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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/mapping/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2026 08:39:08 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>News on Mapping</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/mapping/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>How much nature is left? Interview with Nature Data Lab’s Karl Burkart</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-much-nature-is-left-interview-with-nature-data-labs-karl-burkart/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-much-nature-is-left-interview-with-nature-data-labs-karl-burkart/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 10:16:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09101111/mushrooms-in-the-forest-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332051</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mapping, Protected Areas, Research, Science, Software, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Where are ecosystems still left standing? Where should conservation be focused? A new tool is attempting to answer these questions and serve as a watchdog for conservation and land protection initiatives around the world. Global Safety Net v3 (GSN3) is a geospatial data platform that uses satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and mapping techniques to understand [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Where are ecosystems still left standing? Where should conservation be focused? A new tool is attempting to answer these questions and serve as a watchdog for conservation and land protection initiatives around the world. Global Safety Net v3 (GSN3) is a geospatial data platform that uses satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and mapping techniques to understand the extent of landscapes around the world, and how they’re faring. “We&#8217;re interested in how much nature is left, and how well cared for and conserved it is,” Karl Burkart, director of the GSN3 initiative at the Nature Data Lab, a U.S.-based research organization, told Mongabay in a video interview. At the 2022 summit of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 196 countries from around the world adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The highlight of the agreement was the “30&#215;30” goal: to protect 30% of the world’s lands and oceans by 2030. Against the backdrop of this agreement, it’s become crucial for conservation scientists and organizations to keep track of how countries are faring and if designated protected areas are indeed based on scientific and conservation priorities. “We want to make sure that the 30% is the land that&#8217;s most critical for ecosystems, that&#8217;s essential for communities and livelihoods, and also for biodiversity,” Burkart said. In the backdrop of a global agreement to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and water by 2030, Karl Burkart (pictured above) said it’s important to ensure that the 30% protected is the land that’s most critical for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-much-nature-is-left-interview-with-nature-data-labs-karl-burkart/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-much-nature-is-left-interview-with-nature-data-labs-karl-burkart/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332051</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia threatens prison time for unauthorized downloads of forest data</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesia-threatens-prison-time-for-unauthorized-downloads-of-forest-data/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesia-threatens-prison-time-for-unauthorized-downloads-of-forest-data/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 02:59:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dyna RochmyaningsihPhilip Jacobson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/05121818/orangutan-indonesia-maps-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331637</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Communication, Conservation Technology, Controversial, data, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Governance, Law, Law Enforcement, Mapping, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s government is imposing new restrictions on access to geospatial data, raising concerns among researchers and activists that it will suppress environmental science and advocacy work in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. For around a month, visitors to an interactive mapping platform maintained by the Ministry of Forestry have been greeted with a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s government is imposing new restrictions on access to geospatial data, raising concerns among researchers and activists that it will suppress environmental science and advocacy work in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. For around a month, visitors to an interactive mapping platform maintained by the Ministry of Forestry have been greeted with a pop-up legal notice warning that the information is “view-only” and that anyone who “downloads” or “extracts” it without the ministry’s written permission “will be prosecuted” under the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions, or ITE, Law. Anyone who wants to use the once freely accessible platform, known as SIGAP, must first agree to “terms and conditions” stating that the relevant articles in the ITE Law “carry penalties of up to 9 years in prison and/or a fine of up to Rp 3 billion [$170,000],” the notice says. On Sept. 21, the ministry’s Directorate General of Forestry Planning posted a video to Instagram outlining a new application process that requires prospective users to disclose their research aims and submit supporting documents. Doni Prabowo, the department’s head of forest monitoring and geospatial information, told Mongabay that restrictions were needed because geospatial data had been uncontrolled for a long time, creating opportunities for manipulation and illegal trading of the country’s precious information. “What if somebody manipulates the data and says certain areas are not protected forest [when they really are]? It could be dangerous,” Doni said by phone. He said he’d heard of the ministry’s geospatial data being listed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesia-threatens-prison-time-for-unauthorized-downloads-of-forest-data/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331637</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Philippine eagle habitat study maps mining risks and conservation priorities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippine-eagle-habitat-study-maps-mining-risks-and-conservation-priorities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippine-eagle-habitat-study-maps-mining-risks-and-conservation-priorities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2026 18:18:27 +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/20/2026/09/30154948/05_Philippine-eagle-of-Barangay-Cabuaya-Mati-City-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331291</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Mapping, Mining, Raptors, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study mapping the likely nesting habitats of the iconic Philippine eagle in its main stronghold warns that the threat of habitat loss — a key driver of its disappearance across much of its range — still looms large for the critically endangered species. The study, published in Bird Conservation International, shows that approved [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study mapping the likely nesting habitats of the iconic Philippine eagle in its main stronghold warns that the threat of habitat loss — a key driver of its disappearance across much of its range — still looms large for the critically endangered species. The study, published in Bird Conservation International, shows that approved mining concessions overlap with 41% of highly suitable nesting habitat and 65% of its core areas in eastern Mindanao, the Philippines’ southernmost and second-largest island. Only about 35% of the highly suitable habitat identified across the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor falls within protected areas. Indigenous ancestral domains separately overlap with 65% of core high-quality nesting habitat. (The figures do not necessarily represent the same areas, the study notes.) “This study turns nearly four decades of field observations, nest records, GPS tracking and satellite information into something people can actually use,” study co-author Christopher J.W. McClure, vice president for global science at U.S.-based NGO The Peregrine Fund, said in a Sept. 24 statement issued by the Philippine Eagle Foundation. “It helps us see where surveys and safeguards are needed most before important habitat is changed,” McClure added. Juan Carlos Gonzalez, an ornithologist and curator for birds at the Museum of Natural History at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, who wasn’t involved in the research, said the findings are concerning because Philippine eagles (Pithecophaga jefferyi) already have limited suitable habitat inside protected areas and also persist in Indigenous-managed forests. “Both represent the last stronghold for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippine-eagle-habitat-study-maps-mining-risks-and-conservation-priorities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippine-eagle-habitat-study-maps-mining-risks-and-conservation-priorities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331291</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia integrates Indigenous data in bid to put customary lands on map</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-integrates-indigenous-data-in-bid-to-put-customary-lands-on-map/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-integrates-indigenous-data-in-bid-to-put-customary-lands-on-map/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Aug 2026 11:27:46 +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/20/2024/01/25122554/dayak-women-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327062</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Culture, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Mapping, Nature-based climate solutions, Social Conflict, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indigenous peoples in Indonesia have long faced a basic problem: Data on their communities, cultures and customary territories are scattered across government agencies and civil society organizations, making them less visible in spatial planning and permitting. The Indonesian government is trying to address that gap by integrating data from the Ministry of Culture, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indigenous peoples in Indonesia have long faced a basic problem: Data on their communities, cultures and customary territories are scattered across government agencies and civil society organizations, making them less visible in spatial planning and permitting. The Indonesian government is trying to address that gap by integrating data from the Ministry of Culture, the Ancestral Domain Registration Agency (BRWA) and the country’s largest Indigenous peoples’ alliance, AMAN, in a dataset covering 3,857 Indigenous communities. The government says the integrated data will strengthen policymaking and protection of Indigenous peoples. BRWA says the bigger significance could be spatial: Customary territory maps, which can show the ancestral lands, traditional territories, languages and more of Indigenous peoples, could eventually become part of the government’s geospatial data and potentially be visible in spatial planning and permitting. BRWA was established in 2010 by Indigenous and civil society organizations, including AMAN, to document and register customary territories amid the government’s slow progress in recognizing Indigenous peoples and their lands. The new integrated dataset was launched on Aug. 19 in Jakarta. Before the launch, data on Indigenous peoples had been scattered across various ministries, institutions and civil society organizations, according to Restu Gunawan, the Ministry of Culture’s director general of cultural and traditional protection. The differences matter, he said during the launch: Even a difference of one community in the datasets could translate into thousands of hectares of difference when it comes to customary territories. Didik Darmanto, director of religion, culture, youth and sports at the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-integrates-indigenous-data-in-bid-to-put-customary-lands-on-map/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327062</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scientists use AI to produce first high-resolution map of global seagrass extent</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientists-use-ai-to-produce-first-high-resolution-map-of-global-seagrass-extent/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientists-use-ai-to-produce-first-high-resolution-map-of-global-seagrass-extent/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2026 12:51:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/10103637/IMG_2026-07-10-031214-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323038</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Caribbean, Cuba, Global, Indonesia, North America, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Biodiversity, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Mapping, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Mitigation, Oceans, Plants, Politics, Protected Areas, Remote Sensing, Research, Satellite Imagery, Science, Seagrass, Software, Technology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Almost 70% of the global extent of seagrass meadows is found off the coasts of just five countries. However, only 21% of this fall within marine protected areas. These are some of the key findings from the first high-resolution map of seagrasses around the world. Scientists at Arizona State University in the U.S. used satellite [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Almost 70% of the global extent of seagrass meadows is found off the coasts of just five countries. However, only 21% of this fall within marine protected areas. These are some of the key findings from the first high-resolution map of seagrasses around the world. Scientists at Arizona State University in the U.S. used satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to map seagrass cover over two periods, 2019-2020 and 2023-2024. According to a study, recently published in the journal Nature, the team identified “148,506 km2 of seagrass globally,” or about 57,340 square miles, a combined area larger than England, with the majority lying in subtidal areas. “We wanted to map seagrass in a very accurate manner,” Jiwei Li, an assistant professor at ASU’s School of Ocean Futures, who led the study, told Mongabay in a video interview. “And tell people where the seagrass is and where there is potential to protect it.” Scientists mapped seagrass ecosystems using satellite data and AI technology. Pictured above is a satellite image from a coast off of Richmond, Canada, along with the seagrass ecosystems highlighted in green to the right. Image courtesy of Jiwei Li, Arizona State University. Seagrasses are the only flowering plant species in the ocean, and form vast meadows in shallow waters. Apart from being habitats for many marine species, these meadows are also crucial carbon sinks that can absorb CO2 35 times faster than terrestrial forests. They also protect coastlines and filter pollutants in the water. However, seagrass ecosystems face threats from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientists-use-ai-to-produce-first-high-resolution-map-of-global-seagrass-extent/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323038</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Laser scanning forests may boost carbon estimates, but credibility questions linger</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/laser-scanning-forests-may-boost-carbon-estimates-but-credibility-questions-linger/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/laser-scanning-forests-may-boost-carbon-estimates-but-credibility-questions-linger/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 14:55:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shradha Triveni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/26115840/Overlay1-1-1-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321918</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[carbon, Carbon Credits, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Market, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forests, Geology, Mapping, Research, Science, Soil Carbon, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forests are natural carbon sinks. But as reforestation of degraded land is becoming a global climate solution, a persistent question lingers: How do we know how much carbon a forest is actually storing? Researchers say ground-based laser scanning, or LiDAR, could improve the efficiency of measuring the outcomes of reforestation. And a recent paper published [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Forests are natural carbon sinks. But as reforestation of degraded land is becoming a global climate solution, a persistent question lingers: How do we know how much carbon a forest is actually storing? Researchers say ground-based laser scanning, or LiDAR, could improve the efficiency of measuring the outcomes of reforestation. And a recent paper published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence found that LiDAR scanning in Australia offered an improvement over other methods of carbon estimation. LiDAR instruments emit thousands of tiny laser pulses to create complex and intricate 3D maps of a forest’ structure, allowing researchers to more accurately estimate how much carbon is contained in its trees. Co-author of the paper Alexander W. Cheesman, a senior research fellow at James Cook University, North Queensland, Australia, calls the technology “transformative.” “Traditional field surveys heavily relied on manually measuring the height and diameter of a relatively small number of trees. But laser scanning captures the whole forest in 360 degrees, recording every stem, every branch and the shape of the canopy,” Cheesman told Mongabay during a virtual interview over Google Meet. In Australia, the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) is the government’s main tool to track carbon stored in soil and roots (belowground carbon) and vegetation (aboveground carbon). It is used for national greenhouse gas reporting to the United Nations and to assess carbon credit within the country, through the government’s Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme. Rather than directly measuring carbon, FullCAM simulates the movement of carbon through ecosystems by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/laser-scanning-forests-may-boost-carbon-estimates-but-credibility-questions-linger/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321918</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study offers first map of Amazon’s climate-resilient upslope corridors</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/study-offers-first-map-of-amazons-climate-resilient-upslope-corridors/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/study-offers-first-map-of-amazons-climate-resilient-upslope-corridors/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2026 14:26:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Justin Catanoso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/22132538/howler-monkey-in-amazon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321550</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Cloud Forests, Conservation, Earth Science, Ecosystems, Environment, Impact Of Climate Change, Mapping, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Rainforest Destruction, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amazon-based scientists have long known that rapidly rising temperatures mean that places where species live today won’t be where they live tomorrow. For a vast number of species — ranging from insects, birds and primates to all manner of plants — upslope migration could present a potential, though perilous, pathway to resilience and survival during [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amazon-based scientists have long known that rapidly rising temperatures mean that places where species live today won’t be where they live tomorrow. For a vast number of species — ranging from insects, birds and primates to all manner of plants — upslope migration could present a potential, though perilous, pathway to resilience and survival during the climate crisis. This knowledge has raised a vital question: What are the most likely and best protected routes by which species across the Amazon’s broad expanse can relocate upward, helping preserve biodiversity, and hopefully keeping intact the ecosystem services tropical forests now deliver? In what is deemed the first region-wide assessment of Amazonia’s climate resilience and connectivity, a new study points to the western part of the biome, particularly the Andean spine of Peru, as the most viable upslope corridors. According to researchers, this region has the highest concentration of key components needed to support species survival — including major elevation gradients, large established protected areas, and connected forested corridors to facilitate upslope species migration. The scientists pinpointed additional potential corridors in southwestern Colombia, northern Brazil, northern Bolivia, north-central Guyana, and western Suriname. But these areas are disadvantaged due to fewer protected areas, with connectivity in many locales broken by forest fragmentation due to deforestation and oil and gas drilling. Published in May in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, the new study, titled “A regional-scale assessment of climate-resilient corridors and connectivity in the Amazon,” was undertaken with the goal of providing findings that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/study-offers-first-map-of-amazons-climate-resilient-upslope-corridors/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/study-offers-first-map-of-amazons-climate-resilient-upslope-corridors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321550</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Whose map counts in conservation? The rise of participatory mapping</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/whose-map-counts-in-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/whose-map-counts-in-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 01:56:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/14011243/SURINAME_2004_Trio_Mapping_Expeditions_Map_presentation_Tirio-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319383</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Indigenous Rights, and Mapping]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; For many conservation decisions, the most contested question is also the most basic: what belongs on the map? A forest may appear on a satellite image as intact canopy. To people who live near it, the same forest may be a hunting ground, a burial site, a medicine cabinet, a route to school, a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; For many conservation decisions, the most contested question is also the most basic: what belongs on the map? A forest may appear on a satellite image as intact canopy. To people who live near it, the same forest may be a hunting ground, a burial site, a medicine cabinet, a route to school, a refuge for wildlife, or a place where patrols have become threatening. A reef may be mapped by scientists as coral cover, fish biomass, or thermal stress. Fishers may know it by currents, seasons, spawning sites, customary rules and the places where conflict is likely. Conservation planning increasingly depends on spatial data. Participatory mapping asks who gets to produce that data. A new review in Conservation Science and Practice, by Michael Kowalski and colleagues, offers a useful stocktake of the field. The authors define participatory mapping as a collaborative process in which participants and cartographers co-develop maps representing local knowledge, experiences and preferences about a place. Their review covers 398 peer-reviewed studies, tracing how the method has been used across conservation science and practice. It also makes clear that a field built around community knowledge still lacks consistent standards for how that knowledge should be gathered, interpreted, protected and used. The premise is simple enough. Conservation maps have long been drawn from above: through satellite imagery, expert surveys, species-distribution models, government zoning and protected-area boundaries. These tools are indispensable. They can reveal forest loss, habitat fragmentation, coral bleaching or fire risk at scales no village meeting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/whose-map-counts-in-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/whose-map-counts-in-conservation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319383</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Americas flyways atlas maps the routes of 89 at-risk migratory bird species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/americas-flyways-atlas-maps-the-routes-of-89-at-risk-migratory-bird-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/americas-flyways-atlas-maps-the-routes-of-89-at-risk-migratory-bird-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 16:51:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Adam Litchkofski]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/16153833/4-cerulean-warbler-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317648</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Global, North America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Cities, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat Loss, Mapping, Migration, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Announced at the end of March, the “Atlas for the Americas Flyways” website tracks high concentrations of migratory bird species at risk of major population declines along their routes throughout the Americas. This new United Nations-backed tool identifies heavily trafficked breeding grounds, migratory stopover locations and wintering areas, with the aim of providing policymakers and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Announced at the end of March, the “Atlas for the Americas Flyways” website tracks high concentrations of migratory bird species at risk of major population declines along their routes throughout the Americas. This new United Nations-backed tool identifies heavily trafficked breeding grounds, migratory stopover locations and wintering areas, with the aim of providing policymakers and conservationists with actionable, location-based guidance on where and how to protect and conserve these species. It closely tracks 89 at-risk migratory bird species out of the 622 that traverse North, Central and South America. Available for everyone to explore, the atlas presents a useful, fascinating and fun opportunity to explore the annual journeys of these birds. The atlas was developed by researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Its mapping spans the 56 countries that make up the Americas, explains CMS executive secretary Amy Fraenkel, and focuses on the Atlantic, Pacific and mid-continent flyways. The buff-breasted sandpiper, highlighted in the new atlas, is a migratory bird species with an elevated risk of extinction due to rapid population declines driven by habitat loss in its South American wintering grounds and at migratory stopover sites. Image courtesy of Luke Seitz via Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The mapping tool was created using 20 years of data gathered on the Cornell Lab’s eBird website, an online database and citizen-science project that tracks bird distribution and abundance. Compiling the atlas wouldn’t have been possible, say researchers, without&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/americas-flyways-atlas-maps-the-routes-of-89-at-risk-migratory-bird-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/americas-flyways-atlas-maps-the-routes-of-89-at-risk-migratory-bird-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317648</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How a community defended its ancestral forest from logging</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 15:45:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/09162922/gabon_massaha_2149_25-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315762</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Conservation Technology, data, Deforestation, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Logging, Mapping, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, Solutions, Technology, Traditional Knowledge, Tropical Forests, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; To the cartographers of the modern conservation world, the forests of northeastern Gabon can appear almost empty. Satellite images show a deep green canopy stretching across the Congo Basin. Global datasets classify large tracts as “intact forest landscapes”, areas supposedly free of industrial disturbance and largely untouched by people. On paper, such forests look [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; To the cartographers of the modern conservation world, the forests of northeastern Gabon can appear almost empty. Satellite images show a deep green canopy stretching across the Congo Basin. Global datasets classify large tracts as “intact forest landscapes”, areas supposedly free of industrial disturbance and largely untouched by people. On paper, such forests look pristine. The reality, as residents of the village of Massaha know well, is more complicated. In recent years the community has been fighting to protect a stretch of rainforest south of their village from industrial logging. The forest, known locally as Ibola Dja Bana Ba Massaha—“the reserve of all Massaha’s children”—lies within a concession once allocated to a logging company. For generations the people of Massaha have hunted, fished and farmed there. Sacred lakes and ritual sites lie beneath the canopy. The remains of ancestral villages dot the forest floor. Yet none of this appeared on the maps that guided official decisions. The gap between these two views of the forest is the subject of a recent study examining Massaha’s campaign to document its territory. The researchers compared global conservation maps and colonial-era cartography with a detailed map created by the community itself. The result reveals something striking: the forest that appears empty in official datasets is, in fact, layered with history and meaning. Image courtesy of Ivindo FM. Massaha’s map emerged from an unusually collaborative process. Using participatory geographic tools, villagers gathered to project satellite images of their territory onto a wall. Elders identified&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315762</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Outlook for migratory species worsens amid habitat loss &#038; avian flu, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 16:03:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gloria Dickie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12132145/Sea-Turtle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315646</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Arctic, Asia, Central Asia, Chad, East Africa, Europe, Global, Kenya, Serengeti, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Diseases, Elasmobranchs, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Jaguars, Mammals, Mapping, Migration, Mining, Poaching, Sea Turtles, Sharks, Species, Turtles, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From shorebirds flying between their Arctic breeding grounds and southerly foraging ranges to freshwater fish returning to native spawning streams, migratory animals are struggling. About half of all migratory species populations protected under a global treaty are now in decline, with the situation worsening in just the last two years, according to a new United [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From shorebirds flying between their Arctic breeding grounds and southerly foraging ranges to freshwater fish returning to native spawning streams, migratory animals are struggling. About half of all migratory species populations protected under a global treaty are now in decline, with the situation worsening in just the last two years, according to a new United Nations-backed report. When the first State of the World’s Migratory Species report was published in 2024, 44% of migratory species populations listed under the U.N. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) were declining, according to data from the IUCN Red List, the world’s most comprehensive guide to global extinction risk. Since then, the proportion of imperiled CMS-listed species rose to 49%, according to updated Red List data and new research. Though the next status report isn’t due until around 2030, conservation advocates said the deteriorating situation required an interim report, as many countries are moving in the wrong direction when it comes to conserving wildlife that depend on various habitats to complete their life cycles. “This [interim report] is saying there are some alarming trends in the meantime; that we don’t want to wait six years to talk about this,” said CMS executive secretary Amy Fraenkel. Jaguars have no subspecies. Their range extends from Mexico to Argentina, but some populations are cut off, at risk of inbreeding and the demise that comes with it. Image by Gregoire Dubois. The convention, established in 1979, aims to conserve migratory species by protecting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315646</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study maps tree-planting risks and rewards for climate and biodiversity</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-maps-tree-planting-risks-and-rewards-for-climate-and-biodiversity/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-maps-tree-planting-risks-and-rewards-for-climate-and-biodiversity/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 16:46:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09161006/Indonesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315415</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Afforestation, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Landscape Restoration, Mapping, Reforestation, Research, Restoration, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Establishing forests can capture carbon and boost biodiversity — but some biomes are a better bet than others, a recent study finds. Forest restoration has emerged as a top nature-based solution to mitigate climate change, with numerous high-profile initiatives launched over the past few decades. And while there’s enthusiasm for replanting degraded forest areas, or [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Establishing forests can capture carbon and boost biodiversity — but some biomes are a better bet than others, a recent study finds. Forest restoration has emerged as a top nature-based solution to mitigate climate change, with numerous high-profile initiatives launched over the past few decades. And while there’s enthusiasm for replanting degraded forest areas, or reforestation, there’s also a growing unease that establishing forests in ecosystems that historically had little of them, or afforestation, could harm biodiversity. The question is, how can we pinpoint the best places for afforestation and reforestation, or AR, on a global scale? A number of studies have tackled this challenge. For example, a 2025 Nature Communications study found that 195 million hectares (482 million acres) of land is suitable for reforestation when climate goals, nature, and people were taken into account. Though this represents an area the size of Mexico, it’s far smaller than previous estimates. Now, a recent study in Environmental Research Letters describes a different way of gauging the potential of AR across 13 biomes. The study finds that overall, many areas within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest biome offer the highest compatibility with biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration goals. However, there’s significant variation between areas, even within the same biome. In contrast, the study finds that all grasslands, shrublands and savanna biomes are poorly suited to AR. (a) Bivariate map of the spatial overlap between the habitat suitability index and carbon sequestration potential. Dark red areas have a high habitat&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-maps-tree-planting-risks-and-rewards-for-climate-and-biodiversity/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-maps-tree-planting-risks-and-rewards-for-climate-and-biodiversity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315415</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New mapping approach predicts habitat availability for species conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-mapping-approach-predicts-habitat-availability-for-species-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-mapping-approach-predicts-habitat-availability-for-species-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Mar 2026 16:40:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/03163902/e.-Rhett-Butler-india_165187-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315137</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Environment, Habitat, Mapping, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Where are habitats available for threatened species? Are they improving or deteriorating? What landscapes could potentially be used for rewilding animals? A new modeling framework has combined years of remote sensing, field data and inputs from experts to map habitat availability for four species and find answers to these questions. The Act Green project, led [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Where are habitats available for threatened species? Are they improving or deteriorating? What landscapes could potentially be used for rewilding animals? A new modeling framework has combined years of remote sensing, field data and inputs from experts to map habitat availability for four species and find answers to these questions. The Act Green project, led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and funded by NASA, has used these distinct data sources to visualize not only where species exist at present, but also to predict potential habitats to be considered for restoration and rewilding efforts. The updateable maps can help conservationists and ecologists identify areas that require urgent conservation attention while also pointing them in the direction of intact landscapes where species could be introduced. “We are trying to integrate the richness of expert opinion with remote sensing and modern computational technology to get dynamic maps at very large spatial scales,” Gautam Surya, conservation planning scientist at WCS and co-principal investigator of the project, told Mongabay in a video interview. Mapping a species’ range of habitats is crucial to understand its distribution and assessing where to direct funding for targeted conservation and species reintroduction efforts. It’s even more crucial against the backdrop of the Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to protect 30% of the world’s ecosystems by 2030, a mission that requires nuanced data on available habitats around the world. “Decision-makers need to figure out how to spend their very scarce resources most effectively and in real time,” Rachel Neugarten, executive&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-mapping-approach-predicts-habitat-availability-for-species-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-mapping-approach-predicts-habitat-availability-for-species-conservation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315137</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil gov’t builds map to help exporters comply with EU anti-deforestation rule</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/brazil-govt-builds-map-to-help-exporters-comply-with-eu-anti-deforestation-rule/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/brazil-govt-builds-map-to-help-exporters-comply-with-eu-anti-deforestation-rule/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2026 16:39:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/12140645/a.-BANNER-AP19238006078884-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314202</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation Technology, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Governance, Logging, Mapping, Politics, Rainforests, Saving Rainforests, Technology, Timber, Tropical Forests, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Brazilian government has built a map to help commodity exporters comply with the European Union’s new regulation on deforestation-free products, or EUDR. The country’s National Space Research Institute, INPE, created new technology to generate deforestation data in polygons of a half-hectare (1.2-acre) threshold — one of the EUDR requirements. Brazil&#8217;s official deforestation data for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Brazilian government has built a map to help commodity exporters comply with the European Union’s new regulation on deforestation-free products, or EUDR. The country’s National Space Research Institute, INPE, created new technology to generate deforestation data in polygons of a half-hectare (1.2-acre) threshold — one of the EUDR requirements. Brazil&#8217;s official deforestation data for the Amazon comes from INPE&#8217;s satellite-based monitoring system, PRODES, which uses a one-hectare threshold. &#8220;It was the first time we did [this in] less than 1 hectare [2.5 acres],&#8221; Claudio Almeida, coordinator of INPE&#8217;s BiomasBR monitoring program, told Mongabay by phone. The EUDR, when it comes into effect at the end of 2026 (delayed for the second year in a row), will require suppliers to provide geolocalized data and other documentation to prove that their products exported to the EU aren’t sourced from areas illegally deforested after Dec. 31, 2020. The legislation aims to address increasing claims of products imported into the EU being linked to illegal deforestation, including in the Amazon Rainforest, and will target seven commodities: soy, cattle, rubber, palm oil, coffee, cocoa and timber. Graphic by Andrés Alegría/Mongabay. PRODES’ annual deforestation rate refers to data from Aug. 1 from the previous year to July 31 in the following year, but INPE also used high resolution satellite imagery and developed new technology to produce deforestation data with the cutoff date required by EUDR, Almeida said. December is the start of the Amazon rainy season, which poses challenges to track deforestation due to the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/brazil-govt-builds-map-to-help-exporters-comply-with-eu-anti-deforestation-rule/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/brazil-govt-builds-map-to-help-exporters-comply-with-eu-anti-deforestation-rule/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314202</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Expedition charts Cook Islands seafloor, amid scrutiny over mining motives</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/expedition-charts-cook-islands-seafloor-amid-scrutiny-over-mining-motives/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/expedition-charts-cook-islands-seafloor-amid-scrutiny-over-mining-motives/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2025 20:46:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/06115614/Sea-cucumber-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308942</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cook Islands, Oceania, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Environment, Exploration, Mapping, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Mining, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Thousands of meters below the ocean’s surface, a camera attached to a remotely operated vehicle captured a ghostly white creature gliding above a plain of polymetallic nodules — mineral-rich rocks that resemble blackened potatoes. The animal’s orchid-shaped fins undulated as it cruised through the water, while its spindly tentacles trailed behind. This otherworldly creature was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Thousands of meters below the ocean’s surface, a camera attached to a remotely operated vehicle captured a ghostly white creature gliding above a plain of polymetallic nodules — mineral-rich rocks that resemble blackened potatoes. The animal’s orchid-shaped fins undulated as it cruised through the water, while its spindly tentacles trailed behind. This otherworldly creature was a bigfin squid (genus Magnapinna), an organism that scientists have spotted fewer than two dozen times, and one that has never been physically captured. Adam Soule, a geologist and oceanographer who directs the U.S.-based Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, the organization leading the expedition on a vessel known as the E/V Nautilus, said the bigfin squid sighting generated a rush of excitement. (The Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute and its U.S.-based partner organization, the Ocean Exploration Trust, are operating via a 10-year grant worth $200 million from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA). &nbsp; “One of the cool things about the Nautilus is that there&#8217;s a lot of people following online, watching in real time and sending in comments,” Soule told Mongabay. “And they were amazed. They were really excited, as was everyone on the ship.” The footage of the bigfin squid was filmed at a depth of more than 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Cook Islands, a small Pacific island nation located between American Samoa and French Polynesia. The entire Cook Islands EEZ, which spans 1.9 million square kilometers (about 734,000 square miles), also operates as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/expedition-charts-cook-islands-seafloor-amid-scrutiny-over-mining-motives/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/expedition-charts-cook-islands-seafloor-amid-scrutiny-over-mining-motives/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308942</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A cacao rush drives ‘alarming’ deforestation in Liberia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-cacao-rush-drives-alarming-deforestation-in-liberia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-cacao-rush-drives-alarming-deforestation-in-liberia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Oct 2025 07:37:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/09071637/18-an-illegal-cocoa-crop-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307240</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Cacao, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Mapping, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Regulations, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A rush to plant cacao in southeastern Liberia is destroying large tracts of rainforest. According to satellite data as well as interviews with local environmental advocates and government officials, the establishment of new plantations in regions that border Côte d’Ivoire is causing extensive deforestation and spurring conflicts over land. While some of the plantations are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A rush to plant cacao in southeastern Liberia is destroying large tracts of rainforest. According to satellite data as well as interviews with local environmental advocates and government officials, the establishment of new plantations in regions that border Côte d’Ivoire is causing extensive deforestation and spurring conflicts over land. While some of the plantations are old enough to have begun producing cacao already, satellite imagery collected by Global Forest Watch indicates that forest loss in Grand Gedeh county and other parts of southeastern Liberia spiked dramatically in 2025, suggesting the trend is accelerating. Liberia’s remote southeast is one of its most densely forested regions, but also one of its poorest. Officials in Grand Gedeh said the rapid expansion of cacao farming there is being driven by local community leaders and political elites, who have invited migrant laborers from Côte d’Ivoire — often referred to as “Burkinabés” due to their origin in Burkina Faso — to help develop them. “The town chief will say, ‘These are my people, I own this town, we have our forest and there is nothing doing with it. So we are giving it out to the Burkinabé people to give us money,’” Yei Neagor, an official with Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority, told Mongabay. According to Liberian immigration authorities, nearly 50,000 workers have crossed the border into Grand Gedeh in recent years, a large figure for a county that had a population of just over 200,000 people as of 2022. “The situation is alarming. They are really&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-cacao-rush-drives-alarming-deforestation-in-liberia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-cacao-rush-drives-alarming-deforestation-in-liberia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307240</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>There’s far less land available for reforestation than we think, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/theres-far-less-land-available-for-reforestation-than-we-think-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/theres-far-less-land-available-for-reforestation-than-we-think-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2025 15:08:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Justin Catanoso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/02142050/AP25212528587062-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306964</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Carbon Sequestration, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, data, Deforestation, Ecology, Environment, food security, Food Vs Forests Debate, Forest Carbon, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Land Use Change, Mammals, Mapping, Plants, Rainforests, Reforestation, Remote Sensing, Research, Soil Carbon, Solutions, Trees, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Josep “Pep” Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project, says he believes countries large and small need to think twice before pledging to collectively plant billions of trees as a primary emissions-reduction strategy to meet climate action goals. “We have somehow sold reforestation as a kind of easier path [to fighting climate change], and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Josep “Pep” Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project, says he believes countries large and small need to think twice before pledging to collectively plant billions of trees as a primary emissions-reduction strategy to meet climate action goals. “We have somehow sold reforestation as a kind of easier path [to fighting climate change], and it’s not easy at all,” Canadell told Mongabay. “In my view, it’s not even easier than carbon capture and storage, a technology we’re still developing. That’s because when you bring humans into landscapes and try managing landscapes where people live, all of a sudden, this stuff becomes very complex.” Canadell is the co-author of a new study in Science that found, among other things, that the amount of land deemed suitable for newly planted and restored forests — an area roughly the size of India — quickly shrinks by as much as two-thirds when taking into account adverse impacts on biodiversity, food security and water resources. The study used new modeling tools to create global maps of soil carbon change that show carbon gains and losses, especially in topsoil. Researchers mapped the global carbon sequestration rates after forestation based on existing tree-planting pledges, then compared that with the realistic limits of those pledges. They also sorted through permanent land use changes after deforestation — for agriculture and ranching, for example — and recognized that ever returning those lands to forests was highly unlikely. In real terms, the study found that the potential to store an&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/theres-far-less-land-available-for-reforestation-than-we-think-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/theres-far-less-land-available-for-reforestation-than-we-think-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306964</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous myths reveal Amazon&#8217;s past truths: Interview with Stéphen Rostain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indigenous-myths-reveal-amazons-past-truths-interview-with-stephen-rostain/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indigenous-myths-reveal-amazons-past-truths-interview-with-stephen-rostain/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2025 14:14:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Peter Speetjens]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/01063151/1988_Rostain-French-Guiana-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306877</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Ecuador, French Guiana, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Ancient Civilizations, Anthropology, Climate, Conservation, Culture, Drought, Environment, History, Indigenous Peoples, LiDAR, Mapping, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Now a leading archaeologist, Rostain was discouraged at first. “No one is interested in archaeology of the Amazon.”]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Born in the French city of Brest in 1962, archaeologist Stéphen Rostain has worked in the Amazon for more than 40 years, primarily in French Guiana and Ecuador. He has authored or co-authored more than 450 publications on the rainforest’s past and present, including some 45 books. In January 2024, Rostain made a big splash as the lead author of a Science paper on the Upano Valley’s “urban garden culture” in the eastern Ecuadorian Amazon. It led to an avalanche of headlines around the world, many of which overly claimed a “lost city” had been found, and sparked new interest in Amazon archaeology. “I thought perhaps 10 journalists would contact me for an interview. But I did 10 to 20 interviews a day,” Rostain told Mongabay. As director of research at the French Institute for Scientific Research, Rostain isn’t very positive about the future of the Amazon. As deforestation continues and global temperatures continue to rise, he said the Amazon has already reached a turning point and is on its way to partially becoming a savanna. The profound changes in Western thinking about the rainforest that have taken place over the past decades offer a glimmer of hope. This includes the shift in our perception of the Amazon’s past and an end to the centuries of prejudice toward Indigenous people. “Our preconception has long been that the ‘Indians’ are just savages and their oral traditions just crazy legends,” Rostain told Mongabay in June. “Thankfully, that has changed. Twenty years ago,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indigenous-myths-reveal-amazons-past-truths-interview-with-stephen-rostain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indigenous-myths-reveal-amazons-past-truths-interview-with-stephen-rostain/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306877</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Guatemala, young Kaqchikel Maya protect their sacred forest with open mapping</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/in-guatemala-young-kaqchikel-maya-protect-their-sacred-forest-with-open-mapping/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/in-guatemala-young-kaqchikel-maya-protect-their-sacred-forest-with-open-mapping/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2025 12:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Monica Pelliccia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/17085258/1-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306103</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Guatemala, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Deforestation, Drones, Fires, Forest Loss, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Land Grabbing, Mapping, Protected Areas, Reforestation, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SAN JOSÉ POAQUIL, Guatemala — The last rays of daylight filter through the trees as Andres “Tata” López, 56, the local Maya mayor, greets his neighbors coming to source water in the communal forest of San José Poaquil, a municipality in the department of Chimaltenango, a two-hour drive west of Guatemala City. The forest, a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SAN JOSÉ POAQUIL, Guatemala — The last rays of daylight filter through the trees as Andres “Tata” López, 56, the local Maya mayor, greets his neighbors coming to source water in the communal forest of San José Poaquil, a municipality in the department of Chimaltenango, a two-hour drive west of Guatemala City. The forest, a critical source of water and a place considered sacred by the community, is managed by the Cofradía Ancestral Maya and the Indigenous mayor’s office, entities that promote ecosystem conservation and reforestation across generations. At its entrance is a small ceremonial altar used to make offerings to nature or burn corn on solemn occasions. Here, the community of San José Poaquil, whose members are all Indigenous Kaqchikel Maya, took part in an open mapping project that provided them with data to protect their forest against deforestation and other illicit activities, including illegal logging, forest fires and poaching. Training the community to use technology has enabled them to take ownership in managing their ancestral territory and access funding for the environmental services they provide. The open mapping project began in 2022, when a group of young volunteers started georeferencing work using photography. They mapped 75 hectares (185.3 acres) of the communal forest, showing the area&#8217;s natural and social characteristics as well as sites valued by the community, such as sacred places, water sources and places to collect medicinal plants. They also highlighted potential threats, such as agricultural encroachment, fires and areas where forest products are illegally extracted.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/in-guatemala-young-kaqchikel-maya-protect-their-sacred-forest-with-open-mapping/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306103</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New study pinpoints tree-planting hotspots for climate and biodiversity gains</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/new-study-pinpoints-tree-planting-hotspots-for-climate-and-biodiversity-gains/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/new-study-pinpoints-tree-planting-hotspots-for-climate-and-biodiversity-gains/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2025 15:19:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Marina Martinez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/02111641/1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305279</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Forest Restoration Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Global, and Panama]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, data, Ecosystem Services, Ecosystems, Environment, Forest Regeneration, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Land Use Change, Mapping, Plants, Reforestation, Restoration, Trees, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Reforestation is gaining global momentum as a climate solution, but scientists warn that planting trees indiscriminately isn’t effective. Its success depends on how and, crucially, where it’s done. A new study in Nature Communications, co-authored by scientists from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and other institutions, seeks to advance global reforestation efforts by mapping the locations [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Reforestation is gaining global momentum as a climate solution, but scientists warn that planting trees indiscriminately isn’t effective. Its success depends on how and, crucially, where it’s done. A new study in Nature Communications, co-authored by scientists from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and other institutions, seeks to advance global reforestation efforts by mapping the locations where tree planting and forest regrowth are most likely to deliver climate, biodiversity and community benefits. The authors compiled their findings into a web-based tool called the Reforestation Hub. “Reforestation is a readily-available, scalable, cost-effective carbon removal solution, but we have neither time nor resources to restore trees everywhere,” said study co-author Susan Cook-Patton, lead reforestation scientist at TNC. “Our goal with this research was to help accelerate action by highlighting the places where reforestation holds the greatest promise for people, nature, and climate,” she added in an email interview that Mongabay conducted with the TNC team. Burning within Tesso Nilo National Park in Indonesia. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Their research builds on previous maps of tree cover restoration potential, refining them by excluding areas where planting trees could do more harm than good, such as non-forested and fire-prone grasslands and savannas. Kurt Fesenmyer, the study lead author and TNC’s forest spatial data scientist, said earlier maps have been critiqued for three main reasons: how they defined “forest”; the data quality; and the lack of safeguards to ensure positive outcomes for people and the environment. “In developing our new map, we sought to address&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/new-study-pinpoints-tree-planting-hotspots-for-climate-and-biodiversity-gains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/new-study-pinpoints-tree-planting-hotspots-for-climate-and-biodiversity-gains/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305279</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New map highlights complex web of marine migrations</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-map-highlights-complex-web-of-marine-migrations/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-map-highlights-complex-web-of-marine-migrations/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2025 11:28:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/28111924/albatross-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299738</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Mapping, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Migration, Oceans, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Where are all the marine animals going? Given the vastness of the oceans, the countless species that live in them, and the lack of a global data set, it’s not easy to figure that out. However, the increasing threats that marine life face mean answering that question is key to protecting animals and their habitats. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Where are all the marine animals going? Given the vastness of the oceans, the countless species that live in them, and the lack of a global data set, it’s not easy to figure that out. However, the increasing threats that marine life face mean answering that question is key to protecting animals and their habitats. A new interactive database and map aims to fill this void. Scientists from the University of Queensland in Australia and Duke University in the U.S. pulled data from 1,300 studies in the scientific literature from around the world to create a map that shows the comings and goings of 109 species of mammals, birds and fish. Published in May in the journal Nature Communications, their Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean (MiCO) database maps out vital links between crucial marine habitats. The database underscores how marine species transcend political boundaries, highlighting the need for effective cross-border collaboration. The map comes at a time when countries around the world are discussing several initiatives to protect global biodiversity. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, for one, aims to protect 30% of Earth’s lands and oceans by 2030, better known as the 30&#215;30 goal. Another, the “biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction” (BBNJ) treaty, includes a mechanism to designate marine protected areas in the high seas, which are a key migratory route for several species. “A lot of people across the world are thinking about protected areas now,” Lily Bentley, a movement ecologist and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-map-highlights-complex-web-of-marine-migrations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299738</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New report reinforces critical role of Amazonian protected areas in climate fight</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-report-reinforces-critical-role-of-amazonian-protected-areas-in-climate-fight/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-report-reinforces-critical-role-of-amazonian-protected-areas-in-climate-fight/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2025 17:19:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/30171154/herps_208131-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298408</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Offsets, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Carbon, Indigenous Peoples, Mapping, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Technology, Threats To Rainforests, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new report adds to the already overwhelming case that protected areas and Indigenous territories in the Amazon Rainforest serve as a critical carbon sink. The report, based on satellite data gathered by Earth imaging company Planet and analyzed by the nonprofit organization Amazon Conservation, reinforces the critical role of protected areas and Indigenous territories [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new report adds to the already overwhelming case that protected areas and Indigenous territories in the Amazon Rainforest serve as a critical carbon sink. The report, based on satellite data gathered by Earth imaging company Planet and analyzed by the nonprofit organization Amazon Conservation, reinforces the critical role of protected areas and Indigenous territories in climate action. Although protected areas and Indigenous territories cover only half of the biome, the data found that, as of 2022, they stored approximately 60% of the Amazon’s aboveground carbon, totaling 34.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. In the decade starting 2013 — a period marked by rampant deforestation, wildfires and droughts — these stewarded areas also served as a significant carbon sink, absorbing 257 million metric tons of CO2. By contrast, the rest of the Amazon emitted a net 255 million metric tons of CO2 in the same 10-year period. “Protected areas and Indigenous territories almost represent an offset of the increasing emissions outside,” Matt Finer, lead author of the report and director of Amazon Conservation’s Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), told Mongabay in a video interview. Finer has been studying deforestation and carbon stocks in the Amazon for years. Previously, he used data from NASA&#8217;s GEDI mission, which uses laser beams emitted from the International Space Station to map forests in 3D. However, this lidar data had gaps and didn’t provide data that spanned across the Amazon Rainforest. Since 2024, Finer has used satellite data from Planet’s Forest&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-report-reinforces-critical-role-of-amazonian-protected-areas-in-climate-fight/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-report-reinforces-critical-role-of-amazonian-protected-areas-in-climate-fight/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298408</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Honduras, communities race to establish reserve as La Mosquitia forest disappears</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/in-honduras-communities-race-to-establish-reserve-as-la-mosquitia-forest-disappears/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/in-honduras-communities-race-to-establish-reserve-as-la-mosquitia-forest-disappears/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jan 2025 17:47:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/30172952/WhatsApp-Image-2025-01-10-at-2.48.15-PM-768x500.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293687</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Honduras, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Mapping, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the last several decades, La Mosquitia has become one of the most dangerous regions of Honduras. Drug trafficking, cattle ranching and illegal logging have pushed into the isolated forests and mountains that stretch along the southern border, becoming part of an everyday struggle for many Indigenous communities. Protected areas in La Mosquitia, like the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over the last several decades, La Mosquitia has become one of the most dangerous regions of Honduras. Drug trafficking, cattle ranching and illegal logging have pushed into the isolated forests and mountains that stretch along the southern border, becoming part of an everyday struggle for many Indigenous communities. Protected areas in La Mosquitia, like the Río Plátano and Tawahka Asangni biosphere reserves, receive some resources from the government to combat the problem, but satellite data show deforestation increasing in even these places. As a result, some Indigenous communities are trying to set up a nearby protected area of their own, managed and controlled by residents. “The same community elders who protected this area for many years are today hampered by outsiders who have illegally invaded the land,” Daniel Kiapa, a legal representative for several Indigenous communities in the area, told Mongabay. “We’re hoping to see peace in the next couple of years and hopefully that the forest will regenerate.” The protected area they want to establish won’t be a traditional park or reserve, because those designations would create restrictions for Indigenous communities, who still rely on ancestral hunting, farming and gathering of plants for medicinal practices. Instead, it will be an Indigenous anthropological reserve, with a multiple-use zone where communities can use natural resources. The proposed Warunta Indigenous Anthropological Reserve will cover 65,369 hectares (161,530 acres) in the department of Gracias a Dios, on territory governed by the Council of Elders of La Mosquitia (known as Bakinasta). Indigenous Miskito, Pech,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/in-honduras-communities-race-to-establish-reserve-as-la-mosquitia-forest-disappears/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293687</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘LIFE’ scores map out where habitat loss for crops drives extinction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/life-scores-map-out-where-habitat-loss-for-crops-drives-extinction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/life-scores-map-out-where-habitat-loss-for-crops-drives-extinction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jan 2025 16:18:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/15054513/giant-anteater-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292959</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Habitat Loss, Land Use Change, Mapping, Mass Extinction, Research, Seagrass, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Across the globe, no other human activity currently affects the survival of wildlife species more than where we choose to grow our food. Alongside other impacts like hunting and climate change, agricultural production is helping to drive what scientists call Earth’s sixth mass extinction, with roughly three times more extinctions happening now than expected to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Across the globe, no other human activity currently affects the survival of wildlife species more than where we choose to grow our food. Alongside other impacts like hunting and climate change, agricultural production is helping to drive what scientists call Earth’s sixth mass extinction, with roughly three times more extinctions happening now than expected to occur naturally. The most recent Living Planet report led by WWF documented a 73% average slide in wildlife populations since 1970. Amid the gravity of the situation, researchers have been searching for ways to halt or even reverse the decline. With that goal in mind, an international team of scientists has developed a tool to help understand the implications of converting forests and other ecosystems to farmland — and what’s to be gained from protecting and restoring areas as well. The team calls the metric “Land-cover change Impacts of Future Extinctions,” or LIFE. They published their work Jan. 9 in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Each LIFE score represents how a species would be impacted in a specified area of habitat if that ecosystem were converted to agriculture or restored. The underlying analysis harnesses high-performance computing to combine habitat information from the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, with global land-cover data for more than 30,000 species of vertebrates. The idea is to provide “off-the-shelf” map layers to guide decision-making about land-use change, lead author Alison Eyres, a postdoctoral research associate in zoology at the University of Cambridge in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/life-scores-map-out-where-habitat-loss-for-crops-drives-extinction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/life-scores-map-out-where-habitat-loss-for-crops-drives-extinction/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292959</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>One atlas to map all ecosystems on Earth: Interview with Yana Gevorgyan</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/one-atlas-to-map-all-ecosystems-on-earth-interview-with-yana-gevorgyan/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/one-atlas-to-map-all-ecosystems-on-earth-interview-with-yana-gevorgyan/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jan 2025 10:46:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/09103757/mushroom-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292771</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Ecosystems, Environment, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mapping, Technology, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Say you want to see how the world is faring when it comes to biodiversity and ecosystem protection. Is it progressing fast enough? Are we on track to meet the lofty goal to protect 30% of nature by 2030, as laid down in the Global Biodiversity Framework? In all likelihood, you might be hard-pressed to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Say you want to see how the world is faring when it comes to biodiversity and ecosystem protection. Is it progressing fast enough? Are we on track to meet the lofty goal to protect 30% of nature by 2030, as laid down in the Global Biodiversity Framework? In all likelihood, you might be hard-pressed to find a satisfactory answer. “If we were to attempt a stock take of our progress, which will have to be done in 2026, we would have a really hard time,” Yana Gevorgyan, secretariat director of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), an intergovernmental initiative dedicated to understanding our planet better, told Mongabay in a video interview. “Because information about the world&#8217;s ecosystems is very fragmented, scattered and inconsistent.” According to GEO, more than half of the world’s ecosystems are unmapped, making it a challenge to keep track of protection efforts and restoration targets. The organization is now working to solve this problem by building an open-source tool that serves as a database for all of the world’s ecosystems. The proof of concept of the Global Ecosystems Atlas was launched at the COP16 United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia, in November last year. With the aim of completing the global map by 2026, GEO is developing the tool by gathering and collating all existing data about ecosystems. It also aims to combine existing data with remote sensing and artificial intelligence technologies to fill data gaps in unmapped regions of the world. “It allows us to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/one-atlas-to-map-all-ecosystems-on-earth-interview-with-yana-gevorgyan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292771</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Companies banking on tech and collaboration to comply with EUDR</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/companies-banking-on-tech-and-collaboration-to-comply-with-eudr/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/companies-banking-on-tech-and-collaboration-to-comply-with-eudr/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Dec 2024 10:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sarah Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/30221832/Logging-trucks-Brazil-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292549</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, European Union, Latin America, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Blockchain, Cacao, Commodity agriculture, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, data, Deforestation, Environment, EUDR, Forests, Mapping, Monitoring, Palm Oil, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, Satellite Imagery, Soy, Supply Chain, Technology, Tropical Deforestation, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The EU Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR, will require companies importing certain products into the European Union to trace the origins of these products all the way back up the supply chain to prove that they’re not associated with deforestation. It takes effect at the end of 2025, presenting companies with major logistical challenges, including issues [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The EU Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR, will require companies importing certain products into the European Union to trace the origins of these products all the way back up the supply chain to prove that they’re not associated with deforestation. It takes effect at the end of 2025, presenting companies with major logistical challenges, including issues of accurate reporting across multiple countries, compliance with local laws, and ensuring small farmers remain a part of global supply chains. That’s led businesses to turn to technological solutions for help complying ahead of the deadline. Originally scheduled to take effect this month, the EUDR was postponed by a year over concerns that many businesses weren’t ready. Representing a significant step in the EU&#8217;s efforts to curb climate change through supply chain accountability, the EUDR targets products that use soy, coffee, palm oil, cocoa, timber, rubber and beef — all commodities that have historically contributed to deforestation in the countries in which they’re produced. Products associated with deforestation or irregular land conversion after a cutoff date of Dec. 31, 2020, will be barred from import into the EU. Brazil’s AMACRO region, the triple border between the states of Amazonas, Acre, and Rondônia, have long been the target of deforestation, invasion of public lands, mining, burning, and logging. Image © Bruno Kelly/Greenpeace. But tracing each product’s journey from farm to factory to consumer requires accurate data reporting and strong relationships with suppliers at every stage of the supply chain: a daunting task for companies with thousands&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/companies-banking-on-tech-and-collaboration-to-comply-with-eudr/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/companies-banking-on-tech-and-collaboration-to-comply-with-eudr/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292549</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>50 years of geographic insight: In interview with Jack Dangermond on Esri&#8217;s journey and the future of GIS</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/50-years-of-geographic-insight-in-interview-with-jack-dangermond-on-esris-journey-and-the-future-of-gis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/50-years-of-geographic-insight-in-interview-with-jack-dangermond-on-esris-journey-and-the-future-of-gis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Oct 2024 01:01:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/27171111/header-dangermond-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289084</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[California, Global, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, data, Environment, Forests, Green, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mapping, Remote Sensing, Research, Satellite Imagery, Technology, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As Esri nears its 60th anniversary, Jack Dangermond exemplifies how geographic information systems (GIS) have grown from a specialized field into a critical tool for modern planning, environmental management, and decision-making. In a landscape often defined by fast-paced, venture-backed tech companies, Esri offers a contrast: privately held, purpose-driven, and committed to an approach that emphasizes [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As Esri nears its 60th anniversary, Jack Dangermond exemplifies how geographic information systems (GIS) have grown from a specialized field into a critical tool for modern planning, environmental management, and decision-making. In a landscape often defined by fast-paced, venture-backed tech companies, Esri offers a contrast: privately held, purpose-driven, and committed to an approach that emphasizes service over spectacle. Esri, which Dangermond co-founded with his wife Laura in 1969, has become a leading force in mapping technology. Its flagship product, ArcGIS, is central to the work of governments, researchers, and businesses, powering the billions of maps created daily across sectors ranging from urban planning to environmental conservation and corporate logistics. What began as a small consultancy in land-use planning has grown into a global leader, driven largely by the Dangermonds’ consistent vision: to leverage the &#8220;power of where&#8221; for broader societal benefit. The Power of Where Dangermond’s journey began far from the tech world, with his upbringing in Redlands, California, where his Dutch immigrant parents ran a plant nursery. His early experiences nurturing plants and learning about ecosystems laid the groundwork for his future work. This practical knowledge, combined with the systems thinking he later honed at Harvard, helped shape his approach to integrating geography and technology. Today, Esri’s platform underpins a multi-billion-dollar industry, yet the company remains committed to its original mission of using geographic science to improve the world. Esri&#8217;s evolution is not just a story of technical success but also of steady leadership. While many tech companies pursued&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/50-years-of-geographic-insight-in-interview-with-jack-dangermond-on-esris-journey-and-the-future-of-gis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-289084</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Do Indigenous peoples really conserve 80% of the world’s biodiversity?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/do-indigenous-peoples-really-conserve-80-of-the-worlds-biodiversity/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/do-indigenous-peoples-really-conserve-80-of-the-worlds-biodiversity/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Sep 2024 15:22:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee GabayLatoya AbuluSonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/26100350/Kichwa-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287907</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Mapping, Mitigation, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Redd, Solutions, Traditional People, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new commentary piece in the journal Nature has caused an uproar in the conservation world and has prompted scientists to call for rigorous study. According to the authors, the much-cited claim that 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity is protected by Indigenous peoples is not only a “baseless statistic” that is not supported by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new commentary piece in the journal Nature has caused an uproar in the conservation world and has prompted scientists to call for rigorous study. According to the authors, the much-cited claim that 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity is protected by Indigenous peoples is not only a “baseless statistic” that is not supported by any real data — it’s wrong. Mentioning the impossibility of quantifying biodiversity and the lack of studies that produced the statistic, the researchers show how multiple peer-reviewed journal articles and media (including this one) cited the figure. “Maintaining accuracy and integrity is crucial for advancing social advocacy. Failing to correct errors, no matter how inconvenient, only serves to perpetuate disinformation,” says Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, one of the authors and a senior researcher in the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB). “This runs contrary to the tenets of scientific rigor.” But not all researchers agree with the authors’ conclusions, and many Indigenous activists call the commentary unethical. Although nearly all sources Mongabay spoke to agree the statistic is under-researched, and certain NGOs have long avoided using the figure, some say the Nature commentary itself lacks real evidence. According to scientific principles, they say, it’s still incorrect to point to the 80% stat as wrong without providing proof it’s wrong. This is especially true as many peer-reviewed studies point to Indigenous stewardship of high-value biodiversity areas. “Although the 80% statistic is not well evidenced, it does not mean it’s not true,” says Drea Burbank, CEO of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/do-indigenous-peoples-really-conserve-80-of-the-worlds-biodiversity/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/do-indigenous-peoples-really-conserve-80-of-the-worlds-biodiversity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287907</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Clearest picture yet of Amazon carbon density could help guide conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/clearest-picture-yet-of-amazon-carbon-density-could-help-guide-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/clearest-picture-yet-of-amazon-carbon-density-could-help-guide-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Sep 2024 10:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/10164850/Feature-12-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287218</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Latin America, South America, Suriname, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forests, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mapping, Rainforests, Research, Satellite Imagery, Technology, Tropical Forests, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cutting-edge machine-learning models have created one of the most detailed, high-resolution maps yet of aboveground carbon density in the Amazon Rainforest, revealing where the forest is most intact and what areas are most in need of conservation attention. A combination of machine-learning models and satellite readings show that the Amazon Rainforest contains 56.8 billion metric [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cutting-edge machine-learning models have created one of the most detailed, high-resolution maps yet of aboveground carbon density in the Amazon Rainforest, revealing where the forest is most intact and what areas are most in need of conservation attention. A combination of machine-learning models and satellite readings show that the Amazon Rainforest contains 56.8 billion metric tons of aboveground carbon, or the amount of carbon contained in plants on the surface of the Amazon. It’s one of the most precise estimates to date and amounts to more than one and a half times global emissions in 2023. “I was just really mesmerized by the data,” Matt Finer, director and senior research specialist of Amazon Conservation’s Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), told Mongabay. “You just put your glasses on and you can suddenly see. The carbon feature of the Amazon is suddenly clear.” The map is the result of an MAAP analysis of data from the Forest Carbon Diligence program run by Earth-imaging outfit Planet, which measures tree cover, tree height and the carbon storage of trees. It also used high-resolution airborne lidar data (a technology that employs lasers to scan an area, much like radar), combined with a global carbon data set from NASA satellite readings. The result was one of the most precise readings ever of forest carbon in the Amazon, showing which areas are the densest and providing clues to what conservation approaches are the most effective. According to the map, the highest carbon levels are located&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/clearest-picture-yet-of-amazon-carbon-density-could-help-guide-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287218</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia expands IPLC land recognition — but the pace is too slow, critics say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/indonesia-expands-iplc-land-recognition-but-the-pace-is-too-slow-critics-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/indonesia-expands-iplc-land-recognition-but-the-pace-is-too-slow-critics-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Aug 2024 06:47:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/21055819/9Mtb_IMG-20240809-WA0070-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286352</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Forests, Dry Forests, Environment, Forests, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Grabbing, Land Reform, Land Rights, Mapping, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — President Joko Widodo recently issued Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in Indonesia more than 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) of land titles, under his flagship social forestry program. As a result, the government has recognized IPLCs’ rights over 8 million hectares (19.77 million acres) of lands in Indonesia. These include various [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — President Joko Widodo recently issued Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in Indonesia more than 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) of land titles, under his flagship social forestry program. As a result, the government has recognized IPLCs’ rights over 8 million hectares (19.77 million acres) of lands in Indonesia. These include various forms of social forestry titles, such as village forests, community forests, plantation forests and ancestral or customary forests. But the pace of recognition for IPLCs’ rights to their lands is not fast enough compared with the size of Indigenous lands that have been mapped, activists said. In response to the government’s slow progress in recognizing ancestral land rights, a group of NGOs established an initiative called the Ancestral Domain Registration Agency (BRWA) to guide Indigenous groups in mapping their own territories, including forests, rivers and sea. So far, the BRWA has mapped 30.1 million hectares (74.4 million acres) — an area more than twice the size of Java — of land claimed by IPLCs. The pace of formal recognition is particularly sluggish for customary forests, which is the strongest category of land rights in Indonesia, as it means the government is completely relinquishing state lands to Indigenous communities, the BRWA noted. The frankincense forest of the Pandumaan-Sipituhuta Indigenous community in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Image by Barita News Lumbanbatu/Mongabay Indonesia. Customary forest As of July, the government had recognized only 265,250 hectares (655,400 acres) of ancestral forests, lagging behind the 23.2 million hectares (57.3 million acres)&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/indonesia-expands-iplc-land-recognition-but-the-pace-is-too-slow-critics-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286352</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>High-resolution maps reveal surprises about how ice shelves melt</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/high-resolution-maps-reveal-surprises-about-how-ice-shelves-melt/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/high-resolution-maps-reveal-surprises-about-how-ice-shelves-melt/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Aug 2024 12:06:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/07104008/ice-shelf-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=285816</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica and Arctic]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Glaciers, Ice Shelves, Mapping, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Research, Technology, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Anna Wåhlin and her colleagues deployed a submersible vehicle to go under the ice in Antarctica, they meant for it to serve as a proof of concept for the technology. Instead, what they found has left them more mystified than ever. The first detailed maps from the underside of the Doston Ice Shelf in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Anna Wåhlin and her colleagues deployed a submersible vehicle to go under the ice in Antarctica, they meant for it to serve as a proof of concept for the technology. Instead, what they found has left them more mystified than ever. The first detailed maps from the underside of the Doston Ice Shelf in Antarctica revealed patterns that couldn’t be explained by existing models. On one side of the ice shelf, areas where the ice had melted were shaped like teardrops. The other side, however, resembled landscapes on ice. “When we saw the first teardrop, we thought ‘Oh, that’s a really funny shape,’ but then we saw more and more and they were everywhere in the western side,” Wåhlin, an oceanographer and professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, told Mongabay in a video interview. On the eastern side, Wåhlin said it was much more dramatic, with “thick shapes carved into the ice that looked a little bit like the Grand Canyon where the water had eaten away into the ice.” A study co-authored by Wåhlin and published in the journal Science Advances documents how the team developed and deployed the autonomous underwater vehicle that traveled more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) back and forth under the Doston Ice Shelf over the course of 27 days in 2022. The study was conducted as part of a project monitoring how atmospheric and oceanic processes impact ice shelves. Ice shelves are floating masses of ice attached to land mass. Image&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/high-resolution-maps-reveal-surprises-about-how-ice-shelves-melt/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-285816</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New datasets identify which crops deforest the Amazon, and where</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/new-datasets-identify-which-crops-deforest-the-amazon-and-where/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/new-datasets-identify-which-crops-deforest-the-amazon-and-where/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Aug 2024 21:30:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/02212440/amazon_200260-768x358.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=285624</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Cattle, Conservation, data, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Mapping, Mining, Pasture, Rainforests, Ranching, Remote Sensing, Research, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A series of recently published data is shining a new light on patterns of deforestation in the Amazon, revealing where crops, cattle ranching and mining are encroaching on the rainforest. Several monitoring organizations — including the Spatial Production Allocation Model (SPAM), the Atlas of Pastures and Amazon Mining Watch — have released or updated satellite data and visualization tools [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A series of recently published data is shining a new light on patterns of deforestation in the Amazon, revealing where crops, cattle ranching and mining are encroaching on the rainforest. Several monitoring organizations — including the Spatial Production Allocation Model (SPAM), the Atlas of Pastures and Amazon Mining Watch — have released or updated satellite data and visualization tools this year that show what kinds of crops are being grown, where cattle ranching overlaps with other kinds of land use and how much of the rainforest is being cleared for mining. “We’re seeing all these products starting to come out with all these recent advances in satellite imagery, machine learning and AI,” Matt Finer, director and senior research specialist of Amazon Conservation’s Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), told Mongabay. “To be able to do a direct comparison between crops, cattle and mining — I think it’s very compelling.” MAAP compiled the data into one report this month, creating an “overall estimate” of land use across the nine Amazon countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Suriname, French Guyana and Guyana. It could help identify new patterns and trends in drivers of deforestation, Finer said. The data shows that at least 40 different crops are present in the Amazon, amounting to over 106 million hectares (261 million acres), or around 13% of the biome, according to SPAM, a crop distribution platform. Some of the crops are well-known drivers of deforestation, such as soy, which covers over 67.5 million hectares (166 million acres)&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/new-datasets-identify-which-crops-deforest-the-amazon-and-where/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-285624</doi>				</item>
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