<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" >

	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?s=&#038;type=post&#038;topic=war" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/war/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2026 19:54:36 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
		<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
		<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
		<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4</generator>

<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on War</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/war/</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
</image> 
				<item>
					<title>Fatal WWII bomb blast in Indonesia was a result of illegal fishing activity, police say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fatal-wwii-bomb-blast-in-indonesia-was-a-result-of-illegal-fishing-activity-police-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fatal-wwii-bomb-blast-in-indonesia-was-a-result-of-illegal-fishing-activity-police-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 09:03:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Asrida Elisabeth]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/29084556/Explosives-and-other-remnants-of-World-War-II-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324751</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Papua, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Culture, Disasters, Environment, Environmental Law, Fishing, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Islands, Law, Oceans, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BIAK, Indonesia — The munition here had outlasted one of the Pacific&#8217;s fiercest World War II battles. Eight decades later, investigators in Indonesia said it exploded by the timber-framed houses in the coastal village of Fandoi on Indonesia&#8217;s Biak Island. Investigators and officials later concluded a group of local fishers were dismantling an unexploded munition [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BIAK, Indonesia — The munition here had outlasted one of the Pacific&#8217;s fiercest World War II battles. Eight decades later, investigators in Indonesia said it exploded by the timber-framed houses in the coastal village of Fandoi on Indonesia&#8217;s Biak Island. Investigators and officials later concluded a group of local fishers were dismantling an unexploded munition recovered from coastal waters off Papua, where some of the Pacific&#8217;s most intense fighting took place in 1944. “They take them and dismantle them on the island,” said Cliff Marlessy, who as director of the Indonesia Locally Managed Marine Area (ILMMA) works with communities to manage marine resources in Biak. Their deaths are the latest in a long legacy of unexploded wartime ordnance, which has killed or injured at least 25,000 people across neighboring Papua New Guinea since 1945, according to The HALO Trust, the world&#8217;s largest humanitarian mine-clearance organization. No concrete estimate exists for the death toll across Indonesia. Authorities have known about repurposing of unexploded bombs for decades, yet some fishers continue to recover wartime explosives for use in blast fishing despite the extreme danger. Goa Jepang — or &#8220;Goa Binsar,&#8221; as locals call it — is a Japanese military bunker from World War II. Image by Asrida Elisabeth/Mongabay Indonesia. Legacy of war New Guinea and its surrounding islands were among the Pacific&#8217;s most violent World War II theatres, while Allied forces advanced westward through Japanese-held territory. During this period, months of heavy bombing and naval combat left countless unexploded bombs and artillery&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fatal-wwii-bomb-blast-in-indonesia-was-a-result-of-illegal-fishing-activity-police-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fatal-wwii-bomb-blast-in-indonesia-was-a-result-of-illegal-fishing-activity-police-say/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324751</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can conservation change how the world sees the Strait of Hormuz? (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-conservation-change-how-the-world-sees-the-strait-of-hormuz-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-conservation-change-how-the-world-sees-the-strait-of-hormuz-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jul 2026 15:37:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Iman Ebrahimi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/09/13142321/Moray-eel-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322992</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Iran, Kuwait, Middle East, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Commentary, Conflict, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Estuaries, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Oil Spills, War, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In recent months, the Strait of Hormuz has again been described in the language the world knows best: Oil, tankers, naval risk, energy security and war. That is understandable. Around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments normally move through this narrow passage between Iran and Oman. When Hormuz is threatened, markets react [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In recent months, the Strait of Hormuz has again been described in the language the world knows best: Oil, tankers, naval risk, energy security and war. That is understandable. Around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments normally move through this narrow passage between Iran and Oman. When Hormuz is threatened, markets react and governments calculate. But this is only one map of the strait. Conservation offers another. The Strait of Hormuz is not only an oil chokepoint. It is an ecological corridor: The narrow mouth through which the Persian Gulf exchanges water with the Gulf of Oman and the wider Indian Ocean, and through which islands, mangroves, seabird colonies, coral reefs, turtle nesting beaches and coastal communities are connected across borders. A pair of flamingos, Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Image courtesy of Maitha Bughanoom. This way of seeing Hormuz matters now because recent oil-related reports have not pointed to empty water. They have pointed toward real places: Shidvar, an uninhabited Ramsar island in Lavan, Iran, where damage to nearby oil infrastructure can quickly become a threat to a breeding ground for more than 80,000 terns each year; Qeshm and the Hara mangrove forests, the largest mangrove system in the Persian Gulf and also a Ramsar site; Kharg Island, and also small ports, fishing grounds and coastal waters where human life and wildlife are not easily separated. The full biological impact is still unclear but the geography already tells us enough: In the Persian Gulf,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-conservation-change-how-the-world-sees-the-strait-of-hormuz-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-conservation-change-how-the-world-sees-the-strait-of-hormuz-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322992</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>War reveals the isolation of Iran’s scientists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/war-reveals-the-isolation-of-irans-scientists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/war-reveals-the-isolation-of-irans-scientists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 18:39:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03153524/greater-flamingo-Phoenicopterus-roseus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322511</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iran, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Finance, Funding, NGOs, Politics, Research, Science, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The smiles on the faces of Iman Ebrahimi and his colleagues in the photograph are revealing: After more than a month of war in Iran, a tenuous ceasefire in mid-April offered a brief window for the team to travel to one of Ebrahimi’s favorite field sites. Maharloo Lake is the “hottest spot for flamingo breeding [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The smiles on the faces of Iman Ebrahimi and his colleagues in the photograph are revealing: After more than a month of war in Iran, a tenuous ceasefire in mid-April offered a brief window for the team to travel to one of Ebrahimi’s favorite field sites. Maharloo Lake is the “hottest spot for flamingo breeding in Iran,” he said excitedly on a video call during a rare period of stable internet early in the war. They saw “at least 5,000” greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) that day, he said, though there were probably more beyond the reach of their binoculars. “It was incredible.” A salt lake that tinges pink when summer heat shrinks its footprint, the lake was flush with water when they visited. “This is a very lovely place, but I&#8217;ve never seen Maharloo like this,” Ebrahimi said. The winter rains had been heavier than normal, to be sure, but he said he also suspects that agricultural and industrial activity, muted by the war, were drawing off less water from the lake — an unanticipated impact. Ebrahimi and his teammates from the NGO AvayeBoom Bird Conservation Society are doing their best to track the conflict’s effects on Iran’s environment. They’ve noticed, for example, shifts in bird aggregations, apparently moving away from areas that reverberate with airstrikes. But the war has also laid bare the damage caused by international sanctions imposed by the U.S., the EU and the U.N., along with other moves to cut Iran off from the rest of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/war-reveals-the-isolation-of-irans-scientists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/war-reveals-the-isolation-of-irans-scientists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322511</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Studying giant devil rays through war in Gaza: Interview with Mohammed Abu Daya</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/studying-giant-devil-rays-through-war-in-gaza-interview-with-mohammed-abu-daya/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/studying-giant-devil-rays-through-war-in-gaza-interview-with-mohammed-abu-daya/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2026 16:12:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lyse Mauvais]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/22140029/a-Mohammed-Abu-Daya-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321575</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Middle East, and Palestine]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Rays, Saltwater Fish, War, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the messaging platform WhatsApp, Mohammed Abu Daya’s profile picture features an aerial view of Gaza City before the current war. A clutter of high-rise buildings rises against the sky; at their feet, a strip of sandy beach, bathed by the sun, and the dark blue sea, dotted with small fishing boats. The photograph bears [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the messaging platform WhatsApp, Mohammed Abu Daya’s profile picture features an aerial view of Gaza City before the current war. A clutter of high-rise buildings rises against the sky; at their feet, a strip of sandy beach, bathed by the sun, and the dark blue sea, dotted with small fishing boats. The photograph bears witness to a landscape that no longer exists — aside from the sea. “Gaza is now a big prison, with two million people living among rubble and destroyed infrastructure,” the Palestinian marine ecologist told Mongabay in May 2026 over the phone. “Life in the Gaza Strip is miserable.” For many months now, he has been unable to go out to sea to carry out research in his field. Before the war, Abu Daya was a lecturer at several Palestinian universities including the University of Palestine in Gaza and a researcher at the now-shuttered National Research Center in Gaza. His research focuses on spinetail devil rays (Mobula mobular), sometimes called giant devil rays, a critically endangered species that can reach up to 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) in width. The Gaza-based conservationist is one among a handful of scientists worldwide who study this species. Historically, it was thought to be endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, until taxonomic revisions in the late 2010s led scientists to consider the Mediterranean populations as genetically connected to others in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Indo-Pacific region. The majestic rays are thought to roam the entire Mediterranean, from the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/studying-giant-devil-rays-through-war-in-gaza-interview-with-mohammed-abu-daya/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/studying-giant-devil-rays-through-war-in-gaza-interview-with-mohammed-abu-daya/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321575</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Endangered Persian leopards persist across borders, despite hunters and landmines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 16:15:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kayleigh Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15145758/captive-leopard-cat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319523</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Asia, and Georgia (Country)]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Leopards, Mammals, Predators, Top Predators, War, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Last September, zoologist and conservationist Bejan Lortkipanidze received a video file from a collaborator, Zurab Gurielidze, the head of Georgia’s Tbilisi Zoo. Gurielidze offered no details, but told his friend to &#8220;just watch.&#8221; For several moments, Lortkipanidze saw nothing remarkable — just nighttime footage of a high fence topped with razor wire. Then a leopard [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Last September, zoologist and conservationist Bejan Lortkipanidze received a video file from a collaborator, Zurab Gurielidze, the head of Georgia’s Tbilisi Zoo. Gurielidze offered no details, but told his friend to &#8220;just watch.&#8221; For several moments, Lortkipanidze saw nothing remarkable — just nighttime footage of a high fence topped with razor wire. Then a leopard entered the frame. Lortkipanidze, who is co-founder of the Georgian conservation NGO NACRES, was stunned: It was just the third sighting of a Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) in the south Caucasus nation in 20 years. The footage wasn&#8217;t from a wildlife camera trap. It came from a standard CCTV camera that surveilled the perimeter of a new breeding enclosure for endangered Caucasian red deer (Cervus elaphus maral) in Algeti National Park, situated an hour west of Tbilisi. The video quickly circulated around the conservation community. Vazha Kochiashvili, a biologist with WWF Caucasus, saw it: It was sent to him by the man tasked with checking the deer enclosure footage for Georgia&#8217;s National Agency of Wildlife, Sergo Tabagari, who called him immediately after he saw the cat while reviewing footage. Kochiashvili said he had a hunch and asked his friend: &#8220;Does the leopard have three legs?&#8221; It did. The male leopard’s name is Aren and, over the last few years, he’s roamed across at least two international borders. Persian leopards once traversed a vast territory that lies between Russia, the Middle East and the Caspian and Black seas. They’re wide-ranging animals, and Aren’s journey underscores&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319523</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Arabian Gulf’s fragile marine ecosystem threatened by current crisis (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/arabian-gulfs-fragile-marine-ecosystem-threatened-by-current-crisis-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/arabian-gulfs-fragile-marine-ecosystem-threatened-by-current-crisis-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 May 2026 15:06:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Razan Al Mubarak]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/11143229/050A0598-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319117</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Abu Dhabi, Iran, Middle East, and Persian Gulf]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Coastal Ecosystems, Commentary, Conflict, Dugong, Ecosystems, Estuaries, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Oil, Oil Spills, Pollution, Seabirds, War, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At this time of year, the waters of the Arabian Gulf support one of the most significant gatherings of marine life anywhere in the world. Thousands of dugongs congregate in shallow coastal areas, including mother-and-calf pairs, dependent on the 3,000 square kilometers (well over 1,000 square miles) of seagrass meadows in Abu Dhabi waters. Along [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At this time of year, the waters of the Arabian Gulf support one of the most significant gatherings of marine life anywhere in the world. Thousands of dugongs congregate in shallow coastal areas, including mother-and-calf pairs, dependent on the 3,000 square kilometers (well over 1,000 square miles) of seagrass meadows in Abu Dhabi waters. Along the same coastline, sea turtles return to nest, seabirds enter their breeding season, and migratory birds pass through wetlands that connect continents. Mangroves and coral reefs line these coasts. These ecosystems exist alongside the same coastal zones that support cities, energy and industrial infrastructure. They also underpin human life across the region. Tens of millions of people depend on desalination, drawing seawater from these same environments. Their survival, like ours, depends on clean water, intact habitats and stable environmental conditions. I have had the rare privilege, through my work, to witness these systems up close. Their richness is extraordinary, but so too is their fragility. The danger is that war turns that fragility into lasting damage. Indian Ocean humpback dolphin in Mangrove Marine National Park, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Image courtesy of Maitha Bughanoom. An airstrike on an oil tanker, or a collision, fire or loss of control by one of these vessels would release oil or other pollutants into shallow waters, where they spread rapidly across seagrass beds and coastal habitats. Water quality declines, oxygen levels fall, nesting sites are lost, and breeding cycles are disrupted. Local populations can collapse, and recovery becomes uncertain. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/arabian-gulfs-fragile-marine-ecosystem-threatened-by-current-crisis-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/arabian-gulfs-fragile-marine-ecosystem-threatened-by-current-crisis-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319117</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Energy crisis revives push to drill in Philippines’ largest intact wetland</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 21:11:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bong S. Sarmiento]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17185118/Philippine-Duck-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317714</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Natural Gas, Oil, Oil Drilling, Politics, Resource Conflict, War, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — There’s been a renewed push in the Philippines to develop oil and gas deposits in the southern Liguasan Marsh, prompted by the energy crisis caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups. The 288,000-hectare (712,000-acre) Liguasan Marsh, the largest intact wetland in the Philippines and home [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — There’s been a renewed push in the Philippines to develop oil and gas deposits in the southern Liguasan Marsh, prompted by the energy crisis caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups. The 288,000-hectare (712,000-acre) Liguasan Marsh, the largest intact wetland in the Philippines and home to diverse fauna and flora, is considered by nonprofit conservation group BirdLife International an “important bird and biodiversity area” (IBA). A sizeable portion of Liguasan, on the southern island of Mindanao, has been declared a game refuge and bird sanctuary since 1941. The marsh is home to the critically endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) and is the country’s last frontier for Tachybaptus ruficollis cotabato, a subspecies of the little grebe found only here, and the comb-crested jacana (Irediparra gallinacea). It also contains a significant volume of untapped oil and gas. A portion of the vast Liguasan Marsh beckons along the highway in Maguindanao province in the Bangsamoro region in the southern Philippines, in 2021. Image by Bong S. Sarmiento. In the 1990s, a joint exploration by the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) and its Malaysian counterpart, Petronas, found that at least 202 million barrels of recoverable crude oil and 6 billion cubic feet of natural gas sit within Liguasan Marsh. Exploration did not proceed further due to ongoing conflict between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a 40,000-strong armed group fighting for the right of self-determination in the southern Philippines. A&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317714</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>War on Iran disrupts efforts to save the Asiatic cheetah, world’s rarest big cat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-on-iran-disrupts-efforts-to-save-the-asiatic-cheetah-worlds-rarest-big-cat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-on-iran-disrupts-efforts-to-save-the-asiatic-cheetah-worlds-rarest-big-cat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 12:37:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kayleigh Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08102943/Kooshki_the_Cheetah_in_Miandasht_Wildlife_Refuge_10.tiff-enhance-4x-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317162</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iran, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cats, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Environmentalists, Endangered Species, Human-wildlife Conflict, Protected Areas, War, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Before the war began in February 2026, there was some rare good news for Iran’s imperiled Asiatic cheetahs. Rangers spotted and filmed a female in the North Khorasan province accompanied by five cubs — a first. No more than four had ever been seen before, and every individual counts. The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Before the war began in February 2026, there was some rare good news for Iran’s imperiled Asiatic cheetahs. Rangers spotted and filmed a female in the North Khorasan province accompanied by five cubs — a first. No more than four had ever been seen before, and every individual counts. The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is the world’s most endangered big cat, and the number counted in the wild rose to 27. Bagher Nezami, national director of the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project, told Iranian state-controlled media that these were &#8220;ID-carded&#8221; cheetahs, known individuals being monitored by researchers. Another five remain in breeding sites and six in captivity, he said. This represented a significant leap: In August last year, the Tehran Times reported that just 20 were left in the wild. Nine days after the sighting of the five cubs, the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, prompting a swift retaliation that has since escalated into a regional conflict with global repercussions — and poses a new threat to a big cat that hovers on the brink of extinction. Kushki (male) is one of the last surviving Asiatic cheetahs in northeastern Iran’s Miandasht Wildlife Refuge. Image by Ehsan Kamali / Tasnim News Agency via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). A species on the brink The Asiatic cheetah was once found throughout Central and Southwest Asia, with a range that spanned from the Arabian Peninsula to the Caspian Sea and as far east as India. However, this&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-on-iran-disrupts-efforts-to-save-the-asiatic-cheetah-worlds-rarest-big-cat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-on-iran-disrupts-efforts-to-save-the-asiatic-cheetah-worlds-rarest-big-cat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317162</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sri Lankan waters under ‘close watch’ following wreckage of Iranian warship</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/sri-lankan-waters-under-close-watch-following-wreckage-of-iranian-warship/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/sri-lankan-waters-under-close-watch-following-wreckage-of-iranian-warship/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 17:15:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/06164217/Image-No-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315375</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Oil Spills, Pollution, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[GALLE, Sri Lanka — On March 4, an Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena sank some 40-50 nautical miles off the southern coast of Galle, an important maritime route in Sri Lanka. According to the Sri Lanka Navy, at least 180 personnel were initially on board the ship and it was returning from the International Fleet [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[GALLE, Sri Lanka — On March 4, an Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena sank some 40-50 nautical miles off the southern coast of Galle, an important maritime route in Sri Lanka. According to the Sri Lanka Navy, at least 180 personnel were initially on board the ship and it was returning from the International Fleet Review 2026, a maritime exercise held in Visakhapatnam, India, when it sent out a distress signal. Following the incident, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian warship in international waters, describing it as the first such sinking of an enemy ship by a U.S. submarine since World War II. For Sri Lanka, a strategic location at the confluence of important maritime routes, it is both a politically and environmentally distressing moment.  Speaking to media in Colombo, Buddhika Sampath, spokesman for the Sri Lanka Navy, said search and rescue troops were deployed as soon as the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received the distress call. “We didn’t see a ship except for some oil patches and life rafts,” Sampath told local journalists at a media briefing. “The Navy rescued 32 individuals aboard the ship, but by the time we reached the frigate, several bodies were floating near the vessel,” he said. Map shows Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone. Image courtesy of the Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase, Flanders Marine Institute. No oil spill yet Speaking to Mongabay, Sampath confirmed that an oil spill has not been detected yet. A total of 90 bodies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/sri-lankan-waters-under-close-watch-following-wreckage-of-iranian-warship/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/sri-lankan-waters-under-close-watch-following-wreckage-of-iranian-warship/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315375</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Involuntary parks: Human conflict is creating unintended refuges for wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/involuntary-parks-human-conflict-is-creating-unintended-refuges-for-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/involuntary-parks-human-conflict-is-creating-unintended-refuges-for-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jan 2026 16:10:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Annelise Giseburt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/15133046/11-BANNER-IMAGE-Mule-deer-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312997</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Deforestation, Degraded Lands, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Land Conflict, Land Use Change, Planetary Boundaries, Pollution, War, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Few locations on Earth are as haunting or deeply ironic as so-called involuntary parks — places too toxic, dangerous, or otherwise made off-limits for human habitation, but which have paradoxically and unintentionally become sanctuaries for wildlife in our absence. As the name coined by science fiction author Bruce Sterling suggests, involuntary parks weren’t established for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Few locations on Earth are as haunting or deeply ironic as so-called involuntary parks — places too toxic, dangerous, or otherwise made off-limits for human habitation, but which have paradoxically and unintentionally become sanctuaries for wildlife in our absence. As the name coined by science fiction author Bruce Sterling suggests, involuntary parks weren’t established for conservation — and in many cases aren’t formally recognized as preserves. Some encompass former nuclear, military or manufacturing complexes and/or their buffer zones. Some are sites of major environmental disasters, former battlefields laced with unexploded munitions, or slices of no-man’s land demarcating tense borders between geopolitical rivals. Landmine warning sign in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a legacy of the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. In Ukraine, land mines have rendered large areas off-limits to people, while past wars left huge areas pocked by land mines in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Iraq, Syria, Angola and elsewhere, despite a global treaty banning their use. Image by Darij Zadnikar via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). Despite their often destructive origins, a growing number of these involuntary parks have, over time, been officially designated as protected wildlife refuges or cross-border peace parks, actively managed by government organizations and advocated for by citizens and researchers — not so “involuntary” anymore. It’s an attractive narrative. But without sufficient context, the genesis of an involuntary park (a process also controversially dubbed passive rewilding) can “imply that nature simply fixes itself, or that in the absence of human intervention, a favorable recovery inevitably occurs at sites that may&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/involuntary-parks-human-conflict-is-creating-unintended-refuges-for-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/involuntary-parks-human-conflict-is-creating-unintended-refuges-for-wildlife/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312997</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Satellite data show burst of deforestation in Myanmar rare earth mining hotspots</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/satellite-data-show-burst-of-deforestation-in-myanmar-rare-earth-mining-hotspots/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/satellite-data-show-burst-of-deforestation-in-myanmar-rare-earth-mining-hotspots/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2025 15:51:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Latoya AbuluSonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/16075624/drone-shot-of-mining-site-in-Myanmar-EARTH-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305968</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Forest Trackers]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, data, Deforestation, Deforestation Alert System, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Governance, Land Use Change, Mining, Pollution, Rainforests, Regulations, Remote Sensing, Rivers, Satellite Imagery, Social Conflict, Tropical Deforestation, War, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Myanmar’s Kachin state, near the border with China, is a global hub for rare earth minerals. But the dearth of regulations over mining these resources has come at a steep cost to the area’s subtropical and moist forests, according to researchers and satellite imagery collected by Mongabay. Civil society sources in the region, who requested [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Myanmar’s Kachin state, near the border with China, is a global hub for rare earth minerals. But the dearth of regulations over mining these resources has come at a steep cost to the area’s subtropical and moist forests, according to researchers and satellite imagery collected by Mongabay. Civil society sources in the region, who requested anonymity due to security concerns in the warring country, say mining activities are also causing alarming impacts on human health, women, soil and rivers. A spokesperson from a local organization in Myanmar told Mongabay that mining in Chipwi and Momauk townships, where much of the state’s rare earth mining is concentrated, increased rapidly in late 2021, the year the coup d’état and civil war began. This was “especially in areas under informal control or lacking proper environmental oversight,” the spokesperson said. Bhamo is another township where rare earth mining is taking place. “There has [also] been a noticeable rise in deforestation since around 2018, with sharp increases particularly around mining zones due to road construction, land clearing for extraction activities, and widespread tree cutting for fuelwood or to dry the rare earth sludge,” the spokesperson told Mongabay by text message. From 2018 to 2024, Chipwi, Momauk and Bhamo lost about 32,720 hectares (80,850 acres) of tree cover, according to data from Global Forest Watch. Momauk saw the highest loss, with 12,100 hectares (about 30,000 acres). Mining has since slowed down or been suspended in some places after the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), whose armed wing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/satellite-data-show-burst-of-deforestation-in-myanmar-rare-earth-mining-hotspots/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/satellite-data-show-burst-of-deforestation-in-myanmar-rare-earth-mining-hotspots/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305968</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Uncovering forest loss in gorilla park six months after M23 offensive in the DRC</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/uncovering-forest-loss-in-gorilla-park-six-months-after-m23-offensive-in-the-drc/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/uncovering-forest-loss-in-gorilla-park-six-months-after-m23-offensive-in-the-drc/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2025 21:23:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie TotoLatoya Abulu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/28051436/52647428455_45a6f7984d_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303302</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and East Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Deforestation, Forest Loss, Forests, Human Rights, Illegal Logging, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Logging, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Trade, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Six months ago, the M23 rebel group seized Goma, one of the largest cities in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the time since, local activists and satellite images compiled by Mongabay have identified sites with soaring forest loss in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, southwest of Goma. In this vast area of primary [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Six months ago, the M23 rebel group seized Goma, one of the largest cities in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the time since, local activists and satellite images compiled by Mongabay have identified sites with soaring forest loss in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, southwest of Goma. In this vast area of primary forest, home to eastern lowland gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri), researchers attribute these spikes of forest loss to the expansion of illegal charcoal production, collapsing conservation enforcement, and land conflicts. In November 2021, the Rwanda-backed rebel group resurfaced in the DRC’s North Kivu province after nearly a decade of relative absence from the region. Events escalated in January and February 2025, when M23 launched a rapid offensive and seized control of critical areas in both North and South Kivu provinces, including the respective provincial capitals, Goma and Bukavu. These areas remain under M23 control to this day. Beyond these major cities, the armed group also controls access to key mining zones and globally significant protected areas, such as Virunga National Park and Kahuzi-Biega National Park, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. So far, the conflict is having a tangible impact on biodiversity by exacerbating existing conservation challenges and deforestation, researchers say. In Kahuzi-Biega, satellite images from Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Union’s space program, show sharp declines in forest cover between January and July 2025. Areas that were green six months ago, covered in lush, primary forest, now show patches of bare earth. Mongabay&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/uncovering-forest-loss-in-gorilla-park-six-months-after-m23-offensive-in-the-drc/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/uncovering-forest-loss-in-gorilla-park-six-months-after-m23-offensive-in-the-drc/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303302</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Poaching intensifies in M23-occupied areas of Virunga National Park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/poaching-intensifies-in-m23-occupied-areas-of-virunga-national-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/poaching-intensifies-in-m23-occupied-areas-of-virunga-national-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2025 20:19:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/30201847/21271677985_88ac6d680d_k-e1746044266982-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298437</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and East Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conflict, Corruption, Deforestation, Forests, Gorillas, Illegal Trade, Rainforests, Traditional People, Tropical Deforestation, War, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The intensifying security crisis in parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the years is undermining wildlife protection in Virunga National Park, say officials and local residents. The growing clashes in early 2025 between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, local militias known as the Wazalendo, and the M23 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The intensifying security crisis in parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the years is undermining wildlife protection in Virunga National Park, say officials and local residents. The growing clashes in early 2025 between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, local militias known as the Wazalendo, and the M23 (March 23 movement), which occupies large territory in the national park, is leading to poaching and illegal trade. Some residents are taking advantage of the climate of insecurity to carry out illegal activities that are destroying habitats, often cooperating with armed groups, according to a 2023 report by the Centre for Education for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development (CEPED). On March 11, 2025, park authorities discovered a young gorilla caught in a poacher’s trap. &#8220;Thanks to the rapid intervention of our monitoring team and veterinarians, Fazili [the young gorilla] received emergency care, including the removal of the trap and treatment for his injuries,&#8221; stated officials on the Virunga National Park’s X account (formerly Twitter). Partial view of a mountain range in Virunga National Park in North Kivu, DRC. Image by MONUSCO/Abel Kavanagh via Wikimédia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0). A representative from CREDHO, an environmental and human rights research center in North Kivu, explained that since April 2024, eco-guards had to leave several strategic positions due to M23 threats. These include Rwindi in Rutshuru territory, in the heart of Virunga National Park at the crossroads between Kiwanja-Kanyabayonga on national road number two linking the territories of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/poaching-intensifies-in-m23-occupied-areas-of-virunga-national-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/poaching-intensifies-in-m23-occupied-areas-of-virunga-national-park/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298437</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Armed groups and junta profit as toxic mines devour southern Myanmar</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/armed-groups-and-junta-profit-as-toxic-mines-devour-southern-myanmar/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/armed-groups-and-junta-profit-as-toxic-mines-devour-southern-myanmar/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Apr 2025 18:45:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dawei Watch]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/22224424/Mining-site-in-Ye-Phyu-Township-Tanintharyi-around-October-2024--768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297954</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Environment, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Land Use Change, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Rivers, War, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In July 2024, Maung Tu, 40, a manager at a mining company, purchased a betel nut farm of 2.4 hectares, or 6 acres, near the southern tip of Myanmar for nearly seven times the market price, paying approximately 200 million kyat (about $50,000 at the black-market exchange rate). He has little interest in the cash [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In July 2024, Maung Tu, 40, a manager at a mining company, purchased a betel nut farm of 2.4 hectares, or 6 acres, near the southern tip of Myanmar for nearly seven times the market price, paying approximately 200 million kyat (about $50,000 at the black-market exchange rate). He has little interest in the cash crop, despite the long-held cultural tradition of chewing betel nuts in the country. Instead, his focus is on extracting metal from the land. “If the price of lead is good, the land price is good. They are directly proportional. If I am confident about the land’s potential, I will pay whatever price they ask,” Maung Tu said. This is because while mining is more dangerous, the profit margin is staggeringly high compared to farming. &#8220;The primary mineral products from Tanintharyi are tin and tungsten, with lead extracted as a byproduct during the mining process,” explains a Myanmar mining expert in Tanintharyi. ”Before being processed abroad, the raw mineral ores contain a mixture of lead, tin, and tungsten.” Once mined, the raw materials are transported to Thailand, to be cleaned and processed, and then on to China. Local sellers said they don’t know who the eventual Chinese buyers are or what the metals are used for — but said armed groups in Myanmar and Thai traders are involved. Tin and tungsten have a wide variety of industrial applications, ranging from aerospace components to electrodes. Globally, the vast majority of lead consumption is for use in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/armed-groups-and-junta-profit-as-toxic-mines-devour-southern-myanmar/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/armed-groups-and-junta-profit-as-toxic-mines-devour-southern-myanmar/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297954</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Where war once raged in Iraq, Yezidi women plant hope</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/where-war-once-raged-in-iraq-yezidi-women-plant-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/where-war-once-raged-in-iraq-yezidi-women-plant-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Apr 2025 15:25:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robert Bociaga]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/14123702/Yezidi-women-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297536</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iraq, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Desertification, Ecosystems, Education, Environment, Forestry, Gender, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Landscape Restoration, Restoration, Sustainable Development, Trees, War, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KHANKE, Iraq — In the wind-swept town of Khanke in northern Iraq, a fragile tree stands as a quiet symbol of resilience. Its slender trunk bends slightly in the dry breeze, its roots gripping soil once strewn with plastic waste. Beneath its shade, a group of women gathers: survivors of war, displacement, and unimaginable loss. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KHANKE, Iraq — In the wind-swept town of Khanke in northern Iraq, a fragile tree stands as a quiet symbol of resilience. Its slender trunk bends slightly in the dry breeze, its roots gripping soil once strewn with plastic waste. Beneath its shade, a group of women gathers: survivors of war, displacement, and unimaginable loss. Yet here, they are not victims — they are custodians of renewal. These women, many of them ethnic Yezidis who escaped the 2014 ISIS genocide in Sinjar district, are rebuilding not just their lives, but the landscape around them. Armed with shovels and buckets, they have turned barren spaces into green sanctuaries, planting more than 2,000 trees and nurturing hope in a place where despair once took root. Their efforts are part of Clean Green, a grassroots environmental initiative founded by Yezidi women determined to restore their surroundings. The project began with just five volunteers in 2023 but has since grown into a network of more than 40 members who plant trees, recycle, and teach children about environmental stewardship. For Suzan Haskani, a Yezidi woman who fled ISIS at the age of 14, joining Clean Green brought purpose. “When I first arrived in Khanke, I wasn’t thinking about trees or cleaning,” she says. “I was thinking about safety, like everyone else.” That sense of safety, however, feels fragile. Even as some displaced families now mull returning to Sinjar, they say their homeland has changed. “Even if Sinjar was safe, people can’t farm like before,” says&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/where-war-once-raged-in-iraq-yezidi-women-plant-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/where-war-once-raged-in-iraq-yezidi-women-plant-hope/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297536</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In ‘The Battle for Laikipia,’ the human face of resource conflict in Kenya</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/in-the-battle-for-laikipia-the-human-face-of-resource-conflict-in-kenya/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/in-the-battle-for-laikipia-the-human-face-of-resource-conflict-in-kenya/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Mar 2025 15:18:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/17142413/PAOPEN-5-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296331</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond the screen: DCEFF and Pastoralists in a Changing World]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Film, Global Environmental Crisis, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Resource Conflict, War, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KIMANA, Kenya — Lush, fertile and green, the Laikipia highlands of Kenya are renowned for their beauty and abundant grasses that feed its wildlife and livestock. They’re also the theater of some of the longest-running land disputes in the country. Traditionally occupied by the Maasai, along with their Maa-speaking cousins the Samburu and other pastoralists, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KIMANA, Kenya — Lush, fertile and green, the Laikipia highlands of Kenya are renowned for their beauty and abundant grasses that feed its wildlife and livestock. They’re also the theater of some of the longest-running land disputes in the country. Traditionally occupied by the Maasai, along with their Maa-speaking cousins the Samburu and other pastoralists, Laikipia county has a temperate climate and suitability for agriculture that made it highly coveted by British settlers at the turn of the 20th century. By 1911, colonial authorities had moved nearly all the Maasai to distant reserves in the country’s south, converting land that had been used for livestock forage into farms and cattle ranches. The echoes of this period still reverberate today. After independence, many settlers fled Laikipia for Europe — but the land they left behind did not revert back to the pastoralists who once grazed their herds there. Much of it was transferred to other Kenyans to be used for farming, or remained in the hands of the families that chose to remain. Today, massive ranches and wildlife conservancies cover more than half the county’s 9,532 square kilometers (3,680 square miles), the bulk of which are owned by descendants of those families or investors they sold them to. In the last decade, some of these ranches have been the locus of conflict between their owners and pastoralist communities who believe they were established on stolen land. Spurred on by a series of droughts, some Samburu “invaded” the ranches to look for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/in-the-battle-for-laikipia-the-human-face-of-resource-conflict-in-kenya/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/in-the-battle-for-laikipia-the-human-face-of-resource-conflict-in-kenya/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296331</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The environmental toll of the M23 conflict in eastern DRC (Analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/the-environmental-toll-of-the-m23-conflict-in-eastern-drc-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/the-environmental-toll-of-the-m23-conflict-in-eastern-drc-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Mar 2025 14:55:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fergus O’Leary SimpsonJoel MasselinkLara Collart]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/21102829/Mountain_Gorilla_Humba_family_%E2%80%93_Virunga_National_Park_31-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295333</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and East Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Conflict, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Forests, Gorillas, Governance, Illegal Logging, Illegal Mining, Logging, Mammals, Mining, National Parks, Politics, Rainforests, Resource Conflict, War, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The resurgence of the M23 (March 23 movement) rebel group has once again drawn global attention to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The humanitarian crisis—millions displaced, thousands killed, a ‘public health nightmare’ unfolding—rightly dominates headlines. Yet the conflict is having another significant and often overlooked impact: on the environment. The Kivu provinces, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The resurgence of the M23 (March 23 movement) rebel group has once again drawn global attention to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The humanitarian crisis—millions displaced, thousands killed, a ‘public health nightmare’ unfolding—rightly dominates headlines. Yet the conflict is having another significant and often overlooked impact: on the environment. The Kivu provinces, where the fighting is concentrated, are part of one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots, the Albertine Rift. Home to endangered species such as eastern lowland and mountain gorillas, as well as two UNESCO World Heritage Sites — Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks — the region is under increasing environmental pressure. Its protected areas, with resource-rich and rugged terrains, have historically served as ideal rear operating bases for non-state armed groups. Since the early 1990s, a series of conflicts have led to domino effects and left deep scars on the region’s forests and wildlife. In South Kivu’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park, for example, elephants were nearly wiped out in the early 2000s. Gorilla populations also plummeted, but as the conflict subsided and armed groups gradually withdrew from the park — along with strengthened law enforcement — their numbers began recovering to pre-conflict levels. The most recent round of conflict threatens to undo these hard-won gains. Our analysis highlights a sharp increase in deforestation since the recent conflict started in late 2021. This has been driven by a mixture of population displacements, the disruption of conservation law enforcement, and the involvement of different armed actors in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/the-environmental-toll-of-the-m23-conflict-in-eastern-drc-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/the-environmental-toll-of-the-m23-conflict-in-eastern-drc-analysis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295333</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Gaza and West Bank farmers salvage olive harvest amid displacement, destruction and Israeli settler violence</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/gaza-and-west-bank-farmers-salvage-olive-harvest-amid-displacement-destruction-and-israeli-settler-violence/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/gaza-and-west-bank-farmers-salvage-olive-harvest-amid-displacement-destruction-and-israeli-settler-violence/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Mar 2025 15:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Fitt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/04125753/Nursery-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295217</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Gaza, Middle East, Palestine, and West Bank]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Farming, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Trees, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After Israel and the de facto government of the Gaza Strip, Hamas, agreed to a ceasefire beginning Jan. 19, Gaza’s olive farmers headed back to what’s left of their Khan Yunis and Rafah olive groves for an unprecedented January 2025 harvest. Bombing by the Israeli government over the last year reduced the Gaza Strip’s 37 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After Israel and the de facto government of the Gaza Strip, Hamas, agreed to a ceasefire beginning Jan. 19, Gaza’s olive farmers headed back to what’s left of their Khan Yunis and Rafah olive groves for an unprecedented January 2025 harvest. Bombing by the Israeli government over the last year reduced the Gaza Strip’s 37 olive presses to just four, according to the U.N. humanitarian affairs office (OCHA), and most displaced farmers could not reach their groves in 2024 for the usual October-November harvest. The Israeli government launched this latest 15-month- long attack on the Gaza Strip in response to a Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 2023. “Around 74% of the cultivated olive area was destroyed … equivalent to the loss of approximately 2,290,000 olive trees,” Mahmoud Fatafta, spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture told Mongabay. It’s a small harvest at around 50 tons so far, but scarce rainfall this winter means lower water content in the olives, which preserved oil quality despite the two-month wait, according to Fatafta. Farmers were not able to test oil quality in the labs, because those had also been destroyed, so experienced sensory taste testers were used instead, he noted. Meanwhile, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli settler attacks tripled on olive farmers and their land during the 2024 harvest, compared with the three years prior, according OCHA. “We witnessed increased settler violence, including the burning of ancient trees and theft of both olives and young saplings,” said Aya Gazawi Faour,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/gaza-and-west-bank-farmers-salvage-olive-harvest-amid-displacement-destruction-and-israeli-settler-violence/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/gaza-and-west-bank-farmers-salvage-olive-harvest-amid-displacement-destruction-and-israeli-settler-violence/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295217</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Environmental &#038; rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/environmental-rights-activists-flee-and-hide-as-m23-captures-drcs-cities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/environmental-rights-activists-flee-and-hide-as-m23-captures-drcs-cities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2025 05:00:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/17232217/8.-20140329-171047-2-1-e1739834552646-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294556</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Endangered Environmentalists]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, East Africa, and Rwanda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conflict, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Environment, Forests, Human Rights, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Mining, Poverty, Rainforests, Resource Conflict, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Since Goma fell, I&#8217;ve lived in fear. I don&#8217;t dare leave my house.” These are the words of Justin Shamutwa Masumbuko, general coordinator of the Indigenous rights NGO ADELIPO-Congo. For several months now, he and his organization have been visiting camps for internally displaced people in and around the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) eastern [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Since Goma fell, I&#8217;ve lived in fear. I don&#8217;t dare leave my house.” These are the words of Justin Shamutwa Masumbuko, general coordinator of the Indigenous rights NGO ADELIPO-Congo. For several months now, he and his organization have been visiting camps for internally displaced people in and around the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) eastern city of Goma. They were there to help Indigenous Batwa people, who, according to him, continue to face discrimination, segregation and lack of social services while they fled armed conflict. But today, among those fleeing conflict and hiding in the region are activists like Shamutwa and environmentalists, who were among the few to denounce illegal extractive activities and protect natural resources in the mineral-rich region. Their work, they say, puts them in jeopardy. A recent freezing of foreign aid, like USAID, has also left some Congolese conservationists without salaries and wary of how they will support themselves and their families during the conflict. Since the resurgence of the armed group M23 (March 23 Movement) in 2021, fighting with other armed groups and the DRC’s military forced people throughout the eastern North Kivu province to escape. Over time, at least nine displacement camps sprung up in the province’s capital, Goma, sheltering hundreds of thousands of people in extremely poor conditions. In January, fighting intensified and forced another 400,000 people to flee, according to the United Nations refugee agency. On Jan. 21, the M23, in association with Rwanda’s military (the Rwanda Defence Force), seized Minova (a town&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/environmental-rights-activists-flee-and-hide-as-m23-captures-drcs-cities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/environmental-rights-activists-flee-and-hide-as-m23-captures-drcs-cities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294556</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Communities launch new Thawthi Taw-Oo Indigenous Park amid Myanmar civil war</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/communities-launch-new-thawthi-taw-oo-indigenous-park-amid-myanmar-civil-war/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/communities-launch-new-thawthi-taw-oo-indigenous-park-amid-myanmar-civil-war/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Dec 2024 18:44:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/17175248/40-TTIP-landscape-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291841</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous-led conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, Salween River, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Military, Rainforests, Traditional People, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amid Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, Karen and other ethnic minority communities have officially launched the Thawthi Taw-Oo Indigenous Park, a new community-led conservation area in the northern Kayin state. The launch lasted December 10-12, 2024. Organizers of the park say this new conservation area is a move to strengthen their self-determination and agency over lands [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amid Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, Karen and other ethnic minority communities have officially launched the Thawthi Taw-Oo Indigenous Park, a new community-led conservation area in the northern Kayin state. The launch lasted December 10-12, 2024. Organizers of the park say this new conservation area is a move to strengthen their self-determination and agency over lands and resources. “Launching the park was an announcement of our rights over the lands and natural resources that we have cared for for generations with our customary laws, governance and administration,” said Saw Thaw Tu Htoo, one of the founders of the park’s committee and the secretary of Taw-Oo district. Covering an area of 575,450 hectares (1,421,967 acres) and 318 villages, the park includes 28 kaws (ancestral customary lands), four community forests, seven watersheds, six reserved forests and one wildlife sanctuary. It is just north of the Salween Peace Park, an award-winning Karen-led protected area of similar size, and is situated in one of the most biodiverse areas of the Asia-Pacific. The founders of the park’s committee, Saw Ma Bu Htoo and Saw Thaw Tu Htoo, told Mongabay that the conservation area was envisioned back in 2017. The park was created in a collaboration between communities, the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) civil society organization and the forestry and agriculture departments of the Karen National Union (KNU), a political organization vying for Karen independence. Representatives of these groups sit on the park’s management committee. Many ethnic groups, including Karen subgroups, the Pa’O and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/communities-launch-new-thawthi-taw-oo-indigenous-park-amid-myanmar-civil-war/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/communities-launch-new-thawthi-taw-oo-indigenous-park-amid-myanmar-civil-war/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291841</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amid haze of war, Lebanese activists helped turtle hatchlings journey to sea</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/amid-haze-of-war-lebanese-activists-helped-turtle-hatchlings-journey-to-sea/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/amid-haze-of-war-lebanese-activists-helped-turtle-hatchlings-journey-to-sea/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Sep 2024 14:15:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amélie David]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/25113802/loggerhead-turtle-hatchling-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287832</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Lebanon, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Anthropocene, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Endangered Species, Environment, Human-wildlife Conflict, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Poaching, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Social Conflict, Tourism, Turtles, War, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BEIRUT — Baby loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) made their way from their sandy nests in South Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea, their flippers seemingly too large for their tiny bodies. Videos circulating on social media show these vulnerable creatures being carefully guided by a group of dedicated people to ensure [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BEIRUT — Baby loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) made their way from their sandy nests in South Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea, their flippers seemingly too large for their tiny bodies. Videos circulating on social media show these vulnerable creatures being carefully guided by a group of dedicated people to ensure they reach the water safely. Between mid-June and mid-September, such scenes regularly occurred at Al-Mansouri Beach, south of the city of Tyre, even as war loomed audibly in the background. The people, part of a volunteer group that has been tending the beach and the turtle nests there for two decades, continued their work this nesting season undeterred by the violence around them. A series of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian Shia party in Lebanon, and Israel have spiraled since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023. In South Lebanon, more than 600 people had been killed, including at least 147 civilians, as of Sept. 20, and more than 111,000 had been displaced from their homes, according to the latest figures from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Numbers have risen sharply since the recent escalation in which Israel detonated pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah militants and struck hundreds of targets, killing more than 500 additional people across the country including many civilians as of Sept. 23, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. In northern Israel, conflict with Hezbollah has killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands, according&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/amid-haze-of-war-lebanese-activists-helped-turtle-hatchlings-journey-to-sea/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/amid-haze-of-war-lebanese-activists-helped-turtle-hatchlings-journey-to-sea/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287832</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Six months after first Houthi ship sinking, attacks slick Red Sea with oil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/six-months-after-first-houthi-ship-sinking-attacks-slick-red-sea-with-oil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/six-months-after-first-houthi-ship-sinking-attacks-slick-red-sea-with-oil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2024 18:13:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Fitt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/03080644/Rubymar-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286845</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Middle East and Yemen]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Ecosystems, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Oceans, Oil, Oil Spills, Pollution, War, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Exactly six months ago, the Rubymar bulk carrier became the first ship sunk in a series of attacks by the Houthis protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 2023. On March 2, the Yemeni civil war opposition group sent the merchant ship and her cargo of oil and fertilizer to the bottom of the Bab [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Exactly six months ago, the Rubymar bulk carrier became the first ship sunk in a series of attacks by the Houthis protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 2023. On March 2, the Yemeni civil war opposition group sent the merchant ship and her cargo of oil and fertilizer to the bottom of the Bab el Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea. There it still lurks, continuing to stoke fears of an environmental crisis when it eventually disintegrates. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have struck dozens more vessels, sinking at least one more. The Red Sea is becoming increasingly fraught with abandoned ships and damaged vessels continuing their journey, often trailing oil. Larger oil slicks visible through satellite imagery more than doubled in the region between 2023 and 2024, threatening marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of local people who depend upon them. The most recent significant Houthi-claimed strike was against the Greek-flagged Sounion oil tanker. Unidentified projectiles hit it on Aug. 21, forcing its Russian and Filipino crew to evacuate. Two days later, the Houthis detonated explosive charges on board the abandoned tanker, leaving almost 1 million barrels of crude oil adrift in a burning ship. “The increasing number of incidents in the Red Sea is a direct result of the escalating tension gripping our region,” Julian Jreissati, program director for Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa, told Mongabay. “As the situation in the Middle East grows increasingly volatile, the humanitarian and environmental crises unfolding in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/six-months-after-first-houthi-ship-sinking-attacks-slick-red-sea-with-oil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/six-months-after-first-houthi-ship-sinking-attacks-slick-red-sea-with-oil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286845</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Trained to stop poaching, Benin park rangers instead face jihadists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/trained-to-stop-poaching-benin-park-rangers-instead-face-jihadists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/trained-to-stop-poaching-benin-park-rangers-instead-face-jihadists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2024 10:41:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/22092032/Screenshot-2024-08-22-at-11.19.56%E2%80%AFAM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286414</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Benin, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Governance, Law Enforcement, Politics, Protected Areas, Terrorism, War, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rangers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Northern Benin is fast becoming one of the most dangerous areas in the world for wildlife rangers: In late July, five rangers working for the conservation NGO African Parks were killed in an attack by militants along with seven Beninese soldiers in W National Park, which borders Burkina Faso and Niger. The incident comes just [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Northern Benin is fast becoming one of the most dangerous areas in the world for wildlife rangers: In late July, five rangers working for the conservation NGO African Parks were killed in an attack by militants along with seven Beninese soldiers in W National Park, which borders Burkina Faso and Niger. The incident comes just over two years after a roadside bomb ambush claimed the lives of five African Parks rangers and a French anti-poaching trainer. That attack also took place inside W, which is now a crucial front in West Africa’s struggle to contain jihadist insurgencies that began expanding across the Sahel region in 2011. W is part of the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex, a 34,000-square-kilometer (13,100-square-mile) landscape that contains some of the region’s last remaining elephants, cheetahs and lions. A sprawling mix of wooded savanna, swampy estuaries and gallery forests, W-Arly-Pendjari is one of the few remaining habitats capable of carrying sizeable populations of major fauna in West Africa. The complex lies across the borders of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. Beginning in the late 2010s, militant groups began to entrench themselves in the latter two, drawn by a governance vacuum, the landscape’s dense forests and its lucrative trade and smuggling routes. “The jihadists are able to navigate through the park quite easily, particularly on the Burkina and Niger side,” said Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, deputy director of the International Crisis Group’s Sahel Project, and the author of a 2023 report about activity of armed groups inside W. “The Benin authorities&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/trained-to-stop-poaching-benin-park-rangers-instead-face-jihadists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/trained-to-stop-poaching-benin-park-rangers-instead-face-jihadists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286414</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Not waiting for the government, Myanmar’s Karen people register their own lands</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/not-waiting-for-the-government-myanmars-karen-people-register-their-own-lands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/not-waiting-for-the-government-myanmars-karen-people-register-their-own-lands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2024 21:38:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/26114151/Villagers-with-their-land-title-certificates-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279167</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Law, Military, Protected Areas, Social Conflict, Tropical Forests, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Community land for most Indigenous Karen people in Myanmar is not subject to ownership — it is rather a source of their faith, a divine creator of which the Karen are solely the custodians. Despite this belief, Karen communities living in the southern Kayin state (or Kawthoolei, as Karen nationalists call it) have taken part [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Community land for most Indigenous Karen people in Myanmar is not subject to ownership — it is rather a source of their faith, a divine creator of which the Karen are solely the custodians. Despite this belief, Karen communities living in the southern Kayin state (or Kawthoolei, as Karen nationalists call it) have taken part in a land registration effort for more than a decade now. Karen leaders and activists map out ancestral lands in seven districts of the state, register them in a database and provide locals with their own land title certificates — all without asking the central government. It was the aftermath of frequent violent attacks that killed and displaced many people from their lands that led to the creation of this registration policy, says P’doh Saw Lay Say, the Karen head of the Kawthoolei Agriculture Department (KAD), a unit under the main political group of the Karen people, the Karen National Union (KNU). It emerged as a desire to strengthen what outsiders recognize as their lands and protect the ecosystems in this Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot that they have stewarded for generations. To worry about the land and stress over their legal relationship with it is the condition of the Karen people today. Demarcation of customary land. The Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN), an environmental organization, provided inputs to a land policy in 2012 and collaborated with the KNU to demarcate agricultural plots and community forests. Image courtesy of KESAN. Amid the decades-long armed conflict&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/not-waiting-for-the-government-myanmars-karen-people-register-their-own-lands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/not-waiting-for-the-government-myanmars-karen-people-register-their-own-lands/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279167</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nature-based recovery needed for Ukraine’s damaged protected areas (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/nature-based-recovery-needed-for-ukraines-damaged-protected-areas-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/nature-based-recovery-needed-for-ukraines-damaged-protected-areas-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Dec 2023 01:33:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hannah L. Timmins]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/05/05083544/A-car-burns-after-a-Russian-bombardment-in-Kharkiv-Ukraine-e1675105849389-768x448.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276963</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Eastern Europe, Europe, European Union, Russia, and Ukraine]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Conflict, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Landscape Restoration, Restoration, Rewilding, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As winter closes in, Ukraine is facing demoralizing news. Western support for the war is faltering, Ukrainian troops in the east are being pushed onto the back foot amid a Russian troop surge, and Kyiv is once again under attack from Russian drone strikes targeting energy infrastructure, the biggest such attacks since the invasion began. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As winter closes in, Ukraine is facing demoralizing news. Western support for the war is faltering, Ukrainian troops in the east are being pushed onto the back foot amid a Russian troop surge, and Kyiv is once again under attack from Russian drone strikes targeting energy infrastructure, the biggest such attacks since the invasion began. US officials have estimated Ukraine&#8217;s human death toll at over 120,000, and the figure will continue to grow. But I, as a conservationist, am expecting additional losses that have gone largely unreported. A group of Ukrainian ecologists and myself have been monitoring the impacts to Ukraine’s nature caused by the invasion, we know that another winter of conflict will wreak yet more death and destruction on Ukraine’s precious ecosystems, among the most biodiverse on the European continent. In the course of our research — which has tracked the numerous assaults conducted in protected areas, through which the frontline has run — we have made many troubling discoveries. Aftermath of a forest fire caused by fighting in Sviati Hory National Nature Park. Image courtesy of Kateryna Polyanska/Environment People Law. Areas rich in biodiversity often disproportionately overlap with sites of armed conflict. The invasion of Ukraine has been no exception. Russian troops have utilized protected areas both in an attempt to access strategic Ukrainian settlements, but also as locations in which to conduct active warfare. We have compiled first and second-hand research and reports on the impacts for Ukraine’s forests, wetlands, aquatic ecosystems, seas, islands and Europe’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/nature-based-recovery-needed-for-ukraines-damaged-protected-areas-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/nature-based-recovery-needed-for-ukraines-damaged-protected-areas-analysis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276963</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Palestinian olive farmers hold tight to their roots amid surge in settler attacks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/palestinian-olive-farmers-hold-tight-to-their-roots-amid-surge-in-settler-attacks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/palestinian-olive-farmers-hold-tight-to-their-roots-amid-surge-in-settler-attacks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Nov 2023 15:32:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Marta Vidal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/29185312/1-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276071</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Gaza, Middle East, Palestine, and West Bank]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Farming, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Trees, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The first rainfall of autumn after months of drought signals the start of the olive harvest, the most important time of year for many Palestinian farmers. Between October and November, Palestinians gather mats, ladders and buckets to pick olives and picnic in orchards that have been passed down through generations. “Many farmers rely completely on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The first rainfall of autumn after months of drought signals the start of the olive harvest, the most important time of year for many Palestinian farmers. Between October and November, Palestinians gather mats, ladders and buckets to pick olives and picnic in orchards that have been passed down through generations. “Many farmers rely completely on their olive harvest,” says Ghassan Najjar, a 35-year-old organic farmer using agroecology techniques in Burin, a village near Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank. “It’s our livelihood, our source of life.” Nearly half of all cultivated land in the occupied West Bank and Gaza is planted with more than 10 million olive trees of mostly native, drought-resilient varieties. Around 100,000 Palestinian families are estimated to rely on these trees as a source of income. Most of the olives are sent to presses to produce olive oil, a staple in Mediterranean cuisine, while some are cured for eating and are also used to make medicine and soap. But what used to be a cherished time with extended family and friends coming together to pick olives, drink tea and share food under the trees has become increasingly dangerous and mournful in the West Bank. According to human rights organizations, Israeli settlers who claim the land, in violation of U.N. resolutions, regularly attack Palestinian farmers, prevent them from reaching their ancestral lands, steal their olives and agricultural equipment, and destroy their olive trees. While global attention is focused on the war in Gaza, farmers across the West&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/palestinian-olive-farmers-hold-tight-to-their-roots-amid-surge-in-settler-attacks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/palestinian-olive-farmers-hold-tight-to-their-roots-amid-surge-in-settler-attacks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276071</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study: Despite armed conflicts, Indigenous lands have better environment quality</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/study-despite-armed-conflicts-indigenous-lands-have-better-environment-quality/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/study-despite-armed-conflicts-indigenous-lands-have-better-environment-quality/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Oct 2023 01:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/29154836/GanaGold_yanomami_photo04-Marcelo-Camargo_Agencia-Brasil-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274400</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous-led conservation and Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Politics, Resource Conflict, Social Conflict, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For nearly 2,000 years, the Indigenous Karen people of southeast Myanmar have led a relatively tranquil life in the hilly forests that are part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. But in the last seven decades, Karen civilians have found themselves entangled in the world’s longest armed conflict, between the Karen National Union and the Myanmar [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For nearly 2,000 years, the Indigenous Karen people of southeast Myanmar have led a relatively tranquil life in the hilly forests that are part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. But in the last seven decades, Karen civilians have found themselves entangled in the world’s longest armed conflict, between the Karen National Union and the Myanmar military regime—a battle over self-determination that’s been a part of the wider Myanmar civil war. For them, the forests their ancestors once stewarded are also shelter to retreat to as they flee from the repeated deadly airstrikes by the military regime on their villages, schools and hospitals. “It&#8217;s because they&#8217;ve been protecting the forest and maintaining biodiversity that they have these safe places to escape to whenever the Burmese army have come in the past,” says Casper Palmano, program adviser at the nonprofit Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN), based in neighboring Thailand. Armed conflicts in a biodiversity hotspot, like those faced by the Karen people, aren’t just a problem in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. Between 1950 and 2000, nine out of 10 major armed conflicts have occurred in countries with areas brimming with biodiversity. More than 80% of these conflicts in the hotspots have led to wide-scale biodiversity loss, deforestation and other environmental impacts. Karen villagers seeking shelter following the March 2021 airstrikes at an camp for internally displaced people within the Salween Peace Park, an Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. Image courtesy of KESAN. And in the last 70 years, a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/study-despite-armed-conflicts-indigenous-lands-have-better-environment-quality/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/study-despite-armed-conflicts-indigenous-lands-have-better-environment-quality/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-274400</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Militarized conservation: Insecurity for some, security for others? (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/militarized-conservation-insecurity-for-some-security-for-others-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/militarized-conservation-insecurity-for-some-security-for-others-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jun 2023 14:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fergus O’Leary SimpsonLorenzo Pellegrini]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/08082716/2016-09-29-nicolon-18_edited-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=269399</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Conflict, Conservation, Controversial, Deforestation, Forests, Human Rights, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Military, Mining, Mongabay Data Studio, Rainforests, Traditional People, Tropical Deforestation, War, and Wildlife Rangers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The past decade has seen a wave of academic and activist writings criticizing the use of militarized conservation to protect nature. In this commentary piece, we argue that the use of armed park guards and soldiers from national armies to secure protected areas leads to violent outcomes for some Indigenous and local communities who venture [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The past decade has seen a wave of academic and activist writings criticizing the use of militarized conservation to protect nature. In this commentary piece, we argue that the use of armed park guards and soldiers from national armies to secure protected areas leads to violent outcomes for some Indigenous and local communities who venture into these areas — often their traditional lands. However, other people living around protected areas see militarized conservation as providing a source of security in regions where the state is weak and multiple violent actors vie for control of land and resources. Militarized conservation, in other words, has ambivalent effects on security and stability in regions where armed conflict is present. As such, it is viewed both positively and negatively by the different people affected by it. In 2022, Minority Rights Group shocked the world with the release of its report “To Purge the Forest by Force,” which detailed reported violent attempts by armed park guards to expel Indigenous Batwa people from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park — their ancestral lands — which some groups had forcibly returned to. With accounts of murder, torture and gang rape committed by armed park guards and government soldiers, for many observers the report epitomized the evils of militarized conservation that prevents Indigenous peoples from living on and off of their traditional lands by the threat of a gun. The report’s publication has fed into debates questioning and rebuking the use of these approaches in Kahuzi-Biega&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/militarized-conservation-insecurity-for-some-security-for-others-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/militarized-conservation-insecurity-for-some-security-for-others-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-269399</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Award-winning, Indigenous peace park dragged into fierce conflict in Myanmar</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/award-winning-indigenous-peace-park-dragged-into-fierce-conflict-in-myanmar/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/award-winning-indigenous-peace-park-dragged-into-fierce-conflict-in-myanmar/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2023 19:41:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/15181739/11.-Villagers-seeking-shelter-following-the-March-2021-airstrikes-at-an-IDP-camp-within-the-Salween-Peace-Park-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268611</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation, Indigenous-led conservation, and Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Culture, Deforestation, Endangered Environmentalists, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Governance, Human Rights, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Law, Military, Mining, Mongabay Data Studio, Parks, Protected Areas, Social Conflict, Solutions, Tropical Forests, War, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On 27 March 2021, the natural sounds of the teak and bamboo forests of eastern Myanmar — calling birds, croaking frogs and barking deer — were drowned out by a deluge of falling bombs. Over the following week, the bombs continued to fall on forests and villages, damaging schools, hospitals and farmland, in the heart [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On 27 March 2021, the natural sounds of the teak and bamboo forests of eastern Myanmar — calling birds, croaking frogs and barking deer — were drowned out by a deluge of falling bombs. Over the following week, the bombs continued to fall on forests and villages, damaging schools, hospitals and farmland, in the heart of Salween Peace Park, an award-winning community-led initiative in Karen State. The deadly airstrikes, staged by the military-led State Administration Council that carried out the February 2021 coup that ousted the country’s civilian government from power, affected tens of thousands of villagers, including thousands of refugees already seeking safety in a nearby internally displaced people (IDP) camp close to the border with Thailand. By April 1, 2021, military forces had carried out several airstrikes, killing at least 19 people, injuring at least 27 more and forcing several thousands to flee their villages in search of safe refuge, according to the ICCA Consortium, a global association that recognizes and supports Indigenous peoples and local communities’ conservation areas. Mere months prior to the coup, the Salween Peace Park (SPP), a 5,485,000-hectare (1.4-million acre) expanse of largely intact teak forest west of the Salween River in Karen State, was lauded internationally for its progress and ambitions toward peace, conservation, self-determination and cultural preservation. People, villages, the forest, conservation zone and mixed land uses are all delineated in the Salween Peace Park in a customary land use system called &#8216;Kaw&#8217;. Image courtesy of KESAN. Wildlife and biodiversity surveys are&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/award-winning-indigenous-peace-park-dragged-into-fierce-conflict-in-myanmar/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/award-winning-indigenous-peace-park-dragged-into-fierce-conflict-in-myanmar/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-268611</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Russian invasion hinders global biodiversity conservation, study shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/russian-invasion-hinders-global-biodiversity-conservation-study-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/russian-invasion-hinders-global-biodiversity-conservation-study-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Feb 2023 11:30:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/02/20103535/Photo1.Spoon-Billed.Sandpiper.Credit.Sayam_.Chowdhury-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265741</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Eastern Europe, Europe, and Russia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Habitat, Migration, Politics, War, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The red-breasted goose is a well-traveled bird. From their breeding grounds in Arctic Siberia, flocks typically migrate over northern Kazakhstan through the Russian Republic of Kalmykia and Rostov Oblast to balmier climes near the shores of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. Wandering individuals — vagrants, in the parlance of ornithologists — have [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The red-breasted goose is a well-traveled bird. From their breeding grounds in Arctic Siberia, flocks typically migrate over northern Kazakhstan through the Russian Republic of Kalmykia and Rostov Oblast to balmier climes near the shores of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. Wandering individuals — vagrants, in the parlance of ornithologists — have turned up as far afield as Ireland, India and Israel and Palestine, and they even grace ancient Egyptian frescos. Diminutive and snub-nosed, an adult red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis) is striking, painted as if by a master decoy maker with swatches of white, dark black and the auburn it’s named for. Though legally protected throughout its range, its beauty makes it a sought-after prize for illegal hunters, and the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, now lists the bird as vulnerable. But energy projects, fishing and climate change are also dragging down its numbers. For more than a decade, conservation organizations from around the region have worked across borders to codify protections for the red-breasted goose. “You cannot protect a migratory species without acting actively in all the range countries,” Nicky Petkov, a project manager at the nonprofit Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, told Mongabay. “This is one of the flyway basics.” A flock of red-breasted geese (Branta ruficollis). For more than a decade, conservation organizations from around the region have worked across borders to codify protections for the red-breasted goose, which is a sought-after prize for illegal hunters. Image courtesy of Sonia Rozenfeld.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/russian-invasion-hinders-global-biodiversity-conservation-study-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/russian-invasion-hinders-global-biodiversity-conservation-study-shows/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-265741</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ukrainian ecologists say nature will suffer no matter war&#8217;s result (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/ukrainian-ecologists-say-nature-will-suffer-no-matter-wars-result-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/ukrainian-ecologists-say-nature-will-suffer-no-matter-wars-result-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jan 2023 19:15:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Oleksii VasyliukYuliia Spinova]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/05/05083544/A-car-burns-after-a-Russian-bombardment-in-Kharkiv-Ukraine-e1675105849389-768x448.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265101</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Eastern Europe, Europe, European Union, and Ukraine]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conflict, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Human-wildlife Conflict, Landscape Restoration, Restoration, War, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At the start of last month’s UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, UN Environmental Programme Executive Director, Inger Andersen, made the memorable statement, “we are at war with nature” and must “make peace.” As Ukrainian ecologists now in Kyiv doing our work despite unsteady electricity — a full hour of uninterrupted internet is a luxury [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At the start of last month’s UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, UN Environmental Programme Executive Director, Inger Andersen, made the memorable statement, “we are at war with nature” and must “make peace.” As Ukrainian ecologists now in Kyiv doing our work despite unsteady electricity — a full hour of uninterrupted internet is a luxury — and air raid sirens and explosions, we are constantly reminded of the extent to which war itself is at war with nature. For on top of the tragic loss of human life and the destruction of towns and cities, our country’s biodiversity is taking a beating. We would like to convey to the international community the impact the war in Ukraine is having on our flora and fauna, and suggest pathways forward. First, it’s important to understand that the war’s assault on nature did not begin in February 2022. Rather, we have been monitoring the direct and indirect impacts of military actions on Ukraine’s natural ecosystems since the 2014 hostilities. Prior to 2022, combat occurred only in Eastern Ukraine, but there even protected areas, notably distinctive Ukrainian steppe ecosystems, were affected. The current full-scale invasion has significantly expanded the war zone into sites like the Polissia, an important Ramsar site; the coast along the Black and Azov Seas; and much of the steppe, which represents about half of Ukraine’s landscape. An unexploded shell inside Kreidova Flora Nature Reserve, April 2017. Image courtesy of Dr. Yuliia Spinova. Due to the war, affected ecosystems suffer soil&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/ukrainian-ecologists-say-nature-will-suffer-no-matter-wars-result-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/ukrainian-ecologists-say-nature-will-suffer-no-matter-wars-result-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-265101</doi>				</item>
			</channel>
</rss>