, campaign and advocacy lead at the provincial chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the country’s largest environmental pressure group. The Indonesian government established the Jantho orangutan reintroduction area more than 15 years ago within the wider protected forest known as the Jantho Nature Reserve. Jantho is located in Aceh province, on the northern tip of Sumatra. There were no Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) living in what is now the Jantho reintroduction forest when conservationists began releasing animals there in 2011. Since then, the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), which works with the Indonesian government on the reintroduction effort, has released nearly 200 orangutans into the forest. It remains one of the country’s most successful release sites for the critically endangered great apes. The Jantho sanctuary was chosen for reintroduction due to its habitat of fig trees, a key food source for orangutans, and proximity to the Leuser Ecosystem, which is home to most of the Sumatran orangutans that remain in the wild. Forest near Jantho. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Rainforest river near Jantho. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. However, new analysis by Walhi’s Aceh chapter found that approximately 14 hectares (35 acres), of the Jantho Nature Reserve&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gold-miners-breach-a-crucial-refuge-for-rescued-sumatran-orangutans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gold-miners-breach-a-crucial-refuge-for-rescued-sumatran-orangutans/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327699</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Siraya language, deemed ‘extinct’ over a century ago, finds its voice again in Taiwan</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-language-deemed-extinct-over-a-century-ago-finds-its-voice-again-in-taiwan/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-language-deemed-extinct-over-a-century-ago-finds-its-voice-again-in-taiwan/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Aug 2026 12:52:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aylin Ho]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/28161645/image00003a-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327805</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, Global, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Culture, Education, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Hope and optimism, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Language, and Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[TAINAN, Taiwan — Since she was old enough to understand it, Uma Talavan has known she belongs to the Indigenous Siraya people.  She knew almost nothing of her ethnicity, however, the identity of which was dissolved by centuries of forced assimilation, save for a handful of words her parents used to speak. In search of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[TAINAN, Taiwan — Since she was old enough to understand it, Uma Talavan has known she belongs to the Indigenous Siraya people.  She knew almost nothing of her ethnicity, however, the identity of which was dissolved by centuries of forced assimilation, save for a handful of words her parents used to speak. In search of &#8220;who she is,&#8221; as she puts it, the Siraya activist decided to bring her language back to life nearly 200 years after it died out. “Language is an extremely important part of a people&#8217;s soul,” she says. “It lets us know the past and connect it to the present.&#8221;  Her work to revitalize the Siraya language, which began more than 20 years ago, helped secure the community’s legal recognition as Taiwan&#8217;s 17th Indigenous group. Uma Talavan, her activist father Wan Cheng-hsiung, also known as Cheng-hiong Talavan, and other members of the community traveled from Tainan to Taipei to attend a ceremony announcing the recognition on July 30.  Siraya activist Uma Talavan at Koupi Experimental Elementary School, the first school where learning Siraya is mandatory, in Sinhua district, Tainan, Taiwan, on Aug. 21, 2026. Image by Aylin Ho for Mongabay. The Siraya, one of Taiwan’s Austronesian-speaking Indigenous peoples, are the largest of the Pingpu groups, the peoples who have traditionally inhabited the island’s lowland plains and coastal areas. When the Dutch arrived in southern Taiwan in the 17th century, the Siraya were the first people they came into contact with.  The story of the Siraya language&#8217;s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-language-deemed-extinct-over-a-century-ago-finds-its-voice-again-in-taiwan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-language-deemed-extinct-over-a-century-ago-finds-its-voice-again-in-taiwan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327805</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Failed environmental safeguards leave coastal Bangladesh facing coal pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/failed-environmental-safeguards-leave-coastal-bangladesh-facing-coal-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/failed-environmental-safeguards-leave-coastal-bangladesh-facing-coal-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2026 15:15:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rashidul Hasan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/28151048/Payra-Power-Plant_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327777</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Business, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, Industry, Law, Law Enforcement, Pollution, Regulations, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Riaz Panchayet used to farm papaya, cucumber, okra and bananas on his land in Madhupur village, located in southern Bangladesh’s coastal Patuakhali district. These days, he runs a small tea stall near one of the gates of the Payra Power Plant, and worry has replaced the seasonal rhythm of harvests. “I notice a layer of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Riaz Panchayet used to farm papaya, cucumber, okra and bananas on his land in Madhupur village, located in southern Bangladesh’s coastal Patuakhali district. These days, he runs a small tea stall near one of the gates of the Payra Power Plant, and worry has replaced the seasonal rhythm of harvests. “I notice a layer of ash on the leaves of the plants and low production,” he says. “There are coconut trees on my farm; I climb them for pruning or collecting coconuts, and my shirt turns black due to the ash. We are used to bathing in an open pond, but for the last several years there has been an itching problem. My eyesight is affected, too. It is all happening because of the coal power plant.” Panchayet says he lost almost 1 hectare (2.4 acres) of land to the plant. The reaming 1 hectare, he says, is waterlogged by an ill-planned drainage system that leaves the power station’s discharge sitting stagnant on his fields. Across a large area of Kalapara subdistrict in Patuakhali, where the coal-fired Payra Power Plant is located, residents tell versions of the same story. A recent study linked local suffering related to air quality and fly ash to the power plant authority’s failure to maintain proper environmental guidelines for protecting the local environment and ecology. The Payra 1320 MW Thermal Power Plant, operated by Bangladesh-China Power Company Ltd., a joint venture between Bangladesh and China, started operations in 2020. The plant consumes 10,000 to 12,000&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/failed-environmental-safeguards-leave-coastal-bangladesh-facing-coal-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/failed-environmental-safeguards-leave-coastal-bangladesh-facing-coal-pollution/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327777</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Community programs linked to lower forest loss in Indonesia’s Borneo during COVID-19</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2026 02:03:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/12215106/kalbar_drone_190946a_sungai_utik-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327673</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Biodiversity, Community Development, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, COVID-19, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Loss, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Illegal Logging, Logging, NGOs, Pandemics, Protected Areas, Reduced Impact Logging, Research, Solutions, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Villages in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan saw less forest loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when conservation groups provided health and livelihood support, a new study has found, suggesting social safety nets can help protect forests during economic crises. The peer-reviewed study, published last month in Lancet Planetary Health, suggests forest loss in West Kalimantan province on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Villages in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan saw less forest loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when conservation groups provided health and livelihood support, a new study has found, suggesting social safety nets can help protect forests during economic crises. The peer-reviewed study, published last month in Lancet Planetary Health, suggests forest loss in West Kalimantan province on the Indonesian part of Borneo fell sharply during the pandemic, as weak timber demand and travel restrictions made logging less profitable and harder to carry out. At the same time, villages with access to alternative livelihoods and other support were less reliant on forests for income, the paper adds. The researchers say their study is among the first to combine household surveys with detailed satellite data to examine how the pandemic affected rural livelihoods and forest loss in the same communities, offering a closer look at how economic shocks and social support can influence pressure on tropical forests. “As the pandemic started, we expected economic hardships to cause illegal logging to increase again,” Skylar Hopkins, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University and the lead author for the new study, said in a statement. Mapping deforestation trends Before the pandemic, average forest loss was 52% lower in NGO-affiliated villages than in unaffiliated villages, the study finds. Indonesia has the world’s third-largest tropical forest area, a major store of biodiversity and carbon, long threatened by logging, agricultural expansion and fires. The researchers surveyed 10 villages in West Kalimantan in late 2021: six communities supported by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327673</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cambodia defies UN call to free ‘arbitrarily jailed’ environmental activists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-defies-un-call-to-free-arbitrarily-jailed-environmental-activists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-defies-un-call-to-free-arbitrarily-jailed-environmental-activists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Aug 2026 10:30:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/02191929/Ly-Chandaravuth-addresses-Mother-Nature-Cambodia-supporters-before-the-court-issued-a-verdict-on-July-2-2024-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327551</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate Justice, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corruption, Crime, Endangered Environmentalists, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Governance, Law, Natural Resources, NGOs, Nonviolence, Protests, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The Cambodian government has defended its continued imprisonment of five environmental activists, after the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared the five had been arbitrarily detained and called for their immediate release. The activists, from environmental group Mother Nature Cambodia, have since 2024 been serving prison sentences of between [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The Cambodian government has defended its continued imprisonment of five environmental activists, after the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared the five had been arbitrarily detained and called for their immediate release. The activists, from environmental group Mother Nature Cambodia, have since 2024 been serving prison sentences of between six and eight years for allegedly plotting against the government. In a 16-page opinion published in February, the U.N. working group said it had found that the imprisonment of Long Kuntha, 28, Ly Chandaravuth, 26, Phuon Keoraksmey, 25, Thun Ratha, 34 and Yim Leanghy, 37, met the conditions for arbitrary detention on the grounds that there was no legal basis for the arrests. It said authorities had targeted the activists for exercising their fundamental freedoms, making the detention discriminatory and resulting in severe violations of their right to a fair trial. The opinion asked Cambodia to take immediate action on the matter in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the latter of which Cambodia ratified in 1992, and to provide evidence of having done so within six months. Contacted by Mongabay in August, six months since the working group’s findings, a government spokesperson said the activists would remain behind bars. “I have no comment on [the working group’s] rulings against us as all detentions have been made under legal and judicial proceeding,” Chan Rothona, spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-defies-un-call-to-free-arbitrarily-jailed-environmental-activists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-defies-un-call-to-free-arbitrarily-jailed-environmental-activists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327551</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Java’s hills, former bird hunters are rebuilding a songbird haven</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-javas-hills-former-bird-hunters-are-rebuilding-a-songbird-haven/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-javas-hills-former-bird-hunters-are-rebuilding-a-songbird-haven/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Aug 2026 10:29:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Triyo Handoko]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/27102040/Javan-blue-flycatcher-Cyornis-banyumas-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327538</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Hunting, Poaching, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PURWOREJO, Indonesia — As a young man, Parman hunted songbirds here in the Menoreh Hills, a landscape of karst valleys near the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. The area is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, but back then Parman would raid nests for rare birds, taking fledglings before they had learned to fly, then raising them [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PURWOREJO, Indonesia — As a young man, Parman hunted songbirds here in the Menoreh Hills, a landscape of karst valleys near the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. The area is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, but back then Parman would raid nests for rare birds, taking fledglings before they had learned to fly, then raising them himself until they were old enough to sell. “Most buyers came from outside the area, especially Yogyakarta and Magelang,” Parman told Mongabay Indonesia in June, referring to the two nearest cities to his home in Donorejo village. “They’d ask local people to catch them, and we’d sell them — for a pretty good price.” The colorful Javan blue flycatcher (Cyornis banyumas), for example, used to be a common sight and sound here in the Menoreh Hills. But the species is now critically endangered, a sad reflection of the depth of Indonesia’s songbird trade. Today, many more of these birds are held in cages than live freely in forests. “Remarkably, the population in captivity likely numbers in the tens of thousands, while the wild population is now suspected to number fewer than 1,000, and maybe much lower,” notes the most recent assessment of the Javan blue flycatcher, published in 2022 by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. “It became really difficult to find birds here,” Parman said. “So that’s why we stopped, and chose to focus on raising goats instead.” But after Parman and his peers stopped hunting for the songbird trade, they found outsiders&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-javas-hills-former-bird-hunters-are-rebuilding-a-songbird-haven/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-javas-hills-former-bird-hunters-are-rebuilding-a-songbird-haven/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327538</doi>				</item>
			</channel>
</rss>