<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" >

	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=food-industry&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/food-industry/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sun, 09 Aug 2026 07:06:56 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
		<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
		<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
		<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.3</generator>

<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Food Industry</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/food-industry/</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
</image> 
				<item>
					<title>Cheap coffee is killing Vietnam’s priceless tropical forests (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 20:45:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Etelle Higonnet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/08/19233119/Vietnam-smallholder-coffee-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325233</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Coffee, Commentary, Commodity agriculture, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Food, Food Industry, Food Vs Forests Debate, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Industrial Agriculture, Natural Resources, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Vietnam is now the world’s largest producer of robusta, the bitter, sturdy bean behind instant coffee, supermarket blends, and the overall global appetite for cheap caffeine. But behind its meteoric rise to No. 2 coffee producer in the world lies a story the industry has tried very hard to hide: forests are disappearing, wildlife is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Vietnam is now the world’s largest producer of robusta, the bitter, sturdy bean behind instant coffee, supermarket blends, and the overall global appetite for cheap caffeine. But behind its meteoric rise to No. 2 coffee producer in the world lies a story the industry has tried very hard to hide: forests are disappearing, wildlife is vanishing, and rural communities are being pushed to the brink. As ecosystems start to collapse, coffee is getting harder and harder to grow, and the brands buying that coffee and filling supermarket shelves from Copenhagen to California are complicit every step of the way. Our new Coffee Watch investigation, “Vietnam: Robusta’s Reckoning,” reveals the scale of the crisis. Forests the size of Luxembourg have been wiped out for coffee. In biodiversity hotspots like Vietnam’s Central Highlands, wildlife like tigers, elephants, civets, sun bears, adorable flying squirrels, and delicate saola (sometimes referred to as the “Asian unicorn”), have been squeezed into ever‑smaller fragments of habitat, or just plain wiped out. Communities are losing the very ecosystems that sustain them, and this destruction is largely happening so the world can enjoy cheap robusta in instant coffee, capsules, and mass‑market blends. Typical landscape in Vietnam that&#8217;s suitable for growing robusta coffee. Image by Michael Tatarski for Mongabay. Vietnam’s rise as a coffee superpower is often framed as a rural development miracle, but the truth is far darker. Smallholder farmers, who grow the vast majority of Vietnam’s coffee, are trapped in a system that rewards expansion into forested land&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325233</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Before giant meat producer JBS expands to Nigeria, people deserve answers (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/before-giant-meat-producer-jbs-expands-to-nigeria-people-deserve-answers-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/before-giant-meat-producer-jbs-expands-to-nigeria-people-deserve-answers-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 00:17:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Felix Horne]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/02/01174203/Foto-3-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324939</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Global, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Cattle, Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Deforestation, Environment, Food, Food Industry, food security, Governance, Natural Resources, and Nutrition]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nigeria may soon become the site of one of the largest livestock investments in its history. JBS, the world&#8217;s largest meat company, is pursuing a reported $2.5 billion investment that could reshape parts of the country&#8217;s agricultural sector. The proposal has been welcomed by many for its potential economic benefits, but before it moves forward, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nigeria may soon become the site of one of the largest livestock investments in its history. JBS, the world&#8217;s largest meat company, is pursuing a reported $2.5 billion investment that could reshape parts of the country&#8217;s agricultural sector. The proposal has been welcomed by many for its potential economic benefits, but before it moves forward, Nigerians deserve clear answers about what it could mean for communities, land, water, and the climate. Much of the discussion around the project has focused on jobs, agricultural development, food security, and economic opportunity. Those are important goals. But there is another dimension that deserves far greater scrutiny: Methane. JBS is not simply the world&#8217;s largest meat producer. It is also responsible for more methane emissions than ExxonMobil and Shell combined, according to estimates published by Greenpeace in 2024. JBS undoubtedly disputes these figures, but the broader point is difficult to ignore: When measured by climate impact, the world&#8217;s largest livestock companies increasingly belong in the same conversation as the world&#8217;s largest fossil fuel companies. Methane rarely attracts the same public attention as carbon dioxide, yet it is responsible for roughly a third of the warming the world is experiencing today. Because it traps far more heat than carbon dioxide over the short term, cutting methane emissions is widely seen as one of the fastest ways to slow near-term climate change. Much of the public debate focuses on oil and gas. But industrial livestock production is also a major source, accounting for much of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/before-giant-meat-producer-jbs-expands-to-nigeria-people-deserve-answers-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/before-giant-meat-producer-jbs-expands-to-nigeria-people-deserve-answers-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324939</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New treaty promises safer conditions for Indonesia&#8217;s fishing crews</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-treaty-promises-safer-conditions-for-indonesias-fishing-crews/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-treaty-promises-safer-conditions-for-indonesias-fishing-crews/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2026 10:54:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[M Ambari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/24080226/hasil-tangkapan-ikan-kapal-nelayan-tegal-1536x1152-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324485</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian Fisheries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food Industry, Forced labor, Governance, Human Rights, Illegal Fishing, Industry, Law, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Endi sat in front of the door leading to the second deck of a fishing boat at the Nizam Zachman fishing port in Jakarta. As he waited for the vessel to depart, the 42-year-old member shared his experience working at sea. “I only have a primary school education. I tried other jobs, like [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Endi sat in front of the door leading to the second deck of a fishing boat at the Nizam Zachman fishing port in Jakarta. As he waited for the vessel to depart, the 42-year-old member shared his experience working at sea. “I only have a primary school education. I tried other jobs, like construction, but I couldn’t handle it. The pay was low,” he told Mongabay. On fishing boats, he said, crew members are paid according to their roles. Ordinary deckhands earn around 25,000 rupiah per day, or about $1.40, while the chief engineer gets up to four times that much. For a two-month voyage, that puts total earnings anywhere from 1.5 million to 6 million rupiah ($84-$334). Endi said that while this is still insufficient to support a family, he remains grateful to have work. This could improve in the near future. In April this year, the Indonesian government ratified the International Labour Organization’s Work in Fishing Convention of 2007 (also known as ILO 188), marking a major step toward strengthening labor protections in the fishing sector. The government now has one year to prepare for its implementation, including revising existing regulations governing the recruitment, training, certification, and management of fishing crews. Overall, the convention seeks to establish minimum standards for occupational safety and health, fair wages, decent working conditions, social security, legal protection, and adequate rest for workers in the fishing industry. Fishing crew members wait for their vessel’s scheduled departure from the Nizam Zachman fishing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-treaty-promises-safer-conditions-for-indonesias-fishing-crews/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-treaty-promises-safer-conditions-for-indonesias-fishing-crews/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324485</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Zambia’s bumper harvest masks likely food insecurity amid geopolitics and climate threats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 13:12:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chisapi Kumbutso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03133435/5433664321_547a088000_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322469</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change Denial, Climate Science, El Nino, Environment, Fertilizers, Finance, Food, Food Industry, Food Prices, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Impact Of Climate Change, Natural Resources, Nature-based climate solutions, Nutrition, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA, Zambia — The escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, has prompted warnings that disruptions to the supply of fuel and fertilizer shipped through the Strait of Hormuz could cause food insecurity in some African countries. While experts say it will take time for the effects of the conflict to be felt in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA, Zambia — The escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, has prompted warnings that disruptions to the supply of fuel and fertilizer shipped through the Strait of Hormuz could cause food insecurity in some African countries. While experts say it will take time for the effects of the conflict to be felt in Zambia, they also point to vulnerabilities in the country&#8217;s food system and suggest greater resilience to possible stresses. Zambia&#8217;s food security is generally understood to rest on a single crop: maize. Zambia Statistics Agency reports that the price of a 25-kilogram bag of breakfast mealie meal declined slightly from April to May. In fact, the price of mealie meal is 15% lower than it was this time last year. The FAO&#8217;s April 2026 country briefing for Zambia said good rains since last October point to a second consecutive year of above-average harvests of maize. The rains are also expected to support a rebound of wheat harvest, as full reservoirs mean a steady supply of hydroelectric power that will allow the crop’s growers (primarily large-scale, industrial farmers) to irrigate their fields. The briefing reported that reference prices for maize were 25% lower year-on-year in March, thanks to plentiful domestic supply and a strengthening of the currency. Maize meal prices also declined by 15%, according to the Zambia Statistics Agency. Drawing on the IPC classification, the FAO said the number of Zambians facing &#8220;crisis&#8221; levels of acute food insecurity in the six months to March 2026 was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322469</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How a popular spaghetti dish is threatening Italy’s marine ecosystem</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-a-popular-spaghetti-dish-is-threatening-italys-marine-ecosystem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-a-popular-spaghetti-dish-is-threatening-italys-marine-ecosystem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jun 2026 17:47:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manuela Callari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/16113722/Riccio_Viola_URCHIN-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321286</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, European Union, and Italy]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Consumption, Crime, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Illegal Fishing, Invertebrates, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overconsumption, Overfishing, Surveillance, Tourism, Wildlife, and Wildlife consumption]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAPLES — On a warm, moonlit night in May, Maurizio Simeone sat in an ambush at his desk about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Naples, Italy. The marine scientist and director of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Gaiola Underwater Park was watching the grainy live feed from cameras surveilling the MPA as poachers descended [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAPLES — On a warm, moonlit night in May, Maurizio Simeone sat in an ambush at his desk about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Naples, Italy. The marine scientist and director of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Gaiola Underwater Park was watching the grainy live feed from cameras surveilling the MPA as poachers descended on the seafloor. “It was midnight. Here they were again,” Simeone told Mongabay. The poachers had come a few nights before to scout the area. Then a second time. This time, Simeone was waiting for them. He rushed to alert the Coast Guard. The poachers operated with ruthless efficiency, using a dangerous illegal method known as the hookah system. A compressor on a small boat pumps air through a hose to a diver, allowing them to stay underwater for hours and systematically strip the seabed. Every 20 minutes, the diver resurfaced to hand over a net full of purple sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus), grab an empty net and then dive back down. When the authorities moved in, the two men on the boat began dumping hundreds of sea urchins and their gear into the sea, as the diver quickly resurfaced. The three men were old acquaintances of Simeone’s. “They are repeat offenders. It’s not the first time we’ve caught them,” Simeone said. Illegally harvested sea urchins seized in July 2024. Image courtesy of Maurizio Simeone. During a previous bust a year earlier, the vessel was apprehended with a staggering haul: 976 sea urchins pulled from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-a-popular-spaghetti-dish-is-threatening-italys-marine-ecosystem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-a-popular-spaghetti-dish-is-threatening-italys-marine-ecosystem/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321286</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Growing appetite for açaí is damaging bird diversity in the Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/growing-appetite-for-acai-is-damaging-bird-diversity-in-the-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/growing-appetite-for-acai-is-damaging-bird-diversity-in-the-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jun 2026 17:15:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Suzana Camargo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/15162629/17-white-throated-toucan-Ramphastos-tucanus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321214</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Environment, Food, Food Industry, Industrial Agriculture, Monocultures, Plantations, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Your refreshing smoothie bowl might be silencing the white-throated toucan and the razor-billed curassow.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&#8220;Ah-sigh-ee.” Perhaps you don’t yet know the correct pronunciation of this Amazonian fruit, but chances are high that you’ve already seen its name – açaí – on some menu, especially in cafes and small shops specializing in healthy eating, sold mainly as the primary ingredient in bowls, smoothies, ice creams or juices. In Brazil, about 95% of the production of this small, round and very dark-purple fruit is concentrated in the Amazonian state of Pará. It’s a staple of the local diet, where it’s consumed, blended, with fish, cassava flour and other Amazonian ingredients. But because of its nutritional benefits, being rich in antioxidants and fibers, and having high energy value, açaí’s fame as a “superfood” quickly reached other Brazilian regions and, eventually, other countries. But the increase in fruit production to meet both national and international demand is reducing bird diversity in the floodplain forests of the Amazon. According to a study recently published in the journal Biological Conservation, areas with a higher density of açaí palm trees show a 28% decline in the number of bird species. “Our goal was to understand the consequences of the expansion of açaí cultivation and its various forms of management on birds, with a primary focus on frugivores, those that feed on fruits,” study co-author Raphael de Vasconcelos Nunes, a biologist at the Federal University of Pará, told Mongabay. According to Nunes, floodplain forests are already among the most impacted forest environments in the Amazon. They’re located on riverbanks and undergo constant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/growing-appetite-for-acai-is-damaging-bird-diversity-in-the-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/growing-appetite-for-acai-is-damaging-bird-diversity-in-the-amazon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321214</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Plastic food packaging blankets the world’s coastlines, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/plastic-food-packaging-blankets-the-worlds-coastlines-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/plastic-food-packaging-blankets-the-worlds-coastlines-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jun 2026 16:12:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashley Yeong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/15103550/shoreline-in-Cap-Haitien-Haiti-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321178</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Environment, Food Industry, Global Environmental Crisis, Industry, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Plastic, Pollution, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Food packaging ranks among the top plastic pollutants littering the world’s coastlines, a new study confirms. The study, published May 20 in the journal One Earth, analyzed data from 112 nations, including 5,300 shoreline litter surveys, to produce the first global index of macroplastic pollution by usage type. Based on 355 peer-reviewed studies, it found [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Food packaging ranks among the top plastic pollutants littering the world’s coastlines, a new study confirms. The study, published May 20 in the journal One Earth, analyzed data from 112 nations, including 5,300 shoreline litter surveys, to produce the first global index of macroplastic pollution by usage type. Based on 355 peer-reviewed studies, it found that food and beverage plastics were the most common litter type for 93% of the countries surveyed. Within that category, food packaging, caps and lids, and plastic bottles were the most consistently found items, appearing as the top three across more than half of surveyed countries. This included the world’s five most populous countries: China, India, the United States, Indonesia and Pakistan. Plastic bags and cigarettes followed as the next most prevalent categories. The study’s lead author, Max Richard Kelly of the University of Plymouth in the U.K, said he was not surprised by the volume of food and beverage plastics on beaches but was struck by similarities in the surveyed countries. “Seeing the exact pattern replicated across the vast majority of nations was a stark reminder of the true scale of crisis we are facing,” he told Mongabay in an email. Single-use plastic sachets sold in a village in Komodo National Park, Indonesia. Image by Ashley Yeong for Mongabay. Putting a lid on plastic pollution The study comes during an uncertain time for global plastics governance. The United Nations global plastics treaty talks have stalled repeatedly over whether the agreement should focus more on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/plastic-food-packaging-blankets-the-worlds-coastlines-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/plastic-food-packaging-blankets-the-worlds-coastlines-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321178</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh salt farmers struggle as climate shifts disrupt harvests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladesh-salt-farmers-struggle-as-climate-shifts-disrupt-harvests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladesh-salt-farmers-struggle-as-climate-shifts-disrupt-harvests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 14:59:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sifayet Ullah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/20144909/farmer-collects-mature-salt-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319814</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Justice, Environment, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bent over a salt bed, a 55-year-old farmer, Nasir Uddin, was scooping up and throwing out water with a hand-made pot from his field was flooded by a few hours of heavy overnight rain. On his 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) of salt plot located in southeastern Bangladesh, nearly 18 maunds of salt (each maund is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bent over a salt bed, a 55-year-old farmer, Nasir Uddin, was scooping up and throwing out water with a hand-made pot from his field was flooded by a few hours of heavy overnight rain. On his 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) of salt plot located in southeastern Bangladesh, nearly 18 maunds of salt (each maund is equal to 40 kilograms, or 88 pounds) had been washed away just a day before harvesting. “I was expecting to collect salt today [April 16]. But the rain has damaged all the salt,” said Nasir, a farmer from Moulabir Gona village of Kutubdia subdistrict in Cox’s Bazar district. The farmer said the rainfall on April 15 happened when production is usually at its peak. “We didn’t experience rainfall in March-April in the past. But over the last 8-10 years, rain has started occurring during this time, even in December and January, during winters,” said Nasir, who has been cultivating salt for around 28 years. Like Nasir, thousands of salt farmers across the coastal belt are now facing similar losses from unseasonal rain, as erratic weather increasingly disrupts production. A salt farmer carries harvested salt from the field, transporting it for storage in nearby pits. Image by Sifayet Ullah. Climate variability emerges as a growing threat Salt farming is one of the largest seasonal livelihoods in the country. In the ongoing season, farming has taken place on more than 27,520 hectares (68,000 acres) of land across Cox’s Bazar’s Sadar, Kutubdia, Maheshkhali, Chakaria, Pekua, Eidgaon and Teknaf&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladesh-salt-farmers-struggle-as-climate-shifts-disrupt-harvests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladesh-salt-farmers-struggle-as-climate-shifts-disrupt-harvests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319814</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How grape farmers are restoring Armenia’s wine heritage while safeguarding ecosystems</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-grape-farmers-are-restoring-armenias-wine-heritage-while-safeguarding-ecosystems/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-grape-farmers-are-restoring-armenias-wine-heritage-while-safeguarding-ecosystems/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 May 2026 20:29:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kushane Chobanyan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/08140224/ZET_3113-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319015</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Armenia and Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Farming, Food, Food Industry, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[AGHAVNADZOR, Armenia — It’s 6 a.m. as the rising sun illuminates apricot-colored cliffs in central Armenia. It’s so still that even the distant buzz of a bee can be heard. Coca-Cola bottles filled with homemade wine for sale line the narrow road leading to acres of grapes growing quietly in an unusual vineyard. At 1,300 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[AGHAVNADZOR, Armenia — It’s 6 a.m. as the rising sun illuminates apricot-colored cliffs in central Armenia. It’s so still that even the distant buzz of a bee can be heard. Coca-Cola bottles filled with homemade wine for sale line the narrow road leading to acres of grapes growing quietly in an unusual vineyard. At 1,300 meters (about 4,300 feet) above sea level, Trinity Canyon Vineyards seems like it’s flirting with the sun. Located in Vayots Dzor province, where winters are bitterly cold and summers hot, Trinity Canyon and other vineyards use “vertical viticulture” to grow grapes among the mountains. Unlike many other wine-producing countries, where vineyards are cultivated horizontally on more level ground, in Armenia vineyards rise from 1,100-1,600 m (3,600-5,250 feet), with elevation affecting climate, soil and harvest timing. With the country’s rocky terrain, even terracing is difficult. “As a result, most Armenian vineyards, including those in Vayots Dzor, are planted on [natural] plateaus — flat elevated areas that allow the vines to thrive despite the challenging terrain,” Artem Parseghyan, the head winemaker at Trinity Canyon, tells Mongabay. Parseghyan spends his life on the road, driving between Yerevan, the capital, and Vayots Dzor. Born and raised in Russia, Parseghyan studied viticulture and enology (the science of winemaking) in France and Germany. In 2013, when Trinity Canyon was established, Parseghyan came to Armenia to work at what was then one of the country’s few vineyards. Vineyards in Vayots Dzor, the heartland of Armenian wine. Image courtesy of the Vine and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-grape-farmers-are-restoring-armenias-wine-heritage-while-safeguarding-ecosystems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-grape-farmers-are-restoring-armenias-wine-heritage-while-safeguarding-ecosystems/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319015</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>NPFC adopts illegal fishing measures — but no Emperor Seamount protections</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/npfc-adopts-illegal-fishing-measures-but-no-emperor-seamount-protections/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/npfc-adopts-illegal-fishing-measures-but-no-emperor-seamount-protections/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Apr 2026 14:50:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/24120605/Hendrika-Jacoba-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318105</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Japan, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Politics, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) approved a series of measures aimed at combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and improving stock assessments during its latest annual meeting in Osaka, Japan, April 14-17. However, several NGOs viewed the meeting as a step backward for fish stock management, calling out the commission’s failure to add [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) approved a series of measures aimed at combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and improving stock assessments during its latest annual meeting in Osaka, Japan, April 14-17. However, several NGOs viewed the meeting as a step backward for fish stock management, calling out the commission’s failure to add protections for several vulnerable species and to halt bottom fishing in the Emperor Seamount Chain. The NPFC protects marine ecosystems and non-tuna fish stocks in the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean and is one of four regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) in the Pacific. Its 10th annual meeting gathered the nine members — Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, the United States and Vanuatu — along with 11 observer groups and Panama as a cooperating noncontracting party. “It was a hard but a good week,” Gerald Leape, principal officer with the U.S.-based Pew Charitable Trusts’ international fisheries project, told Mongabay minutes after the closure of the meeting. Japanese sardines (Sardinops melanostictus). Image by Totti via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Combating IUU fishing NPFC members agreed to adopt a shared system of minimum standards for port inspection, a move that targets IUU fishing. The decision brings the commission in line with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), a binding international agreement marking its 10th anniversary this year. With the approval of this measure, commission members committed to implementing more stringent inspection standards and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/npfc-adopts-illegal-fishing-measures-but-no-emperor-seamount-protections/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/npfc-adopts-illegal-fishing-measures-but-no-emperor-seamount-protections/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318105</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Latin America&#8217;s largest hospital complex cancels plan to buy shark meat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/latin-americas-largest-hospital-complex-cancels-plan-to-buy-shark-meat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/latin-americas-largest-hospital-complex-cancels-plan-to-buy-shark-meat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Apr 2026 14:59:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karla MendesLucas BertiPhilip Jacobson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/07100614/shark-meat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317005</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Shark Meat Nation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Health, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Public Health, Regulations, shark finning, Sharks, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The University of São Paulo Medical School Hospital said it would cancel a plan to buy more than 17 metric tons of shark meat as part of a 2026 procurement, citing concerns over heavy metals. HCFMUSP is the largest public hospital complex in Latin America. It consists of at least eight institutes in São Paulo, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The University of São Paulo Medical School Hospital said it would cancel a plan to buy more than 17 metric tons of shark meat as part of a 2026 procurement, citing concerns over heavy metals. HCFMUSP is the largest public hospital complex in Latin America. It consists of at least eight institutes in São Paulo, Brazil&#8217;s largest city, including a world-renowned heart center serving hundreds of thousands of patients annually. Brazil is the world’s top consumer of shark meat. A 2025 investigation by Mongabay found that government purchases are a significant driver of Brazil’s shark meat consumption, with the low-priced meat served in thousands of hospitals, schools and prisons in the South American nation of 213 million people. HCFMUSP issued tenders and named suppliers for at least 135 metric tons of shark meat from 2008-20, the Mongabay investigation found. After it learned HCFMUSP had issued another shark meat tender in February 2026, the NGO Sea Shepherd Brasil wrote a letter to hospital administrators asking them to rethink their plans. The letter argued that sharks are widely threatened and that their meat tends to contain high levels of heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic, posing a risk to human health. In late March, HCFMUSP announced it would remove shark meat from the 2026 procurement, citing “a proven toxicological risk associated with heavy metals” and the advocacy from Sea Shepherd. “HCFMUSP reaffirms its commitment to nutritional excellence and the safety of the supplies provided at its facilities,” it wrote on social&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/latin-americas-largest-hospital-complex-cancels-plan-to-buy-shark-meat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/latin-americas-largest-hospital-complex-cancels-plan-to-buy-shark-meat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317005</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>War exacerbates long-standing irrigation crisis for Sudan farmers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/war-exacerbates-long-standing-irrigation-crisis-for-sudan-farmers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/war-exacerbates-long-standing-irrigation-crisis-for-sudan-farmers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Mar 2026 16:18:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Albashir Dahab]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/17145931/IrrigationCanal2015_GeziraSchemeSudan_AbbyWaldorfFlickrBYNC2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315863</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, North Africa, and Sudan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Energy, Environment, Farming, Food, Food Industry, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In happier times, Mohamed Ahmed grows sorghum, lentils and beans on three feddans of land in Gezira state. But for more than a year, no irrigation water has reached the 1.2 hectares (3 acres) he cultivates in the Managil section of Sudan’s vast Gezira irrigation scheme. He spends his time clearing weeds, repairing field boundaries [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In happier times, Mohamed Ahmed grows sorghum, lentils and beans on three feddans of land in Gezira state. But for more than a year, no irrigation water has reached the 1.2 hectares (3 acres) he cultivates in the Managil section of Sudan’s vast Gezira irrigation scheme. He spends his time clearing weeds, repairing field boundaries and preparing the soil in case water returns. The canals have been dry since May 2024. “I waited for the water as I always did,” the 38-year-old tells Mongabay by phone, “but nothing came. Two full seasons were lost. I even considered leaving farming and searching for work abroad.” Ahmed is one of as many as 4,000 farmers in the Managil section who face ruin. The Gezira Scheme spans nearly 890,000 hectares (2.2 million acres), pumping water from the Nile to farmers through a network of canals fed by the century-old Sennar Dam. According to irrigation engineer Abdullah Al-Haj, until 2005, the project’s administrators regulated water levels and flow and coordinated maintenance of the of the main pumps and canals. View of the Gezira Irrigation Scheme from space. Image by NASA Johnson via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0). However, in 2005, operation of the irrigation scheme was partially privatized. New legislation — and a 2014 amendment — emphasized administrative and financial independence, granting farmers freedom to choose which crops to grow and requiring them to establish water user associations. Legally, the associations have the authority to manage and maintain sections of the Gezira Scheme, but in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/war-exacerbates-long-standing-irrigation-crisis-for-sudan-farmers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/war-exacerbates-long-standing-irrigation-crisis-for-sudan-farmers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315863</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh sees rise in ray, shark fishing as traditional seafood species dwindle</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/bangladesh-sees-rise-in-ray-shark-fishing-as-traditional-seafood-species-dwindle/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/bangladesh-sees-rise-in-ray-shark-fishing-as-traditional-seafood-species-dwindle/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 07:50:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Khadijatul Kobra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12073924/Stingray-04-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315636</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Ecosystems, Elasmobranchs, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food Industry, Illegal Fishing, Law, Mangroves, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Rays, Saltwater Fish, and Sharks]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Though seafood is a prevalent protein source in Bangladesh, some fishes, like stingrays and sharks, never appealed to most of the population here, barring a few coastal Indigenous groups. However, the illegal fishing of such species has become common in the country in recent years. In a recent incident on Feb. 21, authorities detained 22 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Though seafood is a prevalent protein source in Bangladesh, some fishes, like stingrays and sharks, never appealed to most of the population here, barring a few coastal Indigenous groups. However, the illegal fishing of such species has become common in the country in recent years. In a recent incident on Feb. 21, authorities detained 22 fishers and confiscated around 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of stingray from the coasts of Sundarbans mangroves. Conservationists and experts working in fishery sectors blame poor law enforcement, lack of awareness among fishers, rising illegal demands and poverty of the fishing community as some of the reasons behind the exploitation of such protected marine species in Bangladesh. Data from WCS Bangladesh’s research shows the country’s waters are home to 10 families of sharks and 12 families of rays. Of them, stingrays and whiprays (Dasyatidae family), locally known as shapla pata, are the most common. More than half the shark and ray species found in Bangladesh are threatened with the risk of extinction, according to the research. A 2018 study shows that in Bangladesh stingrays are mainly harvested by artisanal fishers using gillnets, set bag nets (a low-cost, artisanal commercial method in coastal and estuarine waters) and longline hooks between depths of 5 meters (16 feet) and 40 m (130 ft) by the seashore and in coastal rivers in coastal districts like Noakhali, Bhola, Patuakhali, Khulna and Bagerhat. Fishers collect their catch of stingrays together. Image by Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman. Stingrays have become popular among the poorer&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/bangladesh-sees-rise-in-ray-shark-fishing-as-traditional-seafood-species-dwindle/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/bangladesh-sees-rise-in-ray-shark-fishing-as-traditional-seafood-species-dwindle/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315636</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nations not on track to meet UN 2030 pesticide risk reduction targets: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/nations-not-on-track-to-meet-un-2030-pesticide-risk-reduction-targets-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/nations-not-on-track-to-meet-un-2030-pesticide-risk-reduction-targets-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 16:46:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/01/16203216/pexels-gilmer-diaz-estela-6345502-scaled-e1673901240276-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315348</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Agroecology, Biology, Chemicals, Conservation, Crops, Environment, Environmental Policy, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Industrial Agriculture, Industry, Pesticides, Pollution, Public Health, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The world’s nations committed to halving overall threats to biodiversity from pesticides and other highly hazardous chemicals by 2030 at the 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference in 2022. But new research finds most countries are trending in the wrong direction when it comes to ecological risks from pesticides, with the U.N.’s global risk reduction target [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The world’s nations committed to halving overall threats to biodiversity from pesticides and other highly hazardous chemicals by 2030 at the 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference in 2022. But new research finds most countries are trending in the wrong direction when it comes to ecological risks from pesticides, with the U.N.’s global risk reduction target unlikely to be met without substantial changes to agricultural systems. In fact, only one country, Chile, is currently on track to meet the U.N. target of reducing pesticide risk by 50% by 2030, according to recent findings by a team of environmental scientists from German university RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, and published in the journal Science. Pesticide risk in this context is defined as the probability of chemical compounds — including insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides — used to control agricultural pests having adverse effects on species not directly targeted by the pesticides and, thus, on ecosystems more broadly — and ultimately on humans. The new study found that the applied toxicity of insecticides has increased for pollinating insects such as honey bees. Image by Louise Docker via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). To determine global pesticide risk, the study researchers looked at data on pesticide use from 2013 to 2019 in 65 nations that collectively represent nearly 80% of global crop acreage. They then combined these statistics with data on the toxicity of 625 pesticides for eight different species groups, including aquatic invertebrates and plants, fish, pollinating insects, soil organisms, and terrestrial arthropods, plants and vertebrates. This&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/nations-not-on-track-to-meet-un-2030-pesticide-risk-reduction-targets-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/nations-not-on-track-to-meet-un-2030-pesticide-risk-reduction-targets-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315348</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Seafood fraud is rampant, imperiling fish populations, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/seafood-fraud-is-rampant-imperiling-fish-populations-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/seafood-fraud-is-rampant-imperiling-fish-populations-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Mar 2026 17:36:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/05142725/1-wholesale-seafood-market-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315255</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Illegal Fishing, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Saltwater Fish, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The global fisheries and aquaculture sector produces more than 150 million metric tons of food per year, valued at nearly $200 billion. Yet it’s plagued with fraud, according to a new report. The report, published Feb. 10 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency, both United Nations bodies, says [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The global fisheries and aquaculture sector produces more than 150 million metric tons of food per year, valued at nearly $200 billion. Yet it’s plagued with fraud, according to a new report. The report, published Feb. 10 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency, both United Nations bodies, says that up to roughly 20% of aquatic products are intentionally mislabeled as the wrong species or otherwise fraudulent, posing environmental and health risks. “A global 20% seafood fraud rate isn’t just a statistic; it’s a dire warning,” Max Valentine, a campaign director at U.S.-based marine conservation NGO Oceana, said in a statement. (An Oceana policy adviser to the NGO’s Europe branch contributed to the FAO report, but Valentine wasn’t involved with it.) “Consumers are falling victim to a bait and switch, and the fishers who play by the rules are paying the price. This is a global problem that every nation must work together to combat at its source.” The report, presented at the World Seafood Congress held Feb. 9-11 in Chennai, India, calls for governments and industry stakeholders to establish better traceability systems, use advanced detection methods, and educate the public. “Tools of great relevance are national legislation and national and international standards, which are vital in defining acceptable products and practices,” the report says. A tuna on board a fishing vessel in Indian waters in 2012. The vessel was operating outside of Indian regulations on registration and ownership, according to the international NGO&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/seafood-fraud-is-rampant-imperiling-fish-populations-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/seafood-fraud-is-rampant-imperiling-fish-populations-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315255</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mongabay shark meat exposé wins national journalism education award in Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/mongabay-shark-meat-expose-wins-national-journalism-education-award-in-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/mongabay-shark-meat-expose-wins-national-journalism-education-award-in-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2026 19:47:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/26191533/c.-2-Banner-IMG_7017-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314912</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Sharks, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A Mongabay exposé that revealed widespread Brazilian government procurements of shark meat to serve in thousands of schools, hospitals, prisons and other public institutions has won first place in the higher education category of Brazil&#8217;s National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (Andifes) awards, a top journalism education honor in the country. &#8220;The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A Mongabay exposé that revealed widespread Brazilian government procurements of shark meat to serve in thousands of schools, hospitals, prisons and other public institutions has won first place in the higher education category of Brazil&#8217;s National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (Andifes) awards, a top journalism education honor in the country. &#8220;The work stands out for its expert input from specialists and researchers, who contribute to the analysis of the environmental, health and regulatory impacts of the issue,&#8221; Andifes said in the Feb. 24 announcement. &#8220;By valuing scientific knowledge in its journalistic approach, the report highlights the role of higher education in producing evidence, training specialists and contributing to public debate and public policy.&#8221; In collaboration with the Pulitzer Center, the investigation published in July 2025 tracked 1,012 public tenders issued by Brazilian authorities since 2004 for the procurement of more than 5,400 metric tons of shark meat, worth at least 112 million reais ($21.8 million today). These tenders were issued by 542 municipalities in 10 of Brazil’s 26 states, raising environmental and public health concerns. Senior editor Philip Jacobson and investigative reporters Karla Mendes and Fernanda Wenzel were the Mongabay authors of the two-part investigation, along with Kuang Keng Kuek Ser, the Pulitzer Center’s data editor. As apex predators, sharks&#8217; tissues tend to accumulate high levels of heavy metals like mercury and arsenic, which can harm human health if ingested in large enough quantities, especially in young children and other vulnerable populations. Overfishing both for shark&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/mongabay-shark-meat-expose-wins-national-journalism-education-award-in-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/mongabay-shark-meat-expose-wins-national-journalism-education-award-in-brazil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314912</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Trump opens only US marine national monument in Atlantic to fishing — again</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/trump-opens-only-us-marine-national-monument-in-atlantic-to-fishing-again/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/trump-opens-only-us-marine-national-monument-in-atlantic-to-fishing-again/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Feb 2026 22:31:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/10203226/1-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314057</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fishing, Food Industry, Industry, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, Politics, Protected Areas, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Feb. 6 to open a marine protected area off the northeastern U.S. to commercial fishing, in his latest move to deregulate the country’s waters and fisheries. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a 12,725-square-kilometer (4,913-square-mile) area roughly 209 km (130 mi) southeast of Cape Cod, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Feb. 6 to open a marine protected area off the northeastern U.S. to commercial fishing, in his latest move to deregulate the country’s waters and fisheries. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a 12,725-square-kilometer (4,913-square-mile) area roughly 209 km (130 mi) southeast of Cape Cod, is home to deep-sea corals and sponges, whale sharks and a variety of marine mammals. Trump wrote that reopening the area will not endanger marine species and will help the fishing business, and industry groups praised the proclamation. But conservationists decried it, saying the monument is a critical sanctuary for marine life and the food webs that serve the interest of the U.S. public. “This Monument supports amazing species from the seafloor to the sea surface, and we see evidence of that during every aerial survey,” Jessica Redfern, an associate vice president at the New England Aquarium, a Boston-based nonprofit, said in a statement. “Removing protections for Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument puts these species at risk.” U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the opposition Democratic Party from the northeastern state of Connecticut, also spoke out against the proclamation, calling it reckless and “hugely misguided.” “This natural treasure should be preserved for future generations, not endangered by industrial fishing,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “It’s home to immensely valuable wildlife— a marine ecosystem that deserves to be defended.” The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which is divided into two sections,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/trump-opens-only-us-marine-national-monument-in-atlantic-to-fishing-again/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/trump-opens-only-us-marine-national-monument-in-atlantic-to-fishing-again/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314057</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mauritania’s fishmeal fever ends as government tightens regulation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/mauritanias-fishmeal-fever-ends-as-government-tightens-regulation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/mauritanias-fishmeal-fever-ends-as-government-tightens-regulation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jan 2026 00:09:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Josef SkrdlikOliver Dunn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/09140541/Bountiya-canoes-stationed-by-the-industrial-zone-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312812</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Mauritania, and North Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Nutrition, Oceans, Regulations, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NOUADHIBOU, Mauritania — On a busy weekday, the coastal strip of Bountiya in Nouadhibou, Mauritania’s second-biggest city, is eerily quiet. This was once the beating heart of the West African nation’s fishmeal industry. “In 2018, it was so busy with trucks and people that you couldn’t even park your car,” said the director of one [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NOUADHIBOU, Mauritania — On a busy weekday, the coastal strip of Bountiya in Nouadhibou, Mauritania’s second-biggest city, is eerily quiet. This was once the beating heart of the West African nation’s fishmeal industry. “In 2018, it was so busy with trucks and people that you couldn’t even park your car,” said the director of one of 28 processing plants located in the strip, who spoke to Mongabay on condition of anonymity. Managers and owners of the plants were reluctant to speak on record criticizing government policies. Most of the plants in Bountiya are now closed. Those still operating are struggling to survive. A government crackdown in recent years has made it difficult to access raw fish. Fishmeal, sold for animal feed, is made by pressing, drying and grinding fish into powdered form. (A byproduct of this process is fish oil.) It takes 5 kilograms of raw fish to produce 1 kilo of fish powder. “Until 2017, if you were selling your factory, they would call you a fool,” said a manager at another plant, who also asked not to be named. “But now you cannot sell. It’s a fool who buys.” In 2017, Mauritania produced 111,866 metric tons of fish meal, followed by 124,961 metric tons in 2018 and 128,789 metric tons in 2020. A significant chunk of fish landed in Mauritania were consumed by the sector; in 2021 alone, for instance, more than 50% of the total pelagic fish catch went to fishmeal plants. According to official data for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/mauritanias-fishmeal-fever-ends-as-government-tightens-regulation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/mauritanias-fishmeal-fever-ends-as-government-tightens-regulation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312812</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mongabay shark meat investigation wins national journalism award in Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mongabay-shark-meat-investigation-wins-national-journalism-award-in-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mongabay-shark-meat-investigation-wins-national-journalism-award-in-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Dec 2025 14:57:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/23134234/DSC03551-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311952</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Sharks, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A Mongabay investigation that revealed Brazilian state-run institutions bulk-buying shark meat for public schools, hospitals and prisons has won second place in the national category of the 67th ARI/Banrisul Journalism Award, one of the country’s most prestigious journalism prizes. Mongabay, working in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center, published the investigation in late July revealing that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A Mongabay investigation that revealed Brazilian state-run institutions bulk-buying shark meat for public schools, hospitals and prisons has won second place in the national category of the 67th ARI/Banrisul Journalism Award, one of the country’s most prestigious journalism prizes. Mongabay, working in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center, published the investigation in late July revealing that Brazilian authorities had issued 1,012 public tenders since 2004 for the procurement of more than 5,400 metric tons of shark meat, worth at least 112 million reais ($20 million). These tenders were issued by 542 municipalities in 10 of Brazil’s 26 states, raising environmental and public health concerns. Shark meat can contain high levels of mercury and arsenic, which scientists say can be harmful to human health when consumed in large quantities; at the same time, overfishing can deplete populations of sharks, which are recognized as critical to the marine environment. A second article published as part of the investigation found that government agencies across Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, had issued tenders for at least 211 metric tons of angelshark, which are endangered. In a Dec. 12 statement announcing the ARI/Banrisul award, the Rio Grande do Sul Press Association (ARI) said the award “recognized the talents” in professional and university categories amid a record number of entries, up 40% from the 2024 edition. Senior editor Philip Jacobson and investigative reporters Karla Mendes and Fernanda Wenzel were the Mongabay authors of the two-part investigation, along with Kuang Keng Kuek Ser, the Pulitzer Center&#8217;s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mongabay-shark-meat-investigation-wins-national-journalism-award-in-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mongabay-shark-meat-investigation-wins-national-journalism-award-in-brazil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311952</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Warmer climate triggers pest infestations in Bangladesh, India tea estates</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/warmer-climate-triggers-pest-infestations-in-bangladesh-india-tea-estates/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/warmer-climate-triggers-pest-infestations-in-bangladesh-india-tea-estates/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Dec 2025 06:55:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/05145135/tea-looper-moth-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310646</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, India, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Conservation, Crops, Environment, Food, Food Industry, food security, Human-wildlife Conflict, Industrial Agriculture, Insects, Plantations, Research, Temperatures, Weather, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The extended summers, delayed monsoons and shorter winters — collectively featuring a warmer climate — are triggering pest infestations across tea estates in Bangladesh and India. Entomologists have observed significant growth of several pests, including red spider mites (Oligonychus coffeae) and thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis), which were minor in the tea gardens even a decade ago. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The extended summers, delayed monsoons and shorter winters — collectively featuring a warmer climate — are triggering pest infestations across tea estates in Bangladesh and India. Entomologists have observed significant growth of several pests, including red spider mites (Oligonychus coffeae) and thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis), which were minor in the tea gardens even a decade ago. Moreover, rising temperatures have contributed to the reemergence of the devastating looper caterpillars (Biston suppressaria) in many tea gardens. Tea (Camellia sinensis) plants are known to be vulnerable to attack from insects, mites and nematode pests. Tea plantation researchers in Bangladesh and India (the world’s second&#8211;largest tea producer) have rung the warning bell, stating that tea mosquito bugs (Helopeltis theivora), red coffee borers (Zeuzera coffeae), green weevils (Hypomeces pulviger) and red slug caterpillars (Eterusia aedea) are booming in tea estates, in addition to red spider mites, thrips and looper caterpillars. Bangladesh Tea Research Institute’s principal scientific officer in the Entomology Division, Mohammad Shameem Al Mamun, tells Mongabay, “Due to rising temperatures, pest infestation is increasing as well as pest status is changing.” Based on local meteorological data, the Bangladesh Tea Association estimates that the average maximum temperatures (daytime) slightly reduced from 33.9° Celsius (93° Fahrenheit) to 31.2°C (88.2°F), but the minimum temperatures (nighttime) rose from roughly 16°C (61°F) to 20.7°C (69.3°F) in the Sylhet region between 2011 and 2024. A pair of green weevils (Hypomeces pulviger). Image by Ian Jacobs via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0). (Left) A red spider mite-infested tea leaf. (Right) Green weevil-infested&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/warmer-climate-triggers-pest-infestations-in-bangladesh-india-tea-estates/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/warmer-climate-triggers-pest-infestations-in-bangladesh-india-tea-estates/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310646</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Silent epidemic of chemical pollution’ demands radical regulatory redo, say scientists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/silent-epidemic-of-chemical-pollution-demands-radical-regulatory-redo-say-scientists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/silent-epidemic-of-chemical-pollution-demands-radical-regulatory-redo-say-scientists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2025 20:28:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03085540/Image-3-Pesticide-spray-in-a-field-63313-pixahive-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310482</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Agroecology, Animals, Biology, Chemicals, Climate, Conservation, Crops, Diseases, Environment, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Industrial Agriculture, Industry, Mammals, Oil, Pesticides, Planetary Health, Plastic, Pollution, Public Health, Regulations, and Toxicology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An international team of scientists has issued a stark warning that current toxicology and chemical regulatory regimes are failing to protect public health and the environment from a host of toxins found in pesticides and other petrochemical-based compounds. In an article published in November in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Sciences Europe, 43 researchers from five [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An international team of scientists has issued a stark warning that current toxicology and chemical regulatory regimes are failing to protect public health and the environment from a host of toxins found in pesticides and other petrochemical-based compounds. In an article published in November in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Sciences Europe, 43 researchers from five continents, including leading experts in toxicology, biology, public health and environmental sciences, began by pointing out severe lapses in current regulatory systems for evaluating the safety of products derived from petrochemical byproducts. They note, for example, that the full commercial formulations of common petrochemical-based pesticides used in global agriculture have never been subjected to long-term tests on mammals. They also note that only the active ingredients declared by makers of pesticides and plasticizers (a type of chemical additive used to increase pliability) have been assessed for human health risks. In fact, the full ingredient lists for these commercial chemical compounds are often proprietary — not publicly disclosed by the companies that develop them. And yet, the article’s authors found that these pesticides and plasticizers contain petroleum-based waste and heavy metals such as arsenic that could make them “at least 1000 times more toxic at low environmentally relevant doses than the active ingredients alone under conditions of long-term exposure.” As a result of these regulatory failings, “We are facing a silent epidemic of chemical pollution,” said article co-author Angelika Hilbeck, a biologist at ETH Zürich. “Chronic diseases are surging, biodiversity is collapsing, and public trust in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/silent-epidemic-of-chemical-pollution-demands-radical-regulatory-redo-say-scientists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/silent-epidemic-of-chemical-pollution-demands-radical-regulatory-redo-say-scientists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310482</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>IDB financed meat &#038; poultry company that polluted Indigenous Ecuador lands: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/idb-financed-meat-poultry-company-that-polluted-indigenous-ecuador-lands-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/idb-financed-meat-poultry-company-that-polluted-indigenous-ecuador-lands-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Nov 2025 11:31:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Cristina Alvarado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/21111703/Portada-BID-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309959</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Farming, Food Industry, Health, Indigenous Peoples, Medicinal Plants, Pollution, Traditional Knowledge, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Peripa, an Indigenous Tsáchila village in Ecuador, there are still traditional healers, but medicinal plants are disappearing. Rivers no longer heal — instead, they make people sick. In the late 1990s, the company Pronaca set up pig farms nearby, in the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, southwest of Quito. Soon after, residents [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Peripa, an Indigenous Tsáchila village in Ecuador, there are still traditional healers, but medicinal plants are disappearing. Rivers no longer heal — instead, they make people sick. In the late 1990s, the company Pronaca set up pig farms nearby, in the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, southwest of Quito. Soon after, residents noticed that surface and groundwater sources were no longer safe. After almost 30 years in which locals’ complaints to Ecuador’s state institutions remained unanswered, a new report on Pronaca confirms decades of pollution and violations in the Tsáchila Indigenous Territory. The report, released in September, was prepared by the Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. “Water was one of the main sources of power for the poné [healers], and purification baths were performed in the rivers. Now, if someone visits us and goes into the river, they will come out with a skin disease,” Ricardo Calazacón, a Tsáchila resident of Peripa, told Mongabay Latam. “If there are no reparations, what will happen to us, since most of us are healers and farmers?” he asked. Calazacón and his family have been leading the defense of their ancestral territory for 25 years. For them, the MICI report represents a victory, but they recognize that the claims will not be resolved until they obtain reparations. Ricardo Calazacón is among the Tsáchila Indigenous people seeking reparations after decades of pollution. Image courtesy of Ricardo Calazacón. The IDB entered the picture when it&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/idb-financed-meat-poultry-company-that-polluted-indigenous-ecuador-lands-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/idb-financed-meat-poultry-company-that-polluted-indigenous-ecuador-lands-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309959</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fighting for food sovereignty at COP30: Interview with GRAIN’s Ange-David Baïmey</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/fighting-for-food-sovereignty-at-cop30-interview-with-grains-ange-david-baimey/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/fighting-for-food-sovereignty-at-cop30-interview-with-grains-ange-david-baimey/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Nov 2025 17:09:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yannick Kenné]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/20165642/Farmers_YangambiDRC_AxelFassioCIFORBYNCND2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309913</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Negotiating Africa's Energy Future]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Policy, Farming, Food, Food Industry, food security, Governance, Industry, and Subsistence Agriculture]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At the COP30 climate summit currently underway in Belém, Brazil, adapting to climate change impacts is a major focus of discussions. This is particularly the case for delegates from Africa, where agriculture, on which the majority of the continent’s people rely for their livelihoods, is directly affected by erratic and extreme weather and rising average [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At the COP30 climate summit currently underway in Belém, Brazil, adapting to climate change impacts is a major focus of discussions. This is particularly the case for delegates from Africa, where agriculture, on which the majority of the continent’s people rely for their livelihoods, is directly affected by erratic and extreme weather and rising average temperatures. The NGO GRAIN works with farming communities in Africa and elsewhere to protect their food sovereignty, especially in the face of industrial agricultural models that shift production toward commercial seeds, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and commodity crops. GRAIN’s program coordinator for Africa, Ange-David Baïmey, sat down with Mongabay’s Yannick Kenné to explain the group’s participation at COP30, where it’s less interested in the formal negotiations than in the space created to exchange information about climate change adaptation strategies with like-minded civil society groups and push for climate justice. The following interview has been translated from French. Ange-David Baïmey, Africa program coordinator for the NGO GRAIN. Image courtesy of Ange-David Baïmey. Mongabay: What does climate justice mean for GRAIN? What does it mean for the communities you work with in Africa? Ange-David Baïmey: For us at GRAIN, climate justice means taking into account the realities of grassroots communities. Various actors are trying to advance a climate justice agenda in a particular way, but for us, this has its limits. When we talk about climate justice, it means ensuring that the communities most affected by its impacts can find solutions to their problems. When we talk&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/fighting-for-food-sovereignty-at-cop30-interview-with-grains-ange-david-baimey/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/fighting-for-food-sovereignty-at-cop30-interview-with-grains-ange-david-baimey/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309913</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>With military backing and oligarch allies, Indonesia pushes controversial food estate</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/with-military-backing-and-oligarch-allies-indonesia-pushes-controversial-food-estate/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/with-military-backing-and-oligarch-allies-indonesia-pushes-controversial-food-estate/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Nov 2025 12:54:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeff Hutton]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/19120336/dang-cong-eAdjosXXk-g-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309788</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Development, Economics, Environment, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Indigenous Rights, Industrial Agriculture, Industry, Land Rights, Politics, Rice, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Indonesian administration of President Prabowo Subianto is pushing ahead with a multibillion-dollar plan to build a vast string of plantations in South Papua province that it hopes will secure domestic supplies of rice as well as sugarcane, as the government seeks to ramp up production of biofuel as a means of weaning itself off [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Indonesian administration of President Prabowo Subianto is pushing ahead with a multibillion-dollar plan to build a vast string of plantations in South Papua province that it hopes will secure domestic supplies of rice as well as sugarcane, as the government seeks to ramp up production of biofuel as a means of weaning itself off foreign sources of oil. In mid-October, state-owned construction company PT Hutama Karya won a contract worth 4.8 trillion rupiah ($286 million), the biggest public tender so far this year, to build an 80-kilometer (50-mile) stretch of highway linking the coast of South Papua to the interior. In early August, the deputy energy minister, Yuliot Tanjung, said building the food estate as well as the initial infrastructure of the bioethanol supply chain would cost $8 billion. The plans include a bioethanol factory in South Papua, which will start operating in 2027, as well as sugar factories and a 120-megawatt power station. In May, the government appointed state-owned company PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara to run the food estate, with funding for the project coming from the holding company for state-owned enterprises, Danantara. Dating back to the 1990s under former president Suharto, food estates have appealed to multiple administrations since then as they flex the country’s resources and scarcely populated regions such as Kalimantan and Papua to secure supplies of food like rice in order to limit imports. Dictated from far-off Jakarta, the food estate initiatives have invariably faltered as lofty ambition collided with on-the-ground realities like soil&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/with-military-backing-and-oligarch-allies-indonesia-pushes-controversial-food-estate/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/with-military-backing-and-oligarch-allies-indonesia-pushes-controversial-food-estate/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309788</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Karen community fighting corn and coal for clean air in northern Thailand</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/karen-community-fighting-corn-and-coal-for-clean-air-in-northern-thailand/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/karen-community-fighting-corn-and-coal-for-clean-air-in-northern-thailand/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2025 02:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/06011059/f9172231-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308913</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Air Pollution, Bioenergy, Coal, Crops, Deforestation, Fires, Flooding, Food Industry, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Industrial Agriculture, Land Rights, Mining, Public Health, Rivers, Subsistence Agriculture, Sustainable Development, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MAE CHAM/OMKOI, Thailand — Rain lashed down in the northern Thai village of Nong Krating as Sawattiphon Wongkasettakon described the worsening air pollution that sweeps in through the mountains here each year. “It didn’t used to be so bad, but in the last three years it’s become impossible to ignore,” Sawattiphon, a former deputy chief of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MAE CHAM/OMKOI, Thailand — Rain lashed down in the northern Thai village of Nong Krating as Sawattiphon Wongkasettakon described the worsening air pollution that sweeps in through the mountains here each year. “It didn’t used to be so bad, but in the last three years it’s become impossible to ignore,” Sawattiphon, a former deputy chief of the village, told Mongabay on the porch of his home in August. “The sky gets dark, it’s uncomfortable when we breathe. It blows in from the maize farms.” Farmers in the region straddling northern Thailand, Myanmar’s Shan state and Laos grow maize to supply Thailand’s booming animal feed industry. Every year before the planting season, they set controlled fires to clear their fields of crop stubble left over from the harvest. The result: surging air pollution that sends the region’s towns and cities shooting up the rankings of the world’s most polluted places every February-April, when the burning peaks. To fix the problem, Thai leaders have tried everything from threatening to cut farmer subsidies and restricting where they can plant maize, to promoting alternative livelihoods and introducing microbial sprays for stubble decomposition. But nothing seems to break the cycle of seasonal haze, which still reaches levels more than 14 times higher than what’s considered safe by the World Health Organization. In Omkoi district, which encompasses Nong Krating village in Chiang Mai province, local officials decided years ago that enough was enough. In 2017, fearing the loss of the forests in which residents forage for herbs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/karen-community-fighting-corn-and-coal-for-clean-air-in-northern-thailand/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/karen-community-fighting-corn-and-coal-for-clean-air-in-northern-thailand/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308913</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Antarctic conservation summit closes with stalemate on MPAs &#038; krill fishing rules</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/antarctic-conservation-summit-closes-with-stalemate-on-mpas-krill-fishing-rules/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/antarctic-conservation-summit-closes-with-stalemate-on-mpas-krill-fishing-rules/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Nov 2025 19:58:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/10/19140157/16238835137_bc4b034208_h-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308823</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica, Arctic, and Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Environment, Fisheries, Food Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, and Overfishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The annual meeting of the international body responsible for conservation of the marine ecosystems in the Southern Ocean concluded on Friday with no progress on two contentious issues before it: the creation of new marine protected areas and the strengthening of regulations governing krill (Euphausia superba) fishing. The 44th meeting of the Commission for the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The annual meeting of the international body responsible for conservation of the marine ecosystems in the Southern Ocean concluded on Friday with no progress on two contentious issues before it: the creation of new marine protected areas and the strengthening of regulations governing krill (Euphausia superba) fishing. The 44th meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) was held in Hobart, Australia, Oct. 20-31. “We&#8217;re extremely worried and extremely disappointed,” Maximiliano Bello, an ocean policy consultant who attended the meeting as an adviser for the U.K.-based NGO Blue Marine Foundation, told Mongabay minutes after the closure. “The ‘conservation’ word is fading out of the convention now and more and more we see this sort of proposals and push to continue increasing the impact in the fishing, particularly of krill,” Bello said. The meeting “did not advance measures to improve the spatial distribution of krill catches or establish protection zones,” Javier Arata, executive officer of the industry body Association of Responsible Krill harvesting companies (ARK), told Mongabay in an email. According to Arata, ARK members will continue to avoid fishing in voluntary restricted zones it introduced in 2019, “safeguarding over 74,000 km² [more than 28,500 square miles] of key penguin foraging habitat.” He said he is hopeful that “2026 will be a year of meaningful advancement.” King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) in Antarctica. Image by Rhett A. Butler. This year’s annual meeting of CCAMLR’s 27 members — 26 countries plus the European Union — was particularly tense,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/antarctic-conservation-summit-closes-with-stalemate-on-mpas-krill-fishing-rules/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/antarctic-conservation-summit-closes-with-stalemate-on-mpas-krill-fishing-rules/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308823</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thai agri giant CPF sues activist over claims linking it to invasive fish outbreak</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/thai-agri-giant-cpf-sues-activist-over-claims-linking-it-to-invasive-fish-outbreak/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/thai-agri-giant-cpf-sues-activist-over-claims-linking-it-to-invasive-fish-outbreak/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Nov 2025 08:43:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/04083625/DSCF7491-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308772</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Aquaculture, Biodiversity, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Ecosystems, Endangered Environmentalists, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Food Industry, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Degradation, Industrial Agriculture, Invasive Species, Marine, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The secretary-general of a Thai agricultural watchdog is facing a lawsuit that observers say is part of corporate efforts to silence citizens who are calling for greater accountability over the outbreak of an invasive species of fish wreaking havoc in Thailand’s waterways. Witoon Lianchamroon of the BIOTHAI Foundation, a Thailand-based food sovereignty NGO, appeared at [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The secretary-general of a Thai agricultural watchdog is facing a lawsuit that observers say is part of corporate efforts to silence citizens who are calling for greater accountability over the outbreak of an invasive species of fish wreaking havoc in Thailand’s waterways. Witoon Lianchamroon of the BIOTHAI Foundation, a Thailand-based food sovereignty NGO, appeared at Nonthaburi Provincial Court Oct. 22 for the first hearing of a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF). The firm, a subsidiary of Thailand’s largest agricultural conglomerate, CP Group, alleges he spread false and misleading information linking it to the outbreak of blackchin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron), a highly invasive species of fish. The case stems from a public conference hosted by the BIOTHAI Foundation in July 2024, when Witoon alleged during a presentation that the invasive fish outbreak was linked to an aquaculture facility operated by CPF in Samut Songkhram province. At the event, Witoon also urged the firm to take responsibility for losses to farmers’ livelihoods and the outbreak’s escalating ecological harms. Blackchin tilapia, a species native to brackish coastal habitats in West Africa, breeds rapidly year-round, can survive in both freshwater and saltwater, and has an omnivorous diet. As such, it has outcompeted both native and commercially farmed species, harming aquaculture businesses in at least 19 provinces where it has already spread. CPF came under scrutiny over the matter because it obtained a permit from the Department of Fisheries to import the species in 2010, shortly before the first detections&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/thai-agri-giant-cpf-sues-activist-over-claims-linking-it-to-invasive-fish-outbreak/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/thai-agri-giant-cpf-sues-activist-over-claims-linking-it-to-invasive-fish-outbreak/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308772</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Norway’s proposal to double krill harvests raises tension at Antarctic conservation summit</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/norways-proposal-to-double-krill-harvests-raises-tension-at-antarctic-conservation-summit/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/norways-proposal-to-double-krill-harvests-raises-tension-at-antarctic-conservation-summit/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2025 20:34:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/30201357/Euphausia_superba-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308601</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica, Arctic, and Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Fisheries, Fishing, Food Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Overfishing, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Norway proposed almost doubling the catch limit for krill in the Southern Ocean during the annual conference of the intergovernmental body that manages Antarctic fisheries taking place Oct. 20-31, according to confidential documents seen by Mongabay. The proposal heightened diplomatic tensions at the meeting, which had already been overshadowed by the arrest of a Ukrainian [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Norway proposed almost doubling the catch limit for krill in the Southern Ocean during the annual conference of the intergovernmental body that manages Antarctic fisheries taking place Oct. 20-31, according to confidential documents seen by Mongabay. The proposal heightened diplomatic tensions at the meeting, which had already been overshadowed by the arrest of a Ukrainian delegate by Russian authorities in Crimea, an incident that several sources linked to his activities at the body, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Krill (Euphausia superba) is a shrimp-like crustacean, just a few centimeters long that lives in schools. It occupies the base of the food web for numerous wildlife populations in the Southern Ocean, including penguins, seals, finfish and seabirds. Concern over the sustainability of krill fishing prompted the creation of CCAMLR in the 1980s. In the 2000s, the debate reemerged due to the rapid growth in catches driven by demand for aquaculture feed, human food supplements and pet food. Today, conservationists warn that krill must be preserved to avoid further stressing the Antarctic marine ecosystem during a time of rapid disruption due to global warming. A representative of Norway acknowledged to Mongabay the country’s position as outlined in the documents. “The proposal is science-driven and developed within Norway’s broader commitment to sustainable fisheries management,” Bjørn Krafft, a scientist at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research and scientific representative for the Norwegian delegation to CCAMLR, told Mongabay in an email. Krafft declined to answer specific questions about the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/norways-proposal-to-double-krill-harvests-raises-tension-at-antarctic-conservation-summit/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/norways-proposal-to-double-krill-harvests-raises-tension-at-antarctic-conservation-summit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308601</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Report finds dangerous mercury levels, highlights mislabeling in shark meat sold in EU</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/report-finds-dangerous-mercury-levels-highlights-mislabeling-in-shark-meat-sold-in-euevels-mislabeling-in-shark-meat-sold-in-eu/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/report-finds-dangerous-mercury-levels-highlights-mislabeling-in-shark-meat-sold-in-euevels-mislabeling-in-shark-meat-sold-in-eu/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2025 15:13:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Fitt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/28155428/GP0STU63X_Low-res-800px-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308468</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and European Union]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Fisheries, Fishing, Food Industry, Health, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Overfishing, Predators, Public Health, Sharks, and Top Predators]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Shark meat sold across Europe may be serving up more than seafood. Dangerously high levels of methylmercury, toxic to humans, were present in nearly a third of shark meat samples taken from European restaurants, fishmongers and supermarkets, according to a new report by a group of marine conservation NGOs. The findings suggest that Europeans are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Shark meat sold across Europe may be serving up more than seafood. Dangerously high levels of methylmercury, toxic to humans, were present in nearly a third of shark meat samples taken from European restaurants, fishmongers and supermarkets, according to a new report by a group of marine conservation NGOs. The findings suggest that Europeans are routinely consuming shark meat that would fail food safety tests if it were monitored more closely. All tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus) samples and 22.7% of blue shark (Prionace glauca) samples analyzed exceeded safe levels, some by more than four times the maximum permitted in shark meat for human consumption under EU rules. Average mercury across all samples analyzed was less than a 10th of a milligram per kilogram below the maximum permitted, according to the report. “We were astonished at how high the contamination levels were in all of the samples,” report co-author and marine biologist Julian Münster of the German campaign group Stop Finning Deutschland, told Mongabay. “We did not expect the average methylmercury contamination to be just below the maximum limit.” Who eats shark meat, though? You may well ask. The report, published Oct. 15, also raised concerns about misleading shark-meat labeling, citing examples where retailers make up names they consider more appealing to consumers than “shark.” These include rock salmon or huss in English, schillerlocke in German and veau de mer, roussette or saumonette in French, the report said. “As things stand, people are consuming contaminated fish without even knowing it,” Münster&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/report-finds-dangerous-mercury-levels-highlights-mislabeling-in-shark-meat-sold-in-euevels-mislabeling-in-shark-meat-sold-in-eu/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/report-finds-dangerous-mercury-levels-highlights-mislabeling-in-shark-meat-sold-in-euevels-mislabeling-in-shark-meat-sold-in-eu/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308468</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Global conservation body takes first step to protect ocean’s twilight zone</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/global-conservation-body-takes-first-step-to-protect-oceans-twilight-zone/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/global-conservation-body-takes-first-step-to-protect-oceans-twilight-zone/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2025 09:30:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/23080006/diamond-squid-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308170</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Deep Sea, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, food security, Industry, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The mesopelagic zone is the chilly, dimly lit layer of ocean found 200-1,000 meters (660-3,300 feet) below the surface, which scientists say plays key roles in the marine food web and carbon cycle. On Oct. 15, delegates to the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi adopted a motion to protect it. The motion calls [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The mesopelagic zone is the chilly, dimly lit layer of ocean found 200-1,000 meters (660-3,300 feet) below the surface, which scientists say plays key roles in the marine food web and carbon cycle. On Oct. 15, delegates to the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi adopted a motion to protect it. The motion calls for any activities that could harm the mesopelagic ecosystem, including fishing, geoengineering and deep-sea mining, to be approached with caution and guided by the best available science. The World Conservation Congress is a global forum focused on nature and conservation that takes place every four years. The motion is one of the first steps toward safeguarding the mesopelagic zone globally, although it is focused more on limiting future damage rather than repairing any harm already inflicted on this part of the ocean. The mesopelagic zone, sometimes called the “twilight zone,” is home to an immense biomass of fish — 600 million metric tons, according to one estimate. Species inhabiting this zone include lanternfish, pearlsides and squid, which are crucial food sources for predators like dolphins, tunas, marlins and sharks. Research suggests this vast zone also plays an essential role in regulating the climate by facilitating a process called the “biological pump” that moves carbon from the atmosphere into the deep ocean for long-term storage. For now, a commercial mesopelagic fishing industry remains largely speculative. Launching it would require overcoming difficulties in locating, catching and processing mesopelagic fish. Still, there’s considerable enthusiasm for finding a way&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/global-conservation-body-takes-first-step-to-protect-oceans-twilight-zone/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/global-conservation-body-takes-first-step-to-protect-oceans-twilight-zone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308170</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Guava yields in South Asia shrink due to unpredictable heat &#038; rainfall</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/guava-yields-in-south-asia-shrink-due-to-unpredictable-heat-rainfall/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/guava-yields-in-south-asia-shrink-due-to-unpredictable-heat-rainfall/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2025 11:32:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/20112233/14-Bhimruli-guava-market-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307945</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Conservation, Crops, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather, Farming, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Water, Water Scarcity, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Guava farmer Haralal Halder, in his 45 years of farming profession in coastal Bangladesh, had never experienced a drought-like spell with soaring temperatures during April-May period, the flowering season, until the past couple of years. In 2023 and this year, excessive heat caused the premature abscission of one-third of the blossoms in the trees of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Guava farmer Haralal Halder, in his 45 years of farming profession in coastal Bangladesh, had never experienced a drought-like spell with soaring temperatures during April-May period, the flowering season, until the past couple of years. In 2023 and this year, excessive heat caused the premature abscission of one-third of the blossoms in the trees of his 0.53-hectare (1.33-acre) guava (Psidium guajava L.) orchard in Pirojpur, a district in the coastal Barisal division of Bangladesh. For more than two centuries, Barisal division has been famous for producing popular local guava varieties including Purnamandali, Swarupkathi and Palalata. “The weather change is unprecedented. The blossoms die due to late arrival of monsoon,” Haralal told Mongabay in September, the last harvesting month for local guava varieties cultivated in Barisal. Similar to those in Bangladesh, guava farmers in India and Pakistan have also been facing unfavorable weather conditions including changing rainfall patterns for more than five years, several studies revealed. According to Seoul-based agricultural market data processor Tridge, these three South Asian countries produce almost half of the global production of the tropical fruit. In 2019, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agriculture Centre (SAC) reported that agriculture in the region would face unpredictable and frequent climate change events like changing rainfall patterns. According to the report, India and Pakistan are vulnerable to increased variability in rainfall patterns, while Bangladesh’s hydrological cycle, particularly rainfall, will be “more erratic.” (Left) Guava farmer Haralal Halder. (Right) Farmers make their way to Bhimruli guava market to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/guava-yields-in-south-asia-shrink-due-to-unpredictable-heat-rainfall/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/guava-yields-in-south-asia-shrink-due-to-unpredictable-heat-rainfall/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307945</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia falls short in bid to increase its share of southern bluefin tuna catch</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2025 16:13:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/16080810/bluefin-tune-australia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307759</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Overfishing, Regulations, Seabirds, Tuna, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Japan dominate fishing of southern bluefin tuna, but Indonesia is pushing for a larger share of the global catch. However, its request was not officially acted on at a meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), the multilateral body that manages the stock, which Indonesia hosted from Oct. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Japan dominate fishing of southern bluefin tuna, but Indonesia is pushing for a larger share of the global catch. However, its request was not officially acted on at a meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), the multilateral body that manages the stock, which Indonesia hosted from Oct. 6-9 on the island of Bali. CCSBT members instead kept each nation’s share unchanged. Indonesia expressed disappointment in the result, having argued that the allotment system is inequitable and unfair to developing countries. “Indonesia views that the current allocation system has not paid due regard to the principles of equity and fairness in international law, which the preamble of the CCSBT Convention emphasizes,” Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, Indonesia’s fisheries minister, said in a statement at the meeting, according to the meeting’s official report viewed by Mongabay. Indonesia’s fleet has been cited for compliance-related issues — not following the fishery’s rules — which other parties raised as an issue in the discussion over the country’s share. While much attention at the meeting was on Indonesia’s request, the parties also dealt with other matters. They kept the total allowable catch (TAC) for all parties the same for 2026 as 2025, and they agreed to once again fully fund a key stock monitoring program. They also set up a future meeting for discussion of seabird protection in the fishery. There are more than a dozen regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) in the world, with some overlapping geographically but managing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307759</doi>				</item>
			</channel>
</rss>