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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=hydroelectric-power&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/hydroelectric-power/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2026 16:17:23 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Hydroelectric Power</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/hydroelectric-power/</link>
	<width>32</width>
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				<item>
					<title>Nepal’s flood disaster puts its hydropower-first strategy, exports to the test</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2026 16:12:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rudra Pangeni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/02160152/nepal-flood-2026-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328384</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Disasters, Energy, Environment, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Industry, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal&#8217;s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The Aug. 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and which knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal&#8217;s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The Aug. 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and which knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a debate on whether Nepal should rethink its overall strategy or just adopt better-engineered plants. Amid this, the flood could jeopardize the country&#8217;s clean energy targets and push it to adopt more solar power. Immediate impacts The flashflood crippled a combined installed generation capacity of 281 megawatts, including a solar power plant, and damaged four other under-construction projects, totaling a capacity of 700 MW. One of the oldest hydroelectric plants, the 14.1-MW Devighat Hydroelectric Plant, commissioned 42 years ago, was wiped out. Further downstream, the flood badly damaged a 25-MW solar power plant, according to data compiled by Mongabay from official sources. Similarly, with a hub of a transmission line washed away on the Trishuli River’s banks, another 150 MW of power from different power plants is cut off from the national grid system. Transmission lines, including a substation on the Trishuli riverbank, were also destroyed. While officials are assessing the damage, estimates put losses at hundreds of billions of Nepali rupees, according to media reports. They say they can’t yet provide timelines for when the affected projects will resume generation. Around 983 engineers and workers are feared trapped inside the tunnels or power houses and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328384</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Logging operations uncovered at Cambodian senator’s dam in the Cardamoms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2026 01:30:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/10/09140647/Lutrogale_perspicillata_-_Jurong_Eco_Garden-harrison-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328129</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Global, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Carbon Credits, Carbon Market, Carbon Sequestration, climate finance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corruption, Crime, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Energy, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Habitat Loss, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Logging, Logging, Natural Resources, Old Growth Forests, Rainforests, Selective Logging, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“They are clearing the forest for the reservoir,” said Phan, a resident of O’Soam commune in Cambodia’s western province of Pursat. “These days, every few days, there is only one timber truck because it is the raining season, but during the dry season, there are three or four timber trucks [per day].” Phan, who spoke [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“They are clearing the forest for the reservoir,” said Phan, a resident of O’Soam commune in Cambodia’s western province of Pursat. “These days, every few days, there is only one timber truck because it is the raining season, but during the dry season, there are three or four timber trucks [per day].” Phan, who spoke to Mongabay by phone, requested that neither his full name nor his village name be published for fear of retribution from the developers of the 70-megawatt (MW) Stung Russei Chrum Kandal hydropower dam, also known as the Middle Russei Chrum River dam. Construction on the dam, which spans the Russei Chrum River in neighboring Koh Kong province, began in 2023 inside Phnom Kravanh National Park, one of Cambodia’s largest protected rainforests. The dam is one of many being built in the Cardamoms as Cambodia pushes for “clean” energy security, but recent satellite imagery indicates that large-scale logging is happening beyond the authorized construction sites. This map shows where the two dams are being built inside Cambodia&#8217;s protected Kravanh National Park. Image by Emilie Languedoc/Mongabay. Access to the site, Phan added, has been restricted and checkpoints are closely guarded by armed men in Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) uniforms. “We used to enter for fishing and laying fishing equipment, yet we are not allowed to enter anymore,” he said. “They have checkpoints, they have troops — they say the troops came to protect the forests. But the company set them up as security guards; we cannot&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328129</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, communities build their own micro-hydropower plant</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-ecuadors-intag-valley-communities-build-their-own-micro-hydropower-plant/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-ecuadors-intag-valley-communities-build-their-own-micro-hydropower-plant/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Sep 2026 12:55:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/01123136/HidroAguagrun-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328157</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Development, Energy, Environment, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Natural Resources, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, one of the major watersheds that supply the country’s Imbabura province in the north, 19 families from four communities are developing a 300-kilowatt (kW) run-of-river hydropower plant — a project that generates electricity by capturing the Aguagrún River’s natural flows without the construction of a large dam or water storage reservoir. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, one of the major watersheds that supply the country’s Imbabura province in the north, 19 families from four communities are developing a 300-kilowatt (kW) run-of-river hydropower plant — a project that generates electricity by capturing the Aguagrún River’s natural flows without the construction of a large dam or water storage reservoir. Engineers say this makes them less environmentally impactful. The families, which are from the communities of Cerro Pelado, Chinipamba, Nangulvi Bajo and Barcelona, own 90% of the HidroAguagrún project. Registered as a business since 2022, half of the revenue raised from selling electricity to the national grid will go directly into a trust for conservation activities, such as the protection of cloud forests. The idea to create a small hydropower plant came from a general concern among the families about water availability in the region and the impact of the climate crisis, said Jorge Guachagmira, the president of the Río Aguagrún Renewable Energy Production Association, which represents the 19 families of the micro-basin and surrounding areas. “We live in a remnant of the natural world, and our daily activities are affected by the expansion of the exploitation frontier, such as agriculture, livestock farming, logging or deforestation of natural ecosystems,” he told Mongabay in a video call. “By expanding the agricultural frontier, we are generating greater water insecurity, water instability and climate instability.” The community of Barcelona, which depends on the Aguagrún River micro-basin within the Cotacachi canton, Imbabura province, Ecuador. Image by Denis Laporta. Ecuador,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-ecuadors-intag-valley-communities-build-their-own-micro-hydropower-plant/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-ecuadors-intag-valley-communities-build-their-own-micro-hydropower-plant/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328157</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate shocks hit hydropower in Southern Africa, reviving interest in coal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 14:19:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chisapi Kumbutso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawhare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31093919/The_Kariba_Dam_wall_from_the_middle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325029</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Science, Coal, Development, Economics, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Natural Resources, Research, Solar Power, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA —For years, Zambia and Zimbabwe have boasted of enviable success in harnessing hydropower. More than 80% of Zambia’s power supply and about half of neighboring Zimbabwe’s supply came from hydropower sources in 2024. But climate change has continued to expose the fragility of this dependence. Successive droughts, linked to the 2023-24 El Niño, caused [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA —For years, Zambia and Zimbabwe have boasted of enviable success in harnessing hydropower. More than 80% of Zambia’s power supply and about half of neighboring Zimbabwe’s supply came from hydropower sources in 2024. But climate change has continued to expose the fragility of this dependence. Successive droughts, linked to the 2023-24 El Niño, caused water levels in Lake Kariba, formed by a dam on Zambezi River, to drop, drastically reducing electricity generation. It precipitated one of the region’s worst energy crises in decades. Against this backdrop, coal re-emerged as an attractive, although controversial, option. According to the Global Energy Monitor&#8217;s Boom and Bust Coal 2026 report, Zambia and Zimbabwe accounted for more than two-thirds of all new coal power proposals announced in Africa in 2025. Some energy experts argue that coal offers the quickest route to stabilizing electricity supplies and sustaining industrial growth, particularly for the mining sector. Electricity systems in Zimbabwe and Zambia power mining activities, industries and help meet the needs of growing urban populations. However, others warn that expanding coal-fired power risks locking both countries into decades of carbon emissions at a time when renewable energy technologies — especially solar — are becoming increasingly affordable. For Zimbabwe, however, coal has never completely disappeared from that country&#8217;s energy landscape. Power Shift Africa Campaigns Manager Kudakwashe Manjonjo said Zimbabwe&#8217;s reliance on coal is rooted in history. “Zimbabwe has always been a significant coal-producing country. I live in Hwange, home to one of the largest coal mines on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325029</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Major orangutan study finds Sumatran population fell nearly 20% despite slower forest loss</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 08:30:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas JongJunaidi Hanafiah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/01134730/sabah_3983-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324552</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Global, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Great Apes, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hydroelectric Power, Mammals, Mining, Orangutans, Peatlands, Poaching, Primates, Renewable Energy, Research, Tropical Deforestation, Wetlands, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The number of Sumatran orangutans has declined by nearly 20% in the past decade and the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan remains perilously close to extinction despite years of conservation efforts, according to a new study. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, also suggests that habitat loss alone cannot explain the species&#8217; [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The number of Sumatran orangutans has declined by nearly 20% in the past decade and the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan remains perilously close to extinction despite years of conservation efforts, according to a new study. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, also suggests that habitat loss alone cannot explain the species&#8217; decline. While deforestation remains the primary driver, several orangutan populations in Indonesia’s island of Sumatra shrank by a far greater degree than the rate of forest loss might explain, pointing to additional threats such as killing, conflict with humans and habitat fragmentation. The findings come from the first comprehensive reassessment of both Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis) orangutans since the landmark 2016 range-wide survey led by primatologist Serge Wich. The study also signals a notable shift in the Indonesian government&#8217;s public approach to orangutan conservation. Between 2018 and 2022, then environment and forestry minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar repeatedly said &#8220;ground-based evidence&#8221; showed orangutan populations were growing and dismissed projections of continued decline. Those claims were challenged at the time by prominent primatologists, who argued that peer-reviewed research consistently showed that the populations of all three orangutan species, Sumatran, Tapanuli and Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus), were declining and urged the ministry to release the data underpinning its assertions. The dispute escalated when the ministry temporarily barred several of the scientists from conducting research with Indonesia&#8217;s national parks and conservation agencies. The latest assessment of the animals presents a picture that’s markedly different from the previous&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>South America’s farms depend, in part, on a healthy Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/south-americas-farms-depend-in-part-on-a-healthy-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/south-americas-farms-depend-in-part-on-a-healthy-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2026 08:30:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/22052817/amazon_201362-26x-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321533</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Conservation, Drought, Ecosystem Services, El Nino, Environment, Environmental Policy, Environmental Services, Fires, forest degradation, Forests, Hydroelectric Power, Natural Capital, Nature-based climate solutions, Precipitation, Rainforests, Restoration, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Soy, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; The Amazon is often described in terms of how much carbon it stores. It also moves vast amounts of water. Its trees draw moisture from the soil and return it to the air through transpiration. Some rain caught by the canopy also evaporates back into the atmosphere. That moisture falls again, some of it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; The Amazon is often described in terms of how much carbon it stores. It also moves vast amounts of water. Its trees draw moisture from the soil and return it to the air through transpiration. Some rain caught by the canopy also evaporates back into the atmosphere. That moisture falls again, some of it inside the basin and some of it far downwind. For much of South America, the forest helps sustain rainfall, farming, hydropower, and urban water supplies. A recent paper in Nature, by Nico Wunderling and colleagues, gives this hydrological role greater weight in the climate case for the Amazon. The authors used a dynamical systems model and atmospheric moisture tracking to estimate how deforestation and warming interact across the basin. Without deforestation, their model finds a critical global warming threshold of about 3.7 to 4.0 degrees Celsius, beyond which up to a third of the Amazon forest risks losing stability. When deforestation is included, the risk becomes much larger at a lower level of warming. Under deforestation of 22% to 28% of the biome and warming of 1.5 to 1.9 degrees Celsius, the model finds a near system-wide transition affecting 62% to 77% of the forest. Rain over the Amazon. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler Those numbers should be treated carefully. The Amazon is not a single ecological unit. Western forests, southern forests, flooded forests, upland forests, secondary forests, and fire-damaged edges differ in species composition, rainfall, soils, and drought tolerance. A model cannot capture every&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/south-americas-farms-depend-in-part-on-a-healthy-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/south-americas-farms-depend-in-part-on-a-healthy-amazon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321533</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A blueprint for effective activism 10 years after defeating a dam in Borneo (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-blueprint-for-effective-activism-10-years-after-defeating-a-dam-in-borneo-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-blueprint-for-effective-activism-10-years-after-defeating-a-dam-in-borneo-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jun 2026 18:59:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jessica MerrimanJoe Lamb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/09193920/Baram-dam-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320891</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Analysis, Commentary, Community Development, Conservation, Dams, Development, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Forests, Freshwater, Governance, Human Rights, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Rivers, Tropical Forests, and Tropics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In October 2015, Indigenous activists from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Brazil, the United States, and Honduras, together with delegates from longhouse communities throughout the Malaysian state of Sarawak, gathered at Tanjung Tepalit, an Indigenous Kenyah village on the Baram River on the island of Borneo. They called the gathering WISER: the World Indigenous Summit [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In October 2015, Indigenous activists from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Brazil, the United States, and Honduras, together with delegates from longhouse communities throughout the Malaysian state of Sarawak, gathered at Tanjung Tepalit, an Indigenous Kenyah village on the Baram River on the island of Borneo. They called the gathering WISER: the World Indigenous Summit on Environment and Rivers. Tanjung Tepalit hosted the gathering because the village, along with more than two dozen others along the river, was scheduled to be drowned. The Baram Dam, a 1,200-megawatt hydroelectric mega project backed by the Sarawak state government and aligned with a regional industrial development scheme called the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), would have flooded an area of more than 400 square kilometers (more than 150 square miles) and displaced an estimated 20,000 Kenyah, Kayan, and Penan people. Muslims, Catholics, Evangelicals, Buddhists, agnostics, and people who followed traditional Indigenous religions were among the attendees. As we gathered, Peter Kallang, the Kenyah founder and chair of the local advocacy group SAVE Rivers, addressed the assembly: &#8220;We are people of many faiths,&#8221; he said, &#8220;but we are united in one mission. To protect our forest homes and our ways of life.&#8221; In one sense the WISER gathering was a strategy meeting to coordinate an international coalition against a state-corporate project. In another, and perhaps deeper sense, WISER was rooted in something older. It was an assertion that the values that hold communities to their land across generations — the sanctity of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-blueprint-for-effective-activism-10-years-after-defeating-a-dam-in-borneo-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320891</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dangerous arsenic levels detected in Thailand’s Mekong mainstream for first time</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 May 2026 02:47:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/09223648/Fishers-Mekong-near-Chiang-Khong-3_stefan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318973</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Dolphins, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Energy Transition, extractives, Farming, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Mining, Pollution, Rivers, Science, Tropics, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Thai authorities have found what they described as dangerous levels of arsenic contamination in sediment from the Mekong River and three of its tributaries in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Heavy metal pollution has been reported from key tributaries of the Mekong for more than a year now, but [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Thai authorities have found what they described as dangerous levels of arsenic contamination in sediment from the Mekong River and three of its tributaries in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Heavy metal pollution has been reported from key tributaries of the Mekong for more than a year now, but the tests conducted in March by Thailand’s Pollution Control Department mark the first time that arsenic contamination has been detected on the mainstream of the Mekong, a vital transboundary river that supports thousands of plant and wildlife species and the livelihoods of millions of people. The test results published in mid-April show that sediment taken from three separate monitoring stations along the Mekong mainstream contained arsenic concentrations of between 73 and 296 milligrams per kilogram of sediment. According to the Pollution Control Department, concentrations of less than 10 mg/kg are considered broadly safe for aquatic life; levels higher than 33 mg/kg are deemed dangerous. Arsenic levels in sediment taken from various points along the Kok, Sai and Ruak rivers, key tributaries of the Mekong, all ranged from below the 33 mg/kg safe limit up to 57 mg/kg, the Pollution Control Department said via its official Facebook page, noting the contamination appears to be spreading through the river system. Thailand&#8217;s Pollution Control Department posted results of the sediment tests to their official Facebook page on April 10, 2026. Image sourced from the Pollution Control Department&#8217;s Facebook. Heavy metal pollution in the Mekong Basin has been widely&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318973</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Emmanuel de Merode, director of Virunga National Park: &#8220;If conservation creates hardships, it won&#8217;t work&#8221;</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/emmanuel-de-merode-director-of-virunga-national-park-if-conservation-creates-hardships-it-wont-work/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/emmanuel-de-merode-director-of-virunga-national-park-if-conservation-creates-hardships-it-wont-work/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 13:34:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20115458/image1_649645552_1381072780725700_2134234773966713765_n-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317784</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Economics, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, National Parks, Parks, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SALONGA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of the Congo — For over two decades, Emmanuel de Merode has worked at the intersection of conservation, conflict, and development in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As director of Virunga National Park, he has overseen one of Africa’s most ambitious—and controversial—conservation experiments: protecting biodiversity by improving the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SALONGA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of the Congo — For over two decades, Emmanuel de Merode has worked at the intersection of conservation, conflict, and development in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As director of Virunga National Park, he has overseen one of Africa’s most ambitious—and controversial—conservation experiments: protecting biodiversity by improving the living conditions of the millions of people living around the park. His guiding principle, shaped by years of experience, rests on the idea that conservation must benefit local populations. &#8220;If conservation creates hardships, it won&#8217;t work,&#8221; he said during a recent visit by Mongabay to Salonga National Park. Established in 1925, Virunga National Park is Africa’s oldest national park and one of its most biodiverse. Stretching from the Rwenzori Mountains to the volcanic plains along the border between Rwanda and Uganda, it is home to mountain gorillas, forest elephants, and three species of great apes. Yet it has also been shaped by decades of conflict, the presence of armed groups, and the illegal exploitation of resources—making conservation far more complex than the mere protection of wildlife. Fabrice, a ranger at Virunga National Park since 2013 and now a Deputy Sector Warden, pauses during a patrol. Virunga has lost more rangers than any other protected area in Africa, illustrating the human cost of conservation and raising the question of whether new conservation models can better protect both biodiversity and those charged with defending it. Image courtesy of Virunga National Park. For de Merode, these realities profoundly&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/emmanuel-de-merode-director-of-virunga-national-park-if-conservation-creates-hardships-it-wont-work/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317784</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous governance key to protecting Amazon Basin connectivity, experts say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indigenous-governance-key-to-protecting-amazon-basin-connectivity-experts-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indigenous-governance-key-to-protecting-amazon-basin-connectivity-experts-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Apr 2026 09:36:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Constance Malleret]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/29185918/Photo-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316855</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Dams, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Fires, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Mining, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Restoration, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the southern tip of Colombia’s Cauca department, known as the “boot” for its shoe-like shape, volunteer members of an Indigenous guard patrol their territories in the Andean foothills to protect them from invasion and deforestation. The municipality of Piamonte, which covers most of the boot, suffered the highest loss of forest cover in Cauca [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the southern tip of Colombia’s Cauca department, known as the “boot” for its shoe-like shape, volunteer members of an Indigenous guard patrol their territories in the Andean foothills to protect them from invasion and deforestation. The municipality of Piamonte, which covers most of the boot, suffered the highest loss of forest cover in Cauca between 2001 and 2024, according to data from Global Forest Watch. “There are two fronts: illegal mining by illegal armed groups, and legal mining” by companies with permits, said Edinson Ramos Usnas, a member of the Nasa people and the coordinator of Cauca’s regional guard. “Mining cuts down trees, it destroys the land, it creates pits. This is causing many species, including native tree species, to disappear,” said Gloria Rivera, a Nasa woman from Cauca. This degradation of the forest where the Andes meet the Amazon, a biodiversity hotspot, has impacts that go beyond its immediate surroundings, according to a report by the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) looking at landscape connectivity in the Amazon Basin. Ecological connectivity between the rivers, lowlands, wetlands and Andean foothills in the Amazon is essential to guarantee the survival of the rainforest and the ecosystem services it provides. Anthropogenic activities are threatening landscape integrity and therefore connectivity, the research shows, while Indigenous territories and conservation areas are the best barrier against deforestation. This means that supporting Indigenous governance and the integrity of these territories at a transnational level is vital to protect the Amazon as a whole. Where&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indigenous-governance-key-to-protecting-amazon-basin-connectivity-experts-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indigenous-governance-key-to-protecting-amazon-basin-connectivity-experts-say/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316855</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil is both the world&#8217;s environmental treasure and its most exposed victim (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/brazil-is-both-the-worlds-environmental-treasure-and-its-most-exposed-victim-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/brazil-is-both-the-worlds-environmental-treasure-and-its-most-exposed-victim-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 12:22:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Igor OliveiraRobert Muggah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/14131603/AP24129518949054-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315758</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Cerrado, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Climate Change, Commentary, Deforestation, Disasters, Economics, Flooding, food security, Hydroelectric Power, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In May 2024, floodwaters submerged much of Porto Alegre. Brazil&#8217;s fourth-largest city lost bridges, hospitals, and months of economic output. Hundreds died. The images briefly commanded global attention. Then the news cycle moved on. What it left behind was something more consequential than headlines: a preview of what Brazil&#8217;s climate future looks like, playing out [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In May 2024, floodwaters submerged much of Porto Alegre. Brazil&#8217;s fourth-largest city lost bridges, hospitals, and months of economic output. Hundreds died. The images briefly commanded global attention. Then the news cycle moved on. What it left behind was something more consequential than headlines: a preview of what Brazil&#8217;s climate future looks like, playing out in real time. Porto Alegre was not a freak event. It was a signal, and the signal is getting louder. Few large economies are more directly exposed to climate and nature breakdown than Brazil. It is not merely a country at risk from a changing climate. It is a country whose entire economic model, social contract, and physical geography depend on the stability of natural systems that are now destabilizing faster than its institutions can adapt. The Central Market is flooded after heavy rain in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Thursday, May 9, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner A nation uniquely exposed Brazil has already warmed by roughly 1 to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. On higher trajectories, parts of the Amazon and the Cerrado savanna could exceed 3 degrees by the 2040s, a threshold at which compounding effects on water, agriculture, and human health become extremely difficult to manage. A systematic review of more than 20,000 Brazilian climate projections found severe risks across all six biomes &#8211; Amazônia, the Cerrado, the Caatinga, Mata Atlântica, the Pampas, and the Pantanal.  The paradox is that Brazil is simultaneously one of the world&#8217;s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/brazil-is-both-the-worlds-environmental-treasure-and-its-most-exposed-victim-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315758</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Disastrous floods in Colombia reignite debate over hydroelectric dam</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/disastrous-floods-in-colombia-reignite-debate-over-hydroelectric-dam/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/disastrous-floods-in-colombia-reignite-debate-over-hydroelectric-dam/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 17:12:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Euan Wallace]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13164229/DSC08870-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315701</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Dams, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Governance, Health, Hydroelectric Power, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Planetary Health, Politics, Public Health, Renewable Energy, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MONTERÍA, Colombia — In the suburb of La Palma, in the city of Montería, Córdoba, two boys stand knee-deep in water. A shimmering film of dirt spreads across its opaque surface. The two are piling family possessions into an upturned refrigerator – a makeshift raft used to ferry their belongings toward dry land. Across the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MONTERÍA, Colombia — In the suburb of La Palma, in the city of Montería, Córdoba, two boys stand knee-deep in water. A shimmering film of dirt spreads across its opaque surface. The two are piling family possessions into an upturned refrigerator – a makeshift raft used to ferry their belongings toward dry land. Across the street, Ana Castillo, 33, watches them from her doorway. Her home sits just a few inches above the water. By her side, a dark stain rising 1 meter (3.3 feet) up the wall marks where the water line was just a few days earlier. “This took us by surprise,” Castillo says. Broom in hand, she tries to sweep the last of the water from her front room. “It’s sad to see your things half-submerged in water.” La Palma is one of the 27 neighborhoods in Montería affected by severe flooding during the region’s dry season. What began as torrential rain in early February turned into a regional disaster: 24 municipalities in Cordoba were affected, and seven people died. The causes are still under debate; while scientists have pointed to unstable weather patterns and the influence of climate change, locals, some experts and high-ranking politicians say high water levels in the Urra Dam, a hydroelectric project long contested by Indigenous communities, have aggravated the floods. In the neighbourhood of La Palma, Montería, two young men attempt to use a fridge as a makeshift canoe. Image by Euan Wallace. Amid the debate, authorities continue to grapple with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/disastrous-floods-in-colombia-reignite-debate-over-hydroelectric-dam/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315701</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The promise and perils of the 1995 Mekong River Agreement (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 09:52:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pham Phan Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/30141735/communities-tonle-sap-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315485</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Dams, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Fish, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Law, Politics, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The 1995 Mekong Agreement was meant to be a cornerstone of cooperation for Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — promising equitable use, no significant harm, and joint management of the river. The Mekong River Commission was its steward, tasked with data sharing, project consultations, and protecting the basin’s health. Three decades on, the MRC’s 30-year [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The 1995 Mekong Agreement was meant to be a cornerstone of cooperation for Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — promising equitable use, no significant harm, and joint management of the river. The Mekong River Commission was its steward, tasked with data sharing, project consultations, and protecting the basin’s health. Three decades on, the MRC’s 30-year milestone in November 2025 painted a picture of “shared prosperity.” Officials highlighted flood warnings, environmental studies, and even China’s data-sharing nods. Despite the MRC’s claim that “working together is the only way forward” with “new solutions” to keep the Mekong a “river of life, not conflict,” this optimistic rhetoric has echoed for 30 years. In reality, the river faces “a death by a thousand cuts” — cumulative degradation from dams, sediment loss, sand mining, altered flows, and Lake Tonle Sap’s natural regulating role severely undermined — all of which the MRC’s 30-year approach has failed to stop. The 1995 Mekong Agreement and the disasters of dam-building spree Before 1995, the lower Mekong mainstream had zero large dams. The 1995 Agreement altered that. Laos built Xayaburi, operational since 2019, and Don Sahong, running since 2020. Those two alone sparked outrage from Cambodia and Vietnam over blocked fish routes and lost sediment. The PNPCA process, for prior notification and consultation, was supposed to lead to agreement. Instead, Laos treated objections as background noise and pushed ahead. Vietnam’s own tributary dams number 81; Laos, 75. Together, the basin’s total planned hydropower capacity is 23 gigawatts, drawing $50 billion&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315485</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Falling Amazon river flows trigger reality check at Belo Monte power plant</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/falling-amazon-river-flows-trigger-reality-check-at-belo-monte-power-plant/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/falling-amazon-river-flows-trigger-reality-check-at-belo-monte-power-plant/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Mar 2026 12:16:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rafael Spuldar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/04115252/AP24255823406395-scaled-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315146</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Damming the Xingu]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Drought, Ecology, Energy, Environment, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Rainforests, Rivers, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazil bet big on a mega river dam using old data, but climate change is leaving its massive turbines high and dry.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Brazil’s largest Amazon hydropower plants are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change, and Belo Monte may be the clearest warning sign yet. Built on the Xingu River after years of debate over its environmental impacts and the reliability of its energy output, the mega-dam is facing a problem its planners could not solve with engineering: less water. This reality is reflected in two major studies published in late 2025 — one led by Brazil’s water and sanitation agency, ANA, and the other by the federal energy research office, EPE. From different angles, both reports conclude that climate change is fundamentally reshaping the country’s water and energy systems, requiring urgent adaptation — 43.7% of Brazil’s energy comes from hydropower plants. ANA’s report warns that hydropower plants across the Amazon region could lose up to 40% of their generation capacity over the next 20-30 years if planning continues to rely on historical water flow data rather than climate-adjusted projections. The Xingu River Basin in particular will face significantly longer and more intense dry seasons over the coming decades. Maximum river flows could decline by up to 50%, according to the study published in November 2025, while consecutive dry periods — historically around 20 days — may extend to as many as 40 days by the end of the century, with some dry spells lasting up to 150 days. Those numbers look into the future, but the severity of droughts and their impact on Amazon dams are today’s reality. In 2024, during the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/falling-amazon-river-flows-trigger-reality-check-at-belo-monte-power-plant/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/falling-amazon-river-flows-trigger-reality-check-at-belo-monte-power-plant/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315146</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The Amazon’s most valuable export isn’t timber — it’s rain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/the-amazon-generates-20-billion-of-dollars-worth-of-rainfall-each-year-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/the-amazon-generates-20-billion-of-dollars-worth-of-rainfall-each-year-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Feb 2026 00:40:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/18234721/ecuador_236175-26-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314446</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystem Services, Environment, Environmental Services, Forests, Green, Hydroelectric Power, Precipitation, Rainforests, Rivers, Tropical Forests, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rainfall is often treated as a gift of geography — a function of latitude, oceans, and atmospheric circulation. A growing body of research suggests that in the tropics, it is also a product of ecosystems. Forests do not merely receive rain. They help generate it, regulate its distribution, and sustain the conditions that allow it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Rainfall is often treated as a gift of geography — a function of latitude, oceans, and atmospheric circulation. A growing body of research suggests that in the tropics, it is also a product of ecosystems. Forests do not merely receive rain. They help generate it, regulate its distribution, and sustain the conditions that allow it to persist. “Quantifying tropical forest rainfall generation”, a review paper recently published in the journal Communications Earth &#038; Environment, attempts to measure a process long recognized but rarely expressed in concrete terms: how much rain forests themselves produce. By combining satellite observations with climate models, the authors estimate that each square meter of tropical forest generates roughly 240 liters of rainfall per year across the broader landscape, rising to about 300 liters in the Amazon Basin. Rather than treating forests as passive recipients of climate, the study depicts them as active participants in shaping it. The mechanism begins with evapotranspiration. Trees draw water from soils and release it into the atmosphere through their leaves. This vapor contributes to cloud formation and precipitation downwind. While the physics is familiar, the novelty lies in quantifying the effect at scale. On average, each percentage point of tropical forest loss reduces regional rainfall by about 2.4 millimeters annually, with larger effects in the Amazon. Satellite observations suggest even stronger impacts than most models, implying that current projections may underestimate the hydrological consequences of deforestation. Sunrise over the Pinipini river in the Peruvian Amazon. Photo: Rhett A. Butler Forests export&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/the-amazon-generates-20-billion-of-dollars-worth-of-rainfall-each-year-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/the-amazon-generates-20-billion-of-dollars-worth-of-rainfall-each-year-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314446</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amazon villages build autonomous energy systems after mega-dam failed pledges</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2026 19:22:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jorge C. Carrasco]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/18082413/1.-Instalacoes.-Comunidade-de-Porto-Rico-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314417</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Damming the Xingu]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Dams, Development, Energy, Environment, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Sustainable Development, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Despite hosting huge hydropower plants, Amazon people still pay high energy tariffs — so they found another way.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Brazil approved the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex on the Xingu River, in Pará state, the megaproject promised to profoundly change the national and local energy landscapes, creating a large offer of clean energy to power industries, illuminate homes and bring development to isolated communities that historically had little to no access to power. However, nearly a decade after the operations of the fourth-largest hydropower facility in the world began in 2016, the reality is starkly different. Vulnerable communities that highly depended on fishing have been severely economically affected, and many riverside families remain disconnected from the grid or pay some of the highest electricity bills in the country. A study published in 2024 by researchers from the State University of Campinas in Brazil and Michigan State University in the U.S., funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), identified in a household survey covering 500 families in Altamira, Pará, that a vast majority of these families (86.8%) suffered a negative impact on electricity prices after the construction of Belo Monte. The research shows that not only did the “energy progress” promised in the past never materialize, but also that tariffs soared while communities living in the shadow of the Amazon’s largest dam still face blackouts and prohibitive costs. General view of the solar energy system after installation in the Porto Rico community. Image courtesy of Renato Chalu. Lower-income families in small communities in the Amazon region were hit the hardest, not only paying more for electricity,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314417</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ethiopia’s Renaissance mega-dam fuels energy hopes and regional anxiety</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/ethiopias-renaissance-mega-dam-fuels-energy-hopes-and-regional-anxiety/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/ethiopias-renaissance-mega-dam-fuels-energy-hopes-and-regional-anxiety/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Feb 2026 06:30:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/05123956/b.-54776665478_fdfd44276f_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313771</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, and North Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Conservation, Dams, Energy, Environment, Freshwater, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Politics, Renewable Energy, Rivers, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This January, U.S. President Donald Trump offered to act as a mediator between Egypt and Ethiopia over Nile River waters, signaling renewed interest in the dispute. Ethiopia’s flagship project, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), launched in 2011, has been a source of prolonged friction among Nile Basin countries. The row intensified with the dam’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This January, U.S. President Donald Trump offered to act as a mediator between Egypt and Ethiopia over Nile River waters, signaling renewed interest in the dispute. Ethiopia’s flagship project, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), launched in 2011, has been a source of prolonged friction among Nile Basin countries. The row intensified with the dam’s official inauguration on Sept. 9, 2025, with Egyptian leaders accusing Ethiopia of violating international law. With a length of 1,780 meters (5,840 feet) and a capacity of 5,150 megawatts (MW), it is the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa by capacity. The $5 billion project, which was mainly financed by Ethiopians and their government, also benefited from Chinese loans and investments. The presidents of Djibouti, South Sudan, Somalia and Kenya attended the inauguration ceremony. “The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is not only a feat of engineering ambition; it is also a bold affirmation of Africa&#8217;s capacity to shape its own destiny, marshal its resources and deliver transformative infrastructure in pursuit of prosperity,” Kenyan President William Ruto, who reiterated his willingness to strengthen trade relations with Ethiopia, said during a speech at the inauguration ceremony. Ruto had good reasons to be pleased. In 2022, Kenya and Ethiopia signed a power purchase agreement establishing a 500-kilovolt transmission line between the two countries. Ethiopia committed to selling substantial amounts of renewable electricity to Kenya over 25 years, starting with 200MW during the first three years and gradually increasing it to 400MW, which is more than 10% of Kenya’s current&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/ethiopias-renaissance-mega-dam-fuels-energy-hopes-and-regional-anxiety/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/ethiopias-renaissance-mega-dam-fuels-energy-hopes-and-regional-anxiety/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313771</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia revokes forest and mine permits over role in deadly Sumatra landslides</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-revokes-forest-and-mine-permits-over-role-in-deadly-sumatra-landslides/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-revokes-forest-and-mine-permits-over-role-in-deadly-sumatra-landslides/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jan 2026 01:38:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/09070406/man-with-chicken-Batang-Toru-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313214</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and West Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Biodiversity, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Forestry, Forests, Gold Mining, Great Apes, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Law, Law Enforcement, Mining, Orangutans, Plantations, Pulp And Paper, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has revoked the permits of 28 companies over environmental violations that authorities say exacerbated the deadly floods and landslides that struck the island of Sumatra in late 2025. The revocations follow an audit carried out by a government task force responsible for forest area enforcement after disasters triggered by Cyclone [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has revoked the permits of 28 companies over environmental violations that authorities say exacerbated the deadly floods and landslides that struck the island of Sumatra in late 2025. The revocations follow an audit carried out by a government task force responsible for forest area enforcement after disasters triggered by Cyclone Senyar in November 2025, which killed about 1,200 people across Indonesia’s main western island. The audit found that the 28 companies had violated various rules, including the 2009 law on environmental protection, and bore responsibility for environmental damage linked to the disasters. Authorities still haven’t disclose detailed findings or evidence for each case. The audit results were presented to President Prabowo Subianto during an online meeting on Jan. 19. “Based on that report, the president decided to revoke the permits of 28 companies that were proven to have committed violations,” State Secretariat Minister Prasetyo Hadi said at a press conference on Jan. 20, as quoted by CNBC Indonesia. The move signals a shift in how administrative enforcement is framed in Indonesia, with permit sanctions now explicitly justified by post-disaster accountability rather than routine compliance alone. The revoked permits include 22 forest utilization permits (PBPH) for operating in natural and plantation forests, covering a combined area of about 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) — roughly one-third the size of Belgium — as well as six mining, plantation and timber forest product utilization permits (PBPHHK). Among the affected permit holders is major pulpwood producer PT Toba&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-revokes-forest-and-mine-permits-over-role-in-deadly-sumatra-landslides/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-revokes-forest-and-mine-permits-over-role-in-deadly-sumatra-landslides/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313214</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia sues 6 companies over alleged links to deadly floods &#038; landslides</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-sues-6-companies-over-alleged-links-to-deadly-floods-landslides/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-sues-6-companies-over-alleged-links-to-deadly-floods-landslides/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Jan 2026 06:21:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03233535/AP25336560227612-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313083</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Disasters, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Gold Mining, Great Apes, Hydroelectric Power, Law, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Mining, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In the wake of the deadly floods and landslides that struck Indonesia in late 2025, the nation’s environment ministry has sued six companies, seeking 4.8 trillion rupiah ($284 million) in environmental damages linked to the disasters. Following devastating floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Senyar in November, which killed more than 1,100 people [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In the wake of the deadly floods and landslides that struck Indonesia in late 2025, the nation’s environment ministry has sued six companies, seeking 4.8 trillion rupiah ($284 million) in environmental damages linked to the disasters. Following devastating floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Senyar in November, which killed more than 1,100 people across Indonesia’s main western island of Sumatra, the ministry launched an investigation into 70 companies operating in the region to examine possible links between corporate activities and the disasters. This week, the environment ministry’s law enforcement department announced the preliminary results of its investigation. Six companies, it said, were responsible for alleged damage to watersheds in North Sumatra province, involving the clearing of 2,516 hectares (6,217 acres) of rainforest, particularly in and around the Batang Toru and Garoga watersheds. “The reason these companies are being sued is that, based on expert studies, alleged environmental damage was found around the Garoga watershed and the Batang Toru watershed,” said Dodi Kurniawan, the director of environmental dispute resolution at the ministry, during a press conference in Jakarta on Jan. 15. Sentinel-2 imagery (natural colors, 10-meter spatial resolution) over the rainforest of Batang Toru, home to the Tapanuli orangutan, taken before and after the extreme rainfall event that caused havoc in Sumatra in late November 2025. The before image was taken on Oct. 27, 2025; the after image on Dec. 3, 2025, showing patches of bare soil suddenly appearing. Image courtesy of TheTreeMap. The steep rainforest hills of Batang&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-sues-6-companies-over-alleged-links-to-deadly-floods-landslides/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313083</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After Cyclone Senyar, Indonesia probes whether development amplified scale of disaster</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/after-cyclone-senyar-indonesia-probes-whether-development-amplified-scale-of-disaster/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/after-cyclone-senyar-indonesia-probes-whether-development-amplified-scale-of-disaster/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jan 2026 10:53:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/15024645/AP25342772562499-Batang_Toru-Sumatra-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312648</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Disasters, Drivers Of Deforestation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Flooding, Gold Mining, Great Apes, Hydroelectric Power, Law, Law Enforcement, Mining, Orangutans, Plantations, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Timber, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Best known as the home of the world’s rarest great ape, the mountainous Batang Toru forest landscape on the island of Sumatra has become a test case for whether Indonesia can enforce environmental law in a region where mining, energy and plantation projects overlap with fragile ecosystems. In late November 2025, a rare [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Best known as the home of the world’s rarest great ape, the mountainous Batang Toru forest landscape on the island of Sumatra has become a test case for whether Indonesia can enforce environmental law in a region where mining, energy and plantation projects overlap with fragile ecosystems. In late November 2025, a rare tropical cyclone, Senyar, swept across this part of northern Sumatra, bringing extreme rainfall that triggered flash floods and landslides in the provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra. The disaster killed at least 1,178 people and displaced around 1 million others, according to government figures, making it one of Indonesia’s deadliest natural disasters in recent history. While the storm provided the immediate trigger, climatologists and environmental researchers say the scale of the destruction can’t be attributed to extreme weather alone. They point also to decades of deforestation, land clearing and landscape alteration that have weakened natural buffers across Sumatra’s upland watersheds. “Extreme weather was only the initial trigger,” Erma Yulihastin, a climate researcher at Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), said at a recent public discussion in Jakarta on disaster risk. “The destructive impact was shaped by weakened environmental buffers upstream.” The government appears to have acknowledged this, with Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq announcing on Dec. 23, 2025, an investigation into eight companies operating in the Batang Toru watershed, to assess whether their activities may have contributed to the floods and landslides. The ministry also ordered all eight companies to cease operations&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/after-cyclone-senyar-indonesia-probes-whether-development-amplified-scale-of-disaster/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312648</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘The bargain of the century’: An economist’s vision for expanding clean energy access in Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-bargain-of-the-century-an-economists-vision-for-expanding-clean-energy-access-in-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-bargain-of-the-century-an-economists-vision-for-expanding-clean-energy-access-in-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2025 08:10:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawhare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/24150031/solar-panels-in-africa-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312018</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Finance, Food, Fossil Fuels, Geothermal Energy, Hydroelectric Power, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, Social Justice, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Many observers see industrialization as the key to boosting clean electricity access for people living in Africa and across the Global South. They argue that building up economies with industry will bring about the investments needed to upgrade the power grid and related infrastructure to provide power to the 600 million people in Africa who [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Many observers see industrialization as the key to boosting clean electricity access for people living in Africa and across the Global South. They argue that building up economies with industry will bring about the investments needed to upgrade the power grid and related infrastructure to provide power to the 600 million people in Africa who currently lack any electricity. But making sure the transition is fair means thinking about the coal workers who could lose their livelihoods and also about those who mine critical minerals essential for the renewable energy sector. The “just transition” toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels got a boost at the November U.N. climate conference (COP30) in Brazil with the approval of the Belém Action Mechanism (BAM). The details of the BAM have yet to be sorted out, beyond a foundation of integrating existing endeavors toward low-carbon energy. But advocates applauded mentions of the rights of workers and Indigenous communities, as well as the inclusion of calls for more grants — as opposed to loans — to ease the transition. However, delegates failed to include a plan for phasing out oil, coal and gas. “The move to establish a just transition mechanism is positive and shows the power of civil society organising,&#8221; Friederike Strub, a climate finance campaigner at the Netherlands-based nonprofit Recourse, said in a statement. “But to make the just transition happen we need public finance backing, systemic economic reform, and a clear roadmap to end fossil fuels.” Even amid these signs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-bargain-of-the-century-an-economists-vision-for-expanding-clean-energy-access-in-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-bargain-of-the-century-an-economists-vision-for-expanding-clean-energy-access-in-africa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312018</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The first amphibian to halt a hydroelectric dam now takes on the climate crisis</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-first-amphibian-to-halt-a-hydroelectric-dam-now-takes-on-the-climate-crisis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-first-amphibian-to-halt-a-hydroelectric-dam-now-takes-on-the-climate-crisis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Dec 2025 10:19:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Thamys Trindade]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/22100957/Melanophryniscus_admirabilis-11-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311865</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Dams, Endangered Species, Energy, Environment, Frogs, Hydroelectric Power, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ARVOREZINHA, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil — The admirable little red-bellied toad is the size of a thumb, but it has achieved giant feats: In 2014, it prevented the construction of a small hydroelectric dam that threatened to alter its only habitat forever. Endemic to a small stretch of the Forqueta River, in the municipality [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ARVOREZINHA, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil — The admirable little red-bellied toad is the size of a thumb, but it has achieved giant feats: In 2014, it prevented the construction of a small hydroelectric dam that threatened to alter its only habitat forever. Endemic to a small stretch of the Forqueta River, in the municipality of Arvorezinha, Rio Grande do Sul, Melanophryniscus admirabilis is one of the rarest and most threatened species on the planet. Recently, after the floods that devastated the state in 2024, researchers returned to this refuge to assess whether the little toad that once halted the construction of a dam has survived the force of the waters. In October 2025, almost a year and a half after the biggest climate disaster in Rio Grande do Sul, I joined a team of researchers that would document what remained of the small habitat where just over a thousand little red-bellied toads used to live. The destination was Perau de Janeiro, a hidden fold of rocks and humid forest. Seen from above, the place, which is surrounded by tobacco plantations and pastures, looks like a common forest scene. But as we go down a steep trail, the atmosphere changes immediately. The smell of moss, the shining wet outcrop, the sound of the powerful flow of the river that ends in a waterfall: It was there that the little toad halted progress. And it was there where we wanted to find out if it still vocalized. Researcher Michelle Abadie with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-first-amphibian-to-halt-a-hydroelectric-dam-now-takes-on-the-climate-crisis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-first-amphibian-to-halt-a-hydroelectric-dam-now-takes-on-the-climate-crisis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311865</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal Indigenous leaders refile writ petition against hydropower project</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepal-indigenous-leaders-refile-writ-petition-against-hydropower-project/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepal-indigenous-leaders-refile-writ-petition-against-hydropower-project/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Dec 2025 19:55:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/12182421/Lungasamba-pass.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311246</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Clean Energy, Conservation, Crime, Culture, Development, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Lakes, Land Rights, Medicine, Politics, Pollution, Protected Areas, Renewable Energy, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amid rounds of court hearings and the decision pending on a 2024 writ petition, Indigenous Bhote-Lhomi Singsa community leaders of the Lungbasamba region in northeastern Nepal have filed another writ petition at the country’s Supreme Court. Community members from Ridak, one of the affected villages, say they filed the petition demanding the cancellation of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amid rounds of court hearings and the decision pending on a 2024 writ petition, Indigenous Bhote-Lhomi Singsa community leaders of the Lungbasamba region in northeastern Nepal have filed another writ petition at the country’s Supreme Court. Community members from Ridak, one of the affected villages, say they filed the petition demanding the cancellation of the Chhujung River Hydropower Project (63 MW), declaring the environmental impact assessment (EIA) void and issuing an interim order to halt construction activities until the court’s final decision. “The second writ petition was timely, given the increasing impacts from construction work on the community people, their lands and livelihoods,” says Dhenduk Dhoma Bhote, one of the writ petitioners and a community leader from Ridak village. Thudam village in Lungbasamba area. Image by Chyamtang-Kathmandu Welfare Society. Chyamtang Village in Lungbasamba area. Image by Chyamtang-Kathmandu Welfare Society. “We demand the project’s cancellation and halt construction activities that have operated under a flawed EIA,” Bhote says. “Villagers are worried and fear being displaced from their ancestral lands and forests, which they have long depended on for their livelihoods,” he says. Sources say that not only about 81 households in Ridak, but also about 22 households in Thudam and 125 in Chyamtang are among the most affected by the project. While people in Chyamtang completely depend on agriculture, and those in Thudam on yak (Bos grunniens) herding, Bhote says people in Ridak rely on both herding and trading medicinal herbs for their livelihoods. “Our ancestors have not known any other&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepal-indigenous-leaders-refile-writ-petition-against-hydropower-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311246</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lesotho communities allege greenwashing by project transferring water to South Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lesotho-communities-allege-greenwashing-by-project-transferring-water-to-south-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lesotho-communities-allege-greenwashing-by-project-transferring-water-to-south-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Nov 2025 17:31:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawhare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/21165528/High_mountain_Shepherds-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309980</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Negotiating Africa's Energy Future]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Lesotho, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Conflict, Dams, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Greenwashing, Hydroelectric Power, Politics, Renewable Energy, Resource Conflict, Rivers, Social Justice, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Communities in Lesotho have filed a complaint with the African Development Bank over a controversial initiative that transfers water from the country to neighboring South Africa, one of the biggest such schemes on the African continent. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), currently in its second phase, is funded in part by the African Development [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Communities in Lesotho have filed a complaint with the African Development Bank over a controversial initiative that transfers water from the country to neighboring South Africa, one of the biggest such schemes on the African continent. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), currently in its second phase, is funded in part by the African Development Bank (AfDB). In the complaint submitted to the bank’s Independent Recourse Mechanism, seen by Mongabay, the complainants accuse the developers of promoting the LHWP as a climate mitigation project and ignoring its impacts on their communities and the environment, and call it “greenwashing.” “Some in the community say they were better off without the project, because instead of bringing a development that is expected from such projects, it has, in fact, brought them poverty,” said Mosa Letsie, a lawyer at the Seinoli Legal Centre (SLC) in Lesotho. The center provides legal assistance and advice to marginalized communities and worked with the affected communities to submit the complaint. Letsie said women were disproportionately impacted. Falls short in every respect, from inadequate consultation to compensation to the lack of benefits. The LHWP diverts water from the Senqu-Orange river system in the Lesotho highlands, through a series of dams, to the water-poor Gauteng province of South Africa, home to the country’s economic nerve center: the greater Johannesburg area. The centerpiece of phase 2 is the Polihali dam and reservoir. While the project documents explicitly state how much water will be transferred to South Africa, they make only promises&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lesotho-communities-allege-greenwashing-by-project-transferring-water-to-south-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309980</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘The perfect ingredients’: WRI Africa deputy director shares vision for the continent’s energy transition</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-perfect-ingredients-wri-africa-deputy-director-shares-vision-for-the-continents-energy-transition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-perfect-ingredients-wri-africa-deputy-director-shares-vision-for-the-continents-energy-transition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Nov 2025 16:32:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawhare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/19142320/UNDP-Sudan-Muhanad-Sameer-51014288750_befa1b7ee9_o-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309838</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Negotiating Africa's Energy Future]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Finance, Food, Fossil Fuels, Geothermal Energy, Hydroelectric Power, Interviews, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, Social Justice, Solar Power, Wind, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The quest to bring energy to Africans who need it often centers on the relatable electrical needs that arise in the home: lighting, phone charging, and a connection to what’s going on in the broader world through a radio or a television. Indeed, 40% of the continent’s population — around 600 million people — don’t [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The quest to bring energy to Africans who need it often centers on the relatable electrical needs that arise in the home: lighting, phone charging, and a connection to what’s going on in the broader world through a radio or a television. Indeed, 40% of the continent’s population — around 600 million people — don’t even have that basic level of access. Where power access does exist, it’s often not enough to support the more intensive needs of essential services such as schools, hospitals and water treatment facilities. At the 2025 U.N. climate conference, COP30, in Belém, Brazil, running Nov. 10-21, ensuring a “just energy transition” in Africa and elsewhere that lack access has been a central topic of discussion. The overall rise in atmospheric carbon stems largely from the burning of fossil fuels, which has propelled the growth of wealthy countries’ economies. By contrast, people from less-industrialized parts of the world have contributed little to climate change, yet are often the first to face its impacts, whether from droughts, rising sea levels or more intense storms. And without ready access to electricity, they’re often — quite literally — left in the dark. Key to facilitating a just transition for Africa will be greater investments in renewables to capitalize on the continent’s abundant wind, geothermal, hydro and solar resources, according to Rebekah Shirley, deputy director for Africa at the World Resources Institute (WRI). (Already, more than half of Africa’s energy consumption is met by renewable sources, such as solar and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-perfect-ingredients-wri-africa-deputy-director-shares-vision-for-the-continents-energy-transition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309838</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>What does the just energy transition mean for Africa?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/what-does-the-just-energy-transition-mean-for-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/what-does-the-just-energy-transition-mean-for-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Nov 2025 14:07:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawhare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/07153651/UNDP-Zimbabwe-54585295677_0caffd97bb_o-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309084</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Negotiating Africa's Energy Future]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Finance, Food, Fossil Fuels, Geothermal Energy, Green, Hydroelectric Power, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, Social Justice, Solar Power, Wind, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When two Mongabay reporters visited the village of Lukwangulo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they encountered a reality that’s common in many parts of rural Africa: Families spend valuable time harvesting wood from forests for cooking, often their primary — and sometimes their only — source of energy. Some manage to pull together enough [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When two Mongabay reporters visited the village of Lukwangulo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they encountered a reality that’s common in many parts of rural Africa: Families spend valuable time harvesting wood from forests for cooking, often their primary — and sometimes their only — source of energy. Some manage to pull together enough money for a solar panel that might charge a cellphone, power a radio and provide a little light for children to study by. But it’s typically not enough for the basic task of cooking. The stark contrast between this situation and the broader world that runs on that energy is readily apparent to those who currently have little to no access to it. “You come from the city — you have electricity, you have lighting. Why you and not us?” Mukalay Ngoyi, a leader from Lukwangulo, told Mongabay. “We’re human beings like you, and we need electricity too.” On Nov. 10, delegates to the U.N.’s annual climate conference, COP30, will meet in Belém, Brazil, to assess global progress toward addressing climate change by limiting carbon emissions. Key to drawing down those emissions and achieving the goal of keeping the global temperature rise well below 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels is how we meet growing energy demand, both around the globe and in places like Lukwangulo. But most community leaders won’t be in Belém, instead relying on others to make the case for a “just” energy transition. The “just” concept “means leaving no one&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/what-does-the-just-energy-transition-mean-for-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309084</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cameroon inaugurates controversial dam despite local dissent</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/cameroon-inaugurates-controversial-dam-despite-local-dissent/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/cameroon-inaugurates-controversial-dam-despite-local-dissent/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Oct 2025 14:31:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yannick Kenné]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/10134434/b4abb60b-e9a6-4e2d-9b25-c1afbfa6f00e-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307404</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, and Central Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conflict, Dams, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Green, Human Rights, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Land Rights, Politics, Renewable Energy, Resource Conflict, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon — In the village of Ndji, old electrical cables are draped over rickety wooden poles, hanging so low in places, they touch the ground. These makeshift installations provide electricity in this hamlet of about a thousand inhabitants. But Wilfried Eyebe, a local fisherman, explained that this power supply is unreliable. “The voltage is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon — In the village of Ndji, old electrical cables are draped over rickety wooden poles, hanging so low in places, they touch the ground. These makeshift installations provide electricity in this hamlet of about a thousand inhabitants. But Wilfried Eyebe, a local fisherman, explained that this power supply is unreliable. “The voltage is not stable. We’re facing power cuts all the time.” This concern persists even though Ndji is located close to the Nachtigal hydroelectric dam on the Sanaga River, 65 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Yaoundé and the new source of around 30% of Cameroon’s electricity production. Transmission line carrying electricity from the Nachtigal hydroelectric dam. Image by Yannick Kenné/Mongabay. Hydroelectric power: Essential for Cameroon’s energy supply Hydroelectric power plays a vital role in Cameroon’s electricity grid and economy. It is a renewable energy source with a far lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels. Since March 2025, 420 megawatts of power generated by the $1.3 billion dam at Nachtigal has been fed into the Southern Interconnected Grid (RIS in French) which serves seven of Cameroon’s 10 regions with power produced by hydropower plants at Edea (267 MW, commissioned in 1954), Songloulou (384 MW, 1981), and now Nachtigal. Power cuts are still a frequent occurrence, though, due to incidents affecting the power transmission network. Numerous disruptions have been recorded recently at the new transformation station on the outskirts of Yaoundé, which enables the onward transport of electricity produced by Nachtigal. The villages near the dam are not spared&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/cameroon-inaugurates-controversial-dam-despite-local-dissent/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307404</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protected areas hit hard as Mekong countries’ forest cover shrank in 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2025 03:33:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/01/22033617/DJI_0794-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307108</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, data, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Forest Loss, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Logging, Illegal Mining, Industrial Agriculture, Landscape Restoration, Logging, Mining, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Reforestation, Remote Sensing, Sustainable Forest Management, Timber, timber trade, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — The Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined area of tree cover of nearly a million hectares in 2024, or an area almost the size of Lebanon. That’s according to Mongabay’s analysis* of satellite data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory at the University of Maryland, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — The Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined area of tree cover of nearly a million hectares in 2024, or an area almost the size of Lebanon. That’s according to Mongabay’s analysis* of satellite data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory at the University of Maryland, in partnership with Global Forest Watch (GFW). GFW data show 991,801 hectares (2.45 million acres) of tree cover were lost in 2024, including nearly 220,000 hectares (544,000 acres) of primary forest, across the five Mekong countries. More than 30% of tree cover loss recorded in 2024 occurred inside protected areas, although across the region, the rate of deforestation — both within protected areas and outside of them — slowed slightly from 2023. Despite this, the drivers of deforestation vary somewhat from country to country, and last year’s losses still reflect a grim trajectory for forests in the Mekong region. The economies of almost all Mekong countries are heavily reliant on agriculture, with forests cleared for both agribusiness-run plantations or subsistence farming plots. But research indicates the conversion of forest to croplands has resulted in increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and subsequently poorer agricultural yields. Illegal logging has also ravaged the Mekong’s forests, while large-scale infrastructure projects threaten critical ecosystems. Global Forest Watch data was used to calculate national level tree cover loss, while Mongabay&#8217;s analysis of GLAD data was used to calculate forest loss inside protected areas. Image by Andrés Alegría / Mongabay. Calamity in Cambodia’s protected&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307108</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Turning a stream into a river: Inside India’s Yettinaholé diversion project</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/turning-a-stream-into-a-river-inside-indias-yettinahole-diversion-project/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/turning-a-stream-into-a-river-inside-indias-yettinahole-diversion-project/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2025 16:49:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shradha Triveni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/02133930/fisher-at-yettinahole-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306921</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conflict, Dams, Development, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Environment, Fellows, Fishing, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Land Rights, Renewable Energy, Resource Conflict, Rivers, Tropics, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Daybreak is almost nonexistent during monsoons in Raxidi, a village perched in the thick of the Western Ghats, an Indian biodiversity hotspot. It is the 7 a.m. body clock that pushes most villagers out of slumber — to enter the accurate measure of the day’s rainfall in a log, a habit passed on by the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Daybreak is almost nonexistent during monsoons in Raxidi, a village perched in the thick of the Western Ghats, an Indian biodiversity hotspot. It is the 7 a.m. body clock that pushes most villagers out of slumber — to enter the accurate measure of the day’s rainfall in a log, a habit passed on by the British in coffee estates. There are, however, occasions where it dawns sooner when sharp-edged winds split trees into halves and bring them to a thud. Or gusts that constantly stab the windowpanes. In Raxidi, rain, as much as coffee, is a part and parcel of life, and livelihood. Mountain slopes are covered with coffee plantations, dotted with tall silver oak trees for shade. Men and women in gumboots hold sickles and hover around the coffee bush till dusk. Raingear is paramount for protection from water and leeches. Roads that snake like garland along the hills provide breathtaking views of greener mountains farther away, engulfed by thick, heavy clouds. One such mountain is Muru Kannu Gudda, or Three-Eyed Hill, more than 1,100 meters (3,900 feet) above mean sea level in Sakleshpur taluk (administrative division) in the heart of Karnataka’s Western Ghats, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Bengaluru, the capital city of the southern Indian state. “This is where the Yettinahalla is born,” said Prasad Raxidi, a writer, theater person and longtime resident of Raxidi, as he pointed to the longshot view of Muru Kannu Gudda from atop an amphitheater he built with the villagers. In&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/turning-a-stream-into-a-river-inside-indias-yettinahole-diversion-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306921</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Leaders pitch homegrown solutions at Africa Climate Summit — and $100b to back them</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/leaders-pitch-homegrown-solutions-at-africa-climate-summit-and-100b-to-back-them/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/leaders-pitch-homegrown-solutions-at-africa-climate-summit-and-100b-to-back-them/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2025 16:26:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/09150028/EthiopiasAbiyAhmedKenyasWilliamRuto_AfricaClimateSummit2025AddisAbaba_AfricaClimateSummit-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305671</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Ethiopia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Banking, Business, Clean Energy, Climate Change, climate finance, Climate Justice, Energy, Environment, Finance, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Politics, Pollution, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ADDIS ABABA — African leaders attending the Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa this week have called for a new global partnership that treats the continent as an engine of climate solutions rather than a recipient of aid. Summit host and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed set the tone at the opening on Sept. 8, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[ADDIS ABABA — African leaders attending the Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa this week have called for a new global partnership that treats the continent as an engine of climate solutions rather than a recipient of aid. Summit host and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed set the tone at the opening on Sept. 8, declaring, “We are not here to negotiate our survival. We are here to design the world’s next climate economy.” The summit’s three-day program will focus on nature-based solutions, technology, and energy systems on day one; adaptation and resilience in the face of advancing climate change on day two; and conclude with a decisive focus on “financing African-led solutions” on day three. Summit organizers say the goal is to bridge the persistent gap between political pledges and bankable projects. To illustrate how this solutions-first framing can extend beyond speeches, the Ethiopian hosts are showcasing several domestic initiatives: a Green Legacy campaign the government says has planted more than 48 billion seedlings since 2019; a climate-resilient wheat program and nutrition drive, known as Yelemat Tirufat, intended to cut imports and raise rural incomes; and the imminent commissioning of the 5,000-megawatt Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a regional clean-power anchor. Abiy paired that domestic portfolio with a continental proposal: an African Climate Innovation Compact (ACIC) that would link universities, research centers, startups and communities, aiming to surface 1,000 African solutions by 2030, underpinned — at least aspirationally — by $50 billion a year in blended finance. Solar plant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/leaders-pitch-homegrown-solutions-at-africa-climate-summit-and-100b-to-back-them/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305671</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Development banks under fire for backing disputed Nepal hydropower project</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/development-banks-under-fire-for-backing-disputed-nepal-hydropower-project/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/development-banks-under-fire-for-backing-disputed-nepal-hydropower-project/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2025 00:14:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/21145224/III-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304531</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Banking, Biodiversity, Conflict, Culture, Dams, Development, Environment, Forest Destruction, FPIC, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Rivers, Social Conflict, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nepal has long relied on hydropower projects to meet most of its energy needs, but recent complaints from Indigenous and local communities have cast a shadow over the development of some projects — particularly the Tanahu project. The project is being developed by Tanahu Hydropower Limited (THL), a subsidiary of the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nepal has long relied on hydropower projects to meet most of its energy needs, but recent complaints from Indigenous and local communities have cast a shadow over the development of some projects — particularly the Tanahu project. The project is being developed by Tanahu Hydropower Limited (THL), a subsidiary of the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). It’s expected to be completed next year in Gandaki province. But for many members of communities in the affected area, “none of our demands have been fulfilled to this day,” says Til Bahadur Thapa Magar, chair of local campaign group the Tanahu Hydropower Project’s Struggle Committee. Local communities and Indigenous peoples say the project was implemented without proper consultation and failed to respect their rights to land, territory, and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). In 2023, U.S.-based human rights watchdog Accountability Counsel documented a series of 16 complaints against hydropower projects in Nepal, many with funding from international institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Investment Bank (EIB) and World Bank. These projects, including the Tanahu project, which is funded by the ADB and EIB, have been accused of failing to meet their due diligence requirements during the approval process. “Even though these projects have records of not fully adhering to environmental and social compliance and respecting Indigenous and community people’s rights and decisions, they [international development banks] keep supporting more and more projects,” said Sutharee Wannasiri, communities associate at the Accountability Counsel. A Magar local affected by the Tanahu Hydropower&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/development-banks-under-fire-for-backing-disputed-nepal-hydropower-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304531</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s hydropower developers watch closely as court nears key verdict</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/nepals-hydropower-developers-watch-closely-as-court-nears-key-verdict/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/nepals-hydropower-developers-watch-closely-as-court-nears-key-verdict/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Aug 2025 06:46:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/02055947/kulekhani-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303631</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Development, Ecosystems, Energy, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Mountains, Protected Areas, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal’s private hydropower developers are keeping a watchful eye on the Supreme Court as it prepares to issue the full judgment on a historic case related to the development of infrastructure such as hydropower, hotels and cable cars inside protected areas. As the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court prepares to issue the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal’s private hydropower developers are keeping a watchful eye on the Supreme Court as it prepares to issue the full judgment on a historic case related to the development of infrastructure such as hydropower, hotels and cable cars inside protected areas. As the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court prepares to issue the full text of the summary verdict passed in January, private developers, who contribute around 63% of the 2,991 MW of installed hydroelectric capacity, continue to rally support from political parties calling for concessions for hydropower plants inside protected areas. “We have concluded that the summary order issued as per the majority decision of the Constitutional Bench on January 15, 2025 has nullified a law duly enacted by the Parliament in exercise of the sovereign authority of the Nepali people, and is pushing the work and proceedings of hydropower projects—promoted over the past 15 years—towards complexity,” the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), a group of private producers, said in a statement on Jan. 26. The verdict by the constitutional bench scrapped a controversial 2024 law that permitted infrastructure projects in protected areas if they fell outside vaguely defined “highly sensitive zones.” The court held that the amendment to the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act was against the constitutionally defined state policy of environment-friendly development and the principle of intergenerational equity, among others. Penstock pipes at the Sunkoshi Hydropower station in Nepal. Image by Nirmal Raj Joshi  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/nepals-hydropower-developers-watch-closely-as-court-nears-key-verdict/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303631</doi>				</item>
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