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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/overconsumption/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 21:11:24 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>News on Overconsumption</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/overconsumption/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Global pressure on ayahuasca threatens Amazonian plants and knowledge systems</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/global-pressure-on-ayahuasca-threatens-amazonian-plants-and-knowledge-systems/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/global-pressure-on-ayahuasca-threatens-amazonian-plants-and-knowledge-systems/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jun 2026 20:38:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carlos Minuano]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/23203123/AP18157600830602-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321692</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biocultural Diversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Community Forests, Conservation, Consumption, Controversial, Culture, Globalization, Indigenous Peoples, International Trade, Medicinal Plants, Overconsumption, Overexploitation, Plants, Rainforests, Religions, Traditional Medicine, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“One of the world’s largest pharmacies is being destroyed,” says Benki Piyãko, a leader of the Ashaninka Indigenous people in the Brazilian state of Acre. The warning points to multiple threats advancing on the Amazon but also to growing debate surrounding one of the so-called forest medicines: ayahuasca. This Indigenous beverage with psychedelic properties is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“One of the world’s largest pharmacies is being destroyed,” says Benki Piyãko, a leader of the Ashaninka Indigenous people in the Brazilian state of Acre. The warning points to multiple threats advancing on the Amazon but also to growing debate surrounding one of the so-called forest medicines: ayahuasca. This Indigenous beverage with psychedelic properties is usually prepared from two native plants: the caapi vine or mariri (Banisteriopsis caapi) and the leaves of the chacrona plant (Psychotria viridis). According to Indigenous leaders and experts, these species are facing increasing pressure and signs of scarcity in some areas. Called kamarãpe by the Ashaninka people, ayahuasca has been used by Indigenous peoples across the Amazon for centuries. It has crossed borders for decades, ceasing to circulate exclusively in its original contexts. Today, it can be found in urban religious centers, therapeutic retreats, and international psychedelic tourism circuits. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies are also turning their attention to this ancestral beverage, which already shows evidence of therapeutic potential for different mental health disorders such as depression and substance addiction. But increasing global interest is also creating concerns. As demand grows, so has the ayahuasca supply chain, without a corresponding growth in management or oversight. In different parts of the Amazon, there are signs of pressure on the species used to prepare the beverage, often collected without planning. At the same time, increasing consumption in nontraditional contexts raises concerns about ancestral knowledge being commodified for the market. The main problem seems to lie in how&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/global-pressure-on-ayahuasca-threatens-amazonian-plants-and-knowledge-systems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/global-pressure-on-ayahuasca-threatens-amazonian-plants-and-knowledge-systems/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321692</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How a popular spaghetti dish is threatening Italy’s marine ecosystem</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-a-popular-spaghetti-dish-is-threatening-italys-marine-ecosystem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-a-popular-spaghetti-dish-is-threatening-italys-marine-ecosystem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jun 2026 17:47:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manuela Callari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/16113722/Riccio_Viola_URCHIN-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321286</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, European Union, and Italy]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Consumption, Crime, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Illegal Fishing, Invertebrates, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overconsumption, Overfishing, Surveillance, Tourism, Wildlife, and Wildlife consumption]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAPLES — On a warm, moonlit night in May, Maurizio Simeone sat in an ambush at his desk about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Naples, Italy. The marine scientist and director of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Gaiola Underwater Park was watching the grainy live feed from cameras surveilling the MPA as poachers descended [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAPLES — On a warm, moonlit night in May, Maurizio Simeone sat in an ambush at his desk about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Naples, Italy. The marine scientist and director of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Gaiola Underwater Park was watching the grainy live feed from cameras surveilling the MPA as poachers descended on the seafloor. “It was midnight. Here they were again,” Simeone told Mongabay. The poachers had come a few nights before to scout the area. Then a second time. This time, Simeone was waiting for them. He rushed to alert the Coast Guard. The poachers operated with ruthless efficiency, using a dangerous illegal method known as the hookah system. A compressor on a small boat pumps air through a hose to a diver, allowing them to stay underwater for hours and systematically strip the seabed. Every 20 minutes, the diver resurfaced to hand over a net full of purple sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus), grab an empty net and then dive back down. When the authorities moved in, the two men on the boat began dumping hundreds of sea urchins and their gear into the sea, as the diver quickly resurfaced. The three men were old acquaintances of Simeone’s. “They are repeat offenders. It’s not the first time we’ve caught them,” Simeone said. Illegally harvested sea urchins seized in July 2024. Image courtesy of Maurizio Simeone. During a previous bust a year earlier, the vessel was apprehended with a staggering haul: 976 sea urchins pulled from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-a-popular-spaghetti-dish-is-threatening-italys-marine-ecosystem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-a-popular-spaghetti-dish-is-threatening-italys-marine-ecosystem/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321286</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s rhododendron tourism sparks unchecked liquor trade concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-rhododendron-tourism-sparks-unchecked-liquor-trade-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-rhododendron-tourism-sparks-unchecked-liquor-trade-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2026 08:59:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mukesh Pokhrel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/26085236/Dhaulagiri_and_Rhododendron-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320077</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Law, Flowers, Forests, Natural Resources, Overconsumption, Regulations, Tourism, Trees, Wildlife, and Wildlife consumption]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[TINJURE-MILKE-JALJALE, Nepal — Every April, Nima Sherpa’s family used to picnic in a rhododendron (lali guras in Nepali) forest about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from her home at Basantapur Bazaar in Tehrathum in the Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale (TMJ) region, which stretched across the eastern districts of Tehrathum, Taplejung and Sankhuwasabha. It has been five years since her [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[TINJURE-MILKE-JALJALE, Nepal — Every April, Nima Sherpa’s family used to picnic in a rhododendron (lali guras in Nepali) forest about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from her home at Basantapur Bazaar in Tehrathum in the Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale (TMJ) region, which stretched across the eastern districts of Tehrathum, Taplejung and Sankhuwasabha. It has been five years since her family has done so as they no longer have the time. Instead of enjoying their time in the forest, they said, they are busy running their hotel in Basantapur Bazaar, which sees a big surge in tourism for only a few weeks. This is when the hillsides get covered in crimson, pink and white blooms of at least 26 species of rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.), the national flower. All family members get busy welcoming guests with smiles and souvenirs. This year alone, local officials estimate that around 500,000 visitors entered the TMJ area between April 1-15. One of the “souvenirs” growing in popularity among visitors is the flower-based alcohol, bottled in reused containers with handwritten labels and openly displayed in shops across. But authorities remain unaware of where the flowers are harvested, whether extraction levels are sustainable, and of the safety of the unlabeled products. Rhododendron trees in Tinjure. Image by Nirmal Dulal via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). A trade hiding in plain sight In April this year, Mongabay found bottles of rhododendron liquor displayed openly in shops catering to tourists in Basantapur Bazaar and nearby Gufa Pokhari, in Chainpur municipality, Sankhuwasabha district. Several shopkeepers&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-rhododendron-tourism-sparks-unchecked-liquor-trade-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-rhododendron-tourism-sparks-unchecked-liquor-trade-concerns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320077</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Global trade in sea cucumbers ‘alarming’ with many species at risk: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/global-trade-in-sea-cucumbers-alarming-with-many-species-at-risk-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/global-trade-in-sea-cucumbers-alarming-with-many-species-at-risk-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2026 20:20:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/30161142/1-orange-footed-sea-cucumber-Cucumaria-frondosa-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318498</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Food, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Overfishing, Trade, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The global trade in sea cucumbers has grown since 2013 and continues to decimate the populations of many species, according to a recent study that cites “escalating impacts” and calls for stronger conservation measures. “Nowadays it&#8217;s overexploited nearly all over in the world,” Chantal Conand, an emeritus associate at France’s National Museum of Natural History [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The global trade in sea cucumbers has grown since 2013 and continues to decimate the populations of many species, according to a recent study that cites “escalating impacts” and calls for stronger conservation measures. “Nowadays it&#8217;s overexploited nearly all over in the world,” Chantal Conand, an emeritus associate at France’s National Museum of Natural History and lead author of the study, told Mongabay, speaking of sea cucumbers generally. Conand and her co-authors write that the harvest of sea cucumbers is now “contagious” — spreading from place to place — and that the “continued growth and expansion of the global sea cucumber trade is alarming as the sustainability of many species-specific fisheries remains of great concern.&#8221; The paper, which was published Feb. 19 in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, follows other recent sea cucumber studies that also raise conservation concerns. Chantal Conand, lead author of a recent study on sea cucumbers, holds a pineapple sea cucumber (Thelenota ananas), amid the research collections of France’s National Museum of Natural History, where she is an emeritus associate. Image courtesy of Chantal Conand. Diving for good data Globally, there are roughly 1,800 species of sea cucumbers, which make up all of the taxonomic class Holothuroidea. Like starfish (class Asteroidea) and sea urchins (class Echinoidea), they sit in the phylum Echinodermata. Sea cucumbers act as recyclers and processors on the seafloor, eating detritus — decaying organic matter — and discharging it in a more aerated, nitrogen-rich form that helps&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/global-trade-in-sea-cucumbers-alarming-with-many-species-at-risk-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-318498</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mongabay shark meat exposé wins national journalism education award in Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/mongabay-shark-meat-expose-wins-national-journalism-education-award-in-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/mongabay-shark-meat-expose-wins-national-journalism-education-award-in-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2026 19:47:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/26191533/c.-2-Banner-IMG_7017-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314912</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Sharks, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A Mongabay exposé that revealed widespread Brazilian government procurements of shark meat to serve in thousands of schools, hospitals, prisons and other public institutions has won first place in the higher education category of Brazil&#8217;s National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (Andifes) awards, a top journalism education honor in the country. &#8220;The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A Mongabay exposé that revealed widespread Brazilian government procurements of shark meat to serve in thousands of schools, hospitals, prisons and other public institutions has won first place in the higher education category of Brazil&#8217;s National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (Andifes) awards, a top journalism education honor in the country. &#8220;The work stands out for its expert input from specialists and researchers, who contribute to the analysis of the environmental, health and regulatory impacts of the issue,&#8221; Andifes said in the Feb. 24 announcement. &#8220;By valuing scientific knowledge in its journalistic approach, the report highlights the role of higher education in producing evidence, training specialists and contributing to public debate and public policy.&#8221; In collaboration with the Pulitzer Center, the investigation published in July 2025 tracked 1,012 public tenders issued by Brazilian authorities since 2004 for the procurement of more than 5,400 metric tons of shark meat, worth at least 112 million reais ($21.8 million today). These tenders were issued by 542 municipalities in 10 of Brazil’s 26 states, raising environmental and public health concerns. Senior editor Philip Jacobson and investigative reporters Karla Mendes and Fernanda Wenzel were the Mongabay authors of the two-part investigation, along with Kuang Keng Kuek Ser, the Pulitzer Center’s data editor. As apex predators, sharks&#8217; tissues tend to accumulate high levels of heavy metals like mercury and arsenic, which can harm human health if ingested in large enough quantities, especially in young children and other vulnerable populations. Overfishing both for shark&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/mongabay-shark-meat-expose-wins-national-journalism-education-award-in-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314912</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mongabay shark meat investigation wins national journalism award in Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mongabay-shark-meat-investigation-wins-national-journalism-award-in-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mongabay-shark-meat-investigation-wins-national-journalism-award-in-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Dec 2025 14:57:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/23134234/DSC03551-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311952</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Sharks, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A Mongabay investigation that revealed Brazilian state-run institutions bulk-buying shark meat for public schools, hospitals and prisons has won second place in the national category of the 67th ARI/Banrisul Journalism Award, one of the country’s most prestigious journalism prizes. Mongabay, working in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center, published the investigation in late July revealing that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A Mongabay investigation that revealed Brazilian state-run institutions bulk-buying shark meat for public schools, hospitals and prisons has won second place in the national category of the 67th ARI/Banrisul Journalism Award, one of the country’s most prestigious journalism prizes. Mongabay, working in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center, published the investigation in late July revealing that Brazilian authorities had issued 1,012 public tenders since 2004 for the procurement of more than 5,400 metric tons of shark meat, worth at least 112 million reais ($20 million). These tenders were issued by 542 municipalities in 10 of Brazil’s 26 states, raising environmental and public health concerns. Shark meat can contain high levels of mercury and arsenic, which scientists say can be harmful to human health when consumed in large quantities; at the same time, overfishing can deplete populations of sharks, which are recognized as critical to the marine environment. A second article published as part of the investigation found that government agencies across Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, had issued tenders for at least 211 metric tons of angelshark, which are endangered. In a Dec. 12 statement announcing the ARI/Banrisul award, the Rio Grande do Sul Press Association (ARI) said the award “recognized the talents” in professional and university categories amid a record number of entries, up 40% from the 2024 edition. Senior editor Philip Jacobson and investigative reporters Karla Mendes and Fernanda Wenzel were the Mongabay authors of the two-part investigation, along with Kuang Keng Kuek Ser, the Pulitzer Center&#8217;s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mongabay-shark-meat-investigation-wins-national-journalism-award-in-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311952</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>With a target on their bellies, can California&#8217;s sturgeon survive?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/with-a-target-on-their-bellies-can-californias-sturgeon-survive/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/with-a-target-on-their-bellies-can-californias-sturgeon-survive/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Dec 2025 12:18:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laurel Neme]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/09180637/15365961103_419799657f_4k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310850</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[California, South America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Illegal Fishing, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Overfishing, Rivers, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Following up on a tip to the state’s poaching hotline, game wardens in California rushed to a popular fishing spot, Clifton Court Forebay, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. They’d received a tipoff about an individual allegedly catching a green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) and stuffing it in his SUV. They tracked down the suspect using [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Following up on a tip to the state’s poaching hotline, game wardens in California rushed to a popular fishing spot, Clifton Court Forebay, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. They’d received a tipoff about an individual allegedly catching a green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) and stuffing it in his SUV. They tracked down the suspect using photographs submitted by the tipster. The fish was in the back of his vehicle, barely alive. The wardens quickly issued a citation and rushed the 165-centimeter (65-inch) ailing sturgeon to the nearby marina. For 90 minutes, they worked to revive the fish. They submerged it in the water and, crouching on the boat ramp, rocked the animal back and forth to run water through its gills and provide oxygen as if it were swimming. At last, the fish rallied and swam away, presumably healthy enough to survive. This was in 2022, but it’s far from an isolated incident, noteworthy because it had a happy ending. California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) officers periodically discover anglers taking sturgeon illegally, as they did while patrolling the Sacramento River early this year, when they spotted two groups of suspected sturgeon poachers. Each had caught a large fish and tied it off some 91 meters (100 yards) away in a seeming effort to conceal it. But the wardens weren’t fooled. They seized the fish and set them free. In California, and worldwide, poachers target sturgeon for their eggs, which become a coveted delicacy when processed into caviar. Caviar&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/with-a-target-on-their-bellies-can-californias-sturgeon-survive/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310850</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can two Amazons survive? Invisible e-waste is poisoning the world</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/can-two-amazons-survive-invisible-e-waste-is-poisoning-the-world/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/can-two-amazons-survive-invisible-e-waste-is-poisoning-the-world/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2025 21:18:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerry McGovernSue Branford]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03083255/10-Abogbloshie-dump-in-Ghana-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310477</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Ghana, Global, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Business, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, Consumption, E-waste, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Globalization, Health, Industry, Mining, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Pollution, Public Health, Recycling, Research, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“I live in Accra, Ghana,” says Isaac Dinwe, who works for Closing the Loop, a Dutch company that works with the electronics industry to increase global recycling. “The e-waste problem in my country is so huge we are unable to manage it. Most of our e-waste ends up in city centres. Informal workers extract what [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“I live in Accra, Ghana,” says Isaac Dinwe, who works for Closing the Loop, a Dutch company that works with the electronics industry to increase global recycling. “The e-waste problem in my country is so huge we are unable to manage it. Most of our e-waste ends up in city centres. Informal workers extract what they can sell and burn the rest. It causes a lot of pollution,” Dinwe writes in an email to Mongabay from the group. Dinwe is one of a handful of Ghanaians tackling a public health and environmental crisis brought on by the global consumer economy and a lack of legislation and infrastructure around the globe. Dinwe heads a team trained to properly handle e-waste and travels to repair shops, villages and churches to buy “dead” phones that would otherwise end up landfilled or burned. “We are careful not to pay too much, as we want the phones to be used right up to the end of their life,” explains Closing the Loop CEO Joost de Kluijver. Isaac Dinwe, a Ghanaian, heads a team of 16 people who buy &#8216;dead&#8217; phones cheaply from repair shops and elsewhere in Accra, Ghana, to prevent them from being tossed into landfills. But, despite the team&#8217;s work, a lot of e-waste ends up in waste dumps where scavengers extract salvageable bits, then burn the rest, causing pollution that threatens public health. Image courtesy of Closing the Loop. Closing the Loop has joined with phone makers and sellers in Europe to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/can-two-amazons-survive-invisible-e-waste-is-poisoning-the-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/can-two-amazons-survive-invisible-e-waste-is-poisoning-the-world/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310477</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New ventures set out to tackle the plastic choking Bangladesh’s ECAs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-ventures-set-out-to-tackle-the-plastic-choking-bangladeshs-ecas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-ventures-set-out-to-tackle-the-plastic-choking-bangladeshs-ecas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Dec 2025 09:17:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/02085956/Workers-sorting-the-single-use-plastcis-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310419</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Law Enforcement, NGOs, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Pollution, Protected Areas, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The amount of single-use plastic that gets recycled as a measure to manage plastic pollution is insignificant in Bangladesh. However, some small-scale ventures working in this sector are trying to improve the situation. Currently, around 300 small-scale ventures are engaged in recycling plastic waste, specifically single-use plastic bottles and other plastics heavier than polybags, which [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The amount of single-use plastic that gets recycled as a measure to manage plastic pollution is insignificant in Bangladesh. However, some small-scale ventures working in this sector are trying to improve the situation. Currently, around 300 small-scale ventures are engaged in recycling plastic waste, specifically single-use plastic bottles and other plastics heavier than polybags, which are used mainly for groceries and kitchen market and thrown away afterwards. As part of the recycling move, Bangladesh has recently started recycling the untreated single-use plastic waste, comprising mostly of polybags. Considering the negative impacts of untreated waste, the NGO BRAC, an international development organization, introduced a project to turn single-use plastic waste into raw materials for plastic products. To start off, the project has been collecting plastic waste from Cox’s Bazar sea beach, one of Bangladesh’s Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs), and its surrounding communities. Cox’s Bazar sea beach is one of the 13 biodiversity-rich habitats declared as ECAs by Bangladesh, which accords them protection under strict laws. BRAC’s plastic project was initially taken under the Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) project by the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP), an intergovernmental organization of the eight South Asian nations. “With the presence of rivers and the ocean, we selected Cox’s Bazar for the initiative and tried to change the behavioral patterns of locals and tourists through different awareness building initiatives. For turning the waste into a resource, we planned to establish a plant to process the most neglected plastic waste&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-ventures-set-out-to-tackle-the-plastic-choking-bangladeshs-ecas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310419</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lethal dose of plastic for seabirds and marine animals ‘much smaller than expected’</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lethal-dose-of-plastic-for-seabirds-and-marine-animals-much-smaller-than-expected/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lethal-dose-of-plastic-for-seabirds-and-marine-animals-much-smaller-than-expected/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Nov 2025 13:53:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/19132317/turtle-plastic-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309832</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Chemicals, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Microplastics, Oceans, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Pollution, Seabirds, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[New research has found that even small amounts of plastic can be deadly to seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals. While previous research has established that plastic can lead to mortality in many species, this new study identifies the types and amounts of plastic that pose the greatest danger, and estimates how likely an animal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[New research has found that even small amounts of plastic can be deadly to seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals. While previous research has established that plastic can lead to mortality in many species, this new study identifies the types and amounts of plastic that pose the greatest danger, and estimates how likely an animal is to die after ingesting it. The study authors found the lethal dose to be much smaller than expected. The team of international researchers, including several from U.S.-based environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy, conducted a literature review of more than 50 studies, drawing together the necropsy results for more than 10,000 animals that included data on the cause of death and on plastic ingestion. The mortality data included 1,537 seabirds from 57 species; 1,306 sea turtles from all seven marine turtle species; and 7,569 marine mammals representing 31 species, including whales, dolphins and seals. The team used the data to generate modeling that analyzed the relationship between the plastic in the animal’s gut and the likelihood of death for each animal group, looking at both the total number of pieces of plastic and their volume. Where possible, they also considered the type of plastic the wildlife ingested to understand which types were most lethal to the animals. Plastic found inside a dead black-footed albatross. Image by Dan Clark /USFWS. “That lethal dose is much smaller than we expected,” lead author Erin Murphy, manager of ocean plastic research at the Ocean Conservancy, told Mongabay. She and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lethal-dose-of-plastic-for-seabirds-and-marine-animals-much-smaller-than-expected/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309832</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia falls short in bid to increase its share of southern bluefin tuna catch</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2025 16:13:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/16080810/bluefin-tune-australia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307759</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Overfishing, Regulations, Seabirds, Tuna, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Japan dominate fishing of southern bluefin tuna, but Indonesia is pushing for a larger share of the global catch. However, its request was not officially acted on at a meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), the multilateral body that manages the stock, which Indonesia hosted from Oct. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Japan dominate fishing of southern bluefin tuna, but Indonesia is pushing for a larger share of the global catch. However, its request was not officially acted on at a meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), the multilateral body that manages the stock, which Indonesia hosted from Oct. 6-9 on the island of Bali. CCSBT members instead kept each nation’s share unchanged. Indonesia expressed disappointment in the result, having argued that the allotment system is inequitable and unfair to developing countries. “Indonesia views that the current allocation system has not paid due regard to the principles of equity and fairness in international law, which the preamble of the CCSBT Convention emphasizes,” Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, Indonesia’s fisheries minister, said in a statement at the meeting, according to the meeting’s official report viewed by Mongabay. Indonesia’s fleet has been cited for compliance-related issues — not following the fishery’s rules — which other parties raised as an issue in the discussion over the country’s share. While much attention at the meeting was on Indonesia’s request, the parties also dealt with other matters. They kept the total allowable catch (TAC) for all parties the same for 2026 as 2025, and they agreed to once again fully fund a key stock monitoring program. They also set up a future meeting for discussion of seabird protection in the fishery. There are more than a dozen regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) in the world, with some overlapping geographically but managing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307759</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How we probed a maze of websites to tally Brazilian government shark meat orders</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/how-we-probed-a-maze-of-websites-to-tally-brazilian-government-shark-meat-orders/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/how-we-probed-a-maze-of-websites-to-tally-brazilian-government-shark-meat-orders/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Sep 2025 09:58:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kuang Keng Kuek SerPhilip Jacobson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/26100228/DSC03643-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306612</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Shark Meat Nation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Health, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Mongabay investigation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Public Health, Sharks, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay recently published an investigation revealing widespread Brazilian government purchases of shark meat to feed schoolchildren, hospital patients, prisoners and more. The series has generated public debate in the South American country, which, perhaps surprisingly, is the world’s largest consumer and importer of shark meat. The procurements raise concerns because sharks are being overfished — [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay recently published an investigation revealing widespread Brazilian government purchases of shark meat to feed schoolchildren, hospital patients, prisoners and more. The series has generated public debate in the South American country, which, perhaps surprisingly, is the world’s largest consumer and importer of shark meat. The procurements raise concerns because sharks are being overfished — globally, their populations in the open ocean have declined by an estimated 71% over the past half-century — and their meat tends to contain high levels of heavy metals, which can be especially dangerous for young children, pregnant and nursing mothers, and other vulnerable groups. As part of the research, we spent months combing through dozens of websites where Brazilian government agencies are legally required to publish their procurement records. It was challenging work, hunting down droplets of relevant data cataloged with inconsistent search terms across multiple obscure portals. In this article, we’ll tell you how we went about it in hopes of inspiring and easing the way for other journalists and researchers to continue this line of inquiry. Because it was also richly rewarding: We uncovered 1,012 shark meat tenders issued since 2004, and identified 5,900 public institutions — preschools, homeless shelters, maternity wards, military bases, elderly care facilities, governor’s residences, and more — that potentially received shark meat as part of these procurements. (Brazil-based Mongabay reporters Karla Mendes and Fernanda Wenzel also played key roles in the investigation, following up leads on the ground turned up by our data work.) The impetus for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/how-we-probed-a-maze-of-websites-to-tally-brazilian-government-shark-meat-orders/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306612</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As plastics treaty talks break down, are there paths to a breakthrough?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-plastics-treaty-talks-break-down-are-there-paths-to-a-breakthrough/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-plastics-treaty-talks-break-down-are-there-paths-to-a-breakthrough/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Aug 2025 16:06:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Pekow]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/29125200/6-sfWKxnWg-MarieJacquemin_Greenpeace-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305152</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Consumption, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Microplastics, Oil, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Events this August raise a critical question: Can the United Nations process to combat global plastic pollution ever reach agreement? Or is some other way forward necessary? The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) set a goal in 2022 of a legally binding treaty by the end of 2024. But the INC missed its [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Events this August raise a critical question: Can the United Nations process to combat global plastic pollution ever reach agreement? Or is some other way forward necessary? The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) set a goal in 2022 of a legally binding treaty by the end of 2024. But the INC missed its own deadline this month. Negotiators from 184 nations strived at the 10-day summit in Geneva, Switzerland, only to yet again fail to even come close to reaching consensus on a treaty draft. Some delegates and observers left in frustration after the 6th official INC summit (known as INC-5.2) and wondered if the process will ever work. Others cited incremental progress and looked forward with some hope to another negotiating session at a yet-to-be determined time and place. Not only do numerous treaty specifics still need to be worked out, but countries can&#8217;t even agree on the basics: Should the agreement be binding or voluntary? Should it encompass the full life cycle of plastic from creation to disposal, limit production and ban some toxic chemicals, or should it just focus almost exclusively on reuse and recycling? The High Ambition Coalition (HAC), now totaling more than 75 nations, seeks a legally binding, cradle-to-grave treaty that reduces production and consumption and provides an adequately financed enforcement mechanism. “The negotiations on the global plastics treaty are not just any technical debate. It&#8217;s about deciding whether we&#8217;re going to stop pollution at its source, regulating the entire life cycle of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-plastics-treaty-talks-break-down-are-there-paths-to-a-breakthrough/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305152</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Africa pays the price for rich world’s fast fashion fix, new French bill targets brands</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-africa-pays-the-price-for-rich-worlds-fast-fashion-fix-new-french-bill-targets-brands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-africa-pays-the-price-for-rich-worlds-fast-fashion-fix-new-french-bill-targets-brands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Aug 2025 06:35:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/08150927/13-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303985</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Consumption, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Fashion industry, Health, Overconsumption, Pollution, Public Health, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI — Mountains of waste stretch as far as the eye can see, smoking in places, giving off an acrid stench that stings the eyes and catches in the throat. These are the first sensations that overwhelm you upon arrival at the Dandora dump in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, one of the largest open-air landfills [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI — Mountains of waste stretch as far as the eye can see, smoking in places, giving off an acrid stench that stings the eyes and catches in the throat. These are the first sensations that overwhelm you upon arrival at the Dandora dump in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, one of the largest open-air landfills in Africa. Starting early each morning, men, women and marabou storks — huge, vulture-like birds —scavenge the site to find enough to sustain them through another day. Plastic bottles to resell, a bone to gnaw on … But there’s something else here: A close look reveals countless scraps of fabric from discarded apparel. Most of these clothes didn’t originate in Kenya. An investigation by the Changing Markets Foundation reveals that more than 900 million items of used clothing were exported to Kenya from Europe, the U.K., the U.S., Canada and China in 2021 alone. Of these items, more than half were considered waste, unsellable, and more than a third likely contained plastic-based fibers that don’t biodegrade. Instead, they break down into ever smaller microfibers that can contaminate food or be breathed into the lungs. Gikomba market, Nairob. Image by Elodie Toto. “Plastic is so cheap to make that we can now find plastic making the majority of our clothes,” says Imogen Napper, a marine scientist at the University of Plymouth, U.K. “And it was only invented 100 years ago. We know it under the name of polyester, acrylic, nylon …” Napper initiated the first study&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-africa-pays-the-price-for-rich-worlds-fast-fashion-fix-new-french-bill-targets-brands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-africa-pays-the-price-for-rich-worlds-fast-fashion-fix-new-french-bill-targets-brands/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303985</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Upmarket fish maw trade in Singapore &#038; Malaysia includes endangered species: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/upmarket-fish-maw-trade-in-singapore-malaysia-includes-endangered-species-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/upmarket-fish-maw-trade-in-singapore-malaysia-includes-endangered-species-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Aug 2025 15:33:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/06151613/15430637796_4791d70d4c_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303862</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, East Asia, Malaysia, and Singapore]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Critically Endangered Species, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Food Prices, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Marine, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Overconsumption, Overfishing, Research, Saltwater Fish, Trade, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fish maw — the dried swim bladder of ray-finned fishes — is prized across East and Southeast Asia as a culinary delicacy and symbol of wealth and status. In Chinese culture, it’s served at family and business gatherings. Beyond tradition, maw is promoted for supposed health and beauty benefits, from aiding recovery after childbirth to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fish maw — the dried swim bladder of ray-finned fishes — is prized across East and Southeast Asia as a culinary delicacy and symbol of wealth and status. In Chinese culture, it’s served at family and business gatherings. Beyond tradition, maw is promoted for supposed health and beauty benefits, from aiding recovery after childbirth to reducing signs of aging due to its high collagen content. As demand has surged with urbanization and rising incomes, fish maw trade has grown into a multimillion-dollar industry. In Hong Kong alone, studies have found maw imports were worth up to $394 million between 2015 and 2018, with some single bladders selling for nearly half a million dollars. Rare species fetch the highest prices, but once processed, maw is hard to identify — this opens the door to mislabeling and substitutions that mislead buyers. “Given the value of the trade, it is surprising that we do not really know what species are involved or where they are coming from,” Benjamin Wainwright, a marine biologist at the National University of Singapore, told Mongabay by email. A new study, published in Conservation Letters in June 2025, sheds light on the fish maw trade in Singapore and Malaysia. Led by Wainwright and marine taxonomist Seah Ying Giat of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, the study used DNA barcoding to identify the species behind the trade — revealing, among others, the presence of two vulnerable, four endangered and two critically endangered species on the IUCN Red List, including the European eel&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/upmarket-fish-maw-trade-in-singapore-malaysia-includes-endangered-species-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/upmarket-fish-maw-trade-in-singapore-malaysia-includes-endangered-species-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303862</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As UN plastic treaty talks face possible deadlock, what are the ways forward?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-un-plastic-treaty-talks-face-possible-deadlock-what-are-the-ways-forward/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-un-plastic-treaty-talks-face-possible-deadlock-what-are-the-ways-forward/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2025 18:01:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tosca Ballerini]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/31145526/angela-compagnone-g1xoeXbfuTw-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303512</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Consumption, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Microplastics, Oil, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, Regulations, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Historically, most United Nations agreements have been reached by consensus. But based on recent events, this no longer seems likely for achieving a fully effective global treaty on plastic pollution, according to many analysts. The fifth resumed session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2) will take place Aug. 5-14 in Geneva, Switzerland. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Historically, most United Nations agreements have been reached by consensus. But based on recent events, this no longer seems likely for achieving a fully effective global treaty on plastic pollution, according to many analysts. The fifth resumed session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2) will take place Aug. 5-14 in Geneva, Switzerland. The impending summit’s outcome remains highly uncertain, with two groups of countries holding strongly opposing views on the agreement’s scope: The High Ambition Coalition, along with other nations, totaling 106 member states, is seeking a binding treaty with global caps on plastics production and a ban of the most toxic chemicals used in plastics. The so-called “Like-minded countries” (Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Iran, India) and other countries, including Brazil and the United States, want a voluntary treaty focused only on waste management, especially recycling. Treaty negotiations began hopefully in 2022 and were scheduled to conclude with a final document by 2024 following UNEA Resolution 5/14. But at each new session, oil- and plastic-producing countries (including Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Iran, India, and Brazil) exploited unresolved procedural rules to delay negotiations, used obstructionist tactics to slow down progress and insisted on consensus for all decisions — effectively vetoing majority agreements, observers of the U.N. process say. Tired of the lack of progress in negotiations, on Dec. 1, 2024, the last day of INC-5.1, more than 100 countries came together at a press conference as a coalition of the willing, declaring “No treaty is better than a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-un-plastic-treaty-talks-face-possible-deadlock-what-are-the-ways-forward/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-un-plastic-treaty-talks-face-possible-deadlock-what-are-the-ways-forward/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303512</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>With areca leaves and rice bran, Bangladesh replaces single-use plastic tableware</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/with-areca-leaves-and-rice-bran-bangladesh-replaces-single-use-plastic-tableware/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/with-areca-leaves-and-rice-bran-bangladesh-replaces-single-use-plastic-tableware/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 May 2025 14:35:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/30141024/areca-plates-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299955</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Industry, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bangladeshi people love to throw a party, as the disposable tableware industry has increasingly seen. They get together or organize social gatherings often, be it to celebrate festivals or go on group trips to touristy attractions. And all these occasions call for food and drinks. Single-use plastic tableware has become the go-to option at these [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bangladeshi people love to throw a party, as the disposable tableware industry has increasingly seen. They get together or organize social gatherings often, be it to celebrate festivals or go on group trips to touristy attractions. And all these occasions call for food and drinks. Single-use plastic tableware has become the go-to option at these occasions. However, for the last couple of years, plates made from areca palm (Areca catechu) leaves have been gradually replacing plastic. As per people involved in the industry, entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are producing about half a million areca leaf plates every month. Though the number is almost negligible compared to the single-use plastic plates, they said they believe that the popularity of such products is increasing among users. Currently, about 10 local companies produce such biodegradable tableware. Ecovalley, Bright Areca and Shodeshi are some of them. “As the industry is new and we do not have exact statistics, I assume that, currently, the total monthly plate production is about half a million. My company produces about 100,000 plates in a month based on demand,” said Imran Hossain, one of the partners of the country’s first and largest areca leaf tableware producer Bright Areca. Similar statistics came from another major producer, Eco Valley, as the company’s director, Md Kamal, told Mongabay that they are producing about 60,000 plates every month. “We started the production in 2021 with a monthly demand of around 20,000 pieces of plates. In four years, the production [increased] three-fold,” he said regarding&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/with-areca-leaves-and-rice-bran-bangladesh-replaces-single-use-plastic-tableware/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299955</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Global agarwood trade heavily dependent on wild, threatened trees: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/global-agarwood-trade-heavily-dependent-on-wild-threatened-trees-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/global-agarwood-trade-heavily-dependent-on-wild-threatened-trees-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Apr 2025 16:42:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/28055245/galen-crout-4xUxkAyQ2jY-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298080</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Illegal Wildlife Trade]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conservation, Consumption, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, data, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Illegal Logging, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Overconsumption, Plantations, Regulations, Research, Timber, timber trade, Trade, Trees, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Agarwood, a fragrant resinous wood commonly referred to as oud, is a prized constituent in incense, perfumes, medicines and ornaments and remains in high demand across East Asia and the Middle East–North Africa region. A new study has found that, despite international protections, the multibillion-dollar trade relies heavily on wild-harvested endangered tree species — some [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Agarwood, a fragrant resinous wood commonly referred to as oud, is a prized constituent in incense, perfumes, medicines and ornaments and remains in high demand across East Asia and the Middle East–North Africa region. A new study has found that, despite international protections, the multibillion-dollar trade relies heavily on wild-harvested endangered tree species — some not even covered by CITES, the global wildlife trade convention. The paper, published in March this year in Global Ecology and Conservation by researchers from the Hong Kong-based Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, analyzed data from CITES and customs records between 2010 and 2020. They found that about 70% of the global agarwood trade relies on two species that are threatened under the global wildlife conservation authority IUCN: the critically endangered Aquilaria malaccensis and the vulnerable Aquilaria filaria.  Despite their threatened status, the study found, nearly 97% of A. filaria and 57% of A. malaccensis came from the wild between 2010 and 2020. “It&#8217;s quite clearly not sustainable,” agarwood trade expert Ian Thompson, who is not part of the study, told Mongabay on a phone call. “Until they get good data on enforcement and populations, the trees are going to continue to decline.” A new study has found that, despite international protections, the multibillion-dollar trade relies heavily on wild-harvested endangered tree species. Image courtesy of Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden. Undocumented trade, overlooked markets The study highlighted discrepancies between CITES and customs data. “Significant trade volumes from Indonesia to Africa remain undocumented in CITES records,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/global-agarwood-trade-heavily-dependent-on-wild-threatened-trees-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/global-agarwood-trade-heavily-dependent-on-wild-threatened-trees-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298080</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New EU plastic pellet rules greeted with caution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/new-eu-plastic-pellet-rules-greeted-with-caution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/new-eu-plastic-pellet-rules-greeted-with-caution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Apr 2025 06:44:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alex Shaw]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Daniel]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/21093409/6168627154_8b8a4f0693_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297870</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Consumption, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Microplastics, Oil, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A coalition of leading European environmental groups has cautiously welcomed a “landmark” agreement by lawmakers in Brussels on new rules aimed at curbing a major source of microplastic pollution in the world’s oceans. The provisional deal, reached last week between the European Council and the European Parliament, introduces binding EU-wide legislation on handling plastic pellets [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A coalition of leading European environmental groups has cautiously welcomed a “landmark” agreement by lawmakers in Brussels on new rules aimed at curbing a major source of microplastic pollution in the world’s oceans. The provisional deal, reached last week between the European Council and the European Parliament, introduces binding EU-wide legislation on handling plastic pellets or “nurdles,” pea-sized granules used to make plastic products. The regulation covers the entire supply chain, from production to shipping, and is expected to take effect two years after it is formally adopted. The Rethink Plastic alliance, which includes Greenpeace, the Environmental Investigation Agency and ClientEarth, called the deal a “meaningful first step” in a joint statement, but warned that loopholes and delays would weaken its impact. “This agreement represents a tremendous show of EU leadership in the global fight against microplastic pollution,” said Amy Youngman, legal and policy specialist at the EIA. “Now is the time to back bold words with bold action and ensure this law is delivered in practice.” As much as 184,000 metric tons of pellets pollute the environment across Europe each year, equivalent to up to 7,300 truckloads. Just last month, a shipping collision off the English coast spilled thousands of pellets, contaminating beaches and conservation areas. Once in the ocean, the granules linger for decades, leaching toxins and harming marine life. The new rules say companies and transporters must focus on stopping such accidents. And if a spill happens, they must follow clear steps to clean it up. Each&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/new-eu-plastic-pellet-rules-greeted-with-caution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297870</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh continues promotion of biodegradable bags amid battle against polythene</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/bangladesh-continues-promotion-of-biodegradable-bags-amid-battle-against-polythene/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/bangladesh-continues-promotion-of-biodegradable-bags-amid-battle-against-polythene/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Apr 2025 13:45:01 +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/20/2025/04/01134157/vegetable-and-plastic-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296823</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Law Enforcement, Microplastics, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, Regulations, Toxicology, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a busy morning in November 2024, a dramatic scene unfolded in a supermarket in Banani, Dhaka. Government officials, armed with security personnel, launched a joint operation to crack down on the widespread use of plastic bags. As the supermarket employees wrapped goods in the familiar crinkling plastic, officers moved in, ready to seize the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a busy morning in November 2024, a dramatic scene unfolded in a supermarket in Banani, Dhaka. Government officials, armed with security personnel, launched a joint operation to crack down on the widespread use of plastic bags. As the supermarket employees wrapped goods in the familiar crinkling plastic, officers moved in, ready to seize the items. A clash of voices filled the air. Employees and customers alike protested, arguing that the alternatives were simply too costly and that banning plastic bags would bring significant everyday inconveniences. This moment encapsulated the ongoing struggle Bangladesh has faced since becoming the first country in the world to ban plastic bags in 2002. While the intention — tackling the environmental and health crises caused by plastic waste — was noble, implementing the law has proved to be far more challenging than expected, shows a 2022 study. The groundbreaking law was enforced too loosely over the two decades, allowing plastic bags to gradually creep back into the market. The study mentions that, by 2006, as the government encouraged alternatives like jute and cloth bags, plastic bags had nearly disappeared from major retailers. However, the lack of strict enforcement left a gap that enabled plastic bags to re-emerge, first in large retail outlets and then in local markets. A growing crisis: Plastic waste overwhelms Dhaka A report by World Bank shows that Bangladesh’s per capita plastic consumption in urban areas increased to 9 kilograms (20 pounds) for the year 2020, from 3 kg (6.6 lbs.) in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/bangladesh-continues-promotion-of-biodegradable-bags-amid-battle-against-polythene/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296823</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Microplastic within humans now a health crisis: Interview with ‘Plastic People’ filmmakers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/microplastic-within-humans-now-a-health-crisis-interview-with-plastic-people-filmmakers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/microplastic-within-humans-now-a-health-crisis-interview-with-plastic-people-filmmakers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Mar 2025 12:53:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/19115137/PlastIcPeople_1920x1080_20240103-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296052</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond the screen: DCEFF]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Consumption, Environment, Environmental Law, Film, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Industry, Interviews, Media, Microplastics, Nutrient Pollution, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Poisoning, Pollution, Public Health, Research, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a lab in Türkiye, researcher Sedat Gündoğdu zooms in on the image of a small red fiber. For the first time on film, viewers are witnessing microplastics in the human brain. The moment is emblematic of an emerging environmental and health crisis affecting nearly every corner of life on Earth, from the deepest depths [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a lab in Türkiye, researcher Sedat Gündoğdu zooms in on the image of a small red fiber. For the first time on film, viewers are witnessing microplastics in the human brain. The moment is emblematic of an emerging environmental and health crisis affecting nearly every corner of life on Earth, from the deepest depths of the ocean to the blood in our veins. Microplastics, it seems, are everywhere. The award-winning documentary Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics follows science journalist Ziya Tong as she examines her own body for microplastic contamination and traces the latest microplastic science and solutions around the globe. The thesis: we are all becoming “plastic people.” “I was surprised at the ubiquity of microplastics in the human body,” Rick Smith, executive producer of the documentary, said in an interview with Mongabay. The film grew out of Smith’s 2020 reporting for The Globe and Mail, in which he worked with scientists to test his own body for microplastics. “The question isn’t, ‘do we have microplastics in us?’” Smith said. “The question is, ‘how much?’ And the question isn’t where in the human body microplastics exist. The question is, ‘where doesn’t it exist?’ We haven’t actually found a human organ without measurable microplastic levels yet.” The film takes viewers on a global journey, tracking researchers who are finding microplastics not only in the environment but in human bloodstreams, brains and placentas. Recent studies confirm these findings, showing that microplastics have infiltrated virtually every part of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/microplastic-within-humans-now-a-health-crisis-interview-with-plastic-people-filmmakers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/microplastic-within-humans-now-a-health-crisis-interview-with-plastic-people-filmmakers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296052</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Concerns of illegal sea turtle trade persist in Bali as police foil smugglers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/concerns-of-illegal-sea-turtle-trade-persist-in-bali-as-police-foil-smugglers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/concerns-of-illegal-sea-turtle-trade-persist-in-bali-as-police-foil-smugglers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2025 11:25:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Luh De Suriyani]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/26172046/sea-turtle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295064</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bali, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Culture, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Law Enforcement, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Religions, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Traditional People, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DENPASAR, Indonesia — Conservation foundations on the Indonesian island of Bali raised concerns in February over the volume of live sea turtles seized from traffickers so far this year. “The number of turtles smuggled shows that the main purpose isn’t just for ceremonies, it’s to meet greater consumption in the market,” Ranny R. Yuneni, endangered [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DENPASAR, Indonesia — Conservation foundations on the Indonesian island of Bali raised concerns in February over the volume of live sea turtles seized from traffickers so far this year. “The number of turtles smuggled shows that the main purpose isn’t just for ceremonies, it’s to meet greater consumption in the market,” Ranny R. Yuneni, endangered animals lead at WWF Indonesia, told Mongabay Indonesia. On Jan. 12, police in Jembrana district in the island’s northwest told reporters that officers had recovered 29 green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) transported by road, five of which later died. On Jan. 24 police said they had foiled criminal attempts to trade 23 turtles in Pemuteran, a village on the west of the island’s northern coast road. The Pemuteran coastline is home to several small resorts and other tourism ventures. “We’re still investigating who the buyers are,” said Ratna Hendratmoko, the head of the Bali provincial conservation agency. Live green turtle being butchered for its flesh and shell, Indonesia. Image © Peter Van der Bunt / Greenpeace. Shell companies Poaching of turtle eggs by local communities and organized crime is the primary driver of a crisis that has condemned six of the world’s seven sea turtle species to threatened status, according to global wildlife watchdog the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, a study by Arizona State University researchers published in Global Change Biology in 2022 estimated that more than 1.1 million sea turtles were killed between 1990 and 2020. These killings were primarily&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/concerns-of-illegal-sea-turtle-trade-persist-in-bali-as-police-foil-smugglers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/concerns-of-illegal-sea-turtle-trade-persist-in-bali-as-police-foil-smugglers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295064</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Declining biodiversity and emerging diseases are entwined, more study needed</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/declining-biodiversity-and-emerging-diseases-are-entwined-more-study-needed/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/declining-biodiversity-and-emerging-diseases-are-entwined-more-study-needed/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2025 16:38:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/12075729/2-flying-fox--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294253</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Consumption, Deforestation, Development, Diseases, Economics, Endangered Species, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Land Use Change, Medicine, Overconsumption, Pandemics, Planetary Health, Public Health, Tropical Deforestation, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call. Since then, health experts worldwide have sat on tenterhooks, hyperaware that pathogens can jump from animals to humans at any moment, bringing the next disruptive global health crisis that kills millions. But COVID-19 didn’t happen in a vacuum. Researchers have long warned that human [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call. Since then, health experts worldwide have sat on tenterhooks, hyperaware that pathogens can jump from animals to humans at any moment, bringing the next disruptive global health crisis that kills millions. But COVID-19 didn’t happen in a vacuum. Researchers have long warned that human activities make pandemics far more probable and more frequent. “We know that spillovers from non-human animals are more common,” says Daniel Becker, assistant professor of biology at the University of Oklahoma. “We know that biodiversity loss is increasing. We know that the climate is getting warmer and harder to predict, and that these things are all happening at the same time. So we’ve … entered what we call this polycrisis,” where many problems intersect and influence each other in complex ways. In a recent review study published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Becker and co-authors explore connections between emerging infectious disease and biodiversity loss, identify data gaps, and suggest ways forward to better monitor and prepare for emerging diseases. Doctors and nurses from the U.K.’s National Health Service practice using full protective equipment — replicating difficult working conditions in Africa’s Ebola treatment centers — prior to leaving for Sierra Leone to combat an outbreak in 2014. Ebola is caused by a group of viruses endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Fruit bats are thought to be a reservoir of the virus, which then spread via contact with infected animals or people. Image by Simon Davis/DFID via Wikimedia Commons&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/declining-biodiversity-and-emerging-diseases-are-entwined-more-study-needed/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/declining-biodiversity-and-emerging-diseases-are-entwined-more-study-needed/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294253</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Salmon farms under fire on U.S. East Coast after being shuttered on West Coast</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/salmon-farms-under-fire-on-u-s-east-coast-after-being-shuttered-on-west-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/salmon-farms-under-fire-on-u-s-east-coast-after-being-shuttered-on-west-coast/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jan 2025 16:41:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/24130832/usfws-atantic-salmon-penobscotjpeg-large-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293399</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Aquaculture, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Politics, Resource Conflict, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This month Washington banned salmon aquaculture over environmental concerns, making it so there are no active operations on the U.S. West Coast. A new lawsuit now takes aim at operations on the country’s East Coast — the only commercial netpen salmon farms left in the country. On Jan. 14, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This month Washington banned salmon aquaculture over environmental concerns, making it so there are no active operations on the U.S. West Coast. A new lawsuit now takes aim at operations on the country’s East Coast — the only commercial netpen salmon farms left in the country. On Jan. 14, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), a Boston-based environmental advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against Cooke Aquaculture, the owner of more than a dozen salmon farms in the northeastern state of Maine, under the U.S. Clean Water Act. The lawsuit alleges a pattern of illegal discharges from the farms that create “toxic” marine conditions. “We&#8217;re just holding this multinational corporation accountable and defending Maine&#8217;s right to a clean, healthy environment,” Heather Govern, a CLF vice president, told Mongabay. Govern said it was a problematic industry that pollutes the seabed with feed and fecal matter, spreads disease and threatens wild fish populations, and that only in recent years have people begun to fully understand the scale of its environmental impact. “The cat’s out of the bag about these issues,” she said. Steven Hedlund, Cooke Aquaculture USA’s director of public affairs, declined to comment for this story, pointing Mongabay to a statement the company published in November after CLF issued a notice of intent to sue. In the statement, Cooke rejected CLF’s claims and said its operations were audited and certified by sustainability organizations — though the example the company cited, the Global Seafood Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices third-party certification program, is run by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/salmon-farms-under-fire-on-u-s-east-coast-after-being-shuttered-on-west-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/salmon-farms-under-fire-on-u-s-east-coast-after-being-shuttered-on-west-coast/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293399</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deadlocked plastic treaty talks will lead to renewed negotiations in 2025</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/deadlocked-plastic-treaty-talks-will-lead-to-renewed-negotiations-in-2025/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/deadlocked-plastic-treaty-talks-will-lead-to-renewed-negotiations-in-2025/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Dec 2024 15:32:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Pekow]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/10105306/BFFP-PR-Graphics-Banner-Landscape-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291394</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Consumption, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Microplastics, Oil, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Just wait till next year!” goes the slogan often attributed to disappointed sports fans. Those same words could equally apply to proponents of an internationally binding U.N. agreement to phase out plastic pollution; they’ll now need to wait at least till next year to try and achieve that goal. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Just wait till next year!” goes the slogan often attributed to disappointed sports fans. Those same words could equally apply to proponents of an internationally binding U.N. agreement to phase out plastic pollution; they’ll now need to wait at least till next year to try and achieve that goal. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution this month failed to meet its self-imposed deadline to approve final plastics treaty language by the end of 2024. Instead, at its fifth major session, known as INC-5, conducted Nov. 25 to Dec. 1 in Busan, South Korea, the parties remained deadlocked. In the end, with the summit running into overtime, the great divide couldn’t be crossed. Oil- and plastics-producing nations (including Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Iran and India), refused to compromise on their demands for a voluntary accord only covering plastic reuse and recycling. The majority of nations — more than 100 in total — held out for a binding treaty mandating reductions in plastic production and restricting use of certain toxic chemicals. The Busan meeting was the fifth major international negotiation session in a fast-tracked process that began in 2022 to address the global plastics pollution crisis. More than 3,300 participants attended the INC-5 summit, including delegates from more than 170 nations and 440 observers. Environmentalists and delegates from the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution representing 68 nations (counting the European Union as one) headed home disappointed but hopeful for progress, and maybe a treaty breakthrough, in 2025. The United&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/deadlocked-plastic-treaty-talks-will-lead-to-renewed-negotiations-in-2025/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/deadlocked-plastic-treaty-talks-will-lead-to-renewed-negotiations-in-2025/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291394</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Plastic pollution pushing Earth past all nine planetary boundaries: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/plastic-pollution-pushing-earth-past-all-nine-planetary-boundaries-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/plastic-pollution-pushing-earth-past-all-nine-planetary-boundaries-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Nov 2024 15:19:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alden Wicker]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/25125427/ocg-saving-the-ocean-IminhMpXoCQ-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290604</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aerosol Pollution, Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Microplastics, Natural Gas, Oil, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, Regulations, Toxicology, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Plastics pollution exacerbates the impacts of all [nine] planetary boundaries,” warns a report published this month in the journal One Earth in the run-up to what could be the final United Nations summit to hammer out an international treaty addressing the global plastics crisis. That meeting, known as INC-5, in Busan, South Korea, happens from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Plastics pollution exacerbates the impacts of all [nine] planetary boundaries,” warns a report published this month in the journal One Earth in the run-up to what could be the final United Nations summit to hammer out an international treaty addressing the global plastics crisis. That meeting, known as INC-5, in Busan, South Korea, happens from Monday, Nov. 25, to Sunday, Dec. 1. The planetary boundary framework, hypothesized in 2009 and updated several times since then by an international group of scientists, seeks to identify the safe limits of human activity impacting Earth systems. Beyond those safe limits — dubbed the “safe operating space for humanity” — the planet’s natural processes can destabilize, degrade, stop self-regulating or even collapse, creating an extreme and hostile environment for life as we know it. As of this year, human activities have transgressed six of the nine boundaries. The fifth of those limits to be violated, scientists note, was the novel entities boundary, which was determined crossed in 2022. Novel entities encompass human-made chemicals and other synthetic entities added to the natural environment. One of the most pervasive of novel entities today is plastic. Globally, 500 million tons of plastics are produced every year, but only 9% get recycled, says the One Earth research article. Plastics are persistent and don’t break down. And some plastics, along with many of their additives, are toxic to life. Plastic has been found everywhere on Earth — from deepest oceans to high mountains, in clouds and pole to pole.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/plastic-pollution-pushing-earth-past-all-nine-planetary-boundaries-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/plastic-pollution-pushing-earth-past-all-nine-planetary-boundaries-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290604</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Leaders fail to address overfishing near Europe at ‘fraught’ international meeting</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/leaders-fail-to-address-overfishing-near-europe-at-fraught-international-meeting/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/leaders-fail-to-address-overfishing-near-europe-at-fraught-international-meeting/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Nov 2024 14:50:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/22085958/32051940706_1d773d968c_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290466</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Crime, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Illegal Fishing, International Trade, Law, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Overfishing, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Mackerel and herring in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, near Europe, have been dramatically overfished for many years, endangering the stocks and creating potential knock-on effects for marine mammals and seabirds that eat them. Members of the multilateral body that manages fishing in the region’s international waters did little to remedy the situation when they met [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Mackerel and herring in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, near Europe, have been dramatically overfished for many years, endangering the stocks and creating potential knock-on effects for marine mammals and seabirds that eat them. Members of the multilateral body that manages fishing in the region’s international waters did little to remedy the situation when they met this month. The North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), whose members are the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Russia and the United Kingdom, held its annual meeting in London Nov. 12-15. The body took small steps toward developing an ecosystem-based fisheries management approach and deciding which marine zones to designate as protected in the international “30&#215;30” system. More notably, the parties continued to leave unaddressed the fundamental governance issues that critics say result in mismanagement of Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and Atlanto-Scandian herring (Clupea harengus): a lack of transparency and a governance structure that “neuters” NEAFC and allows key management decisions to be made by member states unilaterally or in opaque side meetings. Disagreements between the parties also bubbled over at the meeting, with the European Union publicly accusing Russian vessels of fishing illegally in NEAFC’s regulatory area, and the other parties of failing to hold Russia to account for it in a statement issued Nov. 21. “This is the most fraught and most problematic RFMO, to my knowledge,” Ryan Orgera, global director of Accountability.Fish, a Virginia-based advocacy group, told Mongabay just after the meeting, which he attended. “I&#8217;ve never seen any systematic, structural issues that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/leaders-fail-to-address-overfishing-near-europe-at-fraught-international-meeting/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/leaders-fail-to-address-overfishing-near-europe-at-fraught-international-meeting/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290466</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Microplastics are sickening and killing wildlife, disrupting Earth systems</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/microplastics-are-sickening-and-killing-wildlife-disrupting-earth-systems/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/microplastics-are-sickening-and-killing-wildlife-disrupting-earth-systems/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Nov 2024 15:43:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/21110656/bottlenose-dolphin-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290402</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Animals, Birds, Chemicals, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Health, Mammals, Microplastics, Natural Gas, Oceans, Oil, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Poisoning, Politics, Pollution, Seabirds, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bottlenose dolphins leapt and torpedoed through the shallow turquoise waters off Florida’s Sarasota Bay. Then, a research team moved in, quickly corralling the small pod in a large net. With the speed of a race car pit crew, veterinarians, biologists and their assistants examined the animals, checking vital signs while taking skin, blood and other [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bottlenose dolphins leapt and torpedoed through the shallow turquoise waters off Florida’s Sarasota Bay. Then, a research team moved in, quickly corralling the small pod in a large net. With the speed of a race car pit crew, veterinarians, biologists and their assistants examined the animals, checking vital signs while taking skin, blood and other samples. They held a petri dish over each dolphin’s blowhole until it exhaled, with an intensity similar to a human cough. Then, they rolled up the net and the dolphins swam off unharmed. A pod in Louisiana’s Barataria Bay was similarly tested. Generations of dolphins have been part of this ongoing dolphin health study, run by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program since 1970. It tracks populations and individuals and also looks for health issues related to pollutants in the marine environment. In the lab, scientists discovered that all 11 of the dolphins had breathed out microplastic fibers, shed from synthetic clothing, says Leslie B. Hart, associate professor at the College of Charleston and an author on this research. The fibers resembled those found in human lungs in previous studies, proving that dolphins, like us, are breathing plastic. In people, microplastic has been linked to poor lung function and possible lung disease. An earlier collaboration linked phthalates circulating in the dolphins’ blood to alterations in their thyroid hormone levels — an effect also found in humans that can impact nearly every organ in the body. Phthalates, toxic chemicals found in flexible plastics, readily leach into the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/microplastics-are-sickening-and-killing-wildlife-disrupting-earth-systems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/microplastics-are-sickening-and-killing-wildlife-disrupting-earth-systems/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290402</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scottish salmon farms seek growth despite mounting fish deaths and environmental concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/scottish-salmon-farms-seek-growth-despite-mounting-fish-deaths-and-environmental-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/scottish-salmon-farms-seek-growth-despite-mounting-fish-deaths-and-environmental-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Nov 2024 08:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/19114342/salmon-farms-scotland-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290298</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Scotland, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Aquaculture, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Politics, Resource Conflict, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ULLAPOOL, U.K. — The fish float on the surface by the dozen, their bellies pointing toward the still-dark sky of the early morning. We are peering into a cage of an intensive Atlantic salmon farm, owned by the Norwegian multinational Mowi, in Upper Loch Torridon along Scotland’s west coast. It’s September 2024. It&#8217;s difficult to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ULLAPOOL, U.K. — The fish float on the surface by the dozen, their bellies pointing toward the still-dark sky of the early morning. We are peering into a cage of an intensive Atlantic salmon farm, owned by the Norwegian multinational Mowi, in Upper Loch Torridon along Scotland’s west coast. It’s September 2024. It&#8217;s difficult to tell why these salmon died. On one carcass, a salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) can be seen moving, but most of the fish in the pens, alive or dead, have abrasions and wounds, perhaps from treatments to eliminate lice and other parasites. Jamie Moyes, a local activist who has been investigating salmon farms for years and accompanied Mongabay to the farm in a small dinghy, inspects the fish carcasses while collecting footage to post on his social media channels. Behind him, the lights turn on in a boat, signaling that the company workers who are sleeping there have been alerted to our presence. “We filmed that farm a year and a half ago, and it was absolutely terrible,” Moyes said later, back on dry land, recalling a massive infestation of lice. “The most shocking thing today was the amount of death floating on the surface,” he said. “It could easily be up to 50 dead salmon in one cage, floating on the top. There’s something wrong there.” Activist Jamie Moyes on Upper Loch Torridon, with salmon cages in the background. Image by Francesco De Augustinis for Mongabay. A few weeks later, we find out the reason&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/scottish-salmon-farms-seek-growth-despite-mounting-fish-deaths-and-environmental-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/scottish-salmon-farms-seek-growth-despite-mounting-fish-deaths-and-environmental-concerns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290298</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The plastics crisis is now a global human health crisis, experts say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/the-plastics-crisis-is-now-a-global-human-health-crisis-experts-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/the-plastics-crisis-is-now-a-global-human-health-crisis-experts-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Nov 2024 18:15:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alden Wicker]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/19131858/pexels-mumtahina-tanni-1080117-8395838-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290316</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Health, Microplastics, Natural Gas, Oceans, Oil, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Poisoning, Politics, Pollution, Protests, Public Health, Regulations, Social Justice, Toxicology, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It’s been clear for some time: We’re in the midst of a rapidly escalating global plastics crisis. More than 11 billion metric tons of virgin plastics were produced worldwide from 1950 to 2022. And the rate of production has soared, with at least 71% of all plastics ever made produced in the 21st century. Of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It’s been clear for some time: We’re in the midst of a rapidly escalating global plastics crisis. More than 11 billion metric tons of virgin plastics were produced worldwide from 1950 to 2022. And the rate of production has soared, with at least 71% of all plastics ever made produced in the 21st century. Of all those billions of tons manufactured, three-quarters were discarded in landfills, open dumps or directly into the environment. Today, our oceans, beaches, rivers, cities and wild places are awash in discarded plastic and synthetic textiles, while microplastics have been detected from pole to pole, on remote mountaintops and in clouds. In view of the tremendous buildup of visible trash, it’s not surprising that the plastics crisis so far has mostly been treated as a problem of poor waste management and consumer choice. Likewise, efforts for a fix have largely focused on recycling and consumer education. But talking about plastic as a litter problem ignores one of the most alarming facets of our plastic addiction: its impacts on human health. Fast-mounting evidence points to microplastics entering the human body and doing internal damage. Likewise, thousands of chemicals that leach out of plastics are finding their way into our bodies (via food wrappers, storage containers, cooking utensils and other routes) with some of those chemicals linked to a range of health impacts, including immune suppression and cancer. In a new report out Nov. 7th in the journal One Earth, an international group of researchers attempted to gather&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/the-plastics-crisis-is-now-a-global-human-health-crisis-experts-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/the-plastics-crisis-is-now-a-global-human-health-crisis-experts-say/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290316</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>U.S. toughens stance on plastics production in run-up to key treaty summit</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/u-s-toughens-stance-on-plastics-production-in-run-up-to-key-treaty-summit/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/u-s-toughens-stance-on-plastics-production-in-run-up-to-key-treaty-summit/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Nov 2024 16:03:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Pekow]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/05103316/bangladesh-plastic-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289684</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Consumption, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Industry, Microplastics, Overconsumption, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, Regulations, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The chances for a stronger international agreement on limits to plastic production may have increased dramatically as the world nears a U.N. deadline for achieving a plastics treaty. The game changer: The United States, one of the world&#8217;s largest producers of plastics, has shifted its position to recognize the need to control the entire life [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The chances for a stronger international agreement on limits to plastic production may have increased dramatically as the world nears a U.N. deadline for achieving a plastics treaty. The game changer: The United States, one of the world&#8217;s largest producers of plastics, has shifted its position to recognize the need to control the entire life cycle of plastics, whereas previously it had advocated for a nonbinding treaty emphasizing mainly recycling and reuse. The U.N. Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution is scheduled to conduct its fifth and possibly final session (dubbed INC-5) this month, when it faces a self-imposed deadline to hammer out an internationally binding agreement, with the treaty language then going to the world’s nations for ratification. It’s possible, however, that if agreement isn’t reached, the process could run into next year. Since the world began treaty negotiations in 2022, the U.N. meetings have been buffeted by widely diverging viewpoints. Large plastic-producing nations, such as the U.S., China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia, have opposed efforts to limit or control production, whereas a self-named High Ambition Coalition (HAC) of 67 nations has fought to highly regulate it. Among coalition members are coastal and island nations on the receiving end of ocean-carried plastic waste. The U.S. has so far taken no known steps to join the HAC. Between the INC’s fourth session, which took place in Ottawa in April, and the fifth session slated for Nov. 25-Dec. 1 in Busan, South Korea, the United States modified&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/u-s-toughens-stance-on-plastics-production-in-run-up-to-key-treaty-summit/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-289684</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ever-smarter consumer electronics push world toward environmental brink</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/ever-smarter-consumer-electronics-push-world-toward-environmental-brink/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/ever-smarter-consumer-electronics-push-world-toward-environmental-brink/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2024 15:15:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerry McGovernSue Branford]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/24083313/Agbogbloshie-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287749</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Costa Rica, Global, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Footprint, charcoal, Climate Change, Coal, Consumption, E-waste, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fossil Fuels, Global Environmental Crisis, Industry, Mining, Overconsumption, Pollution, Recycling, Research, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In recent decades, the electronics industry experienced meteoric growth as it swiftly invented and marketed a galaxy of novel products for consumers hungry for the next innovation, better performance and greater convenience. In 2024, the consumer electronics market alone is expected to top $809 billion, exceeding $1.4 trillion by 2034. But there’s a dark side [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In recent decades, the electronics industry experienced meteoric growth as it swiftly invented and marketed a galaxy of novel products for consumers hungry for the next innovation, better performance and greater convenience. In 2024, the consumer electronics market alone is expected to top $809 billion, exceeding $1.4 trillion by 2034. But there’s a dark side to this tech miracle: Our digital age love affair with ever-more-powerful cell phones, smart TVs, laptops, tablets, gaming consoles and other devices comes with a high price. The environmental and social costs of producing the trillions of silicon semiconductor chips needed to run our gadgets and to operate remote data centers is escalating incredibly fast and “fostering an environmental time bomb,” warns Ian Williams, professor of applied environmental science at the University of Southampton, U.K. “The environmental impact of making semiconductor chips is already huge and increasing rapidly,” Williams tells Mongabay. Today, the complex integrated circuitry inside an electronic device is a miracle of miniaturization and nanometer-accurate precision with each millimeter-thick, fingernail-sized silicon chip incorporating 30-100 sandwiched layers of etched interconnected transistors and electronic components. But chip structure and computing power doesn’t stand still: It must keep pace with new tech innovations. “Each new generation requires more energy and water and generates more greenhouse gases than the previous generation,” Williams explains. However, few seem aware of the looming risk. Competition among tech giants to produce faster, more advanced devices is leading to unbridled demand for increasingly sophisticated semiconductors, worsening global impacts. Unless urgent action is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/ever-smarter-consumer-electronics-push-world-toward-environmental-brink/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287749</doi>				</item>
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