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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=education&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/education/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2026 04:19:17 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Education</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/education/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Zanzibar&#8217;s seaweed farmers seek better future through science and partnership (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/zanzibars-seaweed-farmers-see-better-future-through-science-and-partnership-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/zanzibars-seaweed-farmers-see-better-future-through-science-and-partnership-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 17:13:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jenny KrusoeLisa KurbielMariam Mwinyi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02164416/IMG_7179-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334703</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Global, Indian Ocean, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[algae, Aquaculture, Business, Commentary, Community Development, Conservation, Developing Countries, Development, Environment, Gender, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Oceans, Sustainable Development, Trade, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Along Zanzibar&#8217;s coastline, thousands of women rise with the tides to cultivate one of our islands&#8217; most important natural resources. Day after day, they wade into the ocean, tending lines of seaweed that support households, strengthen communities, and contribute to a sector that has long been a source of livelihoods and opportunity. Their work reflects [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Along Zanzibar&#8217;s coastline, thousands of women rise with the tides to cultivate one of our islands&#8217; most important natural resources. Day after day, they wade into the ocean, tending lines of seaweed that support households, strengthen communities, and contribute to a sector that has long been a source of livelihoods and opportunity. Their work reflects a remarkable combination of skill, perseverance, and adaptation. For decades, these women have sustained an industry that has connected Zanzibar to global markets while providing income in coastal communities. As climate change reshapes marine ecosystems and global demand evolves, the resilience of these farmers offers an important foundation on which to build the next chapter of the seaweed economy. Each of us is directly connected to this work: Mwinyi serves as First Lady of Zanzibar, Kurbiel leads the U.N. Joint SDG Fund, which supports Zanzibar’s seaweed sector, and Krusoe founded AltaSea, which has participated in international efforts to advance research and investment in the sector. Hands-on seaweed cultivation in Zanzibar&#8217;s coastal waters. “Mwani Mamas,” a collective of women seaweed farmers and artisans in Zanzibar, tend their crops using traditional farming methods. Image courtesy of Kevin Gaines/Kelp Ark. We come to this issue from different backgrounds, but we share a common conviction: Zanzibar&#8217;s seaweed farmers are not the challenge facing the industry. They are its greatest asset. The opportunity before us is to ensure that research, innovation, infrastructure, and investment evolve alongside their commitment and expertise. Across the world, agricultural and marine industries are increasingly turning&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/zanzibars-seaweed-farmers-see-better-future-through-science-and-partnership-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/zanzibars-seaweed-farmers-see-better-future-through-science-and-partnership-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334703</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Given a chance, women-led microenterprises uplift Nepali communities &#038; conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 18:02:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Emma White]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30164427/Spinning-Wool2_NadiaWhite_19May2026-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334507</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Cats, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Forest Products, Forestry, Forests, Gender, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Plants, Tigers, Traditional Knowledge, Trees, Wildlife, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAYA PADAMPUR, Nepal — A spinning wheel whirs on a rooftop in Naya Padampur in south-central Nepal, sending ivory strands of yarn through Bin Maya Gurung’s practiced fingers. Smile lines crinkle at the corners of her eyes as she works. Her limbs move in synchrony with the wheel, both integral parts of the machine that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAYA PADAMPUR, Nepal — A spinning wheel whirs on a rooftop in Naya Padampur in south-central Nepal, sending ivory strands of yarn through Bin Maya Gurung’s practiced fingers. Smile lines crinkle at the corners of her eyes as she works. Her limbs move in synchrony with the wheel, both integral parts of the machine that ensures her family’s well-being. She’s sitting at the top of a building that houses a wool spinning enterprise, which has blossomed in the years since she learned to spin wool in the early 2000s. It’s one of many women-led microenterprises that have sprouted across the country. The past few decades have seen many women in rural Nepal venture into the business environment for the first time, as governmental regulations and societal norms started to shift. The benefits for women entrepreneurs are significant, with a 2022 study conducted in the Parbat district of Nepal showing that 96% of women involved in microenterprises felt confident in supporting their families with the money they earned. The microenterprises are also important in another way: They provide an alternative source of income to rural families, lessening their reliance on forest products such as timber. Successful women-led microenterprises — in Nepal and elsewhere — have provided a symbiosis between land and community, allowing conservation efforts to flourish while acting as a catalyst for local income generation and women’s empowerment. The growth of these microenterprises in Nepal mirrors a growing global recognition of the benefits of women’s involvement in both forests and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334507</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Suriname’s Amazon, the Wayana community struggling to keep gold miners at bay</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-surinames-amazon-the-wayana-community-struggling-to-keep-gold-miners-at-bay/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-surinames-amazon-the-wayana-community-struggling-to-keep-gold-miners-at-bay/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2026 18:47:56 +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/20/2026/10/29181238/IMG_3302-JPEG-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334444</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, French Guiana, Global, South America, and Suriname]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conservation, Crime, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Education, Environment, Forest Loss, Forests, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAWEMHAKAN, Suriname — Beneath thousands of square kilometers of rainforest here lie vast deposits of gold and other minerals. Around a million ounces are extracted legally every year, but much more remains buried throughout the Amazon. In some of the farthest-flung parts of the rainforest, such as these small villages along the border with French [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAWEMHAKAN, Suriname — Beneath thousands of square kilometers of rainforest here lie vast deposits of gold and other minerals. Around a million ounces are extracted legally every year, but much more remains buried throughout the Amazon. In some of the farthest-flung parts of the rainforest, such as these small villages along the border with French Guiana, the government hasn’t stopped locals — joined by Brazilian miners and Chinese traders — from clearing the forest in search of gold. Moving up and down the Lawa River and its tributaries, these criminals establish mining camps and trading posts far beyond the reach of most law enforcement, where robberies, extortion and other violent crimes happen out of sight. Many Indigenous Wayana families live on both sides of the Lawa River — which also marks the border with French Guiana — and face a growing list of challenges, including health issues from mercury use on their land and dwindling wildlife populations they’ve long relied on for food. Indigenous Wayana communities have lived in the area for generations but still lack an official land title that might offer some protection. The only airstrip for kilometers around, and the primary practical connection to the capital, Paramaribo, sits in the middle of one of the Indigenous villages, giving leadership some leverage with miners and traders: Unless they want to travel for days by river to get back and forth from the city, it’s important to be on good terms with the community, residents said. These delicate relationships&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-surinames-amazon-the-wayana-community-struggling-to-keep-gold-miners-at-bay/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-surinames-amazon-the-wayana-community-struggling-to-keep-gold-miners-at-bay/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334444</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Between revered and hunted: The journey of human-otter coexistence in the Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/between-revered-and-hunted-the-journey-of-human-otter-coexistence-in-the-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/between-revered-and-hunted-the-journey-of-human-otter-coexistence-in-the-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2026 16:21:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sarah Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/29131318/pteronura-brasiliensis-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334366</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Food, food security, Freshwater, Human-wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional People, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a warm, humid morning, along the Içana River in Brazil’s upper Rio Negro Basin, researchers saw a group of Baniwa men heading to the river to check the fishing traps they left in shallow, fast-moving waters. Slightly further downstream, a group of giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) was also hunting. They stayed in the water [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a warm, humid morning, along the Içana River in Brazil’s upper Rio Negro Basin, researchers saw a group of Baniwa men heading to the river to check the fishing traps they left in shallow, fast-moving waters. Slightly further downstream, a group of giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) was also hunting. They stayed in the water by the riverbank, their heads popping through the surface and dipping back down like a wild version of the arcade game Whack-A-Mole. One resurfaced with a striped fish held between its front paws before it climbed onto the bank to eat. The sound of it eating carried across the water; sharp cracks as it worked through the bones and wet chomps as it tore through scales and flesh. The otters’ feeding site along the bank was littered with fish bones and reeked of feces. “They&#8217;re almost impossible to ignore,” Jansen Zuanon, ecologist and fish specialist who contributed to a 2026 study about Baniwa people and otters, told Mongabay. Giant otters tend to live in groups of between nine and 12 family members. Image by Allan Hopkins via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). The Içana flows into the Rio Negro, a major tributary in the Amazon with dark, tea-colored, naturally acidic water. Its rivers and tributaries are home to diverse fish species — though they are not especially abundant. For the Indigenous Baniwa people, who live along the Içana’s banks and tributaries in northwestern Brazil near the Colombian border, fishing is an essential source of protein. But&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/between-revered-and-hunted-the-journey-of-human-otter-coexistence-in-the-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/between-revered-and-hunted-the-journey-of-human-otter-coexistence-in-the-amazon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334366</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Suriname&#8217;s rich archaeological history may hold keys to conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/surinames-rich-archaeological-history-may-hold-keys-to-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/surinames-rich-archaeological-history-may-hold-keys-to-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Oct 2026 18:37:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Peter Speetjens]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/27170358/h-watercolor-by-the-Indigenous-Wayana-banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332904</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, South America, and Suriname]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Anthropology, Archeology, Conservation, Culture, Ecology, Ecosystems, Education, Environment, Forests, History, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Mining, Pollution, Research, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Suriname pledges to save its forests but neglects the ancient human history hidden within them, experts say.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2004, archaeological anthropologist Renzo Duin joined an expedition into the mountainous tri-border area where Brazil, Suriname and Guyana meet alongside French botanists and ecologists. While the scientific team focused on mapping the biodiversity of what appeared to be untouched vegetation, Duin noticed that the ground told a very different story, rich with traces of pre-Columbian human occupation. “While they investigated what they perceived as pristine rainforest, I found the area dotted with fragments of pottery and other archaeological indications, including a site surrounded by a ditch,” Duin told Mongabay in a video call from The Hague, Netherlands. The evidence uncovered by Duin was one of many showing that the Amazon rainforest of Suriname and the Guianas region has been shaped and inhabited by people for millennia. Over the years, the researcher returned regularly to the region, making him one of the leading Amazon archaeologists, reshaping the knowledge about human occupation in the rainforest. “In the last three decades, archaeological knowledge of the Amazon has made a great stride forward in Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia,” Duin said. &#8220;In Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, the picture of the past has improved along the coast and major rivers. Yet, in the inland-uplands we have barely scratched the surface regarding the long-time histories of the Indigenous peoples.&#8221; Renzo Duin in the Tumuc-Humac Mountains. Image by © 2004, Renzo Duin /AMIK. As elsewhere in the Amazon, archaeological research in the region has unveiled a wealth of ancient rock art sites, stone tools, pottery and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/surinames-rich-archaeological-history-may-hold-keys-to-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332904</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Water, carbon &#038; the ‘tree of life’: Interview with Venezuela&#8217;s guardian of morichales</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/water-carbon-the-tree-of-life-interview-with-venezuelas-guardian-of-morichales/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/water-carbon-the-tree-of-life-interview-with-venezuelas-guardian-of-morichales/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Oct 2026 17:19:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Diego Ávila Muskus]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/22113920/1-Sanchez-Mercado-B-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333540</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, South America, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Culture, Ecosystems, Environment, Fellows, Indigenous Peoples, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Media, Mongabay.org, Plants, Research, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional People, Trees, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While global climate conversations tend to center on the Amazon and temperate forests, a vital, quiet freshwater oasis across the Venezuelan savannas and floodplains is disappearing under the radar. Standing tall in these landscapes is a palm intrinsically linked to the culture of Latin America&#8217;s Indigenous peoples, a palm whose unique physiology regulates freshwater bodies [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[While global climate conversations tend to center on the Amazon and temperate forests, a vital, quiet freshwater oasis across the Venezuelan savannas and floodplains is disappearing under the radar. Standing tall in these landscapes is a palm intrinsically linked to the culture of Latin America&#8217;s Indigenous peoples, a palm whose unique physiology regulates freshwater bodies and conceals a massive, overlooked potential for climate change mitigation: the moriche palm (Mauritia flexuosa). This species forms dense ecosystems known as morichales, dominating the landscapes of the Eastern Llanos and the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela, with its presence stretching across the Neotropics. Studies conducted in the Colombian Altillanura show that morichales are capable of capturing 590.8 tons of carbon per hectare, positioning them among the ecosystems best adapted to capture carbon in soil and biomass. Yet, the moriche palm faces mounting pressures. Standing on the frontline of its defense and conservation is Miguel Ángel Sánchez-Mercado, a Venezuelan biologist, professor and researcher at the Universidad Bolivariana in Maturín, Monagas state. For him, conservation should strive to build a profound collective awareness of the ecosystem. His ultimate hope, after countless sunrises in the morichales, is the continued fight to preserve these ecosystems by fully integrating human beings as an active part of the solution rather than merely treating them as a threat to these invaluable guardians of the climate. Miguel Ángel Sánchez-Mercado, a Venezuelan biologist, professor and researcher is on the frontline of the moriche palm&#8217;s defense and conservation. Image courtesy of Miguel Angel Sánchez-Mercado. Mongabay&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/water-carbon-the-tree-of-life-interview-with-venezuelas-guardian-of-morichales/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333540</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Delegates at biodiversity COP17 should follow the lead of Global South women (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/delegates-at-biodiversity-cop17-should-follow-the-lead-of-global-south-women-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/delegates-at-biodiversity-cop17-should-follow-the-lead-of-global-south-women-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 00:40:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Valentina Figuera Martínez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/24184300/Captura-de-pantalla-2025-06-26-a-las-1.57.38-p.m-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333386</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity credits, Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Finance, Gender, Governance, Nature-based climate solutions, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As global leaders convene in Armenia this week for the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference of the parties (COP17), it is difficult to ignore how women’s oppression is deeply intertwined with the exploitation of ecosystems. After almost two decades of pledges, biodiversity action remains underfunded, forest loss continues to be a growing threat, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As global leaders convene in Armenia this week for the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference of the parties (COP17), it is difficult to ignore how women’s oppression is deeply intertwined with the exploitation of ecosystems. After almost two decades of pledges, biodiversity action remains underfunded, forest loss continues to be a growing threat, socio-ecological transitions are a low priority, and ecosystems are spiraling toward collapse. The impacts of resulting climate disasters and biodiversity destruction are not felt equally, yet gender justice issues also remain unresolved within these international talks. In Yerevan, Armenia, countries will consider the first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which was the first formal assessment to measure progress since its adoption in 2022. COP17 is also poised to advance efforts on biodiversity finance under the umbrella of common but differentiated responsibilities. But progress cannot be measured only in targets, financial commitments and international mechanisms. We should also ask a more basic question: What can we learn from the people who are already protecting biodiversity in their territories? Women leading agroecology and community conservation initiatives in Zambia. Image courtesy of Kapyanga Women Association &amp; Zamsof. While hundreds of policymakers spend long hours negotiating decisions to promote false solutions and powerful corporate actors lobby to continue profiting from biodiversity destruction and obstruct environmental regulations, women from the Global South continue working without big cameras or fancy social media presences to protect what is left of their territories. They are ensuring the continuation of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/delegates-at-biodiversity-cop17-should-follow-the-lead-of-global-south-women-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333386</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The women keeping Uttarakhand’s native bees alive</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-keeping-uttarakhands-native-bees-alive/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-keeping-uttarakhands-native-bees-alive/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 17:58:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Swati Thapa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/19172030/Indian-Honey-Bee-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333126</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bees, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Culture, Environment, Gender, Indigenous Peoples, Insects, Natural Resources, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional People, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PITHORAGARH, Uttarakhand, India — The world comes alive during summers in Himalayan states like Uttarakhand. The forests are budding with new green leaves, and almost every trail is lined on both sides with flowers of many shapes, sizes and colors. With the flora, fauna comes to life as well. Saraswati Devi, 80, sits in her [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PITHORAGARH, Uttarakhand, India — The world comes alive during summers in Himalayan states like Uttarakhand. The forests are budding with new green leaves, and almost every trail is lined on both sides with flowers of many shapes, sizes and colors. With the flora, fauna comes to life as well. Saraswati Devi, 80, sits in her courtyard with bees buzzing in and out of the wall hive where the colony lives in her home. “Bees are considered so sacred and an important part of people’s lives that we have faag songs about them,” Saraswati says. Faag are traditional songs sung at joyous and auspicious occasions like weddings and festivals in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. She and her fellow women hum a melody that Saraswati sang at weddings. Bees come to those homes where children play; But at homes with no children, the bees won’t stay. For centuries here, people’s lives have been intertwined with the bees, creating a unique interdependence. In rural Uttarakhand, many households share their homes with an indigenous species, Apis cerana indica, commonly known as the Indian honey bee or Himalayan honey bee. However, factors like climate change, introduction of new bee species for more honey production, habitat fragmentation and inadequate nutrition are among the reasons for a decline in their population. As rearing bees is a natural part of household duties, women’s role becomes central in the conservation of this species. Saraswati Devi, along with her family, standing beneath the opening of the wall hive, with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-keeping-uttarakhands-native-bees-alive/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333126</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Nepal, AI builds on local knowledge to help prevent tiger attacks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 08:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Praveen Kumar Yadav]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20073636/AP21090541435051-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333197</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Big Cats, Bioacoustics, Biodiversity, Community Forests, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Culture, Education, Environment, Human-wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Monitoring, Software, Technology, Tigers, Top Predators, Traditional Knowledge, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Bhadai Tharu says he still remembers the day a tiger attacked him. It was around 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2004. The encounter left him blind in his left eye. More than two decades later, the 59-year-old doesn’t speak ill of the animal that attacked him. “When incidents, like the one I was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Bhadai Tharu says he still remembers the day a tiger attacked him. It was around 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2004. The encounter left him blind in his left eye. More than two decades later, the 59-year-old doesn’t speak ill of the animal that attacked him. “When incidents, like the one I was involved in, happen, people get angry,” says Tharu, who is now chair of the Gauri Community Forest on the fringes of Bardiya National Park, a global hotspot for the endangered big cats. “Tigers have their role in the ecosystem, and both people and tigers should coexist,” Tharu says. His perspective comes as Nepal&#8217;s tiger population reaches a record 429 individuals, with Bardiya alone hosting 112. To avoid human-tiger encounters such as the one Tharu experienced, researchers turned to a survival skill long practiced by local people: listening to the forest. And for a while, at least, it seemed to have worked. The pilot project, documented in a recently published study, tested an artificial intelligence-powered system that “listens” to alarm calls from chital deer (Axis axis) and maps areas where tigers (Panthera tigris) or leopards (Panthera pardus) may be present and that humans should avoid. A chital deer in Bardiya National Park. The pilot project tested an AI-powered system that “listens” to alarm calls from chital deer. Image by Sunuwargr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). A forest that speaks Long before researchers arrived with sensors and machine-learning models, Indigenous communities in Bardiya had already been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333197</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A study unravels the genetic mystery of a cobra divided by sea</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-study-unravels-the-genetic-mystery-of-a-cobra-divided-by-sea/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-study-unravels-the-genetic-mystery-of-a-cobra-divided-by-sea/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Oct 2026 15:41:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/13150621/1.-Indian-cobra.-Photo-credit-Bhasuru-Prabashwara-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332444</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Culture, Education, Herps, Reptiles, Research, Snakes, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s spectacled cobra (Naja naja) carries a two-million-year-old genetic mystery, and a new study finds that the island’s cobras form a genetically distinct lineage, reopening a taxonomic question raised by a Sri Lankan zoologist nearly nine decades ago. The study also established that the spectacled cobra has evolved from an African ancestor [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s spectacled cobra (Naja naja) carries a two-million-year-old genetic mystery, and a new study finds that the island’s cobras form a genetically distinct lineage, reopening a taxonomic question raised by a Sri Lankan zoologist nearly nine decades ago. The study also established that the spectacled cobra has evolved from an African ancestor that reached the region via the Middle East. The story dates back to 1939, when Sri Lankan zoologist P. E. P. Deraniyagala described a distinctive form of the spectacled cobra with additional eye-like markings on its hood. He named it Naia naia colour var. polyocellata. At the time, it was treated as a color morph of the Indian spectacled cobra than a distinct subspecies native to Sri Lanka. Deraniyagala returned to cobra taxonomy in 1945, proposing several geographical races of the spectacled cobra across the Indian subcontinent, and in 1960, revisited cobra taxonomy. Subsequent morphological work, however, consolidated these geographical forms under Naja naja. Then, in 2022, the question was reopened. A genetic study proposed resurrecting Deraniyagala’s polyocellata as a separate species as Naja polyocellata, after finding substantial genetic differences between Sri Lankan cobras and the Indian mainland cobras. An albino cobra is a snake with a genetic mutation that causes a complete lack of dark pigments, and such unusually colored cobras are reported more often in some regions than others. Image courtesy of Dushantha Kandambi. However, that proposal was challenged the following year. In 2023, herpetologists Wolfgang Wüster of Bangor University, U.K., and Frank&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-study-unravels-the-genetic-mystery-of-a-cobra-divided-by-sea/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332444</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Taiwan’s tea revival blends ancient terraces with new climate adaptations</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/photos-taiwans-tea-revival-blends-ancient-terraces-with-new-climate-adaptations/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/photos-taiwans-tea-revival-blends-ancient-terraces-with-new-climate-adaptations/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Oct 2026 07:34:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Michael O. Snyder]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09102849/The-Future-of-Tea_Taiwan_Michael-O-Snyder-3000px_72dpi-22-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332073</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Climate Change, Conservation, Culture, Education, Environment, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Media, Natural Resources, Nutrition, Photos, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SHENKENG, Taiwan — Ten kilometers east of Taipei’s high-rises and dense traffic, the city gives way to a succession of steep, forested ridgelines sheltering villages in the valleys below. The subtropical mist that cloaks these slopes at dawn has already thinned, and by 9 a.m. the heat is climbing. Li Chao-shiang, an assistant professor in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SHENKENG, Taiwan — Ten kilometers east of Taipei’s high-rises and dense traffic, the city gives way to a succession of steep, forested ridgelines sheltering villages in the valleys below. The subtropical mist that cloaks these slopes at dawn has already thinned, and by 9 a.m. the heat is climbing. Li Chao-shiang, an assistant professor in the Department of Interior Design at China University of Technology in Taipei, winds upward on a narrow stone path, pausing to wipe his brow. Rounding a bend, he stops at an opening in the brush. Half the hillside before him is covered in dark-green ribbons, the regular corduroy of cultivated land. The other half looks like something took a bite out of it. “This jungle has a secret,” Li says. “If you look closely at the hills all around us, you can still make out faint lines that run through the forest. It may not be much to look at now, but what you are seeing are stone terraces — the remnants of one of the world’s great empires of tea.” For much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tea made these hills valuable. By 1897, tea accounted for 22% of Taiwan’s export earnings, four times the value of sugar, with 96% of the island’s Formosa oolong sailing for New York and Chicago. Shenkeng&#8217;s own signature style, the lightly oxidized Wenshan pouchong, came on the scene around 1912 and was refined through the 1920s, becoming Taiwan’s leading export to Southeast Asia. “The soil,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/photos-taiwans-tea-revival-blends-ancient-terraces-with-new-climate-adaptations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332073</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Science, Indigenous knowledge team up to restore Canada&#8217;s kelp. (Sea otters help, too.)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/science-indigenous-knowledge-team-up-to-restore-canadas-kelp-sea-otters-help-too/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/science-indigenous-knowledge-team-up-to-restore-canadas-kelp-sea-otters-help-too/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 14:44:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jennifer Cole]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/02162939/a.-BANNER-Liam-Ragan-original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331571</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[British Columbia, Canada, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Culture, Ecosystems, Education, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Research, Restoration, Science, Seagrass, Solutions, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Emily Fulton spends a lot of time in a small boat cruising the waters of Clayoquot Sound off the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. As the marine program manager for the nonprofit Redd Fish Restoration Society, she regularly checks on a newly created kelp nursery growing within the traditional territory of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Emily Fulton spends a lot of time in a small boat cruising the waters of Clayoquot Sound off the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. As the marine program manager for the nonprofit Redd Fish Restoration Society, she regularly checks on a newly created kelp nursery growing within the traditional territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation. “We have grown a lot of kelp,” Fulton told Mongabay in a phone interview. Touted by its organizers as the largest kelp restoration project on the West Coast of North America, the nursery has planted more than 4,200 square meters (45,200 square feet) of new kelp habitat since launching in early 2026. That’s the footprint of three and a half Olympic-size swimming pools. The team grows baby bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) and giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) on four lines; each 330 meters (1,083 feet) long, submerged below the water’s surface and away from seafloor predators such as sea urchins. As the kelp grows and matures, they’ll take some of it off the lines and transplant it to sites throughout Clayoquot Sound, to restore degraded kelp forests and also seed new ones. Getting a project of this scale up and running has cost almost a quarter of a million Canadian dollars. The funding has come from various sources, including the provincial government, the World Wildlife Fund of Canada and the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust. Managing the project alongside Redd Fish is West Coast Kelp, a business devoted to kelp restoration and the Tla-o-qui-aht&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/science-indigenous-knowledge-team-up-to-restore-canadas-kelp-sea-otters-help-too/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331571</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Artificial nests give Hong Kong’s cockatoos a home – and a chance to study their behavior</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/artificial-nests-give-hong-kongs-cockatoos-a-home-and-a-chance-to-study-their-behavior/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/artificial-nests-give-hong-kongs-cockatoos-a-home-and-a-chance-to-study-their-behavior/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 13:39:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/06121036/WSK_20260509_1006-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331714</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, East Asia, and Hong Kong]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Birds, Cities, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Education, Endangered Species, Environment, Monitoring, Parrots, Research, Science, urban ecology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HONG KONG — “Spiderman … Tom Holland,” two secondary school boys repeated to each other as they watched conservationist Harry Wong nimbly climb a tall tree at their school, St. Louis School, in downtown Hong Kong. On a humid September afternoon, Wong installed a nest box for yellow-crested cockatoos (Cacatua sulphurea) on a candlenut tree [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HONG KONG — “Spiderman … Tom Holland,” two secondary school boys repeated to each other as they watched conservationist Harry Wong nimbly climb a tall tree at their school, St. Louis School, in downtown Hong Kong. On a humid September afternoon, Wong installed a nest box for yellow-crested cockatoos (Cacatua sulphurea) on a candlenut tree (Aleurites moluccanus). Equipped with a harness and ropes, he climbed up the tree, installed the box, and quickly rappelled down. Wong and Astrid Andersson, a biologist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), are the dynamic duo behind HK Cockatoo Watch, a conservation project that seeks to protect the city’s feral yellow-crested cockatoos. Arborist and conservationist Harry Wong installs a nest box for yellow-crested cockatoos on a tree at St. Louis School in Hong Kong on Sept. 7, 2026. Image by Yenni Kwok/Mongabay. Yellow-crested cockatoos are considered to be critically endangered, with fewer than 2,000 individuals remaining in their native range in eastern Indonesia and Timor-Leste. However, few people know that Hong Kong is home to the largest wild population of the species outside the two Southeast Asian countries. There are roughly 200 cockatoos in the city, or about 10% of the global wild population, believed to be descendants of released or escaped pets. The number is stable, thanks to the lack of natural predators and strict legal protection. A recent DNA analysis study by Andersson and her research team found that Hong Kong’s feral cockatoos have unexpectedly high genetic diversity and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/artificial-nests-give-hong-kongs-cockatoos-a-home-and-a-chance-to-study-their-behavior/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331714</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As fires spread, Indonesia’s rubber growers draw on traditional ways to fight back</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-fires-spread-indonesias-rubber-growers-draw-on-traditional-ways-to-fight-back/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-fires-spread-indonesias-rubber-growers-draw-on-traditional-ways-to-fight-back/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2026 11:13:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Taufik Wijaya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/02110440/Seorang-warga-tengah-memadamkan-api-di-Talang-Turunan-Gajah-dengan-menggunakan-peralatan-sederhana.-Foto-Muha-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331495</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, South Sumatra, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate, Culture, Disasters, El Nino, Environment, Extreme Weather, Farming, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Industrial Agriculture, Plantations, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PENUKAL ABAB LEMATANG ILIR, Indonesia — Sumanti raced her motorcycle past the rubber trees as flames spread through the dry brush. No one had picked up the phone as the wildfire continued to grow out of control on Sept. 5. “The fire is already approaching our land,” Sumanti, 30, cried out as she drove past [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PENUKAL ABAB LEMATANG ILIR, Indonesia — Sumanti raced her motorcycle past the rubber trees as flames spread through the dry brush. No one had picked up the phone as the wildfire continued to grow out of control on Sept. 5. “The fire is already approaching our land,” Sumanti, 30, cried out as she drove past a bystander, her voice cracking as she pressed on to find her family. Within half an hour, Sumanti’s relatives had encircled the fire with 35-liter (9-gallon) canisters of water and a sprayer, the kind the family ordinarily used to disperse fertilizer over the soil. The family of four worked together, scrambling back and forth for hours to haul water from the partially dried-out swamp among the rubber trees. For two hours, they battled to hold back the flames, but the fire kept cracking through the bamboo and brush. A paye in Tanjung Era, PALI Regency, has dried up. A paye is a source of clean water located amidst forests and plantations. Image by Muhammad Akbar/Mongabay Indonesia. Economic damage Sumanti belongs to one of six families who depend on rubber trees and latex production in Talang Turunan Gajah, a hamlet in the village of Tempirai here in South Sumatra province. As in much of Sumatra and Borneo, the six families here find themselves on the frontline of a wildfire crisis intensified by the El Niño weather phenomenon, as fires spread across the region. Smoke from Indonesia’s wildfires has crossed borders into Malaysia and Singapore, leading to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-fires-spread-indonesias-rubber-growers-draw-on-traditional-ways-to-fight-back/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-fires-spread-indonesias-rubber-growers-draw-on-traditional-ways-to-fight-back/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331495</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Gabon, home to the medicinal plant behind ibogaine, wants a fairer share of its global boom</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/gabon-home-to-the-medicinal-plant-behind-ibogaine-wants-a-fairer-share-of-its-global-boom/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/gabon-home-to-the-medicinal-plant-behind-ibogaine-wants-a-fairer-share-of-its-global-boom/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2026 15:21:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Molly Helfend]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/01131032/DSC01601-djeje-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331394</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Education, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Health, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Law, Medicinal Plants, Medicine, Natural Resources, Planetary Health, Plants, Research, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LIBREVILLE — In the traditional-medicine corner of La Peyrie Market in Libreville, iboga comes in a repurposed clear rum bottle packed to the neck with pale bark powder, set among tinctures in old plastic bottles. Two men appeared within a minute on this day in July, and once they heard they were talking to a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LIBREVILLE — In the traditional-medicine corner of La Peyrie Market in Libreville, iboga comes in a repurposed clear rum bottle packed to the neck with pale bark powder, set among tinctures in old plastic bottles. Two men appeared within a minute on this day in July, and once they heard they were talking to a journalist, went half-giddy. They were happy to say where the root goes: overseas, to clinics, some of it ground into capsules. “Do the buyers pay well?” “They pay well,” one said. And all of it, he insisted, was legal. Iboga, Tabernanthe iboga, is a plant native to the wet forests of West-Central Africa. And here in Gabon, its root bark plays a central role in several Bwiti (or Bwété) traditions. It is also the original source of ibogaine, an alkaloid extracted from the root, now drawing intense interest as an experimental treatment for addiction and other mental-health conditions. The sellers at the market called the money good. But, further down the value chain, ibogaine treatment can cost thousands of dollars per patient. That gap, Gabonese practitioners and officials say, is at the heart of the dispute: the plant and the knowledge are theirs — and are threatened with overexploitation — while a lot of the money is made abroad. A 2023 Interpol analysis also found much of the trade was illicit, identifying that online resellers nearly quadrupled between 2021 and 2023. And the market for the plant may only get bigger, officials speculate. An unidentified&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/gabon-home-to-the-medicinal-plant-behind-ibogaine-wants-a-fairer-share-of-its-global-boom/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/gabon-home-to-the-medicinal-plant-behind-ibogaine-wants-a-fairer-share-of-its-global-boom/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331394</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sri Lanka’s disappearing snake charmers carry a legacy of fear and fascination</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sri-lankas-disappearing-snake-charmers-carry-a-legacy-of-fear-and-fascination/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sri-lankas-disappearing-snake-charmers-carry-a-legacy-of-fear-and-fascination/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Sep 2026 18:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/28164856/1-Snake-charmers-A-Snake-Charmer-in-Sri-Lanka-c-Jerzy-Strzelecki-via-Wikipedia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331088</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Herps, Indigenous Peoples, Reptiles, Snakes, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO – For generations, the sight was familiar in towns and villages across Sri Lanka of a man playing a flute sitting on his haunches next to a woven basket, from which a cobra raised its gently swaying hood, drawing a curious crowd of onlookers. The performance appeared almost magical, as the cobra would seem [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO – For generations, the sight was familiar in towns and villages across Sri Lanka of a man playing a flute sitting on his haunches next to a woven basket, from which a cobra raised its gently swaying hood, drawing a curious crowd of onlookers. The performance appeared almost magical, as the cobra would seem to have been charmed by the flute’s notes, moving its hood rhythmically like performing a dance. But behind the spectacle was a community with its own traditions, knowledge and relationship with snakes — one that is quickly fading away. Known locally as the Ahikuntika, this small nomadic tribe is also referred to as Sri Lanka’s gypsies or Sri Lankan Telugus. They’ve traditionally traveled from place to place, and men have performed as snake charmers and monkey performers, with the women primarily associated with fortune-telling or soothsaying. Historical accounts describe temporary settlements and an itinerant lifestyle in which families moved between communities to earn a living through performances and traditional livelihoods. Today, however, snake charming has become rare. A group of snake charmers perform with their cobras. Image courtesy of Anslem de Silva. “During our childhood, we could regularly see snake charmers. They were often seen near markets, while groups of itinerant performers would also travel from village to village, announcing their arrival by beating a small hand drum,” recalled 75-year-old retired schoolteacher Chandrasena Liyanarachchi. Sri Lankans have a long-inherited fear of the venomous cobras (Naja naja), yet also accord them cultural significance, and often watch&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sri-lankas-disappearing-snake-charmers-carry-a-legacy-of-fear-and-fascination/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sri-lankas-disappearing-snake-charmers-carry-a-legacy-of-fear-and-fascination/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331088</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How freediving helps Indonesia&#8217;s Bajau preserve traditions and conserve marine life</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Sep 2026 18:18:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maddy Bolt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/21115236/Bajau-PELITA-member-Well-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330277</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Nusa Tenggara]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Culture, Education, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Indigenous Peoples, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[POTO TANO, Indonesia — Mahari sits at the front of the boat, cigarette in hand, surveying the conditions of the waters off Poto Tano, a small fishing community on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. As ketua, the leader of this group of Bajau octopus fishers, Mahari decides which tool they will use today. He silently [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[POTO TANO, Indonesia — Mahari sits at the front of the boat, cigarette in hand, surveying the conditions of the waters off Poto Tano, a small fishing community on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. As ketua, the leader of this group of Bajau octopus fishers, Mahari decides which tool they will use today. He silently surveys the waters while the rest of the group sits back and waits for his cue. The Bajau people are an Indigenous ethnic group spanning Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Traditionally living mostly on boats, Bajau people have harvested from the sea through traditional freediving for generations. In Sumbawa, a recent ban on dives assisted by an air compressor, a dangerous diving technique that provides the diver with continuous air, means these traditional methods have become more valuable than ever. With the right skills, freediving can be gentler on both the environment and the body than more destructive modern practices. Through expeditions like this one, Mahari and the other fishermen in his community work in cooperation with local NGOs to ensure this knowledge is passed to new generations. Day octopus (Octopus cyanea). Image by © Stergios Vasilis via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). &#8216;Pocong time&#8217; Depending on current and water visibility, Bajau fishers typically use one of two methods to catch octopus. If there is low visibility or a strong current, they will use a “shell” tool adorned with hooks, which they let go in the water and trail behind their boat. If there is better&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330277</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous knowledge x tech in the search for a tiny Amazon monkey</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indigenous-knowledge-x-tech-in-the-search-for-a-tiny-amazon-monkey/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indigenous-knowledge-x-tech-in-the-search-for-a-tiny-amazon-monkey/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2026 10:40:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/11083700/Pygmy_marmoset_Peter_Kerrawn_B-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329438</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Ecuador, Global, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Acoustic, Animals, Bioacoustics, Biodiversity, Business, Camera Trapping, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Culture, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Education, Environment, forest degradation, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Monitoring, Monkeys, Pet Trade, Pets, Primates, Technology, Trade, Traditional Knowledge, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[How do you search for the world&#8217;s smallest monkey? Earlier this year, Nicolás Schuldt Durán took on this task after he was approached by members of an Indigenous community in Ecuador. Ever since, he’s been tapping into the knowledge of the Siekopai people and combining it with passive acoustic monitoring technology to look for pygmy [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[How do you search for the world&#8217;s smallest monkey? Earlier this year, Nicolás Schuldt Durán took on this task after he was approached by members of an Indigenous community in Ecuador. Ever since, he’s been tapping into the knowledge of the Siekopai people and combining it with passive acoustic monitoring technology to look for pygmy marmosets. Spoiler alert: They’re still looking for this elusive species. Working in the Siekoya Remolino community in Ecuador, Durán is collaborating with Indigenous community members to track pygmy marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea), locally called leoncillo, and gather data on where they live and how they’re faring. “The community has already been setting up camera traps and running a territorial monitoring program to catch hunters and loggers,” Durán, founder of conservation technology organization Neblina Labs, told Mongabay in a video interview. Non-profit Equitable Origin&#8217;s CEFO program was working in the community along with the Keñao women association and the Kënapu&#8217;tiyo climbers. As part of their work, they were using technology and territorial monitoring to protect the forests. Durán joined the program to incorporate bioacoustics to their toolkit. “This is just adding one more tool to their toolkit to monitor biodiversity,” he said. Pygmy marmosets are threatened by the illegal pet trade as well as deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest. Image by David Reece via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). Pygmy marmosets, native to the western Amazon Basin, are so small that an adult weighs only 140-150 grams (about 5 ounces), or the weight of a small apple. They&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indigenous-knowledge-x-tech-in-the-search-for-a-tiny-amazon-monkey/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indigenous-knowledge-x-tech-in-the-search-for-a-tiny-amazon-monkey/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329438</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s high-altitude wildernesses &#038; wildlife are increasingly under threat (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-high-altitude-wildernesses-wildlife-are-increasingly-under-threat-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-high-altitude-wildernesses-wildlife-are-increasingly-under-threat-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 19:49:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Geraldine WerhahnSabita Gurung]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/08101747/10-Pallass-cat-kittens-in-Mongolia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329285</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Commentary, Conservation, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Livestock, Mammals, Mountains, Natural Resources, Pasture, Traditional Knowledge, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Changes like increasing geological and glacial instability driven by the warming climate are a growing concern across the Himalayas. Our hearts go out to the thousands of families across Nepal, China, and around the world grieving their loved ones and searching for those missing after the recent catastrophic flash flood at the Nepal-China border. Though [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Changes like increasing geological and glacial instability driven by the warming climate are a growing concern across the Himalayas. Our hearts go out to the thousands of families across Nepal, China, and around the world grieving their loved ones and searching for those missing after the recent catastrophic flash flood at the Nepal-China border. Though nearly 400 kilometers (almost 250 miles) to the northwest of the recent flash flood zone, our study area in Nepal’s Limi Valley in Upper Humla — a landscape with several villages and a rich wildlife heritage, that we have spent years trying to understand and protect — is also affected by such changes. Limi Valley has been wild for as long as we&#8217;ve studied it, but not anymore. After many days of travel to reach the study area recently, our team was excited to check on the Himalayan wolves, to see if its family would be denning in the same spot as last year. We found no wolves. Instead, we found thousands of sheep and goats, trailed by herders from lower-lying villages, free-ranging herd dogs, and patches of burning vegetation. A Himalayan wolf in its natural habitat in Limi Valley, northwestern Nepal. Photo courtesy of Himalayan Wolves Project. Every season we return, there is less wild left to find. Upper Humla’s once-pristine high-altitude habitats are suffering from human encroachment advancing at an unprecedented pace, pushing wildlife into ever-smaller pockets of shrinking habitat. While formal protection of this unique ecosystem has been on the political agenda&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-high-altitude-wildernesses-wildlife-are-increasingly-under-threat-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-high-altitude-wildernesses-wildlife-are-increasingly-under-threat-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329285</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Colombia’s Indigenous guardians adapt as pressures mount on the ‘Heart of the World’</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/colombias-indigenous-guardians-adapt-as-pressures-mount-on-the-heart-of-the-world/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/colombias-indigenous-guardians-adapt-as-pressures-mount-on-the-heart-of-the-world/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 07:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Roberto Maccariello]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/08210725/0002-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329184</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation and Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Crime, Culture, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Mining, Religions, Social Conflict, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[RIOHACHA, Colombia — Amid the low slopes of a tropical dry forest, families from the Wiwa community of Gomke are building a new home. Their ancestral settlement lies higher on a lush mountain in the town of Dibulla, overlooking the Caribbean coast in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Across this region, many Indigenous communities [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[RIOHACHA, Colombia — Amid the low slopes of a tropical dry forest, families from the Wiwa community of Gomke are building a new home. Their ancestral settlement lies higher on a lush mountain in the town of Dibulla, overlooking the Caribbean coast in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Across this region, many Indigenous communities have been forcibly displaced by climate-related disasters or uprooted by armed actors. Gomke’s move to lower terrain, however, is described by community representatives as voluntary: a collectively led adaptation strategy to protect social, educational and spiritual cohesion amid intensifying climate pressures and the presence of paramilitary groups. They call their new settlement Shegunamke. Shegunnamke is a recently rebuilt Wiwa village. Severe weather events and the spread of paramilitary violence have made their home village increasingly isolated and dangerous. In response, the community is building a new settlement in a safer and more accessible location in order to preserve its social and spiritual structures. Image by Roberto Maccariello. The Wiwa have also acquired other parcels of land elsewhere in the Sierra, including at higher elevations. “We have left [those] untouched so that rivers, springs and bodies of water do not die,” said Roberto Carlos Coronado Calvo, rector of Shenzhawimaku, the Wiwa educational institution that combines conventional learning with the community’s language, culture, knowledge systems and relationship to the territory. “If we begin clearing and cutting into the páramo [ecosystem], how can we guarantee life for those living below?” Across the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, known&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/colombias-indigenous-guardians-adapt-as-pressures-mount-on-the-heart-of-the-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/colombias-indigenous-guardians-adapt-as-pressures-mount-on-the-heart-of-the-world/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329184</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous knowledge helps reveal the ties between reefs and mangroves</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indigenous-knowledge-helps-reveal-the-ties-between-reefs-and-mangroves/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indigenous-knowledge-helps-reveal-the-ties-between-reefs-and-mangroves/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Sep 2026 07:00:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anthony Ham]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/04165859/l.-Phillip-Bibido-McCarthy-%C2%A9ABC-Kimberley-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328795</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Culture, Ecology, Ecosystems, Environment, Fisheries, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Mangroves, Marine, Protected Areas, Research, Science, Solutions, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a recent scientific article in the journal Ocean &#38; Coastal Management, alongside the list of scientist-authors were the Bardi Jawi and Oorany Rangers and the Bardi Jawi Traditional Owners. For the past decade, Bardi Jawi rangers and traditional owners have been working with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) to study and protect [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a recent scientific article in the journal Ocean &amp; Coastal Management, alongside the list of scientist-authors were the Bardi Jawi and Oorany Rangers and the Bardi Jawi Traditional Owners. For the past decade, Bardi Jawi rangers and traditional owners have been working with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) to study and protect their mangrove and reef ecosystems, as well as their traditional Indigenous fishing grounds. The Bardi Jawi, according to Phillip “Bibido” McCarthy, are a “Saltwater People” whose traditional diet revolves around healthy oceans. Their land, located in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia, is of “red earth, blue ocean, and green mangroves,” Bibido, the 59-year-old coordinator of the Bardi Jawi men’s ranger program, tells Mongabay. Bardi Jawi Country forms part of the 95,000-hectare (235,000-acre) Bardi Jawi Indigenous Protected Area (declared in 2013 and administered by the Bardi Jawi) and the 204,000-hectare (504,000-acre) Bardi Jawi Gaarra Marine Park (established in 2022, with a zoning scheme that came into force in July 2026). Among the most important findings in the study was the interconnectedness between reef and mangrove ecosystems for sustaining fisheries — an aspect long recognized in Bardi Jawi traditional ecological knowledge. The overall project and its findings also guided the design of both the IPA and marine park. Cape Leveque on the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia. Image by Marty Southwell via Unsplash. Goldlined rabbitfish (Siganus lineatus). Image by © Kristin Anderson via iNaturalist. CC BY-NC 4.0. Much scientific work in recent years has focused on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indigenous-knowledge-helps-reveal-the-ties-between-reefs-and-mangroves/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indigenous-knowledge-helps-reveal-the-ties-between-reefs-and-mangroves/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328795</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rooting tree seed production in local knowledge boosts forest restoration outcomes (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rooting-tree-seed-production-in-local-knowledge-boosts-forest-restoration-outcomes-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rooting-tree-seed-production-in-local-knowledge-boosts-forest-restoration-outcomes-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Sep 2026 20:25:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ahmad MuhammadNur Estya Binte RahmanSigit SutiknoZu Dienle Tan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/01200434/Selumo_planting_2-e1788293106470-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328254</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Landscape Restoration, Nature-based climate solutions, Plants, Reforestation, Restoration, Solutions, Traditional Knowledge, Trees, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Since the launch of global restoration initiatives such as the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), large-scale tree planting has become the hallmark of many restoration projects. Ambitious targets, such as The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees campaign and the World Economic Forum’s One Trillion Tree Initiative, highlight the potential of tree-based restoration in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Since the launch of global restoration initiatives such as the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), large-scale tree planting has become the hallmark of many restoration projects. Ambitious targets, such as The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees campaign and the World Economic Forum’s One Trillion Tree Initiative, highlight the potential of tree-based restoration in achieving the triple goals of climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and social well-being. However, this fascination with the number of trees planted often obscures the more complex challenges of ensuring tree survival, resilience, and adaptation in the face of climate change. Addressing these challenges requires not only technical expertise but also place-based knowledge that communities living within and around these forests have accumulated over generations. In the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, forest restoration does not occur in a vacuum: Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are dependent on forests for their livelihoods and subsistence. Their familiarity with the local species, landscapes, and ecological rhythms makes them indispensable partners in restoration efforts. Engaging IPLCs is especially important when it comes to the delicate process of collecting, storing, and caring for plant propagules and seedlings (hereafter referred to as seed), which can contribute to higher survival rates and more resilient forest stands over time. This commentary examines how integrating IPLC knowledge into the upstream process of seed propagation can strengthen forest restoration outcomes in Southeast Asia, and what enabling conditions are needed to support their meaningful participation. Natural forest in Indonesia. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rooting-tree-seed-production-in-local-knowledge-boosts-forest-restoration-outcomes-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rooting-tree-seed-production-in-local-knowledge-boosts-forest-restoration-outcomes-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328254</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Siraya language, deemed ‘extinct’ over a century ago, finds its voice again in Taiwan</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-language-deemed-extinct-over-a-century-ago-finds-its-voice-again-in-taiwan/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-language-deemed-extinct-over-a-century-ago-finds-its-voice-again-in-taiwan/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Aug 2026 12:52:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aylin Ho]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/28161645/image00003a-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327805</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, Global, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Culture, Education, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Hope and optimism, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Language, and Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[TAINAN, Taiwan — Since she was old enough to understand it, Uma Talavan has known she belongs to the Indigenous Siraya people.  She knew almost nothing of her ethnicity, however, the identity of which was dissolved by centuries of forced assimilation, save for a handful of words her parents used to speak. In search of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[TAINAN, Taiwan — Since she was old enough to understand it, Uma Talavan has known she belongs to the Indigenous Siraya people.  She knew almost nothing of her ethnicity, however, the identity of which was dissolved by centuries of forced assimilation, save for a handful of words her parents used to speak. In search of &#8220;who she is,&#8221; as she puts it, the Siraya activist decided to bring her language back to life nearly 200 years after it died out. “Language is an extremely important part of a people&#8217;s soul,” she says. “It lets us know the past and connect it to the present.&#8221;  Her work to revitalize the Siraya language, which began more than 20 years ago, helped secure the community’s legal recognition as Taiwan&#8217;s 17th Indigenous group. Uma Talavan, her activist father Wan Cheng-hsiung, also known as Cheng-hiong Talavan, and other members of the community traveled from Tainan to Taipei to attend a ceremony announcing the recognition on July 30.  Siraya activist Uma Talavan at Koupi Experimental Elementary School, the first school where learning Siraya is mandatory, in Sinhua district, Tainan, Taiwan, on Aug. 21, 2026. Image by Aylin Ho for Mongabay. The Siraya, one of Taiwan’s Austronesian-speaking Indigenous peoples, are the largest of the Pingpu groups, the peoples who have traditionally inhabited the island’s lowland plains and coastal areas. When the Dutch arrived in southern Taiwan in the 17th century, the Siraya were the first people they came into contact with.  The story of the Siraya language&#8217;s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-language-deemed-extinct-over-a-century-ago-finds-its-voice-again-in-taiwan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-language-deemed-extinct-over-a-century-ago-finds-its-voice-again-in-taiwan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327805</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>At global desertification conference, pastoralists call for greater recognition</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/at-global-desertification-conference-pastoralists-call-for-greater-recognition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/at-global-desertification-conference-pastoralists-call-for-greater-recognition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Aug 2026 20:36:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Joseph Lee]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/23160710/IMG_4465-e1787690019347-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327316</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Environment, Governance, Grasslands, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Livestock, Pasture, Ranching, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cattle are a central part of the identity of Andrew Msami’s Maasai community in northeast Tanzania. Herd size determines social position, and many people keep all their wealth in livestock, not banks. In recent years, however, Msami and others have been forced to sell the animals and buy goats, which can handle drought better but [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cattle are a central part of the identity of Andrew Msami’s Maasai community in northeast Tanzania. Herd size determines social position, and many people keep all their wealth in livestock, not banks. In recent years, however, Msami and others have been forced to sell the animals and buy goats, which can handle drought better but are less financially and culturally valuable. Msami says adapting to a shifting climate has been a part of Maasai life for generations, but recent conditions represent an existential threat. “We have to adapt because it&#8217;s like desertification is attacking our identity,” Msami told Grist. a U.S.-based nonprofit media organization. “If you lose your identity, it means you have lost everything.” The Maasai are pastoralists, a term that describes the roughly 500 million people around the world who tend herds of livestock including cattle, goats and sheep. They often move with the animals as they seek grass and water. Because they live and work in places with arid conditions and extreme temperatures, they are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Around the world, drought and land degradation threaten rangelands, which make up roughly half of the planet’s landmass, and the pastoralists from Tanzania and Sudan to Nepal and Mongolia that rely on them. The pace of arable land degradation is 30 to 35 times the historic average, threatening even the most resilient communities, according to the U.N. Pastoralists also face an influx of invasive species, extractive industries, tourists and other threats. To address these overlapping crises, Msami&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/at-global-desertification-conference-pastoralists-call-for-greater-recognition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/at-global-desertification-conference-pastoralists-call-for-greater-recognition/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327316</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Inspiring young herpetologists in Sri Lanka: Interview with Anslem de Silva</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/inspiring-young-herpetologists-in-sri-lanka-interview-with-anslem-de-silva/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/inspiring-young-herpetologists-in-sri-lanka-interview-with-anslem-de-silva/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Aug 2026 14:53:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/25122934/3.-in-the-field-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327246</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Education, Herps, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Lizards, Reptiles, Science, and Tropical Conservation Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — Sri Lankan-born conservation biologist and National Geographic explorer Ruchira Somaweera is internationally recognized for his award-winning wildlife research, photography and storytelling. Despite his global achievements, Somaweera treasures an old journal copy containing a prophecy. When he was 13 years old, Somaweera received a copy of the research journal Lyriocephalus with a handwritten note [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — Sri Lankan-born conservation biologist and National Geographic explorer Ruchira Somaweera is internationally recognized for his award-winning wildlife research, photography and storytelling. Despite his global achievements, Somaweera treasures an old journal copy containing a prophecy. When he was 13 years old, Somaweera received a copy of the research journal Lyriocephalus with a handwritten note which read: “One day you will be a great herpetologist,” signed by Anslem de Silva. “Almost 30 years ago, I got hooked into herpetology after reading a series of newspaper articles written by de Silva on Sri Lankan snakes in a local science publication. Those articles inspired me to prepare a small booklet on snakes as my school science project. Most of the herpetologists of my generation were groomed by de Silva, and hundreds, if not thousands, of students have been inspired by him, just like I was,” Somaweera told Mongabay. In 1995, Ruchira Somaweera received a copy of the research journal Lyriocephalus from Anslem de Silva with the signed inscription: “One day you will be a great herpetologist.” Image courtesy of Ruchira Somaweera. Anslem de Silva is widely regarded as as the father of modern herpetology in Sri Lanka, having dedicated more than six decades to studying the island’s reptiles and amphibians. His pioneering research, publications and conservation efforts have transformed scientific understanding of Sri Lanka’s remarkable herpetofauna. Sri Lanka’s herpetofauna represents the island’s extraordinary diversity of reptiles and amphibians, including snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles, frogs, toads and caecilians, with many species found nowhere&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/inspiring-young-herpetologists-in-sri-lanka-interview-with-anslem-de-silva/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/inspiring-young-herpetologists-in-sri-lanka-interview-with-anslem-de-silva/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327246</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How a rare bird sparked a wildlife movement across 16 villages in Guyana</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-a-rare-bird-sparked-a-wildlife-movement-across-16-villages-in-guyana/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-a-rare-bird-sparked-a-wildlife-movement-across-16-villages-in-guyana/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Aug 2026 23:26:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gentry Hale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/24145023/red-siskin-Spinus-cucullatus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327131</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Guyana, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Endangered Species, Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional People, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[WICHABAI, Guyana — At sunrise in Guyana’s South Rupununi, Leroy Ignacio stops beside a tree scored with large claw marks. The animal responsible was a giant anteater. “They even rub their backs on the trunk to leave a scent behind,” says Ignacio, president of the South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS), as he demonstrates the motion. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[WICHABAI, Guyana — At sunrise in Guyana’s South Rupununi, Leroy Ignacio stops beside a tree scored with large claw marks. The animal responsible was a giant anteater. “They even rub their backs on the trunk to leave a scent behind,” says Ignacio, president of the South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS), as he demonstrates the motion. Indigenous researchers had long observed anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) climbing and marking trees, behaviors previously documented by scientists only in isolated cases. Working with four Indigenous communities, SRCS placed cameras at trees identified by locals. The resulting 883 recorded visits suggested the solitary animals use the trees to communicate. For nearly a quarter-century, SRCS has built a multi-community approach to conservation grounded in traditional knowledge. Its members are villagers, farmers and teachers who work with participating communities to research wildlife, develop conservation guidelines and teach local ecology. Before SRCS, Indigenous-led conservation in the Rupununi was mostly in the form of scattered projects and traditional stewardship by Makushi and Wapichan communities. But the discovery of an endangered bird, the red siskin (Spinus cucullatus), gave several South Rupununi communities a reason to organize across village boundaries. A flock of red siskins in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana. Image by Nick Athanas via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). A multi-community movement It all began with a scientific trip, recounts Ignacio. In 2000, researchers from the Smithsonian and the University of Kansas, both in the U.S., came to the South Rupununi to survey birds. Duane De Freitas and other young Indigenous residents&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-a-rare-bird-sparked-a-wildlife-movement-across-16-villages-in-guyana/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-a-rare-bird-sparked-a-wildlife-movement-across-16-villages-in-guyana/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327131</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Local knowledge guides rediscovery of spinach pipefish, not seen in four decades</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/local-knowledge-guides-rediscovery-of-spinach-pipefish-not-seen-in-four-decades/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/local-knowledge-guides-rediscovery-of-spinach-pipefish-not-seen-in-four-decades/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Aug 2026 17:19:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/24155007/Spinach_Pipefish_iv_%C2%A9_New_Guinea_Binatang_Research_Center_edit-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327148</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Melanesia, Oceania, Pacific Islands, and Papua New Guinea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Indigenous Peoples, Rediscovered Species, Species, Surveying, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[By mid-June, Jerrica Agebigo was staring at disappointment. Her nearly two-week-long, exhausting search for a mysterious fish that hasn’t been seen by scientists for nearly four decades was drawing to a close. Her team of researchers had braved Papua New Guinea’s hot, humid summer days, meandering along the Sepik River’s course by boat and canoe [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[By mid-June, Jerrica Agebigo was staring at disappointment. Her nearly two-week-long, exhausting search for a mysterious fish that hasn’t been seen by scientists for nearly four decades was drawing to a close. Her team of researchers had braved Papua New Guinea’s hot, humid summer days, meandering along the Sepik River’s course by boat and canoe — but the spinach pipefish still eluded them. “We had spent days travelling through the Lower Sepik, talking with communities and looking for information about the pipefish,” Agebigo, a researcher at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology and the New Guinea Binatang Research Centre, wrote in an email. “We had almost given up hope.” The spinach pipefish (Microphis spinachioides) is a small, slender pipefish with an elongated snout it uses to capture small prey, reaching maybe 15 centimeters (6 inches) in length. This greenish-brown freshwater creature, a close relative of seahorses and seadragons, is well camouflaged in its only known home here in the Sepik River — the country’s longest waterway — hiding among water lilies and other plants near riverbanks. Just like seahorses, pipefish males carry their embryos in a brood pouch for weeks until the young are born. Much about the spinach pipefish has remained an enigma, because scientists haven’t seen it since 1985. It was last assessed for the IUCN Red List in 2016, and at the time, was classified as data deficient by IUCN, the global conservation authority. The only known museum specimen, on which the taxonomy of the species&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/local-knowledge-guides-rediscovery-of-spinach-pipefish-not-seen-in-four-decades/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/local-knowledge-guides-rediscovery-of-spinach-pipefish-not-seen-in-four-decades/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327148</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Egypt’s deserts show why ecological knowledge matters in conservation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/egypts-deserts-show-why-ecological-knowledge-matters-in-conservation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/egypts-deserts-show-why-ecological-knowledge-matters-in-conservation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2026 15:13:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Marwan Mahmoud Kamal Hamdoun]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/19142501/Red_Sea_coastal_landscape-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326676</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Egypt, Global, and North Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Culture, Deserts, Ecosystems, Ecotourism, Education, Environment, Tourism, Traditional Knowledge, and Travel]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Egypt&#8217;s deserts are often introduced to the world as empty: Wide horizons, silence, heat, sand and stone. In tourism brochures they become dramatic scenery. In archaeological writing they can appear as corridors around monuments. In some conservation documents they are fragile spaces that need technical management from outside. But these descriptions miss something essential. Deserts [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Egypt&#8217;s deserts are often introduced to the world as empty: Wide horizons, silence, heat, sand and stone. In tourism brochures they become dramatic scenery. In archaeological writing they can appear as corridors around monuments. In some conservation documents they are fragile spaces that need technical management from outside. But these descriptions miss something essential. Deserts are not empty. They are living landscapes, ecological archives and knowledge systems. For local desert communities, the landscape is not a blank background. It is read through water, plants, tracks, grazing routes, winds, seasonal movement, stories, risks and memories. A valley, a spring, a coastal plain or a mountain pass can hold information about how people and non-human life have adapted to scarcity. This kind of local ecological knowledge is not a decorative addition to conservation. It can help researchers and managers understand how landscapes are used, remembered and explained. In Egypt, this point matters urgently. The country is known globally for its ancient monuments, but its protected areas and biosphere reserves also contain another kind of heritage: Fossil valleys, desert plants, coral-linked coastal systems, migration routes, geological formations and human knowledge shaped by arid environments. If these landscapes are treated only as scenery, or as scientific sites separated from people, conservation loses part of its evidence base and much of its public meaning. At Wadi Al-Hitan in Fayoum, Egypt, visitors often arrive to see fossil whales, but the wider landscape tells a larger story: Ancient seas, changing climates, desert erosion and the long history&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/egypts-deserts-show-why-ecological-knowledge-matters-in-conservation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326676</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Elders, conservationists race to record fading sacred ties to Philippines’ endemic birds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/elders-conservationists-race-to-record-fading-sacred-ties-to-philippines-endemic-birds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/elders-conservationists-race-to-record-fading-sacred-ties-to-philippines-endemic-birds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 19:55:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18111008/Mindoro-boobook-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326488</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Citizen Science, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Education, Endangered Species, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Medicinal Plants, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, Traditional People, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PUERTO GALERA, Philippines — The forest settles into a gentle rhythm as the trail climbs into the Iraya Mangyan ancestral domain in Puerto Galera town, on the Philippines’ Mindoro Island. Only birdsong breaks the silence as towering trees sway overhead. A clear stream tumbles across the trail over smooth rocks. Ahead walks 43-year-old Lenito Pampilo. Every [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PUERTO GALERA, Philippines — The forest settles into a gentle rhythm as the trail climbs into the Iraya Mangyan ancestral domain in Puerto Galera town, on the Philippines’ Mindoro Island. Only birdsong breaks the silence as towering trees sway overhead. A clear stream tumbles across the trail over smooth rocks. Ahead walks 43-year-old Lenito Pampilo. Every few steps, he stops — not because the climb is difficult, but because the forest is speaking, he says. He points to an unseen bird in the canopy. Another answers from farther uphill. For him, each call carries meaning. “Our elders taught us these birds,” he tells Mongabay. Pampilo, an Iraya community leader and ecotrail guide, has spent much of his life in these mountains. His knowledge goes beyond recognizing species. “Some birds signal changing weather, warn of danger or carry messages between the living and spirit worlds,” he says. “Trees, streams and ridges also hold stories passed from one generation to the next.” For the Iraya, the forest is a largely unwritten living archive. Lenito Pampilo, an Iraya community leader and ecotrail guide, has spent much of his life in the mountains located in the Iraya Mangyan ancestral lands. Image by Keith Anthony Fabro. For the Iraya, the forest is a largely unwritten living archive. Image courtesy of Center for Conservation Innovations PH Inc. As elders age and fewer young people learn beside them, the Center for Conservation Innovations Philippines (CCIPH) is helping Iraya knowledge holders document wildlife, medicinal plants and culturally important places&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/elders-conservationists-race-to-record-fading-sacred-ties-to-philippines-endemic-birds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326488</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On the Great Barrier Reef, management by Traditional Owners is growing</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-the-great-barrier-reef-management-by-traditional-owners-is-growing/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-the-great-barrier-reef-management-by-traditional-owners-is-growing/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 18:35:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Cat Williams]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18180055/a.-141891-2-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326533</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Culture, Ecosystems, Environment, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Protected Areas, Solutions, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PERTH, Australia — “There’s this beautiful underwater garden out there,” says Mercy Singleton, referring to the vast network of colorful corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef off eastern Australia’s Queensland coast. “We’d like to see it safe and recovering.” Singleton is Yirrganydji and director of Research and Engagement Services at Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PERTH, Australia — “There’s this beautiful underwater garden out there,” says Mercy Singleton, referring to the vast network of colorful corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef off eastern Australia’s Queensland coast. “We’d like to see it safe and recovering.” Singleton is Yirrganydji and director of Research and Engagement Services at Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation. Her people are one of 18 Traditional Owner groups helping steward the Great Barrier Reef, for them their Sea Country — with Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements (TUMRAs) in hand. These community-based plans for joint management of the Reef are part of a suite of conservation efforts at the iconic World Heritage Site that include Traditional Owners in management. While there are still gaps in the full inclusion of Indigenous communities in the stewardship of their traditional waters, big strides are being made, say Indigenous governance organizations and scientists. A recent decision by the World Heritage Committee has taken notice.  “The last 30 years have seen massive changes in how the Great Barrier Reef is managed, particularly for Traditional Owners,” says Allan Dale, professor of tropical regional development at James Cook University. “There&#8217;s been this great increase in the governing capability and the ability of those Traditional Owner groups to achieve their aspirations,” he tells Mongabay. “There&#8217;s been a real huge growth in the sort of capability of land and sea reservations and there&#8217;s an increasing number of rangers and leaders and planners and workers in that space.” Dr. Mercy Singleton, director of Research&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-the-great-barrier-reef-management-by-traditional-owners-is-growing/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326533</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous food sovereignty is one of the most overlooked conservation strategies (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-food-sovereignty-is-one-of-the-most-overlooked-conservation-strategies-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-food-sovereignty-is-one-of-the-most-overlooked-conservation-strategies-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 16:21:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Brijlal ChaudhariGemma Sethsmith]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/23081210/44366384701_940bc33dc5_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326534</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Food, food security, Health, Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As governments and conservation organizations search for solutions to the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, climate change and food insecurity, they are overlooking one of the most effective approaches already working on the ground: Indigenous food sovereignty. Around the world, Indigenous communities manage or hold tenure rights to roughly a quarter of Earth’s land surface, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As governments and conservation organizations search for solutions to the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, climate change and food insecurity, they are overlooking one of the most effective approaches already working on the ground: Indigenous food sovereignty. Around the world, Indigenous communities manage or hold tenure rights to roughly a quarter of Earth’s land surface, which contains 37% of remaining natural lands worldwide and a third of the planet’s intact forest landscapes. They conserve seeds, maintain diverse farming landscapes, protect forests and rivers and fisheries, and pass ecological knowledge from one generation to the next. Yet these systems are rarely recognized as central to conservation policy, despite their proven contributions to both biodiversity and community resilience. This needs to change. Food sovereignty leader Richard Rojo in his Vanuatu taro garden. Image courtesy of Monica Kidd. The global food system is becoming increasingly uniform. Just three crops — wheat, rice, and maize — provide more than half of the world’s plant-derived calories. Driven by profit, industrial agriculture has transformed vast landscapes into monocultures, contributing to habitat loss, declining soil health, water pollution and the erosion of crop diversity. At the same time, communities everywhere are becoming more vulnerable to climate shocks, market instability and diet-related disease. In contrast, Indigenous food systems are often built on diversity, reciprocity with the land and the way many Indigenous communities perceive wealth. For one of our communities, for example, the Tharu of Nepal, wealth is found in mutual aid, collective reciprocity, and the sacred relations&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-food-sovereignty-is-one-of-the-most-overlooked-conservation-strategies-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-326534</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How a Brazilian Indigenous ethnobotanist &#038; elders recorded their people’s medicinal knowledge</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-the-first-published-indigenous-ethnobotanist-elders-recorded-their-peoples-medicinal-knowledge/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-the-first-published-indigenous-ethnobotanist-elders-recorded-their-peoples-medicinal-knowledge/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2026 07:00:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03145846/banner-2-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322177</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Culture, Education, Indigenous Peoples, Medicinal Plants, Medicine, Plants, Research, Science, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CARAMURU/PARAGUASSU INDIGENOUS TERRITORY, Brazil — Looking at the landscape of dry and cleared mountains around her house, Marta Xavier de Oliveira remembered when it was a forest. &#8220;When we got sick, that&#8217;s where we got our medicine from,&#8221; Oliveira, known as Dona Marta, 87, told Mongabay. An Indigenous elder of the Kariri-Sapuyá people, she stands [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CARAMURU/PARAGUASSU INDIGENOUS TERRITORY, Brazil — Looking at the landscape of dry and cleared mountains around her house, Marta Xavier de Oliveira remembered when it was a forest. &#8220;When we got sick, that&#8217;s where we got our medicine from,&#8221; Oliveira, known as Dona Marta, 87, told Mongabay. An Indigenous elder of the Kariri-Sapuyá people, she stands amid her ancestral land in Brazil&#8217;s northeastern Bahia state and her vegetable garden where she’s kept several medicinal plants going. Beside her is an embaúba tree (Cecropia pachystachya), used to treat diabetes and prostate issues, in the backyard of her house in the village of Caramuru. &#8220;It was all over there. They knocked everything down. Everything was cleared and they destroyed the forest.&#8221; Some native species, including embaúba, were planted here 44 years ago. Others, however, disappeared from the territory over the past decades, when outsiders invaded the area and cleared the forests for cattle pastures, Dona Marta said. She cited a specific plant: puaia, used to treat snake bites, plague — an illness elders said includes fever, headaches, and leaves the body all twisted — and various other diseases. &#8220;It was there in the woods,&#8221; she said, pointing to the cleared mountains. &#8220;It&#8217;s gone.&#8221; On Dec. 27, 2025, Dona Marta passed away. Her knowledge, however, is alive today in a study published in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethomedicine, which cited her. The paper is authored by Indigenous ethnobotanist Hemerson Dantas dos Santos Pataxó HãHãHãi and Eliana Rodrigues, a professor and coordinator of ethnobotanical&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-the-first-published-indigenous-ethnobotanist-elders-recorded-their-peoples-medicinal-knowledge/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322177</doi>				</item>
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