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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/activism/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2026 05:45:37 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>News on Activism</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/activism/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Indonesia&#8217;s geothermal push runs into local fears at Mount Ungaran</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 13:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Triyo Handoko]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24124550/7488ea4d-a47b-4173-8648-2d577f41d37a-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330698</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Alternative Energy, Conflict, Conservation, Energy, Energy Security, Energy Transition, Environment, Geothermal Energy, Human Rights, Natural Resources, Protests, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Communities living near Mount Ungaran in Indonesia’s Central Java province have slammed plans to revive a geothermal power project there, saying it could threaten water supplies and farming livelihoods. The latest opposition follows a decision in August by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources allowing the state-owned electricity utility, PLN, to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Communities living near Mount Ungaran in Indonesia’s Central Java province have slammed plans to revive a geothermal power project there, saying it could threaten water supplies and farming livelihoods. The latest opposition follows a decision in August by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources allowing the state-owned electricity utility, PLN, to conduct geothermal exploration and development at Mount Ungaran. Local opposition to the plans began in 2008, shortly after the ministry first designated Ungaran, an active volcano, as a geothermal working area. The latest decision has revived the long-running dispute between the government and local communities. Rahman, coordinator of the Semarang Menggugat Alliance (ASM), said communities around Mount Ungaran depended on farming and local water sources, and feared the project could affect both. “We can already make a living from farming,” Rahman, a resident of Bawen subdistrict, said in early September. “If geothermal development goes ahead, we are concerned that our water sources could decline or become polluted, affecting agriculture.” Mount Ungaran’s peak as seen from the Tanggul Lawang hiking trail. Image by Triyo Handoko/Mongabay Indonesia. Indonesia sits in one of the most seismically active zones in the world, which gives it massive potential to generate electricity from geothermal energy: an estimated 23.2 gigawatts, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The ministry describes Indonesia as having the world’s largest geothermal resource potential, ahead of countries including the United States and the Philippines. But the country’s total installed geothermal capacity&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330698</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Planned US tech hub in Philippines hit over environmental and Indigenous land concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 22:04:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Michael Beltran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23152143/Protest-at-grand-hyatt-and-clashes-with-police-21-of-25-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330602</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Artificial Intelligence, Business, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Land Conflict, Law, Protests, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived at the Grand Hyatt Manila on Sept. 10 to address hundreds of foreign business representatives assembled for the Luzon Economic Corridor investors’ forum. Outside the hotel, hundreds of demonstrators had also gathered, carrying signs that read “No to Pax Silica!” The scene reflected both the government’s ambitious [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived at the Grand Hyatt Manila on Sept. 10 to address hundreds of foreign business representatives assembled for the Luzon Economic Corridor investors’ forum. Outside the hotel, hundreds of demonstrators had also gathered, carrying signs that read “No to Pax Silica!” The scene reflected both the government’s ambitious plans to ride the artificial intelligence wave, and deep ambivalence in civil society. Police confronted the crowd, shoving them with riot shields and batons on the street outside the hotel lobby. Activists say police injured at least 27 protesters and arrested five. Police, meanwhile, reported minor cuts and injuries to 16 personnel. Protester Jona Yang, from the activist-scientist group AGHAM, said she was negotiating with the police to cool tensions when they arrested her. “We want the Marcos government and investors to see the outrage all of this has caused,” Yang told Mongabay. “They’re taking away our resources and our lands.” Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) investors’ forum on Sept. 10. Image by Michael Beltran for Mongabay. Pax Silica The Luzon Economic Corridor, or LEC, is an economic initiative focused on the Philippines’ biggest island, begun in 2024. Pax Silica, the U.S.-led global pact for an AI and semiconductor supply chain not reliant on China, includes the LEC. In April 2026, Washington and Manila announced plans to build a 1,620-hectare (4,000-acre) high-tech manufacturing hub in the Central Luzon region. Pax Silica has become a lightning rod for political and environmental&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330602</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lack of data hinders fight against environmental crimes in Angola, says environmentalist</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/lack-of-data-hinders-fight-against-environmental-crimes-in-angola-says-environmentalist/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/lack-of-data-hinders-fight-against-environmental-crimes-in-angola-says-environmentalist/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2026 12:02:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Tjyakala]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/11072035/image2_DesmatamentoAngola1.CreditoAcervoEcoAngola-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329430</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Angola]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agroforestry, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Deforestation Alert System, forest degradation, Forest Loss, Forestry, NGOs, Parks, Science, Sustainable Forest Management, and timber trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Angola faces severe environmental challenges, and the govern has signed international commitments, such as the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment, to phase out hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by 2030 and cut hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 80% by 2045. However, climate crises such as prolonged droughts affecting the country’s southern region, soil degradation, and floods caused by heavy [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Angola faces severe environmental challenges, and the govern has signed international commitments, such as the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment, to phase out hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by 2030 and cut hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 80% by 2045. However, climate crises such as prolonged droughts affecting the country’s southern region, soil degradation, and floods caused by heavy rains continue to have significant social and economic impacts. It is estimated that more than 2.2 million people are affected by these phenomena. It is against this backdrop that the voice of a new generation of Angolan environmentalists is gaining prominence. Among them is 29-year-old Érica Tavares. She studied Environmental Biology at the University of Nottingham in the UK and now works with environmental conservation and youth mobilization in Angola. She is a co-founder of the NGO EcoAngola and has been at the forefront of forest advocacy, environmental education and youth participation in sustainability debates. In an interview with Mongabay Brazil, Tavares discusses her journey as an environmentalist and the issues that concern her most. Érica Tavares, co-founder of the NGO EcoAngola. Image by EcoAngola Image Bank. Mongabay: How would you describe the state of the environment in Angola in 2026? Is it better or worse than five years ago? Érica Tavares: It’s always difficult to answer that question — which I am often asked — because one of our major challenges is the analysis of [nonexistent] data and information. To conduct a comparative analysis between now and five years ago, we would need to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/lack-of-data-hinders-fight-against-environmental-crimes-in-angola-says-environmentalist/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/lack-of-data-hinders-fight-against-environmental-crimes-in-angola-says-environmentalist/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329430</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As saltwater advances, Gambian farmers rethink how to protect rice fields</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-saltwater-advances-gambian-farmers-rethink-how-to-protect-rice-fields/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-saltwater-advances-gambian-farmers-rethink-how-to-protect-rice-fields/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2026 15:42:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yero S. Bah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/10141500/TombongBarrow_KiangJifarongGambia_YeroBah-WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-06-at-12.20.50-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329393</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Gambia, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Coastal Ecosystems, Environment, Flooding, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Oceans, Sea Levels, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every year, the villagers of Kiang Jifarong contribute labor and money to build earthen dikes using clay and mud in an effort to keep seawater out of their farms. Rice fields once stretched unbroken for 5 kilometers, about 3 miles, along the Bintang Bolong estuary here in western Gambia. For generations, families cultivated rice on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every year, the villagers of Kiang Jifarong contribute labor and money to build earthen dikes using clay and mud in an effort to keep seawater out of their farms. Rice fields once stretched unbroken for 5 kilometers, about 3 miles, along the Bintang Bolong estuary here in western Gambia. For generations, families cultivated rice on these fertile lowlands, relying on seasonal floods and freshwater to sustain one of the country&#8217;s oldest farming traditions. There are now worrying gaps in this productive landscape. For 10 years now, many of the villagers have retreated inland, away from the coastline, as saltwater transforms once-productive rice fields into barren land. Farmers say saltwater stress is easy to recognize: rice leaves turn yellow, while harvested grains become light and hollow because the plants fail to develop properly. &#8220;The grains become almost empty,&#8221; says Tombong Barrow from the Kiang Jifarong village development committee, a statutory body responsible for identifying local development needs at the village level and coordinating responses to them. &#8220;The salt makes them useless.&#8221; Aerial view of the Bintang Bolong estuary at Kiang Sankandi, the Gambia. Image courtesy of Ansumana Darboe. Jonni Kinteh and Mama Njie, both veteran rice farmers, say they abandoned their fields eight years ago after repeated crop failures linked to salinity. &#8220;We have farmed these fields since childhood alongside our mothers,&#8221; Kinteh says. &#8220;Now we can no longer use them.&#8221; &#8220;Our parents farmed much closer to the river,&#8221; Barrow says. &#8220;Now those fields have been completely taken over by salt.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-saltwater-advances-gambian-farmers-rethink-how-to-protect-rice-fields/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-saltwater-advances-gambian-farmers-rethink-how-to-protect-rice-fields/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329393</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kashmir’s water bodies have declined for decades. Is conservation keeping pace?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 17:58:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hashim Quraishi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/09082340/Wular-Lake-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329254</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Ecosystems, Environment, Fellows, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Lakes, Research, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For generations, Kashmir’s wetlands, lakes and rivers have been woven into the landscape around its towns and villages. Paddy fields once stretched across parts of the valley, while canals and springs were familiar features of everyday life. But much of that landscape has changed. A new study published in Water Science assessing six decades of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[For generations, Kashmir’s wetlands, lakes and rivers have been woven into the landscape around its towns and villages. Paddy fields once stretched across parts of the valley, while canals and springs were familiar features of everyday life. But much of that landscape has changed. A new study published in Water Science assessing six decades of land use and land cover change in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the northernmost part of India finds that the extent of water bodies declined between 1960 and 2020, while built-up areas expanded markedly, particularly after the 1990s. The researchers found that socioeconomic factors including urbanization, population growth, literacy, per capita income and passenger and freight traffic were more strongly associated with many of these changes than the climatic variables they examined, including annual precipitation and mean maximum and minimum temperatures. The findings raise a broader question for Jammu and Kashmir: As development continues to reshape the landscape, are conservation initiatives and land use planning keeping pace with the pressures on the region’s water bodies? The authors caution that the study is not based on primary field surveys. Because land use records were available mainly at decadal intervals, the researchers interpolated data between those years to create an annual data set for their statistical analysis. They acknowledge that this approach can inflate some statistical measures and say the results should be interpreted primarily as associations rather than precise predictions. Still, the broad direction of change is clear. The sun peeks through a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329254</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>When climate-related hazards rise, so do barriers for people with disabilities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/when-climate-related-hazards-rise-so-do-barriers-for-people-with-disabilities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/when-climate-related-hazards-rise-so-do-barriers-for-people-with-disabilities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 17:32:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Patricia Sia Ngevao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/09121045/2.Sierra-Leone-wheelchair-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329268</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Culture, Disability rights and inclusion, Environment, Fellows, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Human Rights, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When climate-related hazards like floods, storms, extreme heat and landslides strike, roads can become impassable, homes unsafe and communities begin looking for ways to escape. But for persons with disabilities, the danger can be greater. An inaccessible route can become an impassable barrier. A warning delivered only through sound can leave a deaf person uninformed, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When climate-related hazards like floods, storms, extreme heat and landslides strike, roads can become impassable, homes unsafe and communities begin looking for ways to escape. But for persons with disabilities, the danger can be greater. An inaccessible route can become an impassable barrier. A warning delivered only through sound can leave a deaf person uninformed, while a shelter without accessible toilets, adequate space or support can turn a place of safety into another barrier. A new study from Kerala, India, shows how climate-related disasters can expose these barriers and deepen inequalities faced by persons with disabilities. The study, published in Global Environmental Change, examines how people with disabilities experience and respond to climate change. Researchers conducted 72 semi-structured interviews with persons with disabilities, caregivers and institutional stakeholders between February 2023 and June 2024. Although the research centered on Kerala, it offers insights that can extend to sub-Saharan Africa and possibly beyond. Katherine Lofts, the study’s lead author and a doctoral researcher at McGill University in Canada, told Mongabay that the team wanted to understand lived experiences of disability in the climate crisis and examine what increases or reduces vulnerability during climate-related disasters. The research found that policies do not automatically remove barriers on the ground. National Disaster Response Force personnel help move flood victims to safer areas in Kerala, India. A new study examines the challenges that people with disabilities face in Kerala when climate-related hazards arise. Image courtesy of the National Disaster Response Force via AP Photo. The study&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/when-climate-related-hazards-rise-so-do-barriers-for-people-with-disabilities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329268</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Community programs linked to lower forest loss in Indonesia’s Borneo during COVID-19</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2026 02:03:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/12215106/kalbar_drone_190946a_sungai_utik-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327673</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Biodiversity, Community Development, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, COVID-19, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Loss, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Illegal Logging, Logging, NGOs, Pandemics, Protected Areas, Reduced Impact Logging, Research, Solutions, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Villages in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan saw less forest loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when conservation groups provided health and livelihood support, a new study has found, suggesting social safety nets can help protect forests during economic crises. The peer-reviewed study, published last month in Lancet Planetary Health, suggests forest loss in West Kalimantan province on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Villages in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan saw less forest loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when conservation groups provided health and livelihood support, a new study has found, suggesting social safety nets can help protect forests during economic crises. The peer-reviewed study, published last month in Lancet Planetary Health, suggests forest loss in West Kalimantan province on the Indonesian part of Borneo fell sharply during the pandemic, as weak timber demand and travel restrictions made logging less profitable and harder to carry out. At the same time, villages with access to alternative livelihoods and other support were less reliant on forests for income, the paper adds. The researchers say their study is among the first to combine household surveys with detailed satellite data to examine how the pandemic affected rural livelihoods and forest loss in the same communities, offering a closer look at how economic shocks and social support can influence pressure on tropical forests. “As the pandemic started, we expected economic hardships to cause illegal logging to increase again,” Skylar Hopkins, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University and the lead author for the new study, said in a statement. Mapping deforestation trends Before the pandemic, average forest loss was 52% lower in NGO-affiliated villages than in unaffiliated villages, the study finds. Indonesia has the world’s third-largest tropical forest area, a major store of biodiversity and carbon, long threatened by logging, agricultural expansion and fires. The researchers surveyed 10 villages in West Kalimantan in late 2021: six communities supported by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327673</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cambodia defies UN call to free ‘arbitrarily jailed’ environmental activists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-defies-un-call-to-free-arbitrarily-jailed-environmental-activists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-defies-un-call-to-free-arbitrarily-jailed-environmental-activists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Aug 2026 10:30:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/02191929/Ly-Chandaravuth-addresses-Mother-Nature-Cambodia-supporters-before-the-court-issued-a-verdict-on-July-2-2024-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327551</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate Justice, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corruption, Crime, Endangered Environmentalists, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Governance, Law, Natural Resources, NGOs, Nonviolence, Protests, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The Cambodian government has defended its continued imprisonment of five environmental activists, after the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared the five had been arbitrarily detained and called for their immediate release. The activists, from environmental group Mother Nature Cambodia, have since 2024 been serving prison sentences of between [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The Cambodian government has defended its continued imprisonment of five environmental activists, after the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared the five had been arbitrarily detained and called for their immediate release. The activists, from environmental group Mother Nature Cambodia, have since 2024 been serving prison sentences of between six and eight years for allegedly plotting against the government. In a 16-page opinion published in February, the U.N. working group said it had found that the imprisonment of Long Kuntha, 28, Ly Chandaravuth, 26, Phuon Keoraksmey, 25, Thun Ratha, 34 and Yim Leanghy, 37, met the conditions for arbitrary detention on the grounds that there was no legal basis for the arrests. It said authorities had targeted the activists for exercising their fundamental freedoms, making the detention discriminatory and resulting in severe violations of their right to a fair trial. The opinion asked Cambodia to take immediate action on the matter in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the latter of which Cambodia ratified in 1992, and to provide evidence of having done so within six months. Contacted by Mongabay in August, six months since the working group’s findings, a government spokesperson said the activists would remain behind bars. “I have no comment on [the working group’s] rulings against us as all detentions have been made under legal and judicial proceeding,” Chan Rothona, spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-defies-un-call-to-free-arbitrarily-jailed-environmental-activists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-defies-un-call-to-free-arbitrarily-jailed-environmental-activists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327551</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World must look to the past to prepare for likely unprecedented El Niño</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/world-must-look-to-the-past-to-prepare-for-likely-unprecedented-el-nino/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/world-must-look-to-the-past-to-prepare-for-likely-unprecedented-el-nino/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Aug 2026 21:47:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/21164227/12-Angat-river-in-the-Philippines-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326958</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Justice, Climate Science, Drought, Earth Science, El Nino, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Heatwave, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Countries across the world are bracing for what is increasingly certain to be a historic El Niño, with latest modeling suggesting the 2026-2027 event will be the strongest ever measured, possibly breaking records by a considerable and dangerous margin. International bodies including the World Health Organization (WHO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and World Food Programme [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Countries across the world are bracing for what is increasingly certain to be a historic El Niño, with latest modeling suggesting the 2026-2027 event will be the strongest ever measured, possibly breaking records by a considerable and dangerous margin. International bodies including the World Health Organization (WHO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and World Food Programme (WFP) are urging nations to prepare for extreme weather and ensuing impacts to health, food and energy systems. Some nations are already acting: Brazil has hired record numbers of firefighters to tackle expected Amazon blazes. Peru, hit by disastrous rains, floods and landslides in past El Niños, has declared a state of emergency across 40% of the country. Sri Lanka has arranged water deliveries to nearly 72,000 people across seven districts threatened by drought, and India is focusing on 300 drought-vulnerable districts, setting up agricultural contingency plans and boosting irrigation provisions. The African Union is calling on member states to implement early-warning systems to protect “lives, livelihoods and economies in the months ahead.” A severe drought in Ethiopia during the 2015 El Niño triggered a humanitarian crisis affecting over 10 million people. Here, the EU and Oxfam, an NGO, deliver a tanker truckload of urgently needed water. Image by ©EU/ECHO/Anouk Delafortrie via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). But many countries aren’t ready: The WFP has made an urgent $202 million El Niño Joint Anticipatory Action Appeal to aid 22 high-risk nations with safety measures. Experts warn that as climate change fuels increasingly frequent and severe El&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/world-must-look-to-the-past-to-prepare-for-likely-unprecedented-el-nino/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/world-must-look-to-the-past-to-prepare-for-likely-unprecedented-el-nino/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326958</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Six things to know about Asia&#8217;s heatwave and the health impacts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/six-things-to-know-about-asias-heatwave-and-the-health-impacts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/six-things-to-know-about-asias-heatwave-and-the-health-impacts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Aug 2026 10:09:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andrew Jeong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/21095040/banner-portable-electric-fan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326854</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Climate Science, Disasters, El Nino, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Heatwave, Impact Of Climate Change, Planetary Health, Public Health, Temperatures, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SEOUL — A record-breaking heatwave swept through a broad swath of Asia earlier this month, causing deaths and heat-related illnesses. This year’s extreme weather has been linked to El Niño, which, according to weather experts, could be one of the strongest ever recorded. The “super” El Niño, which officially arrived in June, is expected to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SEOUL — A record-breaking heatwave swept through a broad swath of Asia earlier this month, causing deaths and heat-related illnesses. This year’s extreme weather has been linked to El Niño, which, according to weather experts, could be one of the strongest ever recorded. The “super” El Niño, which officially arrived in June, is expected to intensify over the rest of the year, bringing prolonged warmer weather, droughts and adverse health risks to people in the region. Here’s what you need to know about the extreme weather: How hot has it been in Asia? Very hot. On Aug. 2, the mercury in Yangsan, a city in South Korea, hit 42.5° Celsius (108.5° Fahrenheit), the highest mark since official records began in 1904. Parts of South Korea got so hot that potatoes were literally “boiled,” while still in the ground. In late July, temperatures exceeded 40°C (104°F) in several prefectures in Japan, as well as in central and western regions of China. On Aug. 9, the Hong Kong Observatory logged 39.8°C (103°F), the city’s highest reading since it introduced automatic weather stations in the 1980s. Southeast Asia also reported weather anomalies. Vietnamese officials said thermal readings from July 11 to Aug. 10 showed the mercury at 39-40°C (102-104°F), “exceeding records” in many parts of the country. Meanwhile, “areas of rainfall deficit” were observed in the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. An officer from the Korea Meteorological Administration shows a weather forecast map of temperatures during a heatwave in South&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/six-things-to-know-about-asias-heatwave-and-the-health-impacts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/six-things-to-know-about-asias-heatwave-and-the-health-impacts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326854</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New leadership initiative carries on legacy of late Indonesian environmental activist</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-leadership-initiative-carries-on-legacy-of-late-indonesian-environmental-activist/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-leadership-initiative-carries-on-legacy-of-late-indonesian-environmental-activist/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2026 10:26:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/19101300/IMG20260814192437-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326637</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate Justice, Conflict, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, NGOs, Social Justice, and Violence]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — It had been 648 days since Nur Hidayati, an Indonesian environmental activist fondly known as Yaya or Mbak Yaya, died of cancer. Rukka Sombolinggi, secretary-general of Indonesia’s largest Indigenous organization, AMAN, had counted every one of those days. “ It makes me sad,” she said at the launch of the Yaya Leadership Initiative [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — It had been 648 days since Nur Hidayati, an Indonesian environmental activist fondly known as Yaya or Mbak Yaya, died of cancer. Rukka Sombolinggi, secretary-general of Indonesia’s largest Indigenous organization, AMAN, had counted every one of those days. “ It makes me sad,” she said at the launch of the Yaya Leadership Initiative in Jakarta on Aug. 14, which would have been Yaya’s 53th birthday. But seeing the initiative launched in Yaya’s name gave Rukka another way to think about the loss. “Although she has gone, there are legacies, ideas and actions she left behind that we can still benefit from,” she said. The initiative, known as the YLI, brings together environmental, Indigenous, agrarian, fisher, human rights, and other movements to develop a new generation of community leaders — particularly from the ranks of women, young people, Indigenous peoples, and grassroots changemakers. Facilitated by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the country’s biggest green NGO, alongside organizations including the Indigenous alliance AMAN, the Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA), and the Indonesian Union of Traditional Fisherfolk (KNTI), the YLI aims to build the capacity, networks, and support systems of people working for social and environmental justice. The initiative is built around four principles that Yaya championed throughout her career: solidarity, equality, environmentalism, and diversity. But its proponents say the YLI is more than just an effort to preserve the memory of one of Indonesia’s most prominent environmental leaders. They say it’s an attempt to carry forward a particular&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-leadership-initiative-carries-on-legacy-of-late-indonesian-environmental-activist/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-leadership-initiative-carries-on-legacy-of-late-indonesian-environmental-activist/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326637</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On an Indonesian island, an ancient ritual evolves to protect an endangered cockatoo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-an-indonesian-island-an-ancient-ritual-evolves-to-protect-an-endangered-cockatoo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-an-indonesian-island-an-ancient-ritual-evolves-to-protect-an-endangered-cockatoo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 14:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18135704/KKI_Huaulu_10-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326518</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Biocultural Diversity, Biodiversity, Birds, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat Loss, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Hunting, Indigenous Peoples, Over-hunting, Parrots, Poaching, Research, Science, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An Indigenous community on Indonesia’s Seram Island is preserving a centuries-old coming-of-age ritual while helping protect the endangered salmon-crested cockatoo, a new study has found. The study, published in July in the Journal of Ethnobiology, documents how the Huaulu people adapted the sacred Cidaku initiation ceremony in collaboration with conservationists and government authorities. The ritual [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An Indigenous community on Indonesia’s Seram Island is preserving a centuries-old coming-of-age ritual while helping protect the endangered salmon-crested cockatoo, a new study has found. The study, published in July in the Journal of Ethnobiology, documents how the Huaulu people adapted the sacred Cidaku initiation ceremony in collaboration with conservationists and government authorities. The ritual marks young men’s transition to adulthood and traditionally involved wearing the distinctive crest feathers of the salmon-crested cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), a bird found nowhere else on Earth. The Huaulu, one of Seram’s oldest Indigenous communities, regard Seram’s forests as a living realm inhabited by powerful spirits, shaping their approach to conservation. “The use of cockatoo feathers is specifically embedded within this cultural system and is very different from hunting birds for commercial purposes,” study lead author Dwi Agustina, a researcher at Indonesia’s Gadjah Mada University and program coordinator at the Indonesia’s Cockatoo Conservation Association (KKI), told Mongabay in an email. An endangered salmon-crested cockatoo on Seram Island, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Balázs Tisza/Wildlife Messengers. The Cidaku ritual once had ties to head-taking, but after colonial authorities and Christian missionaries suppressed the practice in the early 20th century, the Huaulu adapted the ceremony around hunting wild animals. The salmon-crested cockatoo became one traditional target, with its crest feathers used in the ceremonial puheliam headdress: the white feathers as a symbol of sacred life, peace and community, and the peach-tinged feathers signifying great strength and courage. Over the decades, however, the species has become endangered, largely due&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-an-indonesian-island-an-ancient-ritual-evolves-to-protect-an-endangered-cockatoo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-an-indonesian-island-an-ancient-ritual-evolves-to-protect-an-endangered-cockatoo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326518</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sand mining plans spark opposition from fishers in Indonesia’s Riau Islands</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/sand-mining-plans-spark-opposition-from-fishers-in-indonesias-riau-islands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/sand-mining-plans-spark-opposition-from-fishers-in-indonesias-riau-islands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 13:37:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten GokkonYogi Eka Sahputra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/14123631/m11-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326242</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Riau Islands, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Blue Carbon, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Development, Dredging, Ecosystems, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Mining, Natural Resources, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NUMBING ISLAND, Indonesia — The waters off Numbing Island, part of the Riau archipelago between Sumatra and Singapore, are among Indonesia’s richest fishing grounds. Local fisher Edy says the abundant fish stocks have enabled him to support his family and pay for his children&#8217;s university education. He typically earns between 1 million and 2 million [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NUMBING ISLAND, Indonesia — The waters off Numbing Island, part of the Riau archipelago between Sumatra and Singapore, are among Indonesia’s richest fishing grounds. Local fisher Edy says the abundant fish stocks have enabled him to support his family and pay for his children&#8217;s university education. He typically earns between 1 million and 2 million rupiah ($55-$110) per fishing trip and makes four trips a month. However, Edy says he fears a proposed sand-mining project will threaten his and other fishers’ livelihoods. He said dredging would make the water more turbid, driving fish away from their traditional habitats and forcing fishers to sail farther out to sea to find them. “That is why I am afraid of this mining project. It will damage the sea. We have experienced this before, when marine sand mining took place near Batam,” he said, referring to one of the largest of the Riau islands, located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Numbing. “Our waters also became cloudy.” Numbing Island in Indonesia’s Riau Islands province. Image by Yogi Eka Sahputra/Mongabay Indonesia. A wave of opposition to the planned sea-sand mining in the waters around Riau Islands province has emerged among not only fishers from Numbing and surrounding areas, but also Indonesian lawmakers. Local authorities paint the project off Numbing, which is part of the Riau Islands’ Bintan district, as necessary to dredge marine sediment to facilitate large ship traffic. This would make it exempt from Indonesian law that prohibits sand mining in coastal areas and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/sand-mining-plans-spark-opposition-from-fishers-in-indonesias-riau-islands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/sand-mining-plans-spark-opposition-from-fishers-in-indonesias-riau-islands/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326242</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;To speak of agroecology is to speak of farmers’ autonomy&#8217;: Interview with Olga Muthambe</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/to-speak-of-agroecology-is-to-speak-of-farmers-autonomy-interview-with-olga-muthambe/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/to-speak-of-agroecology-is-to-speak-of-farmers-autonomy-interview-with-olga-muthambe/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 12:34:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Far Vubil]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/14152821/Olga-corte-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326233</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Mozambique, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, agribusiness, Agriculture, Agroecology, Business, Conflict, Conservation, Economics, Environment, Food, Food Industry, food security, Governance, Natural Resources, and Social Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Mozambique, southeast Africa, more than 1,600 women participate in agroecological practice programs across the provinces of Maputo and Gaza (both in the south), Tete (central region) and Cabo Delgado (far north). These initiatives are led by Hikone Moçambique, a civil society association founded in 2013 that seeks to empower rural women. The organization’s work [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Mozambique, southeast Africa, more than 1,600 women participate in agroecological practice programs across the provinces of Maputo and Gaza (both in the south), Tete (central region) and Cabo Delgado (far north). These initiatives are led by Hikone Moçambique, a civil society association founded in 2013 that seeks to empower rural women. The organization’s work focuses primarily on Mozambican women facing social vulnerability. The displacement of local populations, with resulting impacts on livelihoods, along with expropriation and concentration of land and resources, are some of the most common adverse effects associated with extractive industries that often amount to appropriation of nature through labor exploitation. According to Hikone Moçambique, extractive industries also undermine food sovereignty and exacerbate inequalities, disproportionately affecting women, who lose their income-generating alternatives. Hikone was co-founded by Mozambican social activist and current executive director Olga Muthambe. A feminist, community development practitioner, self-taught educator and mother of seven, she has over 30 years of experience with rural communities. In the 1990s, Muthambe worked with women and youth rehabilitation projects following the civil war in Mozambique (1977-1992), where she led initiatives to ensure food security. Decades later, in 2021, in the midst of another armed conflict in Cabo Delgado, the NGO expanded its work to support women affected by violence and forced displacement, which impacted around one million people in that province alone. Throughout its history, the organization has worked with more than 5,000 women across various activities, including training, community gatherings and seminars throughout Mozambique. In 2025, Muthambe also&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/to-speak-of-agroecology-is-to-speak-of-farmers-autonomy-interview-with-olga-muthambe/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/to-speak-of-agroecology-is-to-speak-of-farmers-autonomy-interview-with-olga-muthambe/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326233</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Land rights and mangroves entwine in a Brazilian quilombo’s resistance</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/land-rights-and-mangroves-entwine-in-a-brazilian-quilombos-resistance/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/land-rights-and-mangroves-entwine-in-a-brazilian-quilombos-resistance/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2026 15:29:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolina de Marchi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/11152728/20260402-PXL_20260402_191844572.PANO_-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325902</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bioeconomy, Coastal Ecosystems, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Philosophy, Culture, Ecosystems, Environment, Estuaries, Freshwater, Mangroves, Marine Conservation, Protected Areas, Religions, Rivers, Social Justice, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BREJÃO DOS NEGROS, Brazil — It’s hard to tell where one ends and the other starts. Here on Brazil’s Atlantic coast, where the São Francisco River meets the sea, waves ripple across the crystal-clear water. In the vast blue expanse, the green of islands and islets blends with fertile lands covered in Atlantic Forest remnants, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BREJÃO DOS NEGROS, Brazil — It’s hard to tell where one ends and the other starts. Here on Brazil’s Atlantic coast, where the São Francisco River meets the sea, waves ripple across the crystal-clear water. In the vast blue expanse, the green of islands and islets blends with fertile lands covered in Atlantic Forest remnants, white dunes, small docks, marginal lagoons, and mangroves — a biological heritage that serves as a nursery for countless marine species. But this beauty has not always belonged to those who lived there. Remnants of cotton plantations and more than 20 mills tell of an era before the so-called Golden Law of 1888 abolished slavery in Brazil. This region once held the largest number of enslaved people in the lower catchment area of the São Francisco River. Because of its dense native forests, it was also an ideal refuge for those who managed to escape, which earned it the name Refúgio dos Negros. Even after abolition, the people who lived off artisanal fishing and farming here enjoyed little real freedom. The land where they had lived on and worked for generations was claimed by local landowners who, with or without legal titles, exercised uncontested dominance. According to residents of the Brejão dos Negros Quilombola Territory — a group of traditional communities, or quilombos, founded by formerly enslaved Afro-Brazilians — fences and cattle grids went up everywhere, making them feel like prisoners in their own land. “It was like this: if you harvested a field of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/land-rights-and-mangroves-entwine-in-a-brazilian-quilombos-resistance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/land-rights-and-mangroves-entwine-in-a-brazilian-quilombos-resistance/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325902</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cambodia’s banned sand trade with Singapore appears to be back</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodias-banned-sand-trade-with-singapore-appears-to-be-back/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodias-banned-sand-trade-with-singapore-appears-to-be-back/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Aug 2026 22:18:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy Ball]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/11152720/Mekong-Sand-Mining_Credit-Andy-Ball_00002-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325924</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Business, Coastal Ecosystems, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Illegal Mining, International Trade, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Oceans, Rivers, and Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Authorities in Cambodia&#8217;s Koh Kong province say they&#8217;ve approved a sand mining operation exporting to Singapore, despite an export ban imposed by national authorities a decade ago after large-scale dredging was found to be damaging riverine and coastal ecosystems. The dredging is occurring in an area of the Trapeang Rung River that falls within the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Authorities in Cambodia&#8217;s Koh Kong province say they&#8217;ve approved a sand mining operation exporting to Singapore, despite an export ban imposed by national authorities a decade ago after large-scale dredging was found to be damaging riverine and coastal ecosystems. The dredging is occurring in an area of the Trapeang Rung River that falls within the boundaries of Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary and Botum Sakor National Park. Khlem Yonviseth, director of the Koh Kong provincial mining department, told Mongabay that the 2017 sand export ban had been lifted, and that his office had given a permit to the dredging operation and approved the exports. Yonviseth did not respond to a request to provide documentation of the ban being lifted. Mongabay was unable to locate any official announcement regarding the ban, and the relevant national agencies did not respond to requests for comment. Yonsiveth’s comments come after activist group Mother Nature Cambodia exposed the dredging operation in a video published July 14. In a subsequent video, published Aug. 8, the group tracked multiple cargo ships heading from Koh Kong Krao, Cambodia’s largest island, to Singapore’s Tuas Port. “How many more tons of Cambodian sand will be lost?” asks Lisa Mean, an activist with Mother Nature Cambodia, in the latest video. Analysis by Mongabay confirms that four of the ships identified by the group traveled to the Tuas Port, where a state-backed land reclamation project is currently underway. Mongabay has also found that the company Yonviseth said had been given a dredging license, Catalyst&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodias-banned-sand-trade-with-singapore-appears-to-be-back/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodias-banned-sand-trade-with-singapore-appears-to-be-back/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325924</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Iceland to deport antiwhaling protest ship’s crew after they interfered with whale hunt</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/iceland-to-deport-antiwhaling-protest-ships-crew-after-they-interfered-with-whale-hunt/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/iceland-to-deport-antiwhaling-protest-ships-crew-after-they-interfered-with-whale-hunt/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Aug 2026 18:39:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alex Megerle]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/11165330/Hvalskurdur_038-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325958</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and Iceland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Cetaceans, Culture, Environment, Hunting, Mammals, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Protests, Traditional People, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Authorities in Iceland detained the M/V Bandero, an antiwhaling protest ship, on July 30 and held the boat in port in Reykjavík with its 21-person crew detained on board, according to Manolya Adan, an environmental biologist who was among the crew. She spoke to Mongabay on Aug. 4 from the ship and communicated further via [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Authorities in Iceland detained the M/V Bandero, an antiwhaling protest ship, on July 30 and held the boat in port in Reykjavík with its 21-person crew detained on board, according to Manolya Adan, an environmental biologist who was among the crew. She spoke to Mongabay on Aug. 4 from the ship and communicated further via text message over the next few days. The vessel is operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, a “direct action” ocean conservation nonprofit that operates globally (but maintains a P.O. box in New York City). It flies the Panamanian flag. According to the foundation, the M/V Bandero had been at sea for more than a month monitoring whaling activities by Hvalur hf., the country’s last whaling company, which is owned by Kristján Loftsson. The ship had purportedly been required to report its position hourly to the Icelandic Coast Guard, broadcast AIS and were under constant surveillance, monitored by plane and drones. The vessel entered into Iceland’s 12-nautical-mile national waters on July 30 after the crew identified that the Hvalur 9, one of the country’s last whaling ships, was leaving harbor. The Hvalur 9 returned to port without hunting as the M/V Bandero approached. The Coast Guard then deployed a helicopter and pursued the M/V Bandero with patrol vessels, eventually boarding the ship with armed forces. Adan said the vessel was boarded just before midnight on July 30 in Iceland’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), an area that extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the country’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/iceland-to-deport-antiwhaling-protest-ships-crew-after-they-interfered-with-whale-hunt/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325958</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On the frontlines of conservation in Sumatra: Rangers safeguard Batutegi forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-the-front-lines-of-conservation-in-sumatra-rangers-safeguard-batutegi-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-the-front-lines-of-conservation-in-sumatra-rangers-safeguard-batutegi-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Aug 2026 02:21:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/07021006/IMG_5641-copy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325509</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Lampung, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agroecology, Agroforestry, Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Camera Trapping, Coffee, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Habitat, Human-wildlife Conflict, In-situ Conservation, Monitoring, NGOs, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Slow Loris, Tigers, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, and Wildlife Rangers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[TANGGAMUS, Indonesia — For more than a decade and a half, forest ranger Wandi Harmoko has walked the ridges and valleys of Batutegi, a landscape in southern Sumatra. He is one of only a handful of officers tasked with patrolling almost 60,000-hectares (148,300 acres) of forest that is not only ecologically significant but also economically [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[TANGGAMUS, Indonesia — For more than a decade and a half, forest ranger Wandi Harmoko has walked the ridges and valleys of Batutegi, a landscape in southern Sumatra. He is one of only a handful of officers tasked with patrolling almost 60,000-hectares (148,300 acres) of forest that is not only ecologically significant but also economically vital to Lampung province. The forest Wandi protects today has been shaped by decades of disturbance. Since the turn of the century, waves of encroachment cleared large areas of forest to accelerate conversion to coffee plantations. Nevertheless, the forests here still harbors endangered wildlife, including Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae), siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus), pangolins (Manis javanica), Sumatran slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang) and sun bears (Helarctos malayanus). The survival and recovery of what remains in Batutegi depend on a fragile collaboration between a limited number of rangers, technology-driven monitoring systems, and social forestry farmers whose livelihoods are tied to the landscape. “What affects me most are the moments when we still encounter forest encroachment,” Wandi told Mongabay after joining his team for a day patrol inside Batutegi’s core zone. “It creates an inner conflict, because sometimes we have to arrest people and see them go to prison, even though we understand their situation.” Wandi Harmoko has patrolled the forest of Batutegi for over a decade. Image by Basten Gokkon. The Batutegi landscape, including a reservoir with the same name, stretches across 81,741 hectares (202,000 acres) jointly overseen by two forest management units (KPH), namely KPH Batutegi&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-the-front-lines-of-conservation-in-sumatra-rangers-safeguard-batutegi-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325509</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Doña Oscarina, master ceramicist, documented Indigenous knowledge along the Tiquié River</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/dona-oscarina-master-ceramicist-documented-the-knowledge-of-the-tiquie/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/dona-oscarina-master-ceramicist-documented-the-knowledge-of-the-tiquie/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 08:41:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/28234156/Oscarina-Caldas-Azevedo-16x9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324719</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Culture, Gender, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, and Obituary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; Before clay could be taken from the earth, permission had to be sought. “Grandmother, are you there?” the potter would ask. “I am your granddaughter. I have come to find you.” The words were addressed to Di’i Mahso, Grandmother Clay, who taught women how to find the right material and craft the first cooking [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; Before clay could be taken from the earth, permission had to be sought. “Grandmother, are you there?” the potter would ask. “I am your granddaughter. I have come to find you.” The words were addressed to Di’i Mahso, Grandmother Clay, who taught women how to find the right material and craft the first cooking vessels. Oscarina Caldas Azevedo knew these words and the deep ecological obligations behind them. A master ceramicist of the Desana people, farmer, and pioneering Indigenous environmental researcher, Azevedo died on July 4th in her home community of Cunuri, in the Brazilian Amazon. Known as Doña Oscarina, her life’s work proved that traditional Amazonian cosmology, women&#8217;s agricultural knowledge, and modern climate science were inseparable. Born in 1967 in Santa Ana do Médio Tiquié, in the upper Rio Negro region of Amazonas state, she grew up in Cunuri beside the Tiquié River—a landscape where communities are linked by waterways, family ties, and shared languages. She entered the local school at five. At 13, she moved to the Salesian mission school in Pari Cachoeira. During a holiday two years later, she met Rafael Azevedo. They were advised to marry and spent more than four decades together. Their home became a place of farming, research, ceremony, and instruction. Oscarina cultivated cassava, medicinal plants, and other crops. She made ceramics and taught younger women how to find and prepare clay, shape vessels, and fire them. Rafael carried knowledge of ritual practice. Their work was closely shared. Oscarina’s skill as a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/dona-oscarina-master-ceramicist-documented-the-knowledge-of-the-tiquie/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/dona-oscarina-master-ceramicist-documented-the-knowledge-of-the-tiquie/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324719</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Father Robert Athickal asked children to protect the living world</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/father-robert-athickal-asked-children-to-protect-the-living-world/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/father-robert-athickal-asked-children-to-protect-the-living-world/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 12:32:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27002049/Father-Robert-Athickal-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324535</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation and Religion and Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Culture, Education, Obituary, and Religions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; The first members had no office, no money, and little authority. They were schoolchildren in Patna, a crowded city on the Ganges, worried about the trees being cut around them. They met after class, visited other schools, planted saplings, and spoke to anyone willing to listen. Some traveled by bicycle to carry their message [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; The first members had no office, no money, and little authority. They were schoolchildren in Patna, a crowded city on the Ganges, worried about the trees being cut around them. They met after class, visited other schools, planted saplings, and spoke to anyone willing to listen. Some traveled by bicycle to carry their message farther. Their organization had a name, Tarumitra, meaning “Friends of Trees,” though for a time it consisted mainly of students and a small circle of adults helping them. Among those adults was a Jesuit priest who believed that children could be trusted with serious work. Father Robert Athickal, who died on July 19th, aged 73, spent nearly four decades developing that idea. From its beginnings in Patna in 1988, Tarumitra grew into one of India’s largest student environmental movements. It established groups in schools and colleges across the country, trained generations of young campaigners, and created a reserve for threatened plants from the Gangetic plain. &nbsp; Athickal had few of the resources usually available to someone building a national organization. There was no large funder behind the project and no government mandate. He relied on his position as a Jesuit teacher, the cooperation of schools, and his ability to persuade students and adults that local environmental problems deserved their attention. Tarumitra’s early campaigns were designed to be practical and easy to reproduce. Students cleaned neglected plots, planted roadside gardens, and turned former garbage dumps into what they called “Oxygen Belts.” Other school groups could follow&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/father-robert-athickal-asked-children-to-protect-the-living-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324535</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous leaders push for stronger voice at UN as climate threats grow</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-leaders-push-for-stronger-voice-at-un-as-climate-threats-grow/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-leaders-push-for-stronger-voice-at-un-as-climate-threats-grow/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jul 2026 17:50:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dionne Phillips]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/04193112/IMG_0506-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325328</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Justice, Climate Science, Environment, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Sápmi (northern Scandinavia), the Arctic is experiencing warming temperatures four times faster than the global average, disproportionately hurting the livelihoods and culture of the Sámi people — particularly their access to vital traditional natural resources such as reindeer and salmon. As temperatures warm, for example, snow is melting then refreezing at an accelerating rate [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Sápmi (northern Scandinavia), the Arctic is experiencing warming temperatures four times faster than the global average, disproportionately hurting the livelihoods and culture of the Sámi people — particularly their access to vital traditional natural resources such as reindeer and salmon. As temperatures warm, for example, snow is melting then refreezing at an accelerating rate — forming ice that prevents reindeer from reaching their food supply underneath. More and more of the species are starving as a result. “Those impacts in nature are severe for our culture and livelihoods,” said Tuomas Aslak Juuso, vice president of the Sámediggi (Sámi Parliament) of “Finland,” in an interview. The Sámi are the only officially recognized Indigenous people in the European Union; their population, estimated between 80,000–100,000, spans Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia. Juuso, who was previously his parliament’s elected president, also sits on the Sámiráđđi (Saami Council), a body of 15 delegates from Sámi organizations in all four countries. Sámi parliaments also coordinate across borders through the Sámi Parliamentary Council. A recent report by the Finnish Meteorological Institute highlights warming winters and fewer months with permanent snow cover, with more and more snow days replaced with rain. “So survival of reindeer and then survival of our livelihoods [and] cultures is then questioned,” Juuso said, during meetings of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) in Geneva from July 13-17, 2026. A member of the Sámi Indigenous people tends a reindeer in Sweden. Image by Staffan Widstrand/Rewilding Europe. Reindeer&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-leaders-push-for-stronger-voice-at-un-as-climate-threats-grow/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-leaders-push-for-stronger-voice-at-un-as-climate-threats-grow/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325328</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Activists allege Cambodia has resumed sea sand exports to Singapore</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/activists-allege-cambodia-has-resumed-sea-sand-exports-to-singapore/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/activists-allege-cambodia-has-resumed-sea-sand-exports-to-singapore/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jul 2026 08:40:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/21082924/RESIZED-Photo-by-Drone-of-CMR-sand-barges-on-Trapang-Roung-river-2-July-202614-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324184</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cambodia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Business, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ecosystems, Environment, extractives, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, International Trade, Mining, Natural Resources, Oceans, Rivers, Saltwater Fish, Trade, and Turtles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Environmental activism group Mother Nature Cambodia on July 14 posted a new video alleging that Cambodia has quietly resumed sand exports to Singapore after the trade was banned in 2017. The prohibition followed a scandal involving environmental degradation along Cambodian rivers linked to shipments of sand sold to Singapore for land reclamation projects. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Environmental activism group Mother Nature Cambodia on July 14 posted a new video alleging that Cambodia has quietly resumed sand exports to Singapore after the trade was banned in 2017. The prohibition followed a scandal involving environmental degradation along Cambodian rivers linked to shipments of sand sold to Singapore for land reclamation projects. In its latest video, Mother Nature Cambodia documented sand dredgers operating in waterways in Koh Kong province in Cambodia’s southwest, with footage appearing to show barges belonging to Catalyst Marine and Resources (Cambodia), a Singaporean-directed sand mining company that’s been registered in Cambodia since December 2024. Footage shows large-scale sand mining operations, including barges bearing the logo of Catalyst Marine and Resources, dredging sea sand from the coastal waterways of Koh Kong. Catalyst Marine and Resources’ barges were then tracked by Mother Nature Cambodia to two large cargo boats located just off the coast of Koh Kong Krao, Cambodia’s largest island, which is largely controlled by the Cambodian navy. Tracking devices on the cargo boats show those vessels are bound for Singapore, reigniting old fears that environmentally unsustainable sand dredging has resumed in Koh Kong to fuel land reclamation projects. “I have many questions, but today I will ask just one to Minister [of Mines and Energy] Keo Rattanak,” Lisa Mean, an activist with Mother Nature Cambodia, asks in the group’s latest video. “When did you quietly scrap the 2017 ban on sea sand exports?” Lisa then called on Cambodians to join the activist group&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/activists-allege-cambodia-has-resumed-sea-sand-exports-to-singapore/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/activists-allege-cambodia-has-resumed-sea-sand-exports-to-singapore/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324184</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fighting new oil blocks in the Congo Basin: Interview with activist Pascal Mirindi</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fighting-new-oil-blocks-in-the-congo-basin-interview-with-activist-pascal-mirindi/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fighting-new-oil-blocks-in-the-congo-basin-interview-with-activist-pascal-mirindi/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 15:49:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dan Yessa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/16122152/oil-in-drc-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323702</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Energy, Environment, Fellows, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mongabay.org, Oil, Oil Drilling, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Pascal Mirindi is a young environmental activist based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, born in Goma. He was a member of a nonviolent movement, La LUCHA, fighting for democracy in the DRC. La LUCHA initiated him into nonviolent activism, but he used that opportunity to fight for Congolese ecosystems. Since 2024, Mirindi has been [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Pascal Mirindi is a young environmental activist based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, born in Goma. He was a member of a nonviolent movement, La LUCHA, fighting for democracy in the DRC. La LUCHA initiated him into nonviolent activism, but he used that opportunity to fight for Congolese ecosystems. Since 2024, Mirindi has been one of the main resistance forces against mineral, oil and gas exploitation inside the Congo Basin. Through campaigns and community awareness, he and his colleagues have successfully driven out oil exploration inside Virunga National Park. Now, Mirindi is fighting against the exploitation of 30 new oil blocks that cover 72% of the Congo Green Corridor, the country’s most emblematic conservation project, which spans a large part of the Congo Basin, home to thousands of animals and a lifeline for many communities in the DRC. Mirindi spoke with Mongabay in June, discussing what it means to resist from the inside and make a difference on a global scale, protecting the homes of endangered species such as mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and okapis (Okapia johnstoni), endemic to the region. Pascal Mirindi&#8217;s first visit with the director of Virunga National Park, Emmanuel de Merode, in 2022. Image courtesy of Pascal Mirindi. This interview has been translated from French and edited for length and clarity. Mongabay: Who is Pascal Mirindi? Pascal Mirindi: I am Congolese; I was born in Goma in 1999. I have been an activist since I was 15 years old. I started in the citizen&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fighting-new-oil-blocks-in-the-congo-basin-interview-with-activist-pascal-mirindi/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fighting-new-oil-blocks-in-the-congo-basin-interview-with-activist-pascal-mirindi/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323702</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>No corporation can buy the ‘right to destroy’: Interview with activist Raja Waseem Ahmed</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/no-corporation-can-buy-the-right-to-destroy-interview-with-activist-raja-waseem-ahmed/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/no-corporation-can-buy-the-right-to-destroy-interview-with-activist-raja-waseem-ahmed/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2026 19:09:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Muhammad Talal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/15144500/Katas_Raj_Temples_Near_Katas_Village_Punjab_Pakistan_10-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323388</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Pakistan, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Business, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Culture, Development, Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Fellows, Governance, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, and Mongabay.org]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For generations, the Kahoon Valley in Pakistan’s Chakwal district in northwestern Punjab has thrived as a rich ecological haven. Its fertile soil has yielded lush, historical loquat orchards, while the surrounding scrub forests have provided vital refuge to diverse wildlife, including local peacock populations and rare mountain deer species. At the center of this landscape [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For generations, the Kahoon Valley in Pakistan’s Chakwal district in northwestern Punjab has thrived as a rich ecological haven. Its fertile soil has yielded lush, historical loquat orchards, while the surrounding scrub forests have provided vital refuge to diverse wildlife, including local peacock populations and rare mountain deer species. At the center of this landscape sit the Katas Raj Temples, an ancient Hindu pilgrimage site anchoring the region’s profound spiritual heritage. However, the unchecked expansion of mega cement factories in the early 2000s transformed this natural sanctuary into a toxic industrial zone. Relentless industrial pumping reportedly caused the water table to crash from 36 meters (120 feet) to 122 m (402 ft). This extreme depletion withered the famous loquat trees and displaced native birds, also draining the sacred Katas Raj pond. Determined to save his homeland from erasure, Raja Waseem Ahmed, an environmental activist, brought together residents from neighboring villages to establish the Kahoon Protection Committee to defend the Kahoon Valley against the extreme ecological and social damages caused by heavy industrialization. Waseem utilized environmental legislation and led a forensic legal campaign that exposed the manipulated environmental approval documents eventually driving the Supreme Court of Pakistan to intervene on its own accord, resulting in a historic verdict that banned factories from draining local groundwater and slapped the industry with huge fines. In retaliation for his activism, Waseem was struck by unjustified anti-terrorism lawsuits, temporarily exiled from his native district by local authorities, and subjected to stress so harsh that it&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/no-corporation-can-buy-the-right-to-destroy-interview-with-activist-raja-waseem-ahmed/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/no-corporation-can-buy-the-right-to-destroy-interview-with-activist-raja-waseem-ahmed/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323388</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Waste, women &#038; environmental justice: Interview with Nubian activist Malasen Hamida</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/waste-women-environmental-justice-interview-with-nubian-activist-malasen-hamida/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/waste-women-environmental-justice-interview-with-nubian-activist-malasen-hamida/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2026 18:30:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ouma Elvine Tina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/14131540/img5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323283</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation leadership, Culture, Environment, Fellows, Gender, Interviews, Mongabay.org, NGOs, Social Justice, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Malasen Hamida, a Nubian Muslim woman from Kibera, in Nairobi, is an aspiring politician and an environmental activist with more than 25 years of advocacy behind her. Kibera, which was named by Nubians, meaning “land of forests,” is Kenya’s largest informal settlement and sits on land that the British colonial government allocated to the Nubian [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Malasen Hamida, a Nubian Muslim woman from Kibera, in Nairobi, is an aspiring politician and an environmental activist with more than 25 years of advocacy behind her. Kibera, which was named by Nubians, meaning “land of forests,” is Kenya’s largest informal settlement and sits on land that the British colonial government allocated to the Nubian community after their forebears served as soldiers in the King’s African Rifles. That allocation once covered 1,698 hectares (4,197 acres). Today, due to urbanization, forced evictions, land-grabbing and successive government projects, only 116 hectares (288 acres) remain under Nubian ownership, with no compensation ever offered. Through the Mazingira Women Initiative, Hamida has spent those years organizing around waste management, smart farming, land rights and women’s leadership. (“Mazingira” is a Swahili word for environment or nature.) She is also a three-time parliamentary candidate for the Kibera constituency and intends to run again in 2027. Hamida spoke with Mongabay on a cold Saturday afternoon, just as she was leaving the largest mosque in Kibera constituency. Her offices are a short walk away. As we moved toward them, several people stopped to greet her. She responded to each, “salaam aleikum,” paused to chat, and cupped a small girl’s face in her hands. She led me through a corrugated iron gate into a quiet compound of mud-walled, iron-roofed houses. The area was noticeably clean, with no stagnant water or litter in sight, unlike the typical sight in Kibera. We settled on the veranda of her home. Malasen Hamida addresses&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/waste-women-environmental-justice-interview-with-nubian-activist-malasen-hamida/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/waste-women-environmental-justice-interview-with-nubian-activist-malasen-hamida/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323283</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Humans’ relationship with nature: Interview with ethnobotanist Pavel Partha</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/humans-relationship-with-nature-interview-with-ethnobotanist-pavel-partha/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/humans-relationship-with-nature-interview-with-ethnobotanist-pavel-partha/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2026 22:56:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usraat Fahmidah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/13134413/Pavel-Partha-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323233</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Biology, Botany, Conservation, Culture, Development, Ecology, Environment, Fellows, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mongabay.org, Plants, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Pavel Partha and I first crossed paths almost two years ago at a 2024 sit-in protest against the destruction of Panthakunja Park in Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital. In a makeshift tent that housed a few activists, his eccentricity stood out as the researcher made a detailed list of the plants, birds and species affected by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Pavel Partha and I first crossed paths almost two years ago at a 2024 sit-in protest against the destruction of Panthakunja Park in Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital. In a makeshift tent that housed a few activists, his eccentricity stood out as the researcher made a detailed list of the plants, birds and species affected by the felling of trees. When I asked him why such documentation was necessary for a protest, he said the plants, trees and species that make up the ecosystem deserve recognition and justice too. Partha is a trained botanist. For almost two decades, he has researched Bangladesh&#8217;s plant diversity alongside the knowledge of Indigenous and local communities through ethnobotanical research (the study of human-plant relationships). But he is just as likely to be found at a protest advocating for the rights of Indigenous communities and the systems they depend on. He is currently the director of the  Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK), where he has worked since 2003, and continues his research. For almost two decades, Pavel Partha has researched Bangladesh’s plant diversity alongside the knowledge of Indigenous and local communities through ethnobotanical research. Image by Usraat Fahmidah. In this interview with Mongabay, Partha reflects on his philosophies of research and activism, shares why ecological justice matters and expounds on how scientific research can support Indigenous communities facing environmental destruction. This interview has been edited for length and clarity and has been translated from Bangla. Mongabay: Where does this begin for you? Can you&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/humans-relationship-with-nature-interview-with-ethnobotanist-pavel-partha/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/humans-relationship-with-nature-interview-with-ethnobotanist-pavel-partha/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323233</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>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322511</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sea level rise is ruining coastal Bangladesh with salty water (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sea-level-rise-is-ruining-coastal-bangladesh-with-salty-water-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sea-level-rise-is-ruining-coastal-bangladesh-with-salty-water-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 17:10:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[AL Sharia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/01160010/Bangladesh-salt-water-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322217</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Justice, Coastal Ecosystems, Commentary, Drinking Water, Erosion, Flooding, Health, Impact Of Climate Change, Natural Resources, Oceans, Pollution, Public Health, Sea Levels, Social Justice, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every morning, before the sun has fully risen over the tidal flats of Satkhira in southwest Bangladesh, women begin walking. They walk two kilometers, sometimes five (about 1.2 to 3.1 miles) and sometimes more, carrying empty vessels that they will fill with water fit for drinking. Then they walk back. Then, some days, they walk [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every morning, before the sun has fully risen over the tidal flats of Satkhira in southwest Bangladesh, women begin walking. They walk two kilometers, sometimes five (about 1.2 to 3.1 miles) and sometimes more, carrying empty vessels that they will fill with water fit for drinking. Then they walk back. Then, some days, they walk again. A UNDP study found that women in coastal Bangladesh spend up to six hours a day on this task alone, six hours that cannot be spent earning, learning or caring for their children, and this is not even a drought zone. This is one of the largest deltas on Earth. The women walk past rivers, channels and flooded fields. The water is everywhere, and none of it is safe. Approximately 20 million people along Bangladesh’s coast cannot safely drink the water that surrounds them. Yet, a UNDP survey found that 73% of residents in five coastal sub-districts of Satkhira consume saline water every single day. The crisis does not make the front pages of international newspapers the way droughts in East Africa or floods in Pakistan tend to. It is slow, structural and unglamorous, which is precisely why it has been allowed to continue for this long. A woman collects water from a pond about 1 km from her home in Shyamnagara, Satkhira district, Bangladesh. Image courtesy of Abu Siddique/Dialogue Earth. The intrusion of saltwater into Bangladesh’s coastal mainland is not simply a consequence of rising seas, though the seas are certainly rising. Studies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sea-level-rise-is-ruining-coastal-bangladesh-with-salty-water-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322217</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Human rights abuse allegations continue to rise in the mining sector, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2026 18:41:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/29182329/AP26121665473043-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322054</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Europe, Global, Latin America, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Clean Energy, Critical Minerals, Environment, Health, Human Rights, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Protests, Renewable Energy, Trade, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the last several years, the United States and European Union have intensified efforts to secure the minerals needed for a clean energy transition. Officials have fast-tracked new projects and signed deals with countries across the globe to ensure access to copper, cobalt, lithium and other minerals that are essential for building solar panels, wind [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over the last several years, the United States and European Union have intensified efforts to secure the minerals needed for a clean energy transition. Officials have fast-tracked new projects and signed deals with countries across the globe to ensure access to copper, cobalt, lithium and other minerals that are essential for building solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and other technologies. But as investment grows, so does conflict throughout the sector. Protests and lawsuits are common at mine sites, which can lead to attacks against human rights and environmental defenders. It’s led critics to call for stricter regulations and better communication with local communities. “Resilient mineral supply chains can only be built with respect for people, ecosystems, and local benefits,” Erica Westenberg, director of governance programs at the NGO Natural Resource Governance Institute, said in a report from the Business and Human Rights Centre. Each year, the organization releases the findings of its Transition Mineral Tracker, which monitors allegations of abuse by large-scale mining of bauxite, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel, iron ore and zinc. For 2025, the NGO reviewed 299 mining operations and their owners, counting 329 allegations of abuse — up from 156 the year before — tied to air and water pollution, public health problems, and labor abuse like poor working conditions and union suppression. There were also 61 cases of protests, 10 strikes and 44 lawsuits, the report said. A breach at a tailing dam at a Sino-Metals Leach Zambia mine near Kitwe. (AP Photo/Richard Kille, File) The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322054</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Africa’s community-led marine organizations on which 30&#215;30 depends</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/africas-community-led-marine-organizations-on-which-30x30-depends/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/africas-community-led-marine-organizations-on-which-30x30-depends/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jun 2026 10:45:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/17102647/486611801_1125966072908240_4237381363299060798_n-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321349</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Activism, Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Economics, Environment, Finance, Fish, Freshwater Fish, Mangroves, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Plants, Research, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This week, thousands of delegates are gathered in Mombasa, Kenya, for the first Our Ocean Conference to be hosted on African soil. As expected, much of the conversation will focus on the global &#8220;30&#215;30&#8221; target — protecting 30% of the world&#8217;s land, freshwater and oceans by 2030. Yet, far from the conference halls, the big [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This week, thousands of delegates are gathered in Mombasa, Kenya, for the first Our Ocean Conference to be hosted on African soil. As expected, much of the conversation will focus on the global &#8220;30&#215;30&#8221; target — protecting 30% of the world&#8217;s land, freshwater and oceans by 2030. Yet, far from the conference halls, the big pledges and state commitments, many of the people doing the daily work of marine conservation are community organizations operating on modest budgets along Africa’s coastlines. They often do so far from the spotlight, but their contribution is vital for the global ambition to conserve ocean spaces. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), under whose Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework the 2030 targets were adopted, highlights that success hinges heavily on community involvement. Across Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia, four such groups — Coastal and Marine Resource Development (COMRED), Action for Ocean, Mwambao Coastal Community Network and the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) — offer a window into what community-led marine conservation looks like in practice. Their work might be underfunded, uneven and sometimes slow, but are increasingly central to how marine protection is imagined on the continent. Marine ecosystems in Africa support fisheries, tourism, transport, carbon storage and coastal protection while sustaining millions of livelihoods from the Western Indian Ocean to Africa’s Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. In East Africa in particular, mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass meadows and nearshore fisheries underpin food systems and local economies even as they face pressure from overfishing, habitat degradation, climate change and pollution.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/africas-community-led-marine-organizations-on-which-30x30-depends/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321349</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peter Klopfer, the scientist whose civil-rights case helped bring lemurs to Duke</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/peter-klopfer-the-scientist-whose-civil-rights-case-helped-bring-lemurs-to-duke/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/peter-klopfer-the-scientist-whose-civil-rights-case-helped-bring-lemurs-to-duke/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jun 2026 00:04:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/16000122/Peter-Klopfer-16x9-bw-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321263</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Ethics, Human Rights, Lemurs, Obituary, and Protests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the American South of the late 1950s, segregation was part of the daily architecture. Airports had separate facilities. Restaurants barred Black customers or served them apart. Schools, buses, waiting rooms, and lunch counters carried the same instructions. The system depended on law, custom, and the expectation that most white people would accommodate it. Resistance [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the American South of the late 1950s, segregation was part of the daily architecture. Airports had separate facilities. Restaurants barred Black customers or served them apart. Schools, buses, waiting rooms, and lunch counters carried the same instructions. The system depended on law, custom, and the expectation that most white people would accommodate it. Resistance often began with small acts that carried real costs. A professor might drive arrested students back to campus. A family might refuse to send its children to segregated schools. A group of faculty members might walk toward a restaurant door together and be met in the parking lot by men who intended to stop them. The work required patience, and it also required a willingness to be arrested, disliked, and misunderstood. Peter Klopfer, who died on June 5 at 95, spent nearly seven decades at Duke University as a zoologist, teacher, and builder of institutions. He helped develop behavioral ecology, studied mother-offspring bonding, and co-founded the Duke Lemur Center, which became the world’s largest collection of lemurs outside Madagascar. He was also the named plaintiff in a Supreme Court case that extended the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial to state courts. The civil-rights defendant and the lemur scientist were the same man, formed by the same habits of attention and conscience. He was born in Berlin in 1930 and raised in a German immigrant family in the United States. He attended Friends schools and later studied at UCLA and Yale. At UCLA he&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/peter-klopfer-the-scientist-whose-civil-rights-case-helped-bring-lemurs-to-duke/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321263</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Flamingo Revolution’ aims to stop Kushner-backed resort on protected Albanian delta</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/flamingo-revolution-aims-to-stop-kushner-backed-resort-on-protected-albanian-delta/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/flamingo-revolution-aims-to-stop-kushner-backed-resort-on-protected-albanian-delta/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jun 2026 19:54:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stefan Lovgren]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/12163942/DJI_20250913010858_0043_D_Banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321100</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Development, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Marine, Oceans, Politics, Protected Areas, Protests, Rivers, Tourism, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[VJOSA-NARTA, Albania — In late April, heavy machinery began moving into the Pishë Poro-Narta protected landscape on Albania&#8217;s Adriatic coast without permits or public notice. Bulldozers and excavators felled coastal pine trees, flattened sand dunes, and cut new roads through previously untouched habitat. Then, barbed wire fences went up along the shoreline. The incursion was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[VJOSA-NARTA, Albania — In late April, heavy machinery began moving into the Pishë Poro-Narta protected landscape on Albania&#8217;s Adriatic coast without permits or public notice. Bulldozers and excavators felled coastal pine trees, flattened sand dunes, and cut new roads through previously untouched habitat. Then, barbed wire fences went up along the shoreline. The incursion was the realization of a luxury resort development backed by Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s son-in-law. The development plans of Kushner’s Affinity Partners, a private equity fund, stretch from the uninhabited Sazan Island into the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape, the delta region of Albania’s Vjosa River that includes Pishë Poro-Narta. Roughly twice the size of Paris, the Vjosa-Narta area shelters flamingos, Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus), loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and more than 70 endangered species, among them the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus). Neither Affinity Partners nor the office of the prime minister of Albania responded to Mongabay’s requests for comment. Aerial drone video of demonstrators gathering at Dalan Beach on June 6 for a rally near the site of the original resort-construction site. Footage by Stefan Lovgren for Mongabay. &nbsp; When protesters arrived at the site, security guards confronted them. Video of a demonstrator being dragged across the dunes on May 30 near the village of Zvërnec went viral. Soon demonstrations erupted in Tirana, the Albanian capital, in what has since been dubbed the Flamingo Revolution. The protests have grown larger every day, with tens of thousands demanding accountability for corruption, an end to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/flamingo-revolution-aims-to-stop-kushner-backed-resort-on-protected-albanian-delta/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321100</doi>				</item>
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