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		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=lakes&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/lakes/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:12:32 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Lakes</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/lakes/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Restoring Kashmir’s lakes one community at a time: Interview with Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/restoring-kashmirs-lakes-one-community-at-a-time-interview-with-manzoor-ahmad-wangnoo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/restoring-kashmirs-lakes-one-community-at-a-time-interview-with-manzoor-ahmad-wangnoo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2026 20:40:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hashim Quraishi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/10173913/Photo-1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323118</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Environment, Fellows, Freshwater, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Lakes, Mongabay.org, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The lakes and wetlands of Kashmir in northwestern India have long sustained the valley&#8217;s biodiversity, agriculture, tourism and water security. But over recent decades, these freshwater ecosystems have come under increasing pressure from pollution, encroachment and rapid urbanization. A recent government audit found that nearly half (315 of the 697) of lakes recorded across Jammu [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The lakes and wetlands of Kashmir in northwestern India have long sustained the valley&#8217;s biodiversity, agriculture, tourism and water security. But over recent decades, these freshwater ecosystems have come under increasing pressure from pollution, encroachment and rapid urbanization. A recent government audit found that nearly half (315 of the 697) of lakes recorded across Jammu and Kashmir have disappeared, while another 203 have shrunk, raising concerns about the region&#8217;s ecological health and long-term water security. Against this backdrop, Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo has spent more than two decades trying to reverse the decline of Kashmir&#8217;s freshwater ecosystem. The businessman-turned-conservationist has become one of the leading voices for protecting Kashmir&#8217;s lakes, wetlands and springs. Through the nonprofit Nigeen Lake Conservation Organisation (NLCO) and its flagship Mission Ehsaas, he has helped mobilize residents, volunteers and government agencies around the restoration of degraded water bodies, including the Khushalsar-Gilsar wetland system, two interconnected urban lakes in the heart of Srinagar. Conservation is not just about cleaning lakes for Wangnoo. It&#8217;s the reestablishment of a relationship between individuals and nature, a relationship he describes as Ehsaas, a word in Urdu and Kashmiri meaning &#8220;awareness&#8221; or &#8220;realization.&#8221; Nigeen Lake Conservation Organisation team visit to a lake. Image courtesy of NLCO. During an in-person interview with Mongabay, Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo discussed his conservation journey, the significance of wetlands, the challenges facing these ecosystems such as pollution and encroachment, and his optimism for the future of these wetlands as a result of community stewardship. The following interview conducted in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/restoring-kashmirs-lakes-one-community-at-a-time-interview-with-manzoor-ahmad-wangnoo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/restoring-kashmirs-lakes-one-community-at-a-time-interview-with-manzoor-ahmad-wangnoo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323118</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Declining carp fishes in Bangladesh&#8217;s Kaptai Lake leave small-scale fishers struggling</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/declining-carp-fishes-in-bangladeshs-kaptai-lake-leave-small-scale-fishers-struggling/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/declining-carp-fishes-in-bangladeshs-kaptai-lake-leave-small-scale-fishers-struggling/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 13:37:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sifayet Ullah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03120854/52968673629_93956cfcf2_4k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322452</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community Development, Conservation, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Degradation, Lakes, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A faded towel draped over his shoulders, 53-year-old Khokon Jaladas sat quietly in the yard of his home. Just beyond his house, a few fishing boats moored in Kaptai Lake, the largest manmade reservoir in Bangladesh. He watched them quietly. Until a few years ago, he would have been out on the water too, spending [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A faded towel draped over his shoulders, 53-year-old Khokon Jaladas sat quietly in the yard of his home. Just beyond his house, a few fishing boats moored in Kaptai Lake, the largest manmade reservoir in Bangladesh. He watched them quietly. Until a few years ago, he would have been out on the water too, spending long hours casting nets and trying to catch enough fish to feed his family. But now, fishing alone is no longer enough for him. To make ends meet, he works as a laborer in the boat building sector while continuing to fish whenever he can. “There used to be plenty of carp fish. We could catch fish easily and earned Tk 1200 ($10) to 1600 ($13) per day. But now, catches of high-value carp species dwindled,” Khokon said from Old Jelepara, a settlement on the edge of the lake in Rangamati district’s Sadar upazila (sub-district). “Sometimes, I return home empty handed from the lake. For this, it would be difficult to support my six-member family without doing other work,” Khokon said. Around Kaptai Lake, Khokon’s story is becoming far too common. For generations, the fishers met their livelihoods catching high-value carp species. As these fish become harder to find, many have no choice but to leave the profession. Created by a hydroelectric dam on the Karnaphuli River in 1960, the Kaptai Lake is one of Bangladesh’s most important hubs of inland fisheries. Fisherman Khokon Jaladas sits in the yard of his home near Kaptai Lake,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/declining-carp-fishes-in-bangladeshs-kaptai-lake-leave-small-scale-fishers-struggling/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/declining-carp-fishes-in-bangladeshs-kaptai-lake-leave-small-scale-fishers-struggling/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322452</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>East African Crude Oil Pipeline threatens wetlands, wildlife corridors: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/east-african-crude-oil-pipeline-threatens-wetlands-wildlife-corridors-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/east-african-crude-oil-pipeline-threatens-wetlands-wildlife-corridors-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jun 2026 10:55:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/12102919/Shoebill.Balaeniceps.rex_MurchisonNPUganda_KylaMarinoFlickrBY2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321059</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Economics, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Lakes, Oil, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which stretches from oil fields in Uganda’s Lake Albert region to Tanzania’s port town of Tanga, is once again under scrutiny after a new report mapped out the biodiversity areas and wildlife habitats it runs through or passes by. Drawing data from maps and economic value estimates, the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which stretches from oil fields in Uganda’s Lake Albert region to Tanzania’s port town of Tanga, is once again under scrutiny after a new report mapped out the biodiversity areas and wildlife habitats it runs through or passes by. Drawing data from maps and economic value estimates, the report by U.S.-based NGO Earth Insight shows that the 1,443-kilometer (990-mile) pipeline is close to areas that are important for livelihoods and water security for millions of people and serve as migration corridors for animals. The report concludes that the construction of the pipeline has already disturbed communities and the environment and that oil transportation will bring further long-term risks. EACOP is a joint project involving TotalEnergies (62% stake), the governments of Uganda (15%) and Tanzania (15%), and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC, 8%). EACOP will carry oil extracted from two oilfields in the Lake Albert region: Kingfisher, owned by CNOOC, and Tilenga, owned by TotalEnergies. According to Earth Insight, the project is nearing completion. Oil transportation through the pipeline is expected to start as early as October 2026. Construction of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda. Image courtesy of Thomas Lewton. “It crosses right through endangered species ranges, the most important and critical one being the black rhino habitat range,” Earth Insight’s Katie Boston, the study’s main researcher, told Mongabay on the phone. She added that the pipeline could cause habitat fragmentation in the Kibale/Bukoora River Crossing area, where&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/east-african-crude-oil-pipeline-threatens-wetlands-wildlife-corridors-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/east-african-crude-oil-pipeline-threatens-wetlands-wildlife-corridors-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321059</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On Southeast Asia’s largest lake, locals wield tech to defend the flooded forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/on-southeast-asias-largest-lake-locals-wield-tech-to-defend-the-flooded-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/on-southeast-asias-largest-lake-locals-wield-tech-to-defend-the-flooded-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 18:04:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claire Turrell]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/19170820/20231116_Local-guide-was-training-CFi-committees-on-camera-trap-set-up_Photo_Dong-Tangkor-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319745</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Fires, Forests, Lakes, Landscape Restoration, Nature-based climate solutions, Restoration, Solutions, Technology, Wetlands, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“When the forest [is] healthy, fish can breed and grow. But if the forest burns, the fish disappear — and that affects the livelihoods of our whole community,” says Luon Chanleng, a fisher from Tonle Sap. “I can’t imagine our life without the forest.” Tonle Sap in Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“When the forest [is] healthy, fish can breed and grow. But if the forest burns, the fish disappear — and that affects the livelihoods of our whole community,” says Luon Chanleng, a fisher from Tonle Sap. “I can’t imagine our life without the forest.” Tonle Sap in Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Each year, when the dry season sets in from around January to June, the waters of the flooded forest recede, the mangrove roots poke out through the mud, and the flooded forest turns into a tinder box. More than a million people live around the lake and depend on it for their livelihoods, homes and nutrition. Yet, the freshwater mangroves or “flooded forest” that surround the lake are shrinking. A study by the Wonders of the Mekong project, led by the University of Nevada in the U.S., found that nearly a third of forests in flood plains like the Tonle Sap area were lost between 1993 and 2017. “It primarily seems to be driven by two activities: One is conversion of flooded forest for agriculture, and then the second is forest fires,” says Zeb Hogan, director of the Wonders of the Mekong project. Now, the Tonle Sap community is fighting back. Seventy-eight people, including Luon, have trained as community firefighters, and are now using satellite wildfire alerts to help them curb the devastation. According to records kept by U.S.-based NGO Conservation International, which receives the satellite alerts and forwards them to the patrol team,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/on-southeast-asias-largest-lake-locals-wield-tech-to-defend-the-flooded-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/on-southeast-asias-largest-lake-locals-wield-tech-to-defend-the-flooded-forest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319745</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rising waters and mounting pressures collide on Kenya’s Lake Turkana</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/rising-waters-and-mounting-pressures-collide-on-kenyas-lake-turkana/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/rising-waters-and-mounting-pressures-collide-on-kenyas-lake-turkana/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 08:04:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christopher Clark]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18181814/061A2832-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319666</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Climate Change, Conservation, Drought, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Flooding, Food, food security, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Hunger, Lakes, Overfishing, Poverty, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KALOKOL, Kenya — Rake-thin with teeth stained a deep brown from decades of drinking untreated lake water high in fluoride, 62-year-old John Esirite sits in the shade outside the small office of Kalokol’s Beach Management Unit, or BMU, the community-run body that oversees local fisheries. “The old office used to be down there,” the fisherman [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KALOKOL, Kenya — Rake-thin with teeth stained a deep brown from decades of drinking untreated lake water high in fluoride, 62-year-old John Esirite sits in the shade outside the small office of Kalokol’s Beach Management Unit, or BMU, the community-run body that oversees local fisheries. “The old office used to be down there,” the fisherman says, pointing toward the western shoreline of Lake Turkana, the world’s largest permanent desert lake, just visible a couple of kilometers away. “But now it’s underwater.” Over the last 15 years, Lake Turkana has risen by about 8-10 meters (26-33 feet). That’s increased its surface area by around 10%. In and around the fishing hub of Kalokol, hundreds of people have been displaced by this steady advance. In Esirite’s case, the village where he grew up, Natole, has long since been abandoned. The fisherman has had to relocate three times since 2014, pushed ever farther from his ancestral land and the nearshore breeding grounds he has fished for most of his life. “We are suffering, but no one is helping us,” he says. “We can only pray to God for assistance.” But even the church where Esirite used to pray is underwater. What is happening in Kalokol is part of a wider trend. Since the early 2010s, many lakes across Kenya’s Rift Valley have flooded, their expansion accelerating after particularly heavy rains in 2020, forcing tens of thousands from their homes. But here, in this long-neglected northern corner of the country, the human and environmental&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/rising-waters-and-mounting-pressures-collide-on-kenyas-lake-turkana/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/rising-waters-and-mounting-pressures-collide-on-kenyas-lake-turkana/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319666</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Turkana has always adapted to change’: Interview with environmentalist Ikal Angelei</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/turkana-has-always-adapted-to-change-interview-with-environmentalist-ikal-angelei/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/turkana-has-always-adapted-to-change-interview-with-environmentalist-ikal-angelei/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 08:02:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christopher Clark]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18184413/061A3230-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319676</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Climate Change, Conservation, Drought, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Flooding, Food, food security, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Hunger, Lakes, Overfishing, Poverty, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Lake Turkana in northern Kenya is often portrayed as a region in perpetual crisis due to climate change. But for the Indigenous groups who have lived here for centuries, environmental change is not new. Local livelihoods have long shifted between pastoralism, fishing, farming and trade as people adapt to a landscape defined by fluctuation. What [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Lake Turkana in northern Kenya is often portrayed as a region in perpetual crisis due to climate change. But for the Indigenous groups who have lived here for centuries, environmental change is not new. Local livelihoods have long shifted between pastoralism, fishing, farming and trade as people adapt to a landscape defined by fluctuation. What has changed is the scale and intensity of pressures now converging on and around the lake — from increasingly erratic climate patterns and mounting strain on fisheries, to oil development, resource conflict, and the political decisions now shaping the lake’s future. In 2008, Ikal Angelei was working as a program coordinator at the Turkana Basin Institute, a pioneering research center focused on human origins and the environment, when she first heard from visiting scientists about a huge hydroelectric dam being built across the border in Ethiopia. Concerned about the Gibe III Dam’s potentially devastating impact downstream, on Lake Turkana and the communities that depend on it, Angelei founded a grassroots organization called Friends of Lake Turkana to amplify the voices of people who had been excluded from the consultation process and fight the project. In 2012, Angelei was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her advocacy. Her organization continues to work with and on behalf of communities within the greater Turkana Basin to demand collective social, economic, cultural, environmental and territorial justice. Mongabay spoke with Angelei about resilience, reductive narratives, and what Turkana’s history might reveal about its future. This interview has been lightly edited&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/turkana-has-always-adapted-to-change-interview-with-environmentalist-ikal-angelei/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319676</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can Bangladesh’s new law save its natural wetlands?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/can-bangladeshs-new-law-save-its-natural-wetlands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/can-bangladeshs-new-law-save-its-natural-wetlands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 May 2026 12:27:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/12122216/fishing-in-haor-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319221</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Governance, Lakes, Law, Regulations, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On April 7, the Bangladesh Parliament unanimously passed the Haor and Wetlands Conservation Act, 2026, which strictly prohibits encroachment of, unauthorized mining of minerals from, poisoning of, and electrocuting aquatic life in natural wetlands such as haors, baors and beels. It also prohibits construction of structures that could obstruct natural water flow to the wetlands. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On April 7, the Bangladesh Parliament unanimously passed the Haor and Wetlands Conservation Act, 2026, which strictly prohibits encroachment of, unauthorized mining of minerals from, poisoning of, and electrocuting aquatic life in natural wetlands such as haors, baors and beels. It also prohibits construction of structures that could obstruct natural water flow to the wetlands. According to the new law, these acts will be considered cognizable and non-bailable offences. The Bangladesh Water Act of 2013 defines a haor as any large saucer-shaped shallow natural depression between two separate rivers, a baor as an oxbow-shaped natural lake, and a beel as a natural low-lying land that gets inundated in the monsoon and either remains submerged year-round or dries up for a certain period of the year. Bangladesh has an estimated 373 haors and some 6,300 beels in the northeastern and eastern districts of Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Netrokona, Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria, covering 1.99 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of area. The five central-western districts have 23 baors of varying sizes ranging between 4 and 89 hectares (10 and 220 acres). The new law strictly prohibits mining minerals from and destruction of haors and wetlands. Image by Sadiqur Rahman for Mongabay. To conserve the biodiversity of the natural wetlands across the country, the government had formed the Haor Development Board (HDB) in 1977. The board was mandated to bring the wetlands under integrated management with the development of infrastructures, irrigation and flood control systems for fisheries and agriculture. Later, in 2016, the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/can-bangladeshs-new-law-save-its-natural-wetlands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/can-bangladeshs-new-law-save-its-natural-wetlands/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319221</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Migration and climate pressures deepen flood risks in Bangladesh’s haors</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/migration-and-climate-pressures-deepen-flood-risks-in-bangladeshs-haors/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/migration-and-climate-pressures-deepen-flood-risks-in-bangladeshs-haors/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Apr 2026 03:30:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashraful Haque]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/28161034/1.-Hasina_begum_-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318294</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Justice, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Human Migration, Lakes, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Flash floods are a common occurrence in Bangladesh’s northeastern haor (shallow wetland ecosystem) region. These large bowl-shaped topographic depressions remain inundated for around seven months every year. At the beginning of every monsoon, runoff from the heavy rainfall in the Himalayan foothills of India’s Meghalaya state, which neighbors Bangladesh, overflows via the trans-boundary rivers and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Flash floods are a common occurrence in Bangladesh’s northeastern haor (shallow wetland ecosystem) region. These large bowl-shaped topographic depressions remain inundated for around seven months every year. At the beginning of every monsoon, runoff from the heavy rainfall in the Himalayan foothills of India’s Meghalaya state, which neighbors Bangladesh, overflows via the trans-boundary rivers and causes flooding in the haors of Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona and Kishoreganj districts. While the changing climate and silting of rivers are worsening the flooding impact (such as that of 2017), pressures from population growth have also been seen to complicate things when it comes to the vulnerability of residents here. For example, newly established villages like Rangpur Bosti or Notun Jibonpur in Companiganj, Sylhet — located at the base of the Himalayan foothills of Meghalaya — were washed away by multiple flash floods in 2022. While flash floods are nothing new in the area, the scale of destruction in these villages are. House after house in these villages — located on the banks of Dholai River, a transboundary river originating in India — was devastated; in some cases they were totally washed away. The devastation demonstrated the brute force of raging floods, a rather uncommon sight even in a flash flood-prone area. The reason: These villages were not supposed to be here, and they were not built to withstand the magnitude of the flood. Flood-ravaged houses seen in Chanpur in Sylhet’s Companiganj subdistrict. Built right on the edge of a transboundary river, the community has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/migration-and-climate-pressures-deepen-flood-risks-in-bangladeshs-haors/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318294</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>DRC: Can the Kivu–Kinshasa Green Corridor turn a war economy into one of hope?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 13:33:55 +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/20/2026/04/20113123/image3__26337668410_35828ed6c6_k-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317778</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Economics, Environment, Lakes, Mining, Natural Gas, Oil, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Félix Tshisekedi is banking on one of Africa’s most ambitious conservation and development plans to transform the future of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He recently reiterated this vision in Bandundu during the annual Conference of Provincial Governors. “Through this Green Corridor, we are choosing to replace [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Félix Tshisekedi is banking on one of Africa’s most ambitious conservation and development plans to transform the future of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He recently reiterated this vision in Bandundu during the annual Conference of Provincial Governors. “Through this Green Corridor, we are choosing to replace a war economy with an economy of life, work, and hope,” Tshisekedi said. According to official documents and public statements, the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor would stretch from eastern DRC all the way to Kinshasa in the west. If implemented as planned, it would cover more than 544,270 square kilometers (210144 sq miles) —an area comparable in size to France—and would integrate conservation, economic development, and community protection. The initiative was first announced during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2025. An aerial view of the village of Lac Paku within the peatland forest near Mbandaka, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Green Corridor traverses the Équateur province. Image by Daniel Beltrá/Greenpeace. Conservation Spaces and Drivers of Economic Stability Individuals involved in the planning process told Mongabay that the initiative could create more than 500,000 jobs—particularly for youth and women—preserve over one million hectares of land, and transport food products from the East to the major consumer market in Kinshasa. For the Congolese government, the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor goes beyond mere forest protection. &#8220;The objective is to protect our forests, restore ecosystems, create sustainable jobs, support responsible agriculture, stimulate local processing, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317778</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In northern Kenya, a shifting Lake Turkana reshapes traditional livelihoods</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-northern-kenya-a-shifting-lake-turkana-reshapes-traditional-livelihoods/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-northern-kenya-a-shifting-lake-turkana-reshapes-traditional-livelihoods/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Apr 2026 11:18:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christopher Clark]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/14102303/Kute-Hero-right-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317473</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Climate Change, Conservation, Drought, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Flooding, Food, food security, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Hunger, Lakes, Overfishing, Poverty, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KOMOTE, Kenya — At sunrise on Komote Island, 36-year-old James Lekubo walks his two children down a rocky hillside to the water’s edge, where they clamber into a small fishing boat with a couple of dozen others to journey across a stretch of lake that didn’t exist a few years ago. On the other side [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KOMOTE, Kenya — At sunrise on Komote Island, 36-year-old James Lekubo walks his two children down a rocky hillside to the water’s edge, where they clamber into a small fishing boat with a couple of dozen others to journey across a stretch of lake that didn’t exist a few years ago. On the other side lie their school and the nearest clinic — services that were previously within walking distance. Lekubo is a member of the El Molo, Kenya’s smallest and most marginalized ethnic group, who have lived here along the stark eastern shores of Lake Turkana for centuries. But in more recent years, the world’s largest desert lake has begun to turn against them, threatening not only their traditional livelihood but the very fabric of their cultural identity. According to a 2021 report by Kenya’s environment ministry, over the preceding decade, Turkana’s water levels rose by several meters, expanding the lake’s total surface area by around 10%, largely due to heavier rainfall in the Ethiopian highlands that feed it via the Omo River. Since then, the lake has continued to grow, submerging up to 1,000 square kilometers (about 390 square miles) of the surrounding landscape — an area half the size of London — including roads, grazing land, ancient burial sites, and even entire villages. Primary school children getting off the boat that now ferries them to school. Image by Christopher Clark for Mongabay. Lekubo watched helplessly as Komote was gradually cut off from the mainland. “Most people left&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-northern-kenya-a-shifting-lake-turkana-reshapes-traditional-livelihoods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-northern-kenya-a-shifting-lake-turkana-reshapes-traditional-livelihoods/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317473</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On the shores of Lake Victoria, a youth-led campaign to revive a wetland</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/on-the-shores-of-lake-victoria-a-youth-led-campaign-to-revive-a-wetland/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/on-the-shores-of-lake-victoria-a-youth-led-campaign-to-revive-a-wetland/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 11:51:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Achieng’ Otieno]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09101708/Photo-2-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317251</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Birds, Environment, Governance, Lakes, Plastic, Pollution, Tourism, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KISUMU, Kenya — On a December morning, the early sunshine casts a golden sheen on the waters of Lake Victoria in Kenya’s Kisumu county. The breeze from the lake carries the melody of birds, as a small wooden boat bobs gently on the languid waves. Occasionally, an African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) strikes, trapping a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KISUMU, Kenya — On a December morning, the early sunshine casts a golden sheen on the waters of Lake Victoria in Kenya’s Kisumu county. The breeze from the lake carries the melody of birds, as a small wooden boat bobs gently on the languid waves. Occasionally, an African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) strikes, trapping a fish in its beak. The atmosphere at Dunga Beach, on the lake’s shore, is serene. In a few hours, fishmongers will arrive to haggle with fishers who have spent the night pulling up their nets. Victor Ochieng’ Didi, 32, leads a group of Kenyan tourists down the wooden boardwalk on the lakeshore. They’re bird-watchers, here at the culmination of a full year’s planning to catch a glimpse of the papyrus gonolek bird (Laniarius mufumbiri), a near-threatened species found only in the wetlands of Central and East Africa. The possibility of bird-watching at this spot is the result of years of efforts by conservationists, especially youths from this region. Momentum to preserve the Dunga wetland, identified by scientists as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), has ebbed and flowed, but activists say they hope a push to designate it as a gazetted wetland under Kenyan law will bring more lasting protections. Bird-watching guide Victor Ochieng’ Didi. Image by Achieng’ Otieno for Mongabay. A home for rare wildlife Dunga Beach is part of the wetland that’s also known as the Dunga swamp. It’s not only a habitat for rare species, but also an important carbon sink. The papyrus&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/on-the-shores-of-lake-victoria-a-youth-led-campaign-to-revive-a-wetland/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/on-the-shores-of-lake-victoria-a-youth-led-campaign-to-revive-a-wetland/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317251</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Ancient’ carbon venting from lakes in the Congo Basin peatlands: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/ancient-carbon-venting-from-lakes-in-the-congo-basin-peatlands-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/ancient-carbon-venting-from-lakes-in-the-congo-basin-peatlands-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Mar 2026 13:35:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/30170255/9_dinghy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316575</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Climate, Conservation, Forest Carbon, Forests, Lakes, Peatlands, Research, and Soil Carbon]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Across the central Congo Basin lies a bastion of carbon that scientists are just beginning to understand. First mapped only about a decade ago, the Cuvette Centrale peatlands are the size of England and hold some 30 billion metric tons of carbon. Over thousands of years, the swampy conditions in this part of Central Africa [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Across the central Congo Basin lies a bastion of carbon that scientists are just beginning to understand. First mapped only about a decade ago, the Cuvette Centrale peatlands are the size of England and hold some 30 billion metric tons of carbon. Over thousands of years, the swampy conditions in this part of Central Africa have slowed the decay of plant matter falling from the forest above. The process leads to the development of peat, and the peatlands in the Congo Basin are the largest known repository in the tropics. Across the millennia, enormous amounts of carbon have built up and been stashed away inside the peat. Recent research now suggests that some of that very old carbon may be returning to the atmosphere through lakes that form amid peatlands — similar to the way smoke escapes a fireplace through a chimney, according to the authors. It’s a finding that opens new questions about how we account for the cycling of carbon through these ecosystems and the resulting influence on climate change. Water draining forested landscapes meets water draining savanna landscapes at this confluence between the Fimi and Kasaï rivers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The reddish color of the Kasaï River originates from the iron oxides associated with clays of suspended sediments transported by the river, which are more predominant in savanna compared to forest. The much darker color of the Fimi River, which drains Lake Mai Ndombe, stems from organic materials that leach from leaves and soils&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/ancient-carbon-venting-from-lakes-in-the-congo-basin-peatlands-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316575</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kathy Jefferson Bancroft, guardian of a stolen lake</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/kathy-jefferson-bancroft-guardian-of-a-stolen-lake/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/kathy-jefferson-bancroft-guardian-of-a-stolen-lake/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Feb 2026 19:40:28 +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/20/2026/02/06193541/Kathy-Jefferson-Bancroft-16x9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313907</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[California, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Infrastructure, Lakes, Obituary, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In California’s interior, a long, straight aqueduct carries snowmelt south to a city that grew as if water were a birthright. Along the way it passes a valley that was once defined by water and birds, and is now defined, in part, by what remains when water is removed. A lakebed can become a workplace. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In California’s interior, a long, straight aqueduct carries snowmelt south to a city that grew as if water were a birthright. Along the way it passes a valley that was once defined by water and birds, and is now defined, in part, by what remains when water is removed. A lakebed can become a workplace. The wind can become a health hazard. And a landscape with thousands of years of human memory can be treated as a technical problem to be managed on a fiscal calendar. For the Paiute and Shoshone people of Payahüünadu, the land and water are not abstract inputs. They are history, responsibility, and relationship. That view often collided with the habits of agencies and companies that preferred smaller boxes: dust over here, hydrology over there, cultural sites as a checklist item, and tribal “consultation” at the end of a process rather than the beginning. Kathy Jefferson Bancroft spent decades refusing to accept that partition. Few people did more to insist that this valley be treated as a place with obligations, not just an asset with constraints. She died on January 25, 2026, at 71. Only after one understands the place she guarded does her work make sense. Bancroft was born and raised in Owens Valley. In a 2017 interview with Charlotte Cotton for Metabolic Studio, she described hearing, as a baby, stories from her grandmother about Owens Lake and about life when the lake was full. Her grandmother remembered migrating birds that “would darken the sky&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/kathy-jefferson-bancroft-guardian-of-a-stolen-lake/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313907</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ethiopian youth groups restore Rift valley lake &#038; livelihoods</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/ethiopian-youth-groups-restore-rift-valley-lake-livelihoods/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/ethiopian-youth-groups-restore-rift-valley-lake-livelihoods/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Dec 2025 12:52:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Solomon Yimer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/22063158/DSC_1259_1-BANNER-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311779</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Degraded Lands, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, Lakes, Rivers, Tropics, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Abijata-Shalla National Park, ETHIOPIA — Under the scorching midday sun in the upper catchment of Ethiopia’s Abijata-Shalla National Park, a local youth group toils along the edges of a deep gully carved into the hills by erosion. The young men shovel soil from the loose edges of the gorge, while women fill sandbags they stack [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Abijata-Shalla National Park, ETHIOPIA — Under the scorching midday sun in the upper catchment of Ethiopia’s Abijata-Shalla National Park, a local youth group toils along the edges of a deep gully carved into the hills by erosion. The young men shovel soil from the loose edges of the gorge, while women fill sandbags they stack in the gullies, building barriers to hold back the next rains that strike this battered landscape “The land is healing, and so are we,” says Hamid Belo, chairman of the Mekane Fike Forest Conservation Association. Once covered with acacia woodlands and fed by steady streams, the land here has been steadily stripped bare. The loss of tree cover has allowed erosion to scar the hillsides and upset the flow of water into the lakes in this closed river system. Abijata and Shalla — the two lakes that give the national park its name — now receive less water and more sediment — their boundaries have shrunk and the quality of the water has changed, affecting fish and other aquatic life, along with flamingos and other migratory birds that once crowded their shores. For the past five years, this group of youth has been working to prevent degradation of soil and water in the landscape and begin restoring the ecosystem. Increased sediment and reduced water have caused Lake Abijata&#8217;s shoreline to retreat, but its water levels are now beginning to rise. Image courtesy of Berihun Tadele. Lake Abijata. The satellite image on the right shows lakes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/ethiopian-youth-groups-restore-rift-valley-lake-livelihoods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311779</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>New riverside lake in Nepal wins hearts, but faces government opposition</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/new-riverside-lake-in-nepal-wins-hearts-but-faces-government-opposition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/new-riverside-lake-in-nepal-wins-hearts-but-faces-government-opposition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Nov 2025 16:26:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Suresh Bidari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/28152601/IMG_9578-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310313</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities, Conservation, Corruption, Dams, Drought, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Lakes, Land Use Change, Politics, Rivers, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SARLAHI, Nepal — Nepali social media influencer Ishtu Karki recently posted photos and videos enjoying a motorboat ride on the Bagmati Lake, popularly known as Bharat Taal, in Sarlahi district in the country’s southern plains. “We have such a wonderful pond here in Sarlahi … You don’t need to go to Bangkok or Phuket now,” [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SARLAHI, Nepal — Nepali social media influencer Ishtu Karki recently posted photos and videos enjoying a motorboat ride on the Bagmati Lake, popularly known as Bharat Taal, in Sarlahi district in the country’s southern plains. “We have such a wonderful pond here in Sarlahi … You don’t need to go to Bangkok or Phuket now,” she said about the lake adjoining Bagmati River. The 33.8-hectare (83.54-acre) lake, commissioned by Bagmati municipality mayor Bharat Bahadur Thapa — hence the name — and built in 2021, attracts visitors not just from Nepal, but also from across the border in India in large numbers. On a recent November afternoon, Mongabay saw seven Nepali tourists pay 300 rupees ($2.1) each for a boat ride. A young Indian couple paid 100 rupees (70 cents) for a short horse ride on the bank and 50 rupees (35 cents) more for a video clip. “We have limited drinking water supplies here, but I like to come here to see the lake,” said Satendra Kumar, who visits the lake occasionally from his home in neighboring Bihar state, India. Tourists from India and Nepal visit Bharat Taal in Nepal. Image by Nakul Sah. But the next time visitors such as Karki and Kumar return to the lake, it may not be there. Since its construction, the lake has shot up as a popular cross-border attraction with economic, groundwater recharge and biodiversity benefits, but ongoing legal cases, lack of long-term environmental and biodiversity safeguards, inadequate waste management, and unclear jurisdiction&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/new-riverside-lake-in-nepal-wins-hearts-but-faces-government-opposition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310313</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia retiree rewilds world’s largest volcano lake as church demands plantation closures</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-retiree-rewilds-worlds-largest-volcano-lake-as-church-demands-plantation-closures/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-retiree-rewilds-worlds-largest-volcano-lake-as-church-demands-plantation-closures/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Oct 2025 03:54:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sri Wahyuni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/24190725/Wilmar-Eliaser-Simandjorang-head-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307777</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation leadership, Ecosystems, Environment, Governance, Islands, Lakes, Landscape Restoration, Restoration, Rewilding, and Volcanoes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SAMOSIR, Indonesia — On retirement from public life, Wilmar Eliaser Simandjorang found a quiet place on a hillside overlooking Lake Toba, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, to write about this landscape sacred to the region’s Batak people. “If we don&#8217;t pay attention to this, Lake Toba will be just a memory,” Wilmar told Mongabay [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SAMOSIR, Indonesia — On retirement from public life, Wilmar Eliaser Simandjorang found a quiet place on a hillside overlooking Lake Toba, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, to write about this landscape sacred to the region’s Batak people. “If we don&#8217;t pay attention to this, Lake Toba will be just a memory,” Wilmar told Mongabay Indonesia at his home near the lake, the site of a volcanic eruption 74,000 years ago that plunged the world into global winter and famine. More recently, North Sumatra province’s environment department has warned of a burgeoning pollution problem from the waste dumped into Toba, the largest volcanic lake in the world. Many here in this subdued lakeside region today, which is home to Sumatra’s ethnic Batak people (and the center of seven districts in North Sumatra province), say a complex array of changes taking place around the Toba landscape are reaching a tipping point. “The forest is being cut down, both legally and illegally — biodiversity is being burned,” Wilmar said. “Rainwater is just running off; it carries ash, trash and pesticides into the lake.” A study of 60 water samples published in the journal Advances in Oceanography and Limnology in 2024 confirms worrying local testimony. The research, conducted in 2020-2021 by scientists from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Indonesia’s premier forestry university, indicated intensive ecological distress. Researchers revealed nitrogen levels greater than the safe threshold set by Indonesia’s environment ministry, threatening both fish and water quality. Civil society organizations, church groups and community&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-retiree-rewilds-worlds-largest-volcano-lake-as-church-demands-plantation-closures/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307777</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Local divers pick away at Lake Malawi’s underwater garbage problem</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/local-divers-pick-away-at-lake-malawis-underwater-garbage-problem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/local-divers-pick-away-at-lake-malawis-underwater-garbage-problem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2025 16:07:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/14153643/1_Banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307565</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Malawi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Lakes, Pollution, Redd, Waste, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CAPE MACLEAR, Malawi — On a clear August morning, three scuba divers disappeared under the waters of Lake Malawi. Above them, serenity: The clear water rippled gently, spick-and-span Cape Maclear Beach was empty of tourists and the shoreline trees stood calm. Half an hour later, having covered an area just 30 meters (100 feet) from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CAPE MACLEAR, Malawi — On a clear August morning, three scuba divers disappeared under the waters of Lake Malawi. Above them, serenity: The clear water rippled gently, spick-and-span Cape Maclear Beach was empty of tourists and the shoreline trees stood calm. Half an hour later, having covered an area just 30 meters (100 feet) from the beach, the divers emerged, each hauling a bag half-full with garbage. “This is only a fraction of what’s down there, yet we also cleaned the area last week. That’s our challenge,” one of the divers, Felix Sinosi, told Mongabay. He has been a scuba diver on this shoreline for the past eight years and now trains others. “You won’t believe the waste volumes down there. … And I am talking about the Cape Maclear area only,” said Sinosi, age 31. Sinosi and 14 other divers are part of an underwater garbage collection project in Lake Malawi National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the southern end of the lake. The park is known for its radiant cichlids (family Cichlidae), the lake’s prized ornamental fish that have drawn global research interest for their explosive diversity. Local environmentalists say the garbage problem likely extends throughout Lake Malawi, the world’s fourth-largest freshwater lake by volume. Kenneth McKaye, an American marine biologist whose research led to the national park’s establishment in 1980, introduced the underwater garbage collection initiative in 2023 after noticing the problem during dives with tourists. “Visibility was poor,” Violet Zacharia, manager and volunteer coordinator&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/local-divers-pick-away-at-lake-malawis-underwater-garbage-problem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307565</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Uphill battle to save California’s endangered mountain yellow-legged frog</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/uphill-battle-to-save-californias-endangered-mountain-yellow-legged-frog/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/uphill-battle-to-save-californias-endangered-mountain-yellow-legged-frog/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Oct 2025 16:32:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/10094533/Image_6-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307350</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[California, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Animals, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Drought, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Fires, Frogs, Fungi, Habitat Degradation, Lakes, Pollution, Reintroductions, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Trees, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Earlier this year, 350 endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs hopped into their new home in Bluff Lake in Southern California’s San Bernardino Mountains. It’s the latest step in a long-running battle fought by authorities, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and conservationists to stave [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Earlier this year, 350 endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs hopped into their new home in Bluff Lake in Southern California’s San Bernardino Mountains. It’s the latest step in a long-running battle fought by authorities, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and conservationists to stave off extinction of this highly threatened species. The mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa), despite its name, can display a wide array of color variations, often a mix of brown and yellow, but also gray, red, or greenish-brown. There are two distinct populations of this medium-sized frog: one in Southern California and another up north in the Sierra Nevada. An endangered mountain yellow-legged frog leaps into its new home after being released into the lake. This release, a collaboration between Birch Aquarium, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, UCLA and Big Bear Alpine Zoo, is part of a long-running reintroduction program that began in 2010. Image courtesy of Birch Aquarium at Scripps/Alex Feltes. Biologists say this frog was once so common you couldn’t walk through its range without tripping on one. That’s far from the case today in Southern California. The last comprehensive surveys carried out in 2023 counted fewer than 200 adults in the wild. Though exact numbers are unclear, conservationists say the northern population is much more robust. The southern reintroductions began in 2010 in the San Jacinto Mountains. This year’s release is part of what Sean Bruce, assistant curator of fishes and invertebrates at&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/uphill-battle-to-save-californias-endangered-mountain-yellow-legged-frog/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307350</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Africa’s largest freshwater lake could be site of Kenya’s nuclear power plant</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/africas-largest-freshwater-lake-could-be-site-of-kenyas-nuclear-power-plant/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/africas-largest-freshwater-lake-could-be-site-of-kenyas-nuclear-power-plant/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2025 07:12:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/07110022/lake-victoria-kenya-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307151</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Indigenous Rights, Lakes, Land Rights, Nuclear Power, Politics, Pollution, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“It is perfect!” exclaims Anthony Kingi, a member of Uyombo community and an environmental activist. “Kenya doesn’t need it. However, if they must build it, I’m glad it’s not in my backyard.” The “it” Kingi is referring to is a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant that Kenya plans to build. The government has shortlisted three potential [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“It is perfect!” exclaims Anthony Kingi, a member of Uyombo community and an environmental activist. “Kenya doesn’t need it. However, if they must build it, I’m glad it’s not in my backyard.” The “it” Kingi is referring to is a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant that Kenya plans to build. The government has shortlisted three potential locations for the $3.8 billion project. “Kenya is currently in the second phase of nuclear power programme development, with a clear target of connecting nuclear power to the national grid by 2034,” Kenya’s Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) said in a statement to Mongabay. Initial consultations about the project centered on Uyombo, a fishing village in Kilifi county on Kenya’s southeastern coast. The decision sparked significant opposition from both local residents and environmental experts. Over the years, as protests amplified, demonstrators were assaulted by the police, and some were arrested. On June 27 this year, with very little fanfare, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum announced at the Nuclear Power Conference at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) that it’s considering building the plant in Luanda Kotieno, in the Bondo area of Siaya county, on the other side of the country. Paul Otiende Amollo, member of parliament for Rarieda, one of six constituencies in Siaya, said during that conference: “Acceptance is important. In Kilifi, they have issues because of nonacceptance. In our case, I understand from NuPEA that they have identified a site around Luanda Kotieno. As the elected member of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/africas-largest-freshwater-lake-could-be-site-of-kenyas-nuclear-power-plant/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307151</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How extreme droughts could redefine the future of Amazonian fish</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/how-extreme-droughts-could-redefine-the-future-of-amazonian-fish/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/how-extreme-droughts-could-redefine-the-future-of-amazonian-fish/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2025 10:58:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tiago da Mota e Silva]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/19104747/3_tefe_L1680622-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299240</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Global Warming, and Lakes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MANAUS, Brazil — In September 2024, the landscape in the Middle Solimões region of the Brazilian Amazon lay in stark contrast to its usual exuberance of lush greenery. “When we were arriving in Tefé and the plane approached to land, I was shocked to see everything very dry, with sandbanks multiplying in the waters,” says [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MANAUS, Brazil — In September 2024, the landscape in the Middle Solimões region of the Brazilian Amazon lay in stark contrast to its usual exuberance of lush greenery. “When we were arriving in Tefé and the plane approached to land, I was shocked to see everything very dry, with sandbanks multiplying in the waters,” says biologist Susana Braz-Mota. Lake Tefé is close to the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, a 1.12-million-hectare (2.77-million-acre) area of forests flooded by the Solimões and Japurá rivers. The entire region is usually a mosaic of waters of high ecological importance. During flooding, the Solimões River brings sediments and nutrients that fertilize the flooded lands, sustaining all wildlife. The abundance of resources in these areas, regulated by natural flood cycles, favors the diversity of fish in the reserve: 541 species have been cataloged here, or 20% of the entire diversity of the Amazon Basin. But the historic drought of 2023, followed by a weak flood in 2024, drastically altered the environment, forcing the fish to survive in waters that were shallower and warmer than usual. Braz-Mota traveled from Manaus, capital of Amazonas state, to Tefé with fellow biologist Rafael Duarte to investigate the impacts of the drought on Amazonian fish. A native of Amazonas, she’s used to the immensity of the region’s rivers, but was now hearing an increasingly common refrain from fishers: “We have seen droughts before, but never as severe as this one.” The historically low levels of the rivers exposed the fish to multiple&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/how-extreme-droughts-could-redefine-the-future-of-amazonian-fish/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/how-extreme-droughts-could-redefine-the-future-of-amazonian-fish/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299240</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Drowned lands and poisoned waters threaten Peru’s campesinos and their livestock</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/drowned-lands-and-poisoned-waters-threaten-perus-campesinos-and-their-livestock/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/drowned-lands-and-poisoned-waters-threaten-perus-campesinos-and-their-livestock/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Mar 2025 15:19:56 +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/20/2025/03/25142521/Peru-lake-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296435</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Environment, Flooding, Food, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Hydroelectric Power, Lakes, Land Rights, Livestock, Mining, Poisoning, Public Health, Waste, Water, Water Pollution, Water Scarcity, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ever since the Upamayo Dam on Peru’s Lake Chinchaycocha was built in 1932, floods have become a frequent occurrence in the area for several months a year. From January to May, entire homes and pasturelands are swallowed whole by water, forcing campesino families to migrate with their livestock to higher ground. But there’s something else [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ever since the Upamayo Dam on Peru’s Lake Chinchaycocha was built in 1932, floods have become a frequent occurrence in the area for several months a year. From January to May, entire homes and pasturelands are swallowed whole by water, forcing campesino families to migrate with their livestock to higher ground. But there’s something else in the flooded waters: it’s also contaminated by the Cerro de Pasco mining district upstream. When they can return in late June, residents say the pastures smell and are unsafe for animals to graze in. But few have a choice; they never received compensation for other lands. So their cattle and sheep that must eat the grass sometimes develop sepsis and die. Others pick up unknown diseases, and farmers find them running aimlessly, almost mindlessly. There have been so many deaths one community had to open a cemetery specifically for livestock. “When we see that cattle are already sick, we have to kill them to eat them before they die, but we’re poisoning ourselves,” Micaela Espinoza, a campesina farmer from the Chaquinilnioc community in Vicco district, Pasco department, told Mongabay by phone. “It shows on our skin, on our hands. It shows because we are eating an infected animal. But we prefer to kill them to eat them before they die on their own and we lose, because it’s a source of livelihoods for all these families.” Studies carried out by the National Water Authority show the presence of heavy metals in the water in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/drowned-lands-and-poisoned-waters-threaten-perus-campesinos-and-their-livestock/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/drowned-lands-and-poisoned-waters-threaten-perus-campesinos-and-their-livestock/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296435</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fish-tracking robot aims to make fishing more sustainable in developing nations</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/fish-tracking-robot-aims-to-revolutionize-fishing-sustainability-in-developing-nations/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/fish-tracking-robot-aims-to-revolutionize-fishing-sustainability-in-developing-nations/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Mar 2025 17:21:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/01153948/4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296153</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Malawi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Development, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Developing Countries, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, food security, Freshwater Fish, Lakes, Overfishing, Research, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Technology, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LAKE CHILWA, Malawi — When fishers on Lake Chilwa cast their nets, they don’t know whether there are fish below, or something else entirely. “We don’t go out in the lake to check what we have where. We go to fish,” Anderson Thembwa, a fisher since 1994 and chair of the Lake Chilwa Fisheries Association, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LAKE CHILWA, Malawi — When fishers on Lake Chilwa cast their nets, they don’t know whether there are fish below, or something else entirely. “We don’t go out in the lake to check what we have where. We go to fish,” Anderson Thembwa, a fisher since 1994 and chair of the Lake Chilwa Fisheries Association, tells Mongabay. The cooperative of 36 committees comprising fishers and community leaders manages fishing on the lake, landlocked Malawi’s second-largest fishing ground. “You pull the net and you realize all you have down there are frogs, crabs, juvenile fish and debris,” Thembwa says. A new system could help them check not only what kind of fish they have and where, but also how much. That way they can avoid the overfishing that’s threatening livelihoods on Lake Chilwa and elsewhere, as well as scooping up all those unwanted lake dwellers in their nets. The system in question? It’s not a net, but a robot: A solar-powered, transparent cylinder a meter (3 feet) long that can roam the waters autonomously for five days at a stretch, counting fish. “Our project, which we call SOUND, was aimed to solve these problems by in situ measuring number of fish, detecting schools of fish, estimating size of individual fish, thereby the biomass of the fish,” Roee Diamant, head of the Underwater Acoustics and Navigation Laboratory at the University of Haifa in Israel, tells Mongabay. He and his team developed the robot for use by regulatory authorities or fishers’ groups like&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/fish-tracking-robot-aims-to-revolutionize-fishing-sustainability-in-developing-nations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/fish-tracking-robot-aims-to-revolutionize-fishing-sustainability-in-developing-nations/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296153</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tragedy haunts community on shore of Sumatra’s largest solar farm</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/tragedy-haunts-community-on-shore-of-sumatras-largest-solar-farm/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/tragedy-haunts-community-on-shore-of-sumatras-largest-solar-farm/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2025 04:26:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jaka Hendra Baittri]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/11165744/Malalo-Tigo-Jurai-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295631</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and West Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Conservation, Development, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Lakes, Politics, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LAKE SINGKARAK, Indonesia — Mardianis recalls reading the Quran with his parents and two children here on the western shore of Lake Singkarak before the desperate cries of galodoh. A dark wall of rock barreled down the hillside as the family rushed to higher ground. Mardianis remembers the flood careening into the family’s small food [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LAKE SINGKARAK, Indonesia — Mardianis recalls reading the Quran with his parents and two children here on the western shore of Lake Singkarak before the desperate cries of galodoh. A dark wall of rock barreled down the hillside as the family rushed to higher ground. Mardianis remembers the flood careening into the family’s small food store, and the totality of destruction to the community mosque. Dozens died here in Guguak Malalo ward, Tanah Datar district, in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra, during the flash flood, known locally as galodoh. That disaster occurred 25 years ago, but a layer of trauma lies beneath the surface of this lakeside community. “If there’s heavy rain and it lasts a while, I won&#8217;t dare spend the evening at the food stall,” Mardianis told Mongabay Indonesia. Many here blame the flash flood on blast explosives used to cut 17 kilometers (10 miles) of tunnels to channel water from the lake to a hydroelectric power plant. Malin, a young resident of Guguak Malalo, said the intake for the hydropower plant had introduced new currents that made fishing more difficult. “Many of the water sources were lost because of the tunnel that was built from Singkarak to Lubuk Alung,” Ardinis Arbain, a hydrologist at West Sumatra’s Andalas University, told Mongabay Indonesia, referring to a town to the west of the lake. A development plan prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the country’s overseas development aid agency, showed only one in five homes in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/tragedy-haunts-community-on-shore-of-sumatras-largest-solar-farm/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/tragedy-haunts-community-on-shore-of-sumatras-largest-solar-farm/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295631</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lake Chad isn’t shrinking — but climate change is causing other problems</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/lake-chad-isnt-shrinking-but-climate-change-is-causing-other-problems/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/lake-chad-isnt-shrinking-but-climate-change-is-causing-other-problems/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Feb 2025 22:51:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/28223327/woman-flood-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295179</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Regenerative landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change, Conflict, Desertification, Deserts, Drought, Environment, Fishing, Flooding, Forest Regeneration, Forests, Gender, Global Warming, Grasslands, Green, Lakes, Land Conflict, Reforestation, Social Conflict, Trees, Tropical Forests, Water, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The communities around Lake Chad have always lived by its water rhythms. Now, as climate change impacts intensify, they must find new ways to adapt. The Lake Chad Basin lies in the Sahel, on the southern edge of the Sahara. The basin is enormous, covering 2.5 million square kilometers (965,255 square miles), or 8% of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The communities around Lake Chad have always lived by its water rhythms. Now, as climate change impacts intensify, they must find new ways to adapt. The Lake Chad Basin lies in the Sahel, on the southern edge of the Sahara. The basin is enormous, covering 2.5 million square kilometers (965,255 square miles), or 8% of the African continent, straddling eight countries. Lake Chad sits at the end point of this drainage basin, an unexpected bounty of water in a dry land. An estimated 3 million people live near the lake, and 49 million more live in the basin and depend on its resources. The amount of water in Lake Chad is closely linked to climate as it’s in a closed drainage system, with rivers leading into, but not out of, the lake. The volume of water going into the lake — via the Chari, Logone and other rivers — largely depends on the amount of rain in the catchment area. As the lake is wide and shallow, currently averaging less than 3 meters (9.8 feet) in depth, changes in rainfall have a dramatic effect on its size. The lake swells and recedes seasonally and between years. But the most dramatic changes happen over decades. Lake Chad straddles four countries: Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. Image captured Dec. 2024 by Planet Labs. In the 1960s, Lake Chad’s waters covered 25,000 km2 (9,653 mi2), making it the sixth-largest lake in the world. Then, in the 1970s and ‘80s, as drought gripped the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/lake-chad-isnt-shrinking-but-climate-change-is-causing-other-problems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/lake-chad-isnt-shrinking-but-climate-change-is-causing-other-problems/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295179</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Better government policies could help as migratory birds lose habitat in Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/better-government-policies-could-help-as-migratory-birds-lose-habitat-in-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/better-government-policies-could-help-as-migratory-birds-lose-habitat-in-bangladesh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Feb 2025 08:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pinky Akter]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/05074709/common-pochard-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293912</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Freshwater, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Lakes, Mangroves, Migration, Water Scarcity, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh transforms into a mesmerizing haven of migratory birds every winter, particularly in its haors (swampy wetlands) and coastal areas. These birds undertake incredible journeys from northern Mongolia, parts of Tibet and China, and Russia and Siberia’s tundra, seeking respite from harsh winters, flying towards the abundant food and favorable climates in South Asia. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh transforms into a mesmerizing haven of migratory birds every winter, particularly in its haors (swampy wetlands) and coastal areas. These birds undertake incredible journeys from northern Mongolia, parts of Tibet and China, and Russia and Siberia’s tundra, seeking respite from harsh winters, flying towards the abundant food and favorable climates in South Asia. The birds enter Bangladesh via two routes, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and the Central Asian Flyway, which was recognized by the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) in 2010. The birds arrive at six predominant wetland habitat sites during the winter months: three haor regions — Hakaluki Haor, Tanguar Haor and Hail Haor — and three coastal areas — Nijhum Dwip National Park, Sonadia Island and Ganguirar Char. These areas host thousands of migratory birds every year, creating picturesque landscapes and becoming popular among birdwatchers. However, their numbers have declined significantly over the past few decades due to rapid habitat loss caused by several unfavorable government policies, raising concerns among conservationists and researchers. Bangladesh transforms into a mesmerizing haven of migratory birds every winter, particularly in its haors and coastal areas. Image by Faisal Akram via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). Declining numbers and causes A recent study in Tanguar Haor analyzed 69 bird species, of which 41 are migratory, and found a declining trend in bird species. Tanguar Haor, which covers 9,500 hectares (23,475 acres) in Sunamganj district, is one of the primary winter refuges for migratory birds, hosting around 43% of the country’s total migratory birds&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/better-government-policies-could-help-as-migratory-birds-lose-habitat-in-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/better-government-policies-could-help-as-migratory-birds-lose-habitat-in-bangladesh/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293912</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Seeking the ‘humanity–wetland’ balance: Interview with Zimbabwean activist Jimmy Mahachi</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/seeking-the-humanity-wetland-balance-interview-with-zimbabwean-activist-jimmy-mahachi/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/seeking-the-humanity-wetland-balance-interview-with-zimbabwean-activist-jimmy-mahachi/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Feb 2025 14:08:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/31150732/Nettapus_auritus_95167231-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293714</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conservation, Dams, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Indigenous Peoples, Interviews, Lakes, Mining, Natural Resources, Resource Conflict, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Each year, thousands of migratory birds such as the colorful African pygmy goose, maccoa duck and African spoonbill stop at the Cleveland Dam wetland in Zimbabwe to breed and rest. The wetland is the largest protected area in the country’s capital, Harare, and a key biodiversity spot. But in recent years, it’s come under threat from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Each year, thousands of migratory birds such as the colorful African pygmy goose, maccoa duck and African spoonbill stop at the Cleveland Dam wetland in Zimbabwe to breed and rest. The wetland is the largest protected area in the country’s capital, Harare, and a key biodiversity spot. But in recent years, it’s come under threat from sand mining, development, and unsustainable water withdrawal by local businesses. “The fact that the wetlands are falling to ruin means that the link between humanity and wetlands is not balancing. The continued degradation of wetlands has eroded their connection to humanity,” says Jimmy Mahachi, founder of the Cleveland Action Alliance, a community-based organization. Mahachi has spent a decade advocating for his community’s right to water and the preservation of the Cleveland Dam, one of the country’s seven Ramsar wetlands. Some residents of the New Mabvuku suburb where Mahachi lives haven’t had running water for more than 30 years. The community relies on groundwater from wells and boreholes that are replenished by the Cleveland Dam wetland. Because of its overexploitation, less freshwater reaches New Mabvuku. Instead, they have to collect water from unprotected, even contaminated, sources. Mahachi’s complaints are frequently ignored. Instead, he’s received threats for speaking out about the water crisis in his community. World Wetlands Day, held on Feb.2 each year, commemorates the historic adoption of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971, announced in the Iranian city of the same name, to halt the loss of this cradle of water and biological diversity.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/seeking-the-humanity-wetland-balance-interview-with-zimbabwean-activist-jimmy-mahachi/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/seeking-the-humanity-wetland-balance-interview-with-zimbabwean-activist-jimmy-mahachi/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293714</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rising deforestation threatens rare species in Indonesia’s ancient Lake Poso</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/mining-and-palm-oil-drive-deforestation-threaten-rare-species-at-indonesias-lake-poso/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/mining-and-palm-oil-drive-deforestation-threaten-rare-species-at-indonesias-lake-poso/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jan 2025 21:28:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/22203813/Screenshot-2025-01-22-at-2.37.27-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293272</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Flooding, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Green, Lakes, Logging, Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the course of just eight years, the forests surrounding Indonesia&#8217;s Lake Poso, an ecological and evolutionary “gem” on the island of Sulawesi, have been whittled away, satellite data and imagery show, while flooding has intensified, and traditional livelihoods suffer. Lake Poso is Indonesia&#8217;s third-largest lake, 32 kilometers long by 16 wide (20 by 10 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over the course of just eight years, the forests surrounding Indonesia&#8217;s Lake Poso, an ecological and evolutionary “gem” on the island of Sulawesi, have been whittled away, satellite data and imagery show, while flooding has intensified, and traditional livelihoods suffer. Lake Poso is Indonesia&#8217;s third-largest lake, 32 kilometers long by 16 wide (20 by 10 miles), and lies in Poso district in the province of Central Sulawesi. The lake harbors many unique species found nowhere else on Earth, leading to its designation as an Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) site. Satellite data from Global Forest Watch reveal ongoing encroachment into the Pamona Nature Reserve at the lake’s southeastern edge, with 681 hectares (1,683 acres) of humid primary forest lost within the AZE site between 2002 and 2023. This represents 48% of total tree cover loss during the period. Data from the national statistics agency show forest cover Poso district decreased from 514,651 hectares (1.27 million acres) in 2014 to 358,828 hectares (886,680 acres) in 2021, a loss equivalent to the size of London in just eight years. Sunardi Katili, head of the Central Sulawesi chapter of Walhi, Indonesia’s leading environmental NGO, identified three primary drivers of deforestation: nickel mining, oil palm plantations, and smallholder farm expansion. &#8220;The demand for natural resources in the form of nickel for the electric car battery industry and stainless steel for household appliances has created high market demand,” Katili told Mosintuwu media journalist Pian Siruyu in May 2024. Cultural significance and community impact Lake Poso&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/mining-and-palm-oil-drive-deforestation-threaten-rare-species-at-indonesias-lake-poso/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/mining-and-palm-oil-drive-deforestation-threaten-rare-species-at-indonesias-lake-poso/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293272</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Grassroots efforts sprout up to protect Central America’s Trifinio watershed</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/grassroots-efforts-sprout-up-to-protect-central-americas-trifinio-watershed/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/grassroots-efforts-sprout-up-to-protect-central-americas-trifinio-watershed/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Dec 2024 16:21:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/13213804/WhatsApp-Image-2024-12-13-at-2.32.57-PM-1-768x450.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291605</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Cattle, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Drinking Water, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Lakes, Pesticides, Politics, Pollution, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Ranching, Rivers, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, Water, Water Pollution, Wildlife, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ESQUIPULAS, Guatemala — An estimated 8 million migrants have entered the U.S. during the Biden administration, the highest number in centuries. Many still come from the so-called Northern Triangle, made up of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, as they seek to escape gang violence and a lack of employment. But there’s another driver of migration [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ESQUIPULAS, Guatemala — An estimated 8 million migrants have entered the U.S. during the Biden administration, the highest number in centuries. Many still come from the so-called Northern Triangle, made up of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, as they seek to escape gang violence and a lack of employment. But there’s another driver of migration that officials sometimes overlook: climate change. Dry seasons in Central America are getting longer and hotter all the time, and rural families can’t grow enough crops to feed their families. More than 3 million people were expected to face crisis-level food insecurity earlier this year, potentially driving them out of the region. They also lack access to clean drinking water. “The problems of extreme poverty, low access to services, a highly aggravated and vulnerable population — all of that is made worse by the consequences of climate change,” said Berta Medrano, head of the Gaia Association, a conservation group that works in all three countries. Governments in the region are still working to develop policies that address crop failure and climate change-resilient jobs in hopes of slowing migration. The international community, whether in the form of NGOs or government agencies like USAID, are also very present in the region. But some parts of the problem may not be receiving enough attention. One major watershed running through Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador has been so polluted and industrialized that 20% of it could dry up by 2050, according to a U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/grassroots-efforts-sprout-up-to-protect-central-americas-trifinio-watershed/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291605</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Studies link stronger dengue outbreak in Bangladesh to climate change</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/studies-link-stronger-dengue-outbreak-in-bangladesh-to-climate-change/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/studies-link-stronger-dengue-outbreak-in-bangladesh-to-climate-change/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Nov 2024 13:57:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mohammad Al-Masum Molla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/22134831/rain-in-dhaka-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290523</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities, Climate Change, Diseases, Environment, Extreme Weather, Health, Insects, Lakes, Mosquitoes, Public Health, Rivers, Waste, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When eight-year-old Samin developed a fever a few days ago, his parents thought it was the seasonal flu. However, in two days, his condition worsened as he began to complain of abdomen pain, fatigue and vomiting. “We saw a drastic change in him. Our once agile child became pale and listless,” said Samin’s father Rahmatullah, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When eight-year-old Samin developed a fever a few days ago, his parents thought it was the seasonal flu. However, in two days, his condition worsened as he began to complain of abdomen pain, fatigue and vomiting. “We saw a drastic change in him. Our once agile child became pale and listless,” said Samin’s father Rahmatullah, from the middle-income dominated and densely populated Mirpur area in Dhaka. Worried and anxious, he took Samin to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, where they found that Samin had contracted dengue and his platelet count had dropped to 40,000 against the healthy count of 150,000 to 400,000 platelets. Samin was admitted to the hospital, but his condition continued to deteriorate as his blood pressure fell, prompting doctors to transfer him to the intensive care unit. Rahmatullah said they were wondering why, despite their best efforts to keep dengue away, Samin caught the disease. They applied sprays, used mosquito nets while sleeping, kept their house clean and drained the potential breeding sources in their home — the usual cautions that authorities have always prescribed to keep the dengue viral carriers, Aedes mosquitoes, away. Samin is among a record 80,000 people who have fallen ill with dengue in Bangladesh this year so far — a surge that scientists say could be fueled by climate change. An influx of patients has overwhelmed the hospitals in Bangladesh, especially its capital — a reminder of the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aedes aegypti mosquito thrives in rainy, tropical climates&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/studies-link-stronger-dengue-outbreak-in-bangladesh-to-climate-change/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290523</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Community-led wetland restoration may hold key to Harare’s water crisis</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/community-led-wetland-restoration-may-hold-key-to-harares-water-crisis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/community-led-wetland-restoration-may-hold-key-to-harares-water-crisis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Oct 2024 18:11:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee GabayTatenda Chitagu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/10172337/Village_weaver_Ploceus_cucullatus_at_Lake_Chivero_Harare_Zimbabwe_21808954060-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=288540</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conflict, Conservation, Degraded Lands, Drinking Water, Environment, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat Degradation, Lakes, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HARARE — By 6 a.m. on Sunday, the line at a water well in Harare’s Budiriro suburb is already long. It snakes all the way into a nearby street, and some people have begun fighting over who should get water first. If they’re lucky, they get clean water once a week. In other suburbs of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HARARE — By 6 a.m. on Sunday, the line at a water well in Harare’s Budiriro suburb is already long. It snakes all the way into a nearby street, and some people have begun fighting over who should get water first. If they’re lucky, they get clean water once a week. In other suburbs of Zimbabwe’s capital, it can take weeks or months. Meanwhile, as the water crisis grows, the city’s wetlands, which were once able to easily store water, are being drained for new housing developments or paved surfaces as the city grows. This is also happening across the country. According to a 2022 audit of Zimbabwe’s Environmental Management Agency’s (EMA) wetlands protection, these ecosystems are being converted for commercial activities, such as construction, mining and agriculture. “As the city is developing, it’s encroaching more and more into the wetland areas,” says Robert Neil Cunliffe, an independent environmental consultant from Harare. “Those areas are being converted from a natural grassland community to a paved surface.” In the capital, 3,717 hectares (9,185 acres) of wetlands have so far been affected by construction, which translates to about 16% of its wetlands, according to the audit. Other factors, such as inadequate enforcement of orders and pollution, are also responsible for the decline of the country’s wetlands. After decades of witnessing water mismanagement and the destruction of wetlands across the city, residents and local organizations have joined forces with city officials to protect and restore a small, 34-hectare (84-acre) wetland in the suburb&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/community-led-wetland-restoration-may-hold-key-to-harares-water-crisis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-288540</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conserving &#038; restoring waterways can mitigate extreme urban heat in Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/conserving-restoring-waterways-can-mitigate-extreme-urban-heat-in-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/conserving-restoring-waterways-can-mitigate-extreme-urban-heat-in-bangladesh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Aug 2024 14:10:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Riley Comstock]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/20133714/boys-in-a-boat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286278</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Cities, Climate, Climate Change, Extreme Weather, Heatwave, Lakes, Rivers, Temperatures, urban ecology, Water, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DHAKA — In pre-monsoon the heat of May, five teenage boys used a rope with knots in it to scale a wall and enter the national botanical gardens in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. They dropped down next to a big pond surrounded by foliage encircled by a pedestrian path. Beyond the walls, the youths [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DHAKA — In pre-monsoon the heat of May, five teenage boys used a rope with knots in it to scale a wall and enter the national botanical gardens in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. They dropped down next to a big pond surrounded by foliage encircled by a pedestrian path. Beyond the walls, the youths were fruit sellers, hawking guava, mango and seasonally fresh fruit on packed city buses that transport Dhaka&#8217;s working-class residents. They come to the gardens when it is just too hot, or the air quality too poor, to ride the buses. The National Botanical Garden costs 20 taka, about $0.17, to enter, but the rope allows Junayed, 17, and Akash, 18, to enter whenever they please without paying. “We can come over the wall, and we can come through the gate too. That is why we come here,” they said. As they relaxed beneath the trees, staring across the pond, the boys relished the relative quiet of the preserved space. Often, they visit in the morning or the evening with their other friends; sometimes they come twice a day. Junayed and Akash said that beyond the walls, the amount of green space has decreased during their lives. Land once covered in trees, shrubs and grass now hosts apartments and stores. &#8220;There were fields and we played there,” one of the teens said. There used to be ponds in their area, but they were filled in to create ground for new construction. In Dhaka and other cities&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/conserving-restoring-waterways-can-mitigate-extreme-urban-heat-in-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286278</doi>				</item>
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