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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/sustainable-development/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:31:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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<image>
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	<title>News on Sustainable Development</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/sustainable-development/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Bangladesh’s green building drive grows beyond factories amid climate pressures</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/bangladeshs-green-building-drive-grows-beyond-factories-amid-climate-pressures/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/bangladeshs-green-building-drive-grows-beyond-factories-amid-climate-pressures/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Aug 2026 11:38:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ibrahim Hossain Ovi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/24110524/mahmudul-hasan-roni-RHj9x0iESvE-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327058</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Business, Climate Change, Developing Countries, Development, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Industry, Pollution, Solutions, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The concept of green building in Bangladesh started solely for its vast apparel industry. Now, the country’s corporates and realtors, too, are constructing green certified buildings, also known as eco-friendly buildings. The vision behind green building is to reduce environmental impacts and to also ensure a healthy workplace for employees. It has become a part [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The concept of green building in Bangladesh started solely for its vast apparel industry. Now, the country’s corporates and realtors, too, are constructing green certified buildings, also known as eco-friendly buildings. The vision behind green building is to reduce environmental impacts and to also ensure a healthy workplace for employees. It has become a part of corporate branding and responsibility towards sustainability to demonstrate care and function as carers of the environment, preserving for the next generation a healthy living. In Bangladesh According to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), there are 35 certified buildings and corporate offices in Bangladesh representing various sectors like financial institutions, corporate offices and hospitals. Besides these, the country also has many green factories, mostly in the ready-made garments (RMG) sector. According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh houses 290 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified RMG factories — including 125 platinum-rated, 145 gold-rated and 16 silver-rated. The country also holds 53 of the world&#8217;s top 100 highest-scoring LEED-certified factories. “Green-certified buildings in Bangladesh are typically associated with manufacturing and garments. Breaking this convention, Unilever Bangladesh [UBL] built its corporate building to demonstrate sustainability in corporate office environments as well, earning LEED-gold certification from USGBC in 2023,” said Syeda Durdana Kabir, human resources director of UBL. She said UBL’s initiative was driven by a clear vision: to integrate sustainability into daily operations rather than treat it as a one-time achievement. The corporate office was designed to minimize resource consumption while&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/bangladeshs-green-building-drive-grows-beyond-factories-amid-climate-pressures/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/bangladeshs-green-building-drive-grows-beyond-factories-amid-climate-pressures/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327058</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite energy crisis, Bangladesh’s factories are slow to adopt solar power: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 07:37:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Md Asaduz Zaman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18072353/solar-power-energy-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326474</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Business, Developing Countries, Development, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Transition, Environment, Industry, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh’s energy system is facing intense pressure from the country’s ongoing fuel crisis and rising electricity bills. Yet thousands of garment factories&#8217; rooftops that could be fitted with solar panels remain largely unused. Renewable energy such as solar could be a potential solution to the escalating crisis, but has been overlooked for many years despite [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh’s energy system is facing intense pressure from the country’s ongoing fuel crisis and rising electricity bills. Yet thousands of garment factories&#8217; rooftops that could be fitted with solar panels remain largely unused. Renewable energy such as solar could be a potential solution to the escalating crisis, but has been overlooked for many years despite Bangladesh having sufficient amounts of sunshine. Rather, the country relies almost entirely on grid electricity, which is mostly generated from imported fossil fuels. More than two-thirds or 69% of factories have still not adopted renewable energy technologies (RET), according to a recent study funded by the International Growth Centre (IGC). “Only 31% of factories have adopted RET (predominantly rooftop solar), with very low average capacity,” the study says. “Half of all solar installations do not even contribute to production processes.” This analysis is based on a survey of 661 factories in the cities of Gazipur and Savar, located close to the capital Dhaka, conducted by Atonu Rabbani of Dhaka University and a BRAC University research team and completed in October 2025. Bangladesh’s garment sector has more than 3,320 active factories. Of these, more than are located in Savar and Gazipur. The study focuses on these two industrial hubs using the Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB) database and samples more than 650 factories out of 1,937 in the two cities. A separate study conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) finds that solar adoption is mostly seen in large and environmentally certified factories (LEED-certified). Large factories&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326474</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Urban heat islands have solutions; many tropical cities can’t afford them</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/urban-heat-islands-have-solutions-many-tropical-cities-cant-afford-them/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/urban-heat-islands-have-solutions-many-tropical-cities-cant-afford-them/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2026 00:34:02 +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/20/2026/08/12214622/5-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326095</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, China, East Asia, Global, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jakarta, Nigeria, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Tropics, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Cities, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Development, Disasters, Earth Science, Economics, El Nino, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fossil Fuels, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Heatwave, Impact Of Climate Change, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Plants, Poverty, Public Health, Research, Science, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Temperatures, Trees, Tropical Conservation Science, urban ecology, Weather, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Urban heat islands pose a growing global health threat. But in tropical cities, the peril is surging. Already burdened by hot-humid equatorial weather, global warming, intense poverty, rapid urbanization, and a lack of cooling infrastructure, tropical city officials now face a powerful 2026-2027 El Niño that could put millions of vulnerable urban dwellers at risk. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Urban heat islands pose a growing global health threat. But in tropical cities, the peril is surging. Already burdened by hot-humid equatorial weather, global warming, intense poverty, rapid urbanization, and a lack of cooling infrastructure, tropical city officials now face a powerful 2026-2027 El Niño that could put millions of vulnerable urban dwellers at risk. Heat islands form because artificial surfaces, like roads and rooftops, trap heat by day and release it by night, never giving highly-urbanized spaces time to cool. When climate change-induced heat domes stall over cities, temperatures can soar for weeks into the triple digits. Every “city has a rhythm, it has a metabolism,” Matthias Roth, a National University of Singapore researcher, told Mongabay in a video interview. “The metabolism of each city — especially how incoming solar energy is divided between heating surfaces, warming the air, evaporating water, and being stored in the ground and buildings — influences how much energy heats up buildings, surfaces, and air. The prevalence of concrete and asphalt and the absence of vegetation creates a heat island.” But not all tropical urban heat islands (UHIs) are created equally, with the severity of their heat burdens dependent on innovative city planning and the financial clout to keep pace with global warming. In wealthy Singapore (which has devoted high levels of funding to curb UHI effects), air temperatures can still swell; compact high-rise building complexes there can see outdoor temperatures 4.3° Celsius (7.9° Fahrenheit) above rural areas. But in poorer cities, like Lagos,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/urban-heat-islands-have-solutions-many-tropical-cities-cant-afford-them/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/urban-heat-islands-have-solutions-many-tropical-cities-cant-afford-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326095</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The long and winding road to safe highways: Inside the global movement to reconnect habitat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/the-long-and-winding-road-to-safe-highways-inside-the-global-movement-to-reconnect-habitat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/the-long-and-winding-road-to-safe-highways-inside-the-global-movement-to-reconnect-habitat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jun 2026 12:03:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ben Goldfarb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/09164404/1.-BANNER-IMG_2277-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320842</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Conservation Solutions, Conservation Technology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Forest Fragmentation, Fragmentation, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Infrastructure, Innovation, Land Use Change, Landscape Restoration, Mitigation, Regulations, Restoration, Roadkill, Roads, Solutions, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Threatened species, Transportation, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One of the busiest highways in the western U.S. is I-25, a concrete artery that runs north to south across the state of Colorado, funneling roughly 100,000 cars per day through the fast-growing exurbs south of the capital, Denver. While I-25 facilitates human journeys, it disastrously truncates the movements of another set of commuters. For [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One of the busiest highways in the western U.S. is I-25, a concrete artery that runs north to south across the state of Colorado, funneling roughly 100,000 cars per day through the fast-growing exurbs south of the capital, Denver. While I-25 facilitates human journeys, it disastrously truncates the movements of another set of commuters. For decades, mule deer, elk, black bears and other species have wandered onto the highway — with fatal consequences. Over a two-year period, from 2018 to 2020, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) tallied collisions with 76 deer, 15 bears and 10 pumas along a 14-mile (22.5-kilometer) stretch of asphalt. Moreover, the interstate’s walls of traffic deter many animals from even attempting to cross, preventing them from roaming between alpine forests and Colorado’s eastern prairies. Lately, however, this once-dangerous barrier has become far more accommodating to four-legged travelers. In 2021, Colorado completed the construction of five capacious, dirt-floored underpasses, flanked by more than 25 mi (40 km) of roadside fencing, to allow wildlife to meander safely and freely beneath I-25. A black bear approaches a vehicle on the Alcan (Alaska-Canada) Highway, possibly indicating how habituating animals to human food can lead to road conflicts. Image by Ben Goldfarb. And in December 2025, CDOT finished construction of an overpass, 200 feet wide by 209 long (61 by 64 meters), that arcs over six lanes of traffic near the town of Greenland. That makes it one of the largest human-made wildlife crossings on Earth. All told, CDOT says&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/the-long-and-winding-road-to-safe-highways-inside-the-global-movement-to-reconnect-habitat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/the-long-and-winding-road-to-safe-highways-inside-the-global-movement-to-reconnect-habitat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320842</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Strait of Hormuz crisis should catalyze African biofertilizer production (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/strait-of-hormuz-crisis-should-catalyze-african-biofertilizer-production-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/strait-of-hormuz-crisis-should-catalyze-african-biofertilizer-production-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 00:44:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Susan Chomba]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/23081210/44366384701_940bc33dc5_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317598</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Agroecology, Biochar, Business, Conflict, Fertilizers, Food, food security, International Trade, Subsistence Agriculture, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Trade, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In early mornings across rural Kenya, as the long rains approach, farmers are already at work. Fields are being cleared, seeds checked, and planting plans quietly rehearsed. But this year, alongside the usual uncertainties about soil quality, rain and pests, there is a more pressing question: will there be enough fertilizer, and will it be [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In early mornings across rural Kenya, as the long rains approach, farmers are already at work. Fields are being cleared, seeds checked, and planting plans quietly rehearsed. But this year, alongside the usual uncertainties about soil quality, rain and pests, there is a more pressing question: will there be enough fertilizer, and will it be affordable? Reports from the Middle East echo through their favorite radio stations as they wonder about the war’s effect on their lives. As tensions disrupt food, fuel and fertilizer flows through the Strait of Hormuz — a key artery for global exports and imports into Iran — Africa’s dependence on imported synthetic inputs is once again exposed. For many countries, from 20% to more than 50% of fertilizer supplies originate from Persian Gulf nations. Besides the production of fertilizer, fossil fuels are also crucial for driving farming machinery such as tractors, irrigation pumps, and of course vehicles that transport food from farms to markets. Africa is aware of her vulnerability as a result of the war in Iran and the previous disruptions from COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, which have triggered policy and economic consequences. Frameworks such as the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan 2024-2034 aim to reduce reliance on imports by fostering local production. Currently, the Dangote Group, which operates Africa&#8217;s largest chemical fertilizer manufacturing complex, based in Nigeria, plans to triple its production to 9 million metric tons per annum. The group is also starting the construction of a $2&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/strait-of-hormuz-crisis-should-catalyze-african-biofertilizer-production-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/strait-of-hormuz-crisis-should-catalyze-african-biofertilizer-production-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317598</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous &#038; community leaders say, ‘secure forest financing with us, not for us’ (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indigenous-leaders-say-secure-forest-financing-with-us-not-for-us-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indigenous-leaders-say-secure-forest-financing-with-us-not-for-us-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Apr 2026 19:27:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Inés Morales LastraJosé IvanildoLevi Sucre]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/18204154/amazon_241209144749x-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317133</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[climate finance, Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Environment, Finance, Forests, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Rainforests, Redd, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Forest Management, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In recent years, we have seen clear signs that the global market for forest and nature-based carbon credits is gaining momentum. More and more companies and governments are turning to forests as part of their climate strategies, and analysts expect this trend to continue as demand grows for solutions that deliver real and verifiable benefits for the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In recent years, we have seen clear signs that the global market for forest and nature-based carbon credits is gaining momentum. More and more companies and governments are turning to forests as part of their climate strategies, and analysts expect this trend to continue as demand grows for solutions that deliver real and verifiable benefits for the climate, nature and people. Recent market assessments show sustained activity in the voluntary carbon market in 2025 and project further growth toward 2026, particularly for high-integrity credits linked to nature and forests. For those of us who live in and protect tropical forests, this is an important moment. As government forest protection programs, known as jurisdictional REDD+, begin to operate on a larger scale, covering entire forest countries or states, more funding will flow through systems that affect our territories, our livelihoods and our future. Whether this expansion strengthens our autonomy and benefits our communities or repeats old patterns of exclusion will depend, above all, on the full participation of our peoples in the process that determines how the benefits and revenues from these transactions are shared. We write as Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and traditional forest harvesting community leaders. From our perspective, how benefits are shared is not a technical detail or a box to check for governments seeking to sell credits, or companies buying them. It is central to ensuring that transactions are fair and that our rights are respected, and central to the very survival of our way of life. Indigenous and community leaders like this Kichwa guide in the Ecuadorian Amazon should help point the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indigenous-leaders-say-secure-forest-financing-with-us-not-for-us-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indigenous-leaders-say-secure-forest-financing-with-us-not-for-us-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317133</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A Congo Basin-led bioeconomy could boost Central Africa’s green transition (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-congo-basin-led-bioeconomy-could-boost-central-africas-green-transition-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-congo-basin-led-bioeconomy-could-boost-central-africas-green-transition-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Apr 2026 16:27:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Metolo Foyet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/05115844/ForestElephant.Loxodonta.cyclotis_NgounieGabon_marcusgmeineriNaturalistBYNC4.0-BANNER-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317006</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Biodiversity, Bioeconomy, Commentary, Community Development, Environment, Forest Products, Forests, Green, Rainforests, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Trade, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Congo Basin, often referred to as the “second lungs of Earth,” holds immense potential for leading Central Africa’s green transition. Home to the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest and second-largest reserve of drinkable water (holding 50% of all of Africa’s water resources), the region covers more than 3.7 million square kilometers (nearly 1.5 million square [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Congo Basin, often referred to as the “second lungs of Earth,” holds immense potential for leading Central Africa’s green transition. Home to the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest and second-largest reserve of drinkable water (holding 50% of all of Africa’s water resources), the region covers more than 3.7 million square kilometers (nearly 1.5 million square miles), absorbs more carbon dioxide than any other region in the world — with an annual net carbon dioxide absorption six times that of the Amazon Rainforest — and spans six countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon), storing around 30 billion metric tons of carbon. This critical ecological zone harbors immense biodiversity and natural resources, making it a strategic hub for the emerging global bioeconomy. However, learning from the Eastern African experience, realizing this potential requires a shift from extractive industries to sustainable, nature-based economies that prioritize long-term ecological health and local prosperity. Beyond its ecological importance — containing more than 10,000 species of plants, 1,000 species of birds, and 400 species of mammals, including iconic ones like the forest elephant and the critically endangered western lowland gorilla — the region stands at a critical juncture in the global minerals race, holding a significant share of the world&#8217;s strategic assets like lithium, cobalt, gold, and rare earth elements — key components shaping global power and the future of the energy transition. Despite this wealth, the Congo Basin’s economic strategies have often relied on the “dig&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-congo-basin-led-bioeconomy-could-boost-central-africas-green-transition-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-congo-basin-led-bioeconomy-could-boost-central-africas-green-transition-analysis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317006</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Malawi’s solar boom is leaving a toxic legacy of lead waste</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/malawis-solar-boom-is-leaving-a-toxic-legacy-of-lead-waste/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/malawis-solar-boom-is-leaving-a-toxic-legacy-of-lead-waste/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Feb 2026 09:03:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/20080916/MountingSolarPanel_Malawi_JonStrandWikimediaBYSA4-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314494</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Malawi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Development, Development, Economics, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, NGOs, Poisoning, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[-15.778962096499813, 35.01512751075972]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BLANTYRE, Malawi — On Lagson Gumbo’s side of the stream, BCA is a slum. Running parallel to the trickle of murky water is a narrow, dusty street lined with small, unplastered houses and shops trading in groceries, cheap alcohol and artisan services for residents of this crowded sector of Malawi’s principal commercial city, Blantyre. On [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BLANTYRE, Malawi — On Lagson Gumbo’s side of the stream, BCA is a slum. Running parallel to the trickle of murky water is a narrow, dusty street lined with small, unplastered houses and shops trading in groceries, cheap alcohol and artisan services for residents of this crowded sector of Malawi’s principal commercial city, Blantyre. On the stream’s other bank is an affluent neighborhood with the same name. In the wealthy BCA, Blantyre’s City Council provides waste collection services, removing rubbish to a site on the city’s outskirts. It’s an open landfill where people from low-income settlements scavenge for whatever they find worth for reuse or sale. On the side where Gumbo lives and works, there’s no formal waste management. Residents dump rubbish from homes and shops into the stream. Kitchen waste and used nappies, old tires and plastic bottles and carrier bags get thrown into gullies and any other unoccupied spaces nearby. There are also batteries. At his makeshift workshop, Gumbo sorts through metal plates he has extracted from expired lead-acid batteries. Before him is a smoldering charcoal stove and a plastic bag filled with pellets of lead — also extracted from batteries. He puts the lead in a small tin container, pours acid over it and sets it on the stove to heat. “These pieces were positive cells in the batteries,” he says, gesturing to the plates he’s laid out on a small worktable. “When a battery stops functioning, it is not the negative electrodes that have expired. It&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/malawis-solar-boom-is-leaving-a-toxic-legacy-of-lead-waste/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314494</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amazon villages build autonomous energy systems after mega-dam failed pledges</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2026 19:22:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jorge C. Carrasco]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/18082413/1.-Instalacoes.-Comunidade-de-Porto-Rico-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314417</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Dams, Development, Energy, Environment, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Sustainable Development, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Despite hosting huge hydropower plants, Amazon people still pay high energy tariffs — so they found another way.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Brazil approved the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex on the Xingu River, in Pará state, the megaproject promised to profoundly change the national and local energy landscapes, creating a large offer of clean energy to power industries, illuminate homes and bring development to isolated communities that historically had little to no access to power. However, nearly a decade after the operations of the fourth-largest hydropower facility in the world began in 2016, the reality is starkly different. Vulnerable communities that highly depended on fishing have been severely economically affected, and many riverside families remain disconnected from the grid or pay some of the highest electricity bills in the country. A study published in 2024 by researchers from the State University of Campinas in Brazil and Michigan State University in the U.S., funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), identified in a household survey covering 500 families in Altamira, Pará, that a vast majority of these families (86.8%) suffered a negative impact on electricity prices after the construction of Belo Monte. The research shows that not only did the “energy progress” promised in the past never materialize, but also that tariffs soared while communities living in the shadow of the Amazon’s largest dam still face blackouts and prohibitive costs. General view of the solar energy system after installation in the Porto Rico community. Image courtesy of Renato Chalu. Lower-income families in small communities in the Amazon region were hit the hardest, not only paying more for electricity,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314417</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>What’s happening with the global treaty to trace critical minerals?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-happening-with-the-global-treaty-to-trace-critical-minerals/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-happening-with-the-global-treaty-to-trace-critical-minerals/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Feb 2026 22:26:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/18094245/copper-bearing-ore-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313688</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Critical Minerals, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, Human Rights, Illegal Mining, Mining, Politics, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The negotiations were intense, says Julia Peña Niño, the Colombia country manager at the Natural Resource Governance Institute. At the seventh U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi last December, behind closed doors, Colombia’s joint proposal with Oman was facing resistance from several member states. The Colombian government wanted a legally binding global treaty on sustainability [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The negotiations were intense, says Julia Peña Niño, the Colombia country manager at the Natural Resource Governance Institute. At the seventh U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi last December, behind closed doors, Colombia’s joint proposal with Oman was facing resistance from several member states. The Colombian government wanted a legally binding global treaty on sustainability and tracing the flow of critical minerals around the world, as it has been pushing in several U.N. meetings. In the end, it left with a simple three-point nonbinding resolution to enhance international dialogue and cooperation on mineral governance as well as resource recovery from mining waste and tailings. The resolution tried to close the door on further negotiations, but some organizations say the next U.N. Environment Assembly in December 2027 could be grounds for considering a potential global minerals treaty. The intensity of the negotiations reflected “both the urgency to act and the political complexity of addressing the various facets of minerals value chains,” Peña Niño told Mongabay via email. Some observers remain cynical and say national security concerns and economic development played a hand in pushing down the traceability treaty. According to analysts, tracking the flow of minerals is complex work — but may be vital in order to prevent and mitigate the socioenvironmental damage caused by surging mineral demand to feed renewable technology and military industries, such as forest degradation, river contamination and and land-grabs from Indigenous peoples. Geopolitics, elections, intricate supply chains and governance issues all make it more complex. While&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-happening-with-the-global-treaty-to-trace-critical-minerals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-happening-with-the-global-treaty-to-trace-critical-minerals/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313688</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Why is a Philippine island now the Asia Pacific center for agroecology? Interview with Ramon ‘Chin-Chin’ Uy Jr.</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/why-is-a-philippine-island-now-the-asia-pacific-center-for-agroecology-interview-with-ramon-chin-chin-uy-jr/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/why-is-a-philippine-island-now-the-asia-pacific-center-for-agroecology-interview-with-ramon-chin-chin-uy-jr/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Feb 2026 21:38:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/03211559/chin-chin-copy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313665</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Oceania, Philippines, South Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Agroecology, Climate Change, Environment, Food, food security, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Interviews, Sustainability, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ramon “Chin-Chin” Uy Jr. is a sustainable-food entrepreneur based on Negros Island in the Philippines, which recently hosted the global “good food” movement Slow Food’s first-ever regional conference in Asia and the Pacific. Held in Bacolod City, in Negros Occidental province, from Nov. 19-23, 2025, the gathering brought together farmers, chefs, food artisans and policymakers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ramon “Chin-Chin” Uy Jr. is a sustainable-food entrepreneur based on Negros Island in the Philippines, which recently hosted the global “good food” movement Slow Food’s first-ever regional conference in Asia and the Pacific. Held in Bacolod City, in Negros Occidental province, from Nov. 19-23, 2025, the gathering brought together farmers, chefs, food artisans and policymakers from across the region to discuss agroecology, biodiversity and climate-resilient food systems. Uy has also been named &#8220;Slow Food councilor&#8221; for Southeast Asia, after having spent nearly two decades working with organic farmers and the provincial government to advance a vision of Negros as an “organic island” — a sustainable food hub where people can access healthy, locally grown produce at fair prices without relying on imported, oil-based chemical fertilizers that undermine environmental health, farmer livelihoods and food security. That vision now encompasses an estimated 20,000 hectares (nearly 50,000 acres) of organic farmland across Negros, involving roughly 20,000 small-scale farmers and farming households, with Bacolod serving as a key urban hub linking producers, markets and institutions. Uy&#8217;s work in sustainable food systems began in 2005, when he and his wife started a composting business that converted organic waste into fertilizer. At the time, chemical inputs were inexpensive and widely used, but a subsequent spike in global oil prices exposed the vulnerability of conventional agriculture to fossil fuel dependence. That experience prompted Uy to establish an organic farm in 2006, both to demonstrate the viability of organic inputs and to build direct relationships between farmers, chefs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/why-is-a-philippine-island-now-the-asia-pacific-center-for-agroecology-interview-with-ramon-chin-chin-uy-jr/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313665</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Vanuatu communities move to protect taro, an ancestral climate-resilient crop (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/vanuatu-communities-move-to-protect-taro-an-ancestral-climate-resilient-crop-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/vanuatu-communities-move-to-protect-taro-an-ancestral-climate-resilient-crop-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jan 2026 18:50:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Monica Kidd]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/26182316/Richard-Rojo3-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313365</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Oceania, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, and Vanuatu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Agroecology, Analysis, Climate Change, Commentary, Disasters, Food, food security, Islands, Plants, Storms, Subsistence Agriculture, Sustainability, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The packed-earth trail winds through the dense and tangled forest of Vanuatu, the ocean crashing just meters to our right. Richard Rojo’s feet don’t mind the stones and stumps, and he carries a bush knife and a repurposed rice sack. It’s a path well-trodden for Rojo, who’s lived here in the village of Tasmate on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The packed-earth trail winds through the dense and tangled forest of Vanuatu, the ocean crashing just meters to our right. Richard Rojo’s feet don’t mind the stones and stumps, and he carries a bush knife and a repurposed rice sack. It’s a path well-trodden for Rojo, who’s lived here in the village of Tasmate on Vanuatu’s remote west coast of Espiritu Santo Island as a subsistence farmer and fisher all his 40-ish years. I walk-jog to keep up with him as he talks to me over his shoulder, idly whacking at an occasional vine with his knife. We’ve been traveling together a few days now in his open boat up and down this coast, on a reporting trip with the Sunset Santo Environmental Network (SSEN) team so I can see for myself the way villages here are threatened by climate change. We walk for about 10 minutes as I pepper Rojo with questions. We pass towering trees covered with epiphytic plants and wade across a river before popping out into a clearing the size of a few soccer pitches. Coconut palms edge the far side and, in front of us, earthen berms enclose a shallow rectangular pool maybe 5 by 50 meters (roughly 16 by 164 feet). Inside are rows and rows of chest-high plants with heart-shaped leaves: Colocasia esculenta, or water taro. Rojo sets down his knife and bag and wades into the pool. “I will go replace some that are dying like this one,” he says, finding his&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/vanuatu-communities-move-to-protect-taro-an-ancestral-climate-resilient-crop-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313365</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Philippines hosts new Asia-Pacific hub for sustainable agriculture, cuisine</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/philippines-hosts-new-asia-pacific-hub-for-sustainable-agriculture-cuisine/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/philippines-hosts-new-asia-pacific-hub-for-sustainable-agriculture-cuisine/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jan 2026 23:16:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/21223832/TMAP_DAY5-2005-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313204</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Agroecology, Agroforestry, Biodiversity, Business, Climate Change, Culture, Environment, Food, food security, Genetic Engineering, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — For five days last November, the city of Bacolod in the central Philippine province of Negros Occidental became a crossroads of food cultures from across Asia and the Pacific. The aroma of grilled seafood, fermented sauces, roasted coffee and freshly ground spices filled the air as farmers, chefs, food artisans, scientists, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — For five days last November, the city of Bacolod in the central Philippine province of Negros Occidental became a crossroads of food cultures from across Asia and the Pacific. The aroma of grilled seafood, fermented sauces, roasted coffee and freshly ground spices filled the air as farmers, chefs, food artisans, scientists, fisherfolk, Indigenous leaders, researchers and policymakers gathered to talk about seeds, soil, culture and survival. The event marked the first Asia-Pacific convergence of the global Slow Food movement, bringing together more than 2,000 delegates from 20 countries in Bacolod. The participants were drawn by shared concerns over biodiversity loss, climate change, and the future of food systems across the region. Organized by the international NGO Slow Food, which advocates for good, clean and fair food for all, in collaboration with Philippines partners, the gathering sought to strengthen regional networks around agroecology, a sustainable farming approach that integrates ecology, Indigenous knowledge, and social action, while showcasing food cultures rooted in local ecosystems. “This is a space where communities, ingredients, and ideas come together to shape the future of food,” Edward Mukiibi, president of Slow Food, told Mongabay, describing it as both a cultural platform and a venue for confronting urgent environmental challenges. Myrna Pula, a T’boli Indigenous leader from the southern Philippines, showcases heirloom rice varieties that have sustained her community and culture for generations. Image by Keith Anthony Fabro for Mongabay. Hub for &#8216;good, clean and fair&#8217; food A key outcome of the gathering was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/philippines-hosts-new-asia-pacific-hub-for-sustainable-agriculture-cuisine/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313204</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Turning the Amazon’s toxic gold mine waste liability into economic opportunity (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/formalizing-amazon-gold-mining-can-transform-a-toxic-liability-into-an-economic-opportunity-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/formalizing-amazon-gold-mining-can-transform-a-toxic-liability-into-an-economic-opportunity-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jan 2026 19:13:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Timothy J. Killeen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/02225429/25-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312918</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Latin America, Peru, South America, and Suriname]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Business, Commentary, Community Development, Deforestation, Development, Drivers Of Deforestation, Gold Mining, Health, Illegal Mining, Mercury, Mining, Pollution, Public Health, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Sustainable Development, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The wildcat gold mining boom that swept across the Amazon beginning in the 1970s left behind an environmental catastrophe of staggering proportions. At least 350,000 hectares (almost 865,000 acres) of forest and wetland habitat have been destroyed by placer mining operations across the Pan Amazon, with the actual figure likely far higher given the limitations [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The wildcat gold mining boom that swept across the Amazon beginning in the 1970s left behind an environmental catastrophe of staggering proportions. At least 350,000 hectares (almost 865,000 acres) of forest and wetland habitat have been destroyed by placer mining operations across the Pan Amazon, with the actual figure likely far higher given the limitations of satellite monitoring for small-scale operations and river dredges. In the Tapajós River Basin in Brazil’s Pará state, particularly the municipality of Itaituba, five decades of alluvial mining have devastated tens of thousands of hectares of riparian forest while releasing an estimated 200-500 metric tons of mercury annually into watersheds. Mercury contamination has become endemic: 75% of the population of the municipality of Santarém shows elevated mercury levels, with some residents carrying four times the WHO limit. The legacy extends far beyond the mining sites themselves, as methylmercury bioaccumulates through aquatic food webs, threatening riverside communities across millions of hectares of downstream habitat. Yet hidden within this toxic legacy lies an economic opportunity that could finance comprehensive remediation while generating more than 200,000 formal-sector jobs. The garimpeiro (wildcat miner) reliance on mercury amalgamation technology is remarkably inefficient, because mercury captures only free gold particles through physical absorption, achieving recovery rates of 40-60% from alluvial placers. The remaining 40-60% of gold remains trapped in “tailings” as fine particles, bound in mineral matrices, or simply lost to processing inefficiency. Those tailings, an existing environmental catastrophe, contain an estimated 1,400-2,100 metric tons of recoverable gold worth $90 billion&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/formalizing-amazon-gold-mining-can-transform-a-toxic-liability-into-an-economic-opportunity-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312918</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Madhav Gadgil, advocate of democratic conservation, has died at 83</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/madhav-gadgil-advocate-of-democratic-conservation-has-died-at-83/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/madhav-gadgil-advocate-of-democratic-conservation-has-died-at-83/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jan 2026 19:39:11 +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/20/2026/01/08193219/Madhav-Gadgil-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312783</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, South Asia, and Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Forests, Governance, Green, Land Rights, Obituary, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In India, arguments about nature are often treated as friction in the path of progress. Madhav Gadgil insisted they were arguments about power: who gets to decide what happens to a forest, a river, a hillside, and on what evidence. He made that case as a scientist, and then made it again as a citizen [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In India, arguments about nature are often treated as friction in the path of progress. Madhav Gadgil insisted they were arguments about power: who gets to decide what happens to a forest, a river, a hillside, and on what evidence. He made that case as a scientist, and then made it again as a citizen who did not care much whether officials found it convenient. Gadgil, an ecologist associated most closely with the Western Ghats and with a democratic approach to conservation, died on January 7, 2025. He was 83. He was born in Pune and grew up with two unusual advantages: access to books and access to the living world. His father, Dhananjaya Ramchandra Gadgil, bought him binoculars and helped him learn birds “in the pre-pesticide days.” A neighbor, the anthropologist Irawati Karve, shaped his outlook in a different way, encouraging him to grow up without religious, caste, or class prejudices. When Gadgil was nine, he accompanied Karve on fieldwork to Kodagu, where he saw wild elephants and a sacred grove at Talakaveri, near the origin of the Kaveri River. It was an early lesson in how landscapes hold meaning beyond their market price. As a young man he was physically tough and competitive—running, swimming, and playing racket sports—traits that suited a field naturalist who preferred to learn by looking closely. Another early lesson arrived through development. In Jawaharlal Nehru’s India, dams were “temples of modern India.” Gadgil learned at 14 about forest destruction and displacement linked to the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/madhav-gadgil-advocate-of-democratic-conservation-has-died-at-83/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312783</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On Indonesia’s longest river, a Borneo community passes crucial public health milestone</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/on-indonesias-longest-river-a-borneo-community-passes-crucial-public-health-milestone/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/on-indonesias-longest-river-a-borneo-community-passes-crucial-public-health-milestone/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Dec 2025 08:18:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anggita Raissa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/11142044/Ningsih-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311135</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Drinking Water, Environment, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Pollution, Public Health, Rivers, Sustainable Development, Waste, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SEKADAU, Indonesia — Children’s laughter skimmed over water the color of mud as mothers wrung laundry over banks where the Sekadau joins the Kapuas, the longest river in Indonesia. Local testimony along the Kapuas River, which flows 1,143 kilometers (710 miles) east to west from Borneo’s Müller Mountains out into the Natuna Sea, suggests this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SEKADAU, Indonesia — Children’s laughter skimmed over water the color of mud as mothers wrung laundry over banks where the Sekadau joins the Kapuas, the longest river in Indonesia. Local testimony along the Kapuas River, which flows 1,143 kilometers (710 miles) east to west from Borneo’s Müller Mountains out into the Natuna Sea, suggests this river — like many flowing across the world’s largest archipelagic country — may be losing prominence as a center of community life. “The river is dirtier now and no longer a gathering place like before,” an older resident told researchers from Tanjungpura University downriver in Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan province, for a study published in September. But here in Sekadau, the river remains central to daily life — a place to bathe, wash vegetables, and, until recently, to defecate. Research conducted on the Kapuas from 2020-2022 and published in the Journal of Aquaculture and Fish Health last year recorded double the legal limit of lead, a heavy metal pollutant that impairs neurological development — and 24 times the maximum coliform bacteria level for rivers permitted by Indonesia’s government. The study authors said the dangerous coliform level reflected the rapid population growth that has taken place in recent decades along the banks of the Kapuas. Some here in the village of Sekadau, the seat of an eponymous district on the Kapuas, say they hope the hardening of Borneo’s main arterial river can still be mended. From 2002-2024 West Kalimantan province lost one-fifth of its&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/on-indonesias-longest-river-a-borneo-community-passes-crucial-public-health-milestone/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311135</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Agroforestry grows in popularity among central Colombia&#8217;s coffee farmers (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/agroforestry-grows-in-popularity-among-central-colombias-coffee-farmers-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/agroforestry-grows-in-popularity-among-central-colombias-coffee-farmers-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Dec 2025 18:05:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Juliana Cajiao Raigosa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/23171032/coffee-lady-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311971</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Agroforestry, Analysis, Coffee, Commentary, Commodity agriculture, Community Development, Conflict, Deforestation, Education, Forests, Social Conflict, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Colombia is the world&#8217;s third-largest coffee producer and the main producer of Arabica coffee, which is known worldwide for its quality. The nation began developing commercial production in 1870, which now accounts for 22% of the national gross domestic product (GDP). According to the National Federation of Coffee Growers, there are approximately 560,000 farms in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Colombia is the world&#8217;s third-largest coffee producer and the main producer of Arabica coffee, which is known worldwide for its quality. The nation began developing commercial production in 1870, which now accounts for 22% of the national gross domestic product (GDP). According to the National Federation of Coffee Growers, there are approximately 560,000 farms in the country dedicated to coffee production, most of them small scale and accounting for 15% of total production. Coffee in Colombia has become part of the national identity and is also considered part of its cultural heritage. Besides this, it has been of vital importance for the economy, representing up to 80% of total exports, and is undoubtedly partly responsible for the changes that took place between 1870 and 1930, which allowed for the integration of the country&#8217;s economy and generated positive political and social effects. However, only 5% of smallholder farmers are technically efficient (TE), reflecting poor agronomic management strategies such as inadequate uses of inputs, irrational uses of fertilizers and pesticides, low phytosanitary control and monitoring strategies, lack of labor and substandard production conditions, among other factors. Mr. Arlisson Neussa, an agricultural engineer, assisting with coffee berry borer monitoring on a coffee plantation. The agroforestry coffee system, in which the coffee is interplanted within a native forest, can be clearly seen. Image courtesy of Juliana Cajiao Raigosa. The main coffee-producing departments of the “cafetal zone” are Risalda, Caldas, Antioquia and Quindío. Coffee in these areas is considered a cultural heritage and is mainly&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/agroforestry-grows-in-popularity-among-central-colombias-coffee-farmers-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311971</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As storms surge &#038; the sea rises, Belgium builds dunes for protection</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/as-storms-surge-the-sea-rises-belgium-builds-dunes-for-protection/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/as-storms-surge-the-sea-rises-belgium-builds-dunes-for-protection/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Dec 2025 19:57:12 +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/20/2025/12/18122651/a.-BANNER-Charlotte-Taelman-Raversijde-lange-wortel-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311622</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Belgium, Europe, and European Union]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Extreme Weather, Nature-based climate solutions, Sea Levels, Solutions, Storms, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[OSTEND, Belgium — In late October, Storm Benjamin blew across Belgium and other parts of Western Europe, bringing strong winds and rain that knocked down trees and damaged homes. Powerful waves pummeled Belgium’s shoreline, eroding some parts. Jagged, cliff-like formations appeared on certain beaches. Eventually, contractors reshaped the sand to prevent further erosion and to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[OSTEND, Belgium — In late October, Storm Benjamin blew across Belgium and other parts of Western Europe, bringing strong winds and rain that knocked down trees and damaged homes. Powerful waves pummeled Belgium’s shoreline, eroding some parts. Jagged, cliff-like formations appeared on certain beaches. Eventually, contractors reshaped the sand to prevent further erosion and to keep the public safe. Yet some stretches of the Belgian coast fared far better. Among these was a 750-meter (2,460-foot) strip of beach in Raversijde, a neighborhood in the coastal city of Ostend, where a series of constructed dunes stand seaward of a promenade that doubles as a dike. I drove to Raversijde on a rainy afternoon in late November to visit these dunes, which are part of a “dune-by-dike” system. The dunes and dike are meant to work in tandem to create a double buffer between the sea and the coastline: The dunes form a soft barrier that dissipates wave energy, while the preexisting dikes play back-up as a hard barrier, should the dunes succumb to a storm. This particular site is a project of a Flemish government initiative called Living Labs. Nieuwpoort, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, October 25th, 2025, rough waves crashing onto shoreline under heavy storm clouds. Image courtesy of Bjorn B/stock.adobe.com After parking along the sand-swept road, I crossed the tram tracks that run along the coast to reach the promenade. There, I met Toon Verwaest, a coastal engineer at the governmental agency Flanders Hydraulics Research, who helps coordinate the Raversijde dune-by-dike project.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/as-storms-surge-the-sea-rises-belgium-builds-dunes-for-protection/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311622</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Costa Rica&#8217;s ‘shocking’ wildlife crisis: Nation must move to prevent animal electrocution (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/costa-ricas-shocking-wildlife-crisis-nation-must-move-to-prevent-animal-electrocution-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/costa-ricas-shocking-wildlife-crisis-nation-must-move-to-prevent-animal-electrocution-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Dec 2025 21:03:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elena Kukovica]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/17203029/elena-2-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311592</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Costa Rica, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Commentary, Conservation, Development, Energy, Environment, Ethics, Infrastructure, Mammals, Monkeys, Sloths, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Costa Rica is world-renowned for its commitment to preserving biodiversity and wildlife. The country’s fervor to protect its ecosystems recently earned it the Earthshot Prize for Protecting and Restoring Nature, a significant international recognition for environmental protection. However, even a country as environmentally conscious as Costa Rica apparently cannot steer clear of the ongoing spread [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Costa Rica is world-renowned for its commitment to preserving biodiversity and wildlife. The country’s fervor to protect its ecosystems recently earned it the Earthshot Prize for Protecting and Restoring Nature, a significant international recognition for environmental protection. However, even a country as environmentally conscious as Costa Rica apparently cannot steer clear of the ongoing spread of urbanization and deforestation that threatens local wildlife. As forests and jungles give way to new homes and roads, animals are forced to adapt to their new surroundings and human neighbors. A vast and deadly obstacle in this process is electrical wires and transformers, which cause fatal wildlife electrocutions. This deadly problem is primarily caused by the fact that most of Costa Rica’s electrical infrastructure is installed aerially using conductive materials that lack insulation (e.g., aluminum conductors without protection). Combined with the high voltages carried by these wires, this creates a highly hazardous situation, putting any living being at risk of electrocution when coming into contact. As animals face intrusions into their natural habitats and need to move, they begin using electrical wires like they typically use tree branches, particularly when crossing roads. Combining constant contact with high-voltage power lines, it is therefore not difficult to believe that electrocution is one of the biggest causes of wildlife deaths in Costa Rica. In particular, 6,262 reported cases of wildlife electrocution happened just between June 2022 and June 2023, with the most affected species among mammals being squirrels, foxes, monkeys, kinkajous and sloths. A howler monkey traverses&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/costa-ricas-shocking-wildlife-crisis-nation-must-move-to-prevent-animal-electrocution-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311592</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s cities must plan for resilience and inclusion for the future &#038; nature (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepals-cities-must-plan-for-resilience-and-inclusion-for-the-future-nature-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepals-cities-must-plan-for-resilience-and-inclusion-for-the-future-nature-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2025 14:48:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hitesh Raj Pant]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/10/31124832/1280px-Locus3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311078</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities, Commentary, Community Development, Conservation, Development, Gender, Governance, Green, Infrastructure, Sustainable Development, and urban ecology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The transformation of Nepal&#8217;s urban landscape has brought us to a pivotal moment. Having observed this evolution as an environmental engineer, I believe its current growth trajectory is unsustainable, despite its potential. Although Nepal contributes a negligible 0.1% to global greenhouse gas emissions, the country still disproportionately suffers the increasing impact of climate change and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The transformation of Nepal&#8217;s urban landscape has brought us to a pivotal moment. Having observed this evolution as an environmental engineer, I believe its current growth trajectory is unsustainable, despite its potential. Although Nepal contributes a negligible 0.1% to global greenhouse gas emissions, the country still disproportionately suffers the increasing impact of climate change and is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries worldwide. It is evident in the average annual maximum temperature in Nepal, which has been increasing at a rate of 0.056° Celsius (0.1008° Fahrenheit) per year between 1971 and 2014. Unpredictable weather, extreme events, and threats to agricultural productivity define our daily reality as one of the most climate-vulnerable nations. Moreover, our domestic actions are dangerously exacerbating this vulnerability. A rapid, largely unplanned urban population increase from 17% to more than 27% between 2011 and 2021 has fueled this issue. This is not just due to organic migration, but was instigated by the 2017 restructuring and reclassification of local administrative boundaries under the federal system. This restructuring converted 58 existing municipalities and numerous village development committees (VDCs) into a total of 293 municipalities. Table 1: Nepal Urbanization Trajectory and Administrative Reclassification (2011-2021). This chaotic growth places immense, unbearable pressure on existing urban infrastructure and compromises our environmental quality. Water and sanitation shortages threaten public health and social stability in densely populated areas. The most severe consequence of this unplanned expansion is the breakdown of the natural/urban interface. Haphazard development encroaches on agricultural lands, which are vital for national&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepals-cities-must-plan-for-resilience-and-inclusion-for-the-future-nature-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311078</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mexico is inflating its climate spending by billions of dollars. Here’s how.</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mexico-is-inflating-its-climate-spending-by-billions-of-dollars-heres-how/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mexico-is-inflating-its-climate-spending-by-billions-of-dollars-heres-how/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2025 14:38:43 +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/20/2025/12/10061235/AP22215709274247-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310973</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Mexico, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Finance, Forest Destruction, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Indigenous Peoples, Infrastructure, Law, Oil, Oil Drilling, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Sustainable Development, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MEXICO CITY — In its fiscal budget for 2026, passed in November, the Mexican government promised funds for renewable energy, protected areas and other environmental concerns. But much of what’s labeled as climate spending actually has nothing to do with the environment, and may even exaggerate how much is being spent, a review of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MEXICO CITY — In its fiscal budget for 2026, passed in November, the Mexican government promised funds for renewable energy, protected areas and other environmental concerns. But much of what’s labeled as climate spending actually has nothing to do with the environment, and may even exaggerate how much is being spent, a review of the budget shows. Line items in the government budget reveal that funds earmarked for the clean energy transition and combatting climate change are instead going to infrastructure, oil and gas, and other projects largely unrelated to the environment. “Climate action hasn’t been prioritized in the budget,” said Anaid Velasco Ramírez, public policy and legal research manager at the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA). “In fact, much of the public budget is allocated to projects that generate large emissions, starting with the energy sector.” President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last year touting her climate science background, said she wanted to address energy demands with renewable sources. But her government is also worried about the country’s dwindling proven oil reserves, leading it to invest in new oil exploration at the same time that it’s promising an ambitious clean energy transition. The government is spending 17.9 billion pesos ($983 million) next year on its Energy Transition National Strategy, up nearly 55% from the previous year. It’s also spending 212.6 billion pesos ($11.7 billion) on “resources for the adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change.” But those figures don’t come close to what’s allocated for the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mexico-is-inflating-its-climate-spending-by-billions-of-dollars-heres-how/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310973</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conservation can emphasize human well-being to navigate its current funding crisis (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/conservation-can-emphasize-human-well-being-to-navigate-its-current-funding-crisis-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/conservation-can-emphasize-human-well-being-to-navigate-its-current-funding-crisis-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Nov 2025 19:20:58 +0000</pubDate>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/01141327/banner-man-plucks-cocoa-e1764011739273-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310100</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Community Development, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Development, Environment, Finance, food security, Health, Public Health, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Conservation is facing a crisis, fueled by myriad factors including cuts in funding, weakening support from governments, and disinformation. A significant driver of this crisis is a lack of understanding among many decision-makers and the public of nature’s vital role in food and water security, health, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. To combat the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Conservation is facing a crisis, fueled by myriad factors including cuts in funding, weakening support from governments, and disinformation. A significant driver of this crisis is a lack of understanding among many decision-makers and the public of nature’s vital role in food and water security, health, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. To combat the perception that conserving nature is primarily an environmental issue, it is imperative for the conservation sector to be more deliberate in demonstrating its impacts on human well-being. The acceleration of ecological decline presents an urgent threat to humanity and our collective future. In the World Economic Forum’s 2025 annual list of the top 10 global risks, five of the longer term (10-year) risks are environmental, ranging from extreme weather events to biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and pollution. Yet, biodiversity conservation remains vastly underfunded for the value it provides. For decades, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was a leader in recognizing the crucial role of healthy ecosystems as a foundation for human well-being, championing the phrase “conservation is development” to embody its perspective. The agency invested more than $385 million in biodiversity programs in fiscal year 2023 alone on approaches including forest conservation, sustainable fisheries management and conservation enterprises to benefit local communities and ecosystems. A photograph from 2018 documenting a USAID Oceans project aimed at collecting data on fish catches in Asia. The Trump administration shut down almost all of USAID’s projects, including for marine conservation, in early 2025. Image courtesy of USAID.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/conservation-can-emphasize-human-well-being-to-navigate-its-current-funding-crisis-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310100</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Top ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin&#8217;s COP30 reflections on Amazon conservation (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/top-ethnobotanist-mark-plotkins-cop30-reflections-on-amazon-conservation-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/top-ethnobotanist-mark-plotkins-cop30-reflections-on-amazon-conservation-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Nov 2025 21:45:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mark J. Plotkin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/17210100/Suriname-2-e1763414931233-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309585</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Latin America, Peru, South America, and Suriname]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Biodiversity, Botany, Commentary, Conservation, Development, Environment, Forest Products, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Medicinal Plants, Medicine, Rainforests, Research, Sustainable Development, Threats To Rainforests, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, Traditional People, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Having studied the healing plants and peoples of tropical South America for well over four decades, I am often asked, “What is the conservation status of the Amazon Rainforest? Is the glass half-full or half-empty?” My reply never changes. “By definition, any glass that is half-full is half-empty!” When I first traveled to the Amazon [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Having studied the healing plants and peoples of tropical South America for well over four decades, I am often asked, “What is the conservation status of the Amazon Rainforest? Is the glass half-full or half-empty?” My reply never changes. “By definition, any glass that is half-full is half-empty!” When I first traveled to the Amazon in the 1970s, the world was a different place. Most people thought of the rainforest, if they thought of it at all, as a green hell to be avoided at all costs. Soon thereafter, public perception of tropical rainforests shifted dramatically, driven by the emerging modern environmental movement. Tropical forest and river in Suriname. Image courtesy of Mark J. Plotkin. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962 and Earth Day in 1970 were milestones in generating global awareness and concern over deforestation, pesticides, pollution and species extinction, particularly in the industrialized world. However, Western scientists like Tom Lovejoy, Richard Schultes and E.O. Wilson — as well as Brazilian scientists like Marcio Ayres, Paulo Nogueiro-Neto and Paulo Vanzolini — presented a compelling case that the biological richness and fragility of tropical forests merited at least as much attention as ecosystems in the temperate regions. These scientists reframed the global image of Amazonia from “green hell” to “treasure trove of biodiversity.” The media also played a positive role. The vast scale of burning and clearing — turning a green wonderland into a red desert through major development projects like ill-planned dams or road building — shocked and horrified&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/top-ethnobotanist-mark-plotkins-cop30-reflections-on-amazon-conservation-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309585</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>No, Bill Gates, we don’t have to choose between people &#038; planet (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/no-bill-gates-we-dont-have-to-choose-between-people-planet-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/no-bill-gates-we-dont-have-to-choose-between-people-planet-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2025 16:12:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mary Robinson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/11081601/jambi_220653_2560px-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309000</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, Commentary, Development, Ethics, Finance, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Funding, Governance, philanthropy, Social Justice, Sustainable Development, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bill Gates has long been a leading voice in the global response to human health and climate change. His climate investments and advocacy have helped drive innovation, expand access to clean energy and push climate action higher on the world’s agenda. However, his recent essay, “Three Tough Truths About Climate,” marks a dangerous shift that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bill Gates has long been a leading voice in the global response to human health and climate change. His climate investments and advocacy have helped drive innovation, expand access to clean energy and push climate action higher on the world’s agenda. However, his recent essay, “Three Tough Truths About Climate,” marks a dangerous shift that could undermine that contribution. Gates writes with admirable nuance, and his proposed shift to focus finance on outcomes that reduce human suffering, rather than emissions reduction, projects a tone of reason and compassion. However, I read his reflections with concern and believe that his framing risks reinforcing three misconceptions that could slow, rather than accelerate, progress at a critical moment for the planet and its most vulnerable populations. First, the suggestion that the world must choose between financing development and financing climate action falsely presents a zero-sum situation. By suggesting that we must prioritize one over the other, Gates assumes that we live in a world where our current scarcity of development and climate resources is fixed for all time. While cuts to overseas development budgets in countries like the United States, France, Germany and the U.K. have decreased resources at the moment, there are numerous strategies to reverse that trend that we must seek to advance. This should begin with public pressure for governments to restore and enhance their aid budgets. Countries should also follow through on their collective commitment to remove the more than $1 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies and the $500&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/no-bill-gates-we-dont-have-to-choose-between-people-planet-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309000</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Karen community fighting corn and coal for clean air in northern Thailand</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/karen-community-fighting-corn-and-coal-for-clean-air-in-northern-thailand/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/karen-community-fighting-corn-and-coal-for-clean-air-in-northern-thailand/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2025 02:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/06011059/f9172231-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308913</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Air Pollution, Bioenergy, Coal, Crops, Deforestation, Fires, Flooding, Food Industry, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Industrial Agriculture, Land Rights, Mining, Public Health, Rivers, Subsistence Agriculture, Sustainable Development, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MAE CHAM/OMKOI, Thailand — Rain lashed down in the northern Thai village of Nong Krating as Sawattiphon Wongkasettakon described the worsening air pollution that sweeps in through the mountains here each year. “It didn’t used to be so bad, but in the last three years it’s become impossible to ignore,” Sawattiphon, a former deputy chief of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MAE CHAM/OMKOI, Thailand — Rain lashed down in the northern Thai village of Nong Krating as Sawattiphon Wongkasettakon described the worsening air pollution that sweeps in through the mountains here each year. “It didn’t used to be so bad, but in the last three years it’s become impossible to ignore,” Sawattiphon, a former deputy chief of the village, told Mongabay on the porch of his home in August. “The sky gets dark, it’s uncomfortable when we breathe. It blows in from the maize farms.” Farmers in the region straddling northern Thailand, Myanmar’s Shan state and Laos grow maize to supply Thailand’s booming animal feed industry. Every year before the planting season, they set controlled fires to clear their fields of crop stubble left over from the harvest. The result: surging air pollution that sends the region’s towns and cities shooting up the rankings of the world’s most polluted places every February-April, when the burning peaks. To fix the problem, Thai leaders have tried everything from threatening to cut farmer subsidies and restricting where they can plant maize, to promoting alternative livelihoods and introducing microbial sprays for stubble decomposition. But nothing seems to break the cycle of seasonal haze, which still reaches levels more than 14 times higher than what’s considered safe by the World Health Organization. In Omkoi district, which encompasses Nong Krating village in Chiang Mai province, local officials decided years ago that enough was enough. In 2017, fearing the loss of the forests in which residents forage for herbs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/karen-community-fighting-corn-and-coal-for-clean-air-in-northern-thailand/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308913</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Beyond deforestation: redesigning how we protect and value tropical forests (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/beyond-deforestation-redesigning-how-we-protect-and-value-tropical-forests-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/beyond-deforestation-redesigning-how-we-protect-and-value-tropical-forests-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2025 15:57:11 +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/20/2025/11/02172829/vietnam_163028x-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308743</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Biodiversity, Bioeconomy, carbon, Carbon Market, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Deforestation, Economics, Ecosystem Services, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Services, Forest Carbon, Forest Products, Forests, Governance, Green, Land Rights, Payments For Ecosystem Services, Rainforests, Restoration, Sustainable Development, Technology, Tropical Forests, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Heading into COP30, where tropical forests are set to be a central theme, it seemed worth looking today’s trajectories a little further forward and imagine where they might lead. Part 1 looked at possible fates of tropical forests. The first act of the forest crisis was destruction. The second, if there is to be one, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Heading into COP30, where tropical forests are set to be a central theme, it seemed worth looking today’s trajectories a little further forward and imagine where they might lead. Part 1 looked at possible fates of tropical forests. The first act of the forest crisis was destruction. The second, if there is to be one, must be design—deliberate, structural, and sustained. The world already knows what is burning; what it hasn’t decided is whether it truly wants to stop it. Last year’s fires tore through more than three million hectares of tropical primary forest, most of it in South America. Drought and El Niño played their part, but so did the same chronic weaknesses: fragmented governance, cheap credit for land clearance, and a market that rewards destruction faster than it rewards restraint. The causes are structural, which means the solutions will have to be as well. Power to those who already protect More than a third of the world’s intact forests lie on Indigenous and community lands. Where rights are recognized, deforestation typically drops. The logic is simple. People with secure tenure have reason to manage land for the long term. Yet only a fraction of community lands in the tropics have legal title. Recognition processes crawl through bureaucracy, while investors and speculators tend to advance quickly. A first-order intervention, therefore, is legal rather than technical: accelerating the transfer of rights. That means repairing broken land registries: mapping who actually owns what and granting legal title to the communities already&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/beyond-deforestation-redesigning-how-we-protect-and-value-tropical-forests-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308743</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>At COP30, Africa can lead the way to a sustainable future — but will it? (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/at-cop30-africa-can-lead-the-way-to-a-sustainable-future-but-will-it-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/at-cop30-africa-can-lead-the-way-to-a-sustainable-future-but-will-it-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2025 15:36:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Samuel Ogunsona]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/31124007/South-Africa-solar-scaled-e1761915691180-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308637</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Letters to the Future and Negotiating Africa's Energy Future]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Impact Of Climate Change, Politics, Solar Power, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; When the rivers rise and the skies grow dark, Africa&#8217;s resilience will light the way to a sustainable future. Africa, the continent that contributes the least to climate change, is paradoxically among the most vulnerable to its devastating impacts. Rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and increased frequency of extreme weather events are all taking [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In this series, Our Letters to the Future, the sixth cohort of Mongabay’s Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellows share their views on environmental journalism, conservation and the future for their generation, amid multiple planetary crises. Each commentary is a personal reflection, based on individual fellows’ experiences in their home communities and the insights gained through the past six months of the fellowship. The series spans the Global South — Malaysia, India, Colombia, Brazil, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo — showcasing a broad diversity of ideas and the common ground these young environmental journalists share as they embark on their careers. &nbsp; When the rivers rise and the skies grow dark, Africa&#8217;s resilience will light the way to a sustainable future. Africa, the continent that contributes the least to climate change, is paradoxically among the most vulnerable to its devastating impacts. Rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and increased frequency of extreme weather events are all taking a toll on the continent&#8217;s economy, infrastructure and human settlements. Yet, in the face of this existential threat, Africa has the potential to lead the way to a sustainable future. As the world grapples with climate change, the recent submissions of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by countries ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, have brought to the forefront critical gaps in global climate action. What are NDCs and why do they matter? The NDCs are countries&#8217; commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change. They are&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/at-cop30-africa-can-lead-the-way-to-a-sustainable-future-but-will-it-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308637</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Malawi, a rural community shines bright with 100% solar power milestone</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/in-malawi-a-rural-community-shines-bright-with-100-solar-power-milestone/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/in-malawi-a-rural-community-shines-bright-with-100-solar-power-milestone/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2025 12:04:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Madalitso Wills Kateta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/30101432/2426874c-15a2-4d41-9465-71bb5d70474c-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308571</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Malawi, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Development, Development, Economics, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, NGOs, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LILONGWE — Four years ago, a U.K.-based charity, SolarAid, set out to provide solar-powered electricity to every home in Kasakula, a village around 90 kilometers, or 56 miles, from Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe. The project was aimed at demonstrating the potential for distributing and maintaining renewable energy in rural Africa. Today, SolarAid says it has installed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LILONGWE — Four years ago, a U.K.-based charity, SolarAid, set out to provide solar-powered electricity to every home in Kasakula, a village around 90 kilometers, or 56 miles, from Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe. The project was aimed at demonstrating the potential for distributing and maintaining renewable energy in rural Africa. Today, SolarAid says it has installed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in all of the nearly 9,000 households in the village. Kasakula has a population of just over 20,000. Most of the village’s inhabitants grow crops like maize, beans and cassava for their own consumption. Like many other settlements of this size, it boasts of two public secondary schools, 10 primary schools and a health center. It also has various businesses including barbershops, video showrooms, and shops selling assorted groceries. And, also like many other settlements of this size across Africa, few Kasakula homes are connected to the national electricity grid. Residents here, like many of their counterparts in other rural parts of the continent, rely on paraffin lamps or candles for light after dark. This has also meant traders in the area&#8217;s open market needed to shut down earlier. When it launched, SolarAid’s project aimed to make bright, safe, affordable energy available to every household. &#8220;We chose Kasakula because it is a remote and low-income community,” Brave Mhonie, the charity’s general manager in Malawi, told Mongabay by phone. ”We wanted to test the viability of our model in such a setting, and see if it was scalable to other parts of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/in-malawi-a-rural-community-shines-bright-with-100-solar-power-milestone/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/in-malawi-a-rural-community-shines-bright-with-100-solar-power-milestone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308571</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Zanzibar must act to conserve its natural &#038; cultural heritage for the future (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/zanzibar-must-act-to-conserve-its-natural-cultural-heritage-for-the-future-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/zanzibar-must-act-to-conserve-its-natural-cultural-heritage-for-the-future-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Oct 2025 14:46:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tim Caro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/22131650/Zanzibar-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308126</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Indian Ocean, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Development, Ecotourism, Governance, Islands, Protected Areas, Sustainable Development, and Tourism]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Zanzibar has a reputation as an island paradise in the Indian Ocean. Lying 20 kilometers (12 miles) off the East African mainland, it is governed as a semiautonomous zone of the United Republic of Tanzania and consists of two large islands — Unguja (1,666 square kilometers, or 643 square miles) to the south, and Pemba [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Zanzibar has a reputation as an island paradise in the Indian Ocean. Lying 20 kilometers (12 miles) off the East African mainland, it is governed as a semiautonomous zone of the United Republic of Tanzania and consists of two large islands — Unguja (1,666 square kilometers, or 643 square miles) to the south, and Pemba (988 km2, or 381 mi2) to the north, each with several small outlying islets mostly on their western sides. The archipelago is one of the most densely populated areas of Africa, with a total population of 1.9 million, according to the 2022 census. With a 3.8% annual population growth rate and mean household size of five people, there is immense pressure on natural resources. Nonetheless, the archipelago still has unique tropical broadleaf coastal forests, old-growth trees, and mangroves with rare and endemic species. Moreover, communities are still largely forest-dependent. A decision fork has emerged between development and conservation on these islands: over the last 30 years, a huge tourism industry has developed on Unguja with its sandy beaches (more than 500 hotels), although not on Pemba with its mainly rocky coastline (with approximately 20 hotels). The archipelago now receives more than 100,000 visitors a month in the holiday season, and the 106,108 visitors in July 2025 represented a 31% increase from 2024. Most of these visitors go to Unguja, where much of the tourist development has occurred with little consideration for the environment. Examples include new tarmac roads running through the protected Masingini Forest Reserve,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/zanzibar-must-act-to-conserve-its-natural-cultural-heritage-for-the-future-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308126</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Benin puts solar power at the heart of its energy policy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/benin-puts-solar-power-at-the-heart-of-its-energy-policy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/benin-puts-solar-power-at-the-heart-of-its-energy-policy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2025 11:03:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Didier Hubert Madafimè]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/16093648/DSC06379-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307515</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Benin, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Development, Economics, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Sustainability, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The government of Benin is focusing on building solar power plants as part of a policy to make renewable energy the main source of the country’s energy supply by 2030. When it met in July, the Council of Ministers approved an updated National Renewable Energy Development Policy (PONADER) for 2020-2030. The policy renews the government’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The government of Benin is focusing on building solar power plants as part of a policy to make renewable energy the main source of the country’s energy supply by 2030. When it met in July, the Council of Ministers approved an updated National Renewable Energy Development Policy (PONADER) for 2020-2030. The policy renews the government’s commitment to solar energy to reduce the country’s economic dependence on fossil fuels, while also broadening access to electricity and helping Benin meet its sustainable development goals and climate commitments it made at the 2015 Paris climate conference. At present, Benin’s domestic power generation capacity comes principally from thermal sources (69%) — which includes natural gas, coal and oil — with hydroelectricity (16%) and solar energy (15%) making up the rest. However, the country is overwhelmingly reliant on imported power. In 2022, Benin imported nearly 95% of the electricity it used. A solar power plant under construction in Bohicon, Benin, financed by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). Image by Hyacinthe Goueti via Didier Hubert Madafimè. Photovoltaic energy in Benin Expanding access to electricity is a priority for Benin’s government. As of 2024, electricity access in urban areas of Benin stood at 42.6%, with rural areas trailing far behind at just 13%, according to Krystel Dossou, an independent consultant specializing in climate change vulnerability and adaptation. In 2018-2019, through the Benin Rural Electrification Project (PERU), the government built solar mini-grids with capacities of 30-40 kilowatt-hours and installed solar kits in several localities in Couffo and Plateau&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/benin-puts-solar-power-at-the-heart-of-its-energy-policy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307515</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Linking biodiversity protection with community development in an era of crisis (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/rethinking-conservation-in-an-era-of-crisis-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/rethinking-conservation-in-an-era-of-crisis-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Oct 2025 12:52:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dheeraj Jayant]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/07210434/restoration-workers-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307197</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Navigating conservation's crisis]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cape Verde, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bioeconomy, Commentary, Community Development, Conservation, Development, Environment, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The interlinked planetary crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss are losing significant ground in the global political agenda. From the ground, it seems as though even environmental discourse and momentum are weakening, as urgent geopolitical and economic priorities push concrete action to the margins. Overseas development aid and conservation finance is shrinking, often [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The interlinked planetary crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss are losing significant ground in the global political agenda. From the ground, it seems as though even environmental discourse and momentum are weakening, as urgent geopolitical and economic priorities push concrete action to the margins. Overseas development aid and conservation finance is shrinking, often creating conflict between actors, and the North–South divide is widening. Conflicts, shifting power balances, and unsustainable development models in megadiverse countries continue to erode ecosystems at alarming speed. Efforts to construct market mechanisms for biodiversity, such as access and benefit-sharing (ABS) under the Convention on Biological Diversity, have largely failed to deliver. After three decades of negotiations, frameworks like the Nagoya Protocol have generated enormous transaction costs but little tangible progress for biodiversity or justice. Confusion persists, entrenched political positions stall progress, and communities remain sidelined in processes that were meant to empower them. Likewise, ecotourism — once heralded as a win-win — often produces limited benefits when poorly designed, sometimes intensifying tensions with local people. Both ABS and ecotourism highlight the pitfalls of overreliance on market instruments to deliver justice and conservation at scale. In many megadiverse regions, the major components of biodiversity are found in rural landscapes, where they are managed and stewarded by local communities. Yet these very communities are under immense strain. Climate change, exploitative land regimes, the absence of meaningful employment opportunities, and lack of adequate public services are driving a rural exodus that is becoming increasingly difficult to halt&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/rethinking-conservation-in-an-era-of-crisis-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307197</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Funding is needed to save Samoa’s ‘little dodo’ from extinction (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/funding-is-needed-save-samoas-little-dodo-from-extinction-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/funding-is-needed-save-samoas-little-dodo-from-extinction-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2025 16:27:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gianluca Serra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/18152124/manumea-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306169</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Pacific Islands and Samoa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bioacoustics, Birding, Birds, Commentary, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Ethics, Extinction, Funding, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Islands, philanthropy, Rainforests, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Sustainable Development, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It’s early August 2025. Deep in the rainforests of Upolu, on the island of Samoa, Moeumu “Moe” Uili and I have paused our hike, counting the seconds between coo calls from an unseen pigeon hidden in the dense canopy. Moe mutters, “Nah, the intervals between the calls are too irregular. That’s got to be a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It’s early August 2025. Deep in the rainforests of Upolu, on the island of Samoa, Moeumu “Moe” Uili and I have paused our hike, counting the seconds between coo calls from an unseen pigeon hidden in the dense canopy. Moe mutters, “Nah, the intervals between the calls are too irregular. That’s got to be a lupe,” referring to the much more common Pacific imperial pigeon (Ducula pacifica). “Are you still using the number of coo calls per sequence to distinguish lupe from manumea?” I ask per the latter bird and the object of our search: the tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris), also called “the little dodo.” “Not anymore,” she replies. “Turns out lupe can have sequences of up to 40 calls &#8230;” “Damn,” I sigh. A bird &#8216;hide&#8217; or &#8216;blind&#8217; built in Uafato in hopes of facilitating an extremely rare sighting of an adult manumea, Samoa&#8217;s critically endangered &#8216;little dodo.&#8217; Image courtesy of Samoa Conservation Society. It’s been a few years since I last joined a manumea search, and I’m glad to be here again. The rainforest of Samoa still enchants me — its timeless atmosphere, stifling humidity, slippery trails, and chorus of bizarre bird calls. Towering tree ferns, giant leaves, dangling lichens, parasitic orchids and humongous strangling ficus (“the kings of the forest,” or aoa in Samoan) all surrounded by a cacophony of pigeons, doves and honey-eaters. Among them, the high-pitched whistles of the ma‘oma‘o (Gymnomyza samoensis), an endangered and endemic giant honey-eater, pierces the stillness. It’s one of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/funding-is-needed-save-samoas-little-dodo-from-extinction-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306169</doi>				</item>
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