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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=overpopulation&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/overpopulation/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2026 02:05:03 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Overpopulation</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/overpopulation/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Paul Ehrlich, ‘Population Bomb’ ecologist, dies at 93</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/paul-ehrlich-population-bomb-ecologist-dies-at-93/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/paul-ehrlich-population-bomb-ecologist-dies-at-93/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Mar 2026 17:54:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/18154036/Paul_R_Ehrlich-1-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315912</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Controversial, Environment, Obituary, Overpopulation, and Population]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The modern environmental movement acquired many of its arguments from scientists who studied forests, oceans and the atmosphere. Few supplied it with a warning as stark, or as controversial, as that delivered by Paul Ehrlich. A population biologist trained on insects, he became one of the most recognizable public intellectuals of the environmental age. His [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The modern environmental movement acquired many of its arguments from scientists who studied forests, oceans and the atmosphere. Few supplied it with a warning as stark, or as controversial, as that delivered by Paul Ehrlich. A population biologist trained on insects, he became one of the most recognizable public intellectuals of the environmental age. His predictions of famine and ecological strain in The Population Bomb helped shape debate about limits to growth in the late 20th century. They also made him a lightning rod. Ehrlich, who died March 13 at 93, spent most of his professional life at Stanford University. His formal training was in entomology and population biology. As a young researcher, he studied butterflies with the meticulous patience of a field naturalist, cataloging how species dispersed across landscapes and how small populations survived. Those studies, often conducted with his wife and collaborator, Anne Ehrlich, helped illuminate ideas about population structure, extinction risk and habitat fragmentation. They were technical contributions, widely respected within ecology. Public fame arrived by a different route. In 1968, Ehrlich published The Population Bomb, a short, urgent book that argued that rapid human population growth threatened to outstrip the planet’s capacity to provide food and resources. Its opening pages were deliberately blunt. Ehrlich wrote that “the battle to feed all of humanity is over,” predicting that hundreds of millions might die in famines during the following decades. The book appeared at a moment when global population growth rates were historically high and food shortages had&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/paul-ehrlich-population-bomb-ecologist-dies-at-93/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/paul-ehrlich-population-bomb-ecologist-dies-at-93/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315912</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Farmers in Nepal and India see red as blue bulls raid their crops</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/farmers-in-nepal-and-india-see-red-as-blue-bulls-raid-their-crops/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/farmers-in-nepal-and-india-see-red-as-blue-bulls-raid-their-crops/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Mar 2025 16:18:20 +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/20/2023/07/25114957/nilgai-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295449</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Antelope, Biodiversity, Conservation, Farming, Human Migration, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Overpopulation, and Top Predators]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUMBINI, Nepal — Three years ago, Ram Chandra Kurmi, a farmer from the village of Gaidahawa in south-western Nepal, abandoned his small vegetable plot . The 39-year-old, who once supported his family of five through farming, now struggles to make a stable income. The culprit, he says, is the uncontrolled proliferation of nilgais, or blue [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUMBINI, Nepal — Three years ago, Ram Chandra Kurmi, a farmer from the village of Gaidahawa in south-western Nepal, abandoned his small vegetable plot . The 39-year-old, who once supported his family of five through farming, now struggles to make a stable income. The culprit, he says, is the uncontrolled proliferation of nilgais, or blue bulls (Boselaphus tragocamelus), a large antelope species native to this region. “Nilgais come at night when no one’s around to shoo them away and munch on the vegetables,” he said. “I couldn’t do anything about it, so I had to quit farming altogether.” Kurmi’s story is echoed across the Indo-Gangetic plains that straddle the Nepal-India border region, where marginalized farming communities complain of government inaction to address the problem. The nilgai, whose return to neighboring Bangladesh after nearly a century was celebrated there, is typically found at elevations ranging from 75-300 meters (about 300-1,000 ft). It’s been described as having the body of a horse and head of an antelope. Making it even more distinctive is the fact that adult males are iron-blue to light gray in color, hence the name nilgai (“blue cow”). It’s also been said to have the “appetite of a cow, the speed of a horse, and the alertness of a dog.” Nepal’s government lacks official data on nilgais outside the country’s national parks, but a 2018 Ministry of Forests and Environment assessment estimated 300-350 individuals across several border districts, such as Rupandehi (where the town of Gaidahawa is located), Kapilvastu,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/farmers-in-nepal-and-india-see-red-as-blue-bulls-raid-their-crops/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/farmers-in-nepal-and-india-see-red-as-blue-bulls-raid-their-crops/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295449</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Messengers of the gods: Nara’s ‘sacred’ deer at a conservation crossroads</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/messengers-of-the-gods-naras-sacred-deer-at-a-conservation-crossroads/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/messengers-of-the-gods-naras-sacred-deer-at-a-conservation-crossroads/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2024 14:38:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Annelise Giseburt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/22135818/1-Deer-at-Kasugayama.-Image-by-Annelise-Giseburt-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282385</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, and Japan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystem Engineers, Ecosystems, Environment, Genetics, Habitat, Mammals, Overpopulation, Religions, Research, Tourism, Traditional People, Ungulates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Japan’s Shinto religion often conserved natural lands as sacred sites, banning logging and protecting animals. But in Nara, community conflicts with deer have raised questions over how far such protections should extend.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nara, a city in central Japan and an ancient national capital from 710 to 784 C.E., is today perhaps best known for its “sacred” deer. According to legend, Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, a deity in the Shinto pantheon, was carried by a sacred deer to Nara’s Kasuga Taisha Shrine upon its founding in 768, more than 1200 years ago, “for the prosperity of the nation and happiness of the people.” Ever since, deer living near the shrine have been protected, more or less, as “messengers of the gods.” These days, roughly 1,300 sacred deer mingle freely with tourists in the 660-hectare (1,630-acre) Nara Park, a public space that includes Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Buddhist temples and a protected forest. The grounds, shrine and temples draw roughly 13 million visitors annually. As tourists snap photos, the animals eagerly wait to be hand-fed “deer crackers” purchased from park vendors. Deer living near the shrine have been protected, more or less, as “messengers of the gods” for more than 1200 year ago. Image by Alfonso Jimenez via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). In recent years, Japanese researchers have used genetic analysis to determine whether Nara’s deer are truly unique. They found that the population’s long history of protection has isolated their gene pool, making them genetically distinct, though not a separate species, from the deer in surrounding areas. However, the strong protection measures have been called into question in recent decades as the Nara deer have been caught up in conservation and community controversy. Across Japan, populations of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/messengers-of-the-gods-naras-sacred-deer-at-a-conservation-crossroads/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/messengers-of-the-gods-naras-sacred-deer-at-a-conservation-crossroads/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-282385</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As populations grow, how will thirsty cities survive their drier futures?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/as-population-grows-how-will-thirsty-cities-survive-their-drier-futures/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/as-population-grows-how-will-thirsty-cities-survive-their-drier-futures/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2021 17:20:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Petro Kotzé]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/08/17141606/california-drought-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=245997</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Singapore, and South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Cities, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Drinking Water, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Impact Of Climate Change, Infrastructure, Overpopulation, Politics, Population, Research, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Water-sensitive urban design (WSUD), a holistic sustainable approach to water management, could give the world’s cities a viable means of dealing with the climatic shocks ahead. Cape Town and Singapore point the way.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Apocalyptic.” That’s how it felt, says Charlene Pepler of life in Cape Town, South Africa, as the metropolis edged toward Day Zero in 2018. Following a record-breaking drought, this city of more than 4 million people was about to turn off the taps: Day Zero referred to the point at which dams supplying the city’s water fell below 13.5% of capacity, forcing the shutoff of municipal supplies. “There were these photos of how we’d have to queue for water at places guarded by the military with guns. It was very scary,” recalls Pepler, a Cape Town citizen and tour guide who depends on showcasing the appeal of her city to international tourists for a living. Saved by the rain, and substantial voluntary reductions in daily water use by Capetonians, Day Zero was narrowly averted, but it serves as a grim reminder of the unprecedented challenges faced by the world’s expanding cities as they try to guarantee safe and sufficient water for residents in a time of escalating climate chaos and increased precipitation uncertainty. Following a record-breaking three-year drought, the city of Cape Town came very close to turning off residents’ taps in 2018, when the so-called Day Zero would arrive. Image by Petro Kotzé. The mega challenges of a water insecure future Though more than half the world’s nearly 8 billion people now reside in urban areas, a projected 68% will do so by 2050 — meaning that lessons learned in Cape Town and elsewhere need to be rapidly applied&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/as-population-grows-how-will-thirsty-cities-survive-their-drier-futures/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/as-population-grows-how-will-thirsty-cities-survive-their-drier-futures/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-245997</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Humanity’s ‘ecological Ponzi scheme’ sets up bleak future, scientists warn</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/humanitys-ecological-ponzi-scheme-sets-up-bleak-future-scientists-warn/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/humanitys-ecological-ponzi-scheme-sets-up-bleak-future-scientists-warn/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jan 2021 21:47:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/01/14213142/herps_1000-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=238705</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Economics, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Human Migration, Overconsumption, Overpopulation, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Earth’s future looks decidedly bleak, according to a group of 17 prominent international scientists. But understanding the magnitude of the world’s problems is not an easy feat, even for knowledgeable experts, they say. In a new perspective piece published in Frontiers in Conservation Science, the scientists say that key environmental issues, such as biodiversity loss, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Earth’s future looks decidedly bleak, according to a group of 17 prominent international scientists. But understanding the magnitude of the world’s problems is not an easy feat, even for knowledgeable experts, they say. In a new perspective piece published in Frontiers in Conservation Science, the scientists say that key environmental issues, such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and human overpopulation and overconsumption, coupled with ignorance and inaction, is driving the world into a state of disrepair. The problems will only worsen in the coming decades, they warn, with ramifications spanning over centuries. Lowland rainforest in Sumatra. Image by Rhett A. Butler for Mongabay. The world’s ever-expanding human population will lead to food insecurity, as well as other “social ills” such as overcrowding, joblessness, deteriorating infrastructure, poor governance, and an increasing number of conflicts, all the while placing further stress on the planet’s biosphere, the authors say. “When populations grow up towards their carrying capacities, individual fitness declines,” lead author Corey Bradshaw, professor of global ecology at Flinders University, Australia, told Mongabay in an interview. “Now we&#8217;ve artificially inflated our carrying capacity through technological innovation. But that has required us to develop essentially an ecological Ponzi scheme, which means that we steal from the future to gain short term increases.” Despite the report’s dismal tone, the authors say their messaging is “not a call to surrender,” but is meant to give world leaders “a realistic ‘cold shower’ of the state of the planet that is essential for planning to avoid a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/humanitys-ecological-ponzi-scheme-sets-up-bleak-future-scientists-warn/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/humanitys-ecological-ponzi-scheme-sets-up-bleak-future-scientists-warn/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-238705</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>David Attenborough’s &#8216;witness statement&#8217; for the planet (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/david-attenboroughs-witness-statement-for-the-planet-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/david-attenboroughs-witness-statement-for-the-planet-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Oct 2020 09:58:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Matt Hayward]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/10/27092304/Climate-Change_The-Facts_generic_002-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=236216</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Environment, Film, Global Environmental Crisis, Overpopulation, Pollution, Population, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[David Attenborough’s latest nature documentary on Netflix may be his greatest yet. Apparently stung by criticism about the false impressions his documentaries have provided on the state of our natural world, Attenborough has produced a witness statement outlining the changes to the environment over his 94-year existence and solutions to the biodiversity crisis he has [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[David Attenborough’s latest nature documentary on Netflix may be his greatest yet. Apparently stung by criticism about the false impressions his documentaries have provided on the state of our natural world, Attenborough has produced a witness statement outlining the changes to the environment over his 94-year existence and solutions to the biodiversity crisis he has lived through. At last, Attenborough clearly illustrates the devastating impact humanity has had on our planet. Attenborough has lived through the initiation of the crisis – when he was a small boy exploring the extinct species found in quarries in 1937, 66% of the planet was wilderness. This was a world of stability – humanity’s Garden of Eden – that led to the Agricultural Revolution and our ability to expand our populations and distribution. By the time Attenborough filmed his Zoo Quest series in 1954, 64% of the planet was wilderness. When Bernard Grzimek illustrated to the world in 1960 that wildlife needed huge areas, like the Serengeti, to persist, the planet’s wilderness had dropped to 62%. Soon after, missions to space showed the Earth as a lonely, isolated rock covered with water, and we began to recognize that we needed to look after our home. In Attenborough’s words, “Our home was not limitless. We are ultimately bound by and defined by the resources on this planet.” When Attenborough showed the world how similar we are to some of our closest relatives, mountain gorillas, in his Life on Earth series in 1978, wilderness had dropped&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/david-attenboroughs-witness-statement-for-the-planet-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-236216</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The best news of 2020? Humanity may never hit the 10 billion mark</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/the-best-news-of-2020-humanity-may-never-hit-the-10-billion-mark/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/the-best-news-of-2020-humanity-may-never-hit-the-10-billion-mark/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2020 08:05:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/09/09204632/GP0STURQC_AmazonFiresAug20_PressMedia-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=234685</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Saving Life on Earth: Words on the Wild]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Deforestation, Economics, Environment, Governance, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Overpopulation, Population, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While watching 2020 unfold has been like watching someone set themself on fire with a bucket of bacon grease and a firecracker, one morning I stumbled on something that made me smile, and then jump for joy: A new study found that the global human population might peak at just under 10 billion people in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[While watching 2020 unfold has been like watching someone set themself on fire with a bucket of bacon grease and a firecracker, one morning I stumbled on something that made me smile, and then jump for joy: A new study found that the global human population might peak at just under 10 billion people in the 2060s before tapering off to 8.8 billion by 2100. What miracle could achieve such a slowdown in human reproduction after a century of smack-yourself-in-the-face runaway growth? It’s not war, or nuclear holocaust, or plague (COVID-19, as tragic as its mishandling has been by certain governments, will do little to slow down population growth). It’s two things, both wonderfully non-violent: women’s education, and access to birth control. The new findings, published in the medical journal The Lancet, differ from other population forecasts, most importantly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNPD) and the Wittgenstein Centre, by predicting that the global population will peak sooner than expected and fall quicker than anticipated (though still, by 2100, the Earth would house more humans than the 7.8 billion of us here today). This was good news. No, no, this was freaking great news. Because if this research — which made some clever shifts in how it analyzed the data and predicted the future — could be believed, it could mean that Planet Earth, in all its ecological glory, might just survive our current devastating onslaught and begin to recover in the coming centuries. Assuming we, of course, actually&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/the-best-news-of-2020-humanity-may-never-hit-the-10-billion-mark/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-234685</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Population and consumption: challenges we can win (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/population-and-consumption-challenges-we-can-win-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/population-and-consumption-challenges-we-can-win-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jul 2020 13:18:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Enrique Ortiz]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/07/19234825/desert-agriculture-nv-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=232642</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Consumption, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Overconsumption, Overpopulation, and Population]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[We have come to realize that the origins of the coronavirus pandemic are directly related to how we treat the environment. The harmful acts of eating wild animals, denuding forests, and polluting nature create the conditions for infectious diseases to expand to global levels. In addition, most countries have shown a limited capacity to react [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[We have come to realize that the origins of the coronavirus pandemic are directly related to how we treat the environment. The harmful acts of eating wild animals, denuding forests, and polluting nature create the conditions for infectious diseases to expand to global levels. In addition, most countries have shown a limited capacity to react when these occur, as we have seen with Covid-19. The resilience of the planet is at risk, particularly when climate change is transforming the world for the species within. Furthermore, a looming economic crisis will only increase the pressure on natural resources.  In response, we hear about all kinds of reactions, such as closing wet markets, increased concerns to protect forests, calls to reduce emissions, and many others.  Although working towards all these potential solutions is good for the environment, we seem to be leaving aside two causal elements that are more fundamental. Perhaps, the mother of all issues. These are population pressure, and hyper consumption. We are too many in the world, highly concentrated in cities, and related to it, we have grown accustomed to an insatiable thirst for consumption. Are not those the issues in which we rather should &#8220;reset&#8221; our society, our own community, and ourselves?  We have had significant progress in slowing down population growth but are behind in doing so on consumption rates.  Let’s explore both issues, population and consumption more in detail: NASA Landsat image of suburban sprawl outside Henderson, Nevada. Population pressure When I was born &#8211; some&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/population-and-consumption-challenges-we-can-win-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/population-and-consumption-challenges-we-can-win-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-232642</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Our growing footprint, wildlife extinctions, and the importance of contraception (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/01/our-growing-footprint-wildlife-extinctions-and-the-importance-of-contraception-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/01/our-growing-footprint-wildlife-extinctions-and-the-importance-of-contraception-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jan 2020 13:03:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sarah Baillie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/01/28125512/indochinese-lutung_1210px-768x451.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=226618</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Extinction, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Mass Extinction, Overpopulation, Population, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[We’re not exactly treading lightly on planet Earth. A new study finds more than 20,000 land animal species are experiencing intense pressure from the global human footprint. Of those, 85 percent have seen half their habitats exposed to intense human pressure. And 16 percent have experienced the same on their entire habitat. It’s no wonder [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[We’re not exactly treading lightly on planet Earth. A new study finds more than 20,000 land animal species are experiencing intense pressure from the global human footprint. Of those, 85 percent have seen half their habitats exposed to intense human pressure. And 16 percent have experienced the same on their entire habitat. It’s no wonder that last year the United Nations said that a million species may face extinction in the coming decades. Wildlife extinctions have been a fact of life on our planet for eons. But the extinction rates we’re seeing now are about 1,000 times higher than the background rate. Humans have never witnessed these kinds of large-scale die-offs — and it’s our own fault. Whereas previous studies have looked at the interactions of human impacts, the latest research by the Wilderness Conservation Society, University of Queensland, and others cumulatively looked at several metrics that illustrate the intense effects of a growing human population, such as more space for people (population density and built environments), more food to feed them (crop lands and pasture lands), and more systems to support them (roads, railways, electric infrastructure). Clearly if we want a future where there’s a full suite of animals and plants in the wild, we need to get to work. Addressing the extinction crisis will require leadership from the United States alongside bold, courageous, far-reaching initiatives that attack this emergency at its root. That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity, where I work, just launched the Saving Life on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/01/our-growing-footprint-wildlife-extinctions-and-the-importance-of-contraception-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/01/our-growing-footprint-wildlife-extinctions-and-the-importance-of-contraception-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-226618</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The view from the bottleneck: Is nature poised for a big comeback?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/the-view-from-the-bottleneck-is-nature-poised-for-a-big-comeback/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/the-view-from-the-bottleneck-is-nature-poised-for-a-big-comeback/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2019 09:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/02/14140316/Mountain-gorilla-CREDIT-Liana-Joseph-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=215488</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Saving Life on Earth: Words on the Wild]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, China, Global, Rwanda, Thailand, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cities, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Governance, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Overpopulation, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Solutions, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As an environmental journalist I’m bombarded every day with headlines like “The Insect Apocalypse is Here” or “Half of Global Wildlife Lost.” The end of nature, at least as previous generations knew it, appears well-freaking-nigh. But what if what we’re really witnessing is not the wholesale collapse of global biodiversity, but rather a short, albeit [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As an environmental journalist I’m bombarded every day with headlines like “The Insect Apocalypse is Here” or “Half of Global Wildlife Lost.” The end of nature, at least as previous generations knew it, appears well-freaking-nigh. But what if what we’re really witnessing is not the wholesale collapse of global biodiversity, but rather a short, albeit bleak, moment in geological time — a moment when the ecological health of the world appears in shambles, but also one in which, if you’re brave enough to see it, the shimmer of a newer, better world starts to emerge? A few scientists now say there are macro patterns that point to a world changing in ways almost impossible for us, in 2019, to wrap our heads around. These patterns show that if we just hold on, if conservationists just stand their ground and hold tight, nature might just make its biggest comeback in human history. According to a recent study in Bioscience by three scientists with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), history is in the neck of a bottle right now — everything feels cramped, tight and claustrophobic — but there’s a light at the end of this tunnel. And it’s green. &nbsp; The Bottleneck-to-Breakthrough Theory Last year, Eric Sanderson, WCS’s senior conservation ecologist; Joseph Walston, its vice president of field conservation; and John Robinson, executive vice president of conservation and science, published an open-access paper titled “From Bottleneck to Breakthrough: Urbanization and the Future of Biodiversity Conservation.” The paper didn’t get a lot&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/the-view-from-the-bottleneck-is-nature-poised-for-a-big-comeback/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/the-view-from-the-bottleneck-is-nature-poised-for-a-big-comeback/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-215488</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The tropics are in trouble, warn scientists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/the-tropics-are-in-trouble-warn-scientists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/the-tropics-are-in-trouble-warn-scientists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2018 13:40:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/08/14132143/palau_koror_-7.251072_134.372885-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=209312</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Extinction, Forests, Mass Extinction, Overpopulation, Population, Rainforests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Plants and animals in the tropics are disproportionately threatened by a range of dangers, including habitat loss, overexploitation, and climate change, warn researchers writing in the journal Nature. Conducting an extensive review of academic literature, a group of scientists led by Jos Barlow of Lancaster University highlight the extent of biodiversity across the seas, savannas, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Plants and animals in the tropics are disproportionately threatened by a range of dangers, including habitat loss, overexploitation, and climate change, warn researchers writing in the journal Nature. Conducting an extensive review of academic literature, a group of scientists led by Jos Barlow of Lancaster University highlight the extent of biodiversity across the seas, savannas, and forests that lie between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. For example, they note that nearly 80 percent of the species within the ten groups of plants and animals they reviewed live in the tropics. But even this likely represents an undercount because most research efforts historically have been outside the tropics. The proportion of species found within tropical latitudes for ten taxonomic groups. Bars are color-coded to show the percentage of species ranges within the tropics. n gives the total number of species analyzed in each group. Only birds, amphibians and mammals have been comprehensively sampled. Numbers at the end of the bars give the precise percentage of species whose ranges overlap tropical latitudes, as shown in the bars The tropics also house the bulk of societal diversity, including 85 percent of the world&#8217;s spoken languages, and &#8220;make vital contributions to globally important ecosystem services&#8221;. Tropical forests and savannas, they remark, account for more than 60 percent of global net primary productivity and 40 percent of carbon storage, respectively. Coral reefs afford local populations with food and coastal protection, while rainforests like the Amazon are the engines of regional precipitation. For example, 70&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/the-tropics-are-in-trouble-warn-scientists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/the-tropics-are-in-trouble-warn-scientists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-209312</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rwandan people and mountain gorillas face changing climate together</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/rwandan-people-and-mountain-gorillas-face-changing-climate-together/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/rwandan-people-and-mountain-gorillas-face-changing-climate-together/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jun 2018 13:55:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elham Shirin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/06/27131924/FEATURED-12-768x452.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=207821</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Rwanda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Deforestation, Diseases, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Extreme Weather, Food, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Gorillas, Great Apes, Green, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Impact Of Climate Change, Mammals, Mass Extinction, Overpopulation, Primates, Rainforests, Research, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, Weather, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Climate change is reshaping relations between parks, people and the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. But more and deeper research is needed to determine likely long-term impacts.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Meet Lucky, a silverback and head of the Hirwa group of mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Silverbacks are adult, male gorillas, known for the silver hair on their backs; they lead groups composed of adult male and female gorillas and their babies. Image by Elham Shabahat. The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of humanity’s closest relatives, and the largest primate to roam the rainy, high volcanic habitat of Rwanda. Recent conservation efforts have brought this Critically Endangered, charismatic species back from the brink of extinction. But now these great apes, and the people who live near them, face a slower moving, but more insidiously invasive threat – a changing climate. “When we talk about climate change, we need to understand that what happens to us is what happens to the gorillas,” explained Dr. Jean-Bosco Noheri, a veterinarian at Gorilla Doctors, a team that provides direct, hands-on care to gorillas in the African wild. Volcanoes National Park, home to the mountain gorillas, is located in a very densely populated rural region of northwestern Rwanda. Known for its successful ecotourism program, the park is partially encircled by croplands whose subsistence and commercial farmers till the highly fertile volcanic soils. Entry to the park and to see the mountain gorillas is heavily restricted, with fees to tourists as high as $1,500 for just an hour with the great apes. The national park and the surrounding region is a complex landscape, where gorilla and human fates intertwine, and where global warming is now&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/rwandan-people-and-mountain-gorillas-face-changing-climate-together/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/rwandan-people-and-mountain-gorillas-face-changing-climate-together/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-207821</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;Adaptation Bangladesh: Sea Level Rise&#8217; film shows how farmers are fighting climate change</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/adaptation-bangladesh-sea-level-rise-film-shows-how-farmers-are-fighting-climate-change/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/adaptation-bangladesh-sea-level-rise-film-shows-how-farmers-are-fighting-climate-change/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Feb 2018 12:52:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/02/22094730/Photo02_Adaptation-Bangladesh_AndyMaser-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=203991</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh, Global, and New York]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Climate Change, Education, Environment, Extreme Weather, Film, Flooding, Food, Green, Oceans, Overpopulation, and Population]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is a story of hope. Bangladesh is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Threatened by rising sea levels, storms and cyclones, floods have become commonplace, with seawater encroaching both homes and agricultural farms. But Bangladeshi people have found ingenious ways of adapting to the rising sea level. A recent documentary, &#8220;Adaptation Bangladesh: Sea Level Rise,&#8221; explores [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is a story of hope. Bangladesh is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Threatened by rising sea levels, storms and cyclones, floods have become commonplace, with seawater encroaching both homes and agricultural farms. But Bangladeshi people have found ingenious ways of adapting to the rising sea level. A recent documentary, &#8220;Adaptation Bangladesh: Sea Level Rise,&#8221; explores one such example of resilience. To keep their farms from flooding, Bangladeshi farmers have been building floating gardens — farms made of water hyacinth and bamboo that float on water, no matter what the water level. These floating gardens help the people &#8220;fish, raise ducks, and grow produce,&#8221; Alizé Carrère, a cultural anthropologist and National Geographic explorer, told National Geographic in 2016. &#8220;Adaptation Bangladesh,&#8221; featuring Carrère and directed by documentary filmmaker Justin DeShields, looks not only at simple floating farms that farmers have traditionally used in flood-prone areas, but also explores more advanced floating farms, schools and libraries, and even high-tech floating farms that could potentially provide food for entire cities. For Carrère, it was important to document these &#8220;slices of hope.&#8221; &#8220;So while I sometimes wonder if people will criticize these stories as futile or inaccurate portrayals given what’s coming down the pike, I have to remind myself that those small narratives (and practices) of resilience are all that we have left,&#8221; she told Mountain film education. &#8220;And frankly, most of what we’ve used so far to push people to action on climate change are doomsday narratives, which clearly haven’t been working. So why not try a new, more&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/adaptation-bangladesh-sea-level-rise-film-shows-how-farmers-are-fighting-climate-change/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/adaptation-bangladesh-sea-level-rise-film-shows-how-farmers-are-fighting-climate-change/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-203991</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>IUCN, UN, global NGOs, likely to see major budget cuts under Trump</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/iucn-other-global-ngos-un-likely-to-see-major-budget-cuts-under-trump/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/iucn-other-global-ngos-un-likely-to-see-major-budget-cuts-under-trump/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jan 2018 12:01:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/01/08112611/FEATURED-iucn-768x456.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=202739</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Global Environmental Impacts of US Policy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Animals, Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Change Denial, Climate Science, Conservation, Controversial, Ecology, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Ethics, Extinction, Foreign Aid, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Globalization, Green, Health, Impact Of Climate Change, International Trade, Mitigation, Overpopulation, Politics, Population, Poverty, Poverty Alleviation, Public Health, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While Pres. Trump’s 2018 budget remains in limbo, international environmental organizations and the UN stand to lose big if Congress okays his cuts. Still, global momentum is building for conservation and climate action, say policymakers.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[IUCN Director General Inger Andersen fears that cuts to the organization’s funding could have a knock-on effect for TRAFFIC, which monitors the illegal trade in wildlife species that is driving many species, like the pangolin, to the brink of extinction. Photo by David Brossard CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr Donald Trump’s 2018 budget remains in limbo – the U.S. Congress has now kicked a budget vote down the road four times, moving it from September 2017, passed two missed December dates, and now to 19 January 2018. And the longer the delays, the more concern there is internationally. That’s because those final budget numbers aren’t only important to Americans, they are also key to global conservation efforts. In March, the Trump administration laid out proposed draconian foreign aid funding cuts, slashing spending by 32 percent, or around $19 billion. Included were reductions in aid to a raft of nations and inter-governmental organizations with major implications for conservation, women’s rights and climate change adaptation. One organization that relies on annual U.S. funding is the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, which celebrates its seventieth anniversary in 2018. The IUCN has long been at the forefront of the conservation movement and is likely best known for its global Red List, the go-to resource for the status of endangered species planet-wide. “If there were to be significant cuts, for example, to IUCN’s core support… that would be very unfortunate,” says Inger Andersen, IUCN’s director general. Over the past four years&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/iucn-other-global-ngos-un-likely-to-see-major-budget-cuts-under-trump/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/iucn-other-global-ngos-un-likely-to-see-major-budget-cuts-under-trump/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-202739</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>To feed a growing population, farms chew away at Madagascar’s forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/to-feed-a-growing-population-farms-chew-away-at-madagascars-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/to-feed-a-growing-population-farms-chew-away-at-madagascars-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Nov 2017 13:54:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dan AshbyLucy Taylor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/11/17123710/DAshbyLTaylor_LostLandscapes_RicePaddy3_Banner-768x451.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=201301</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation in Madagascar]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Community Forests, Conservation, Crime, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fires, Food, Forests, Health, Law Enforcement, Overpopulation, Planetary Health, Population, Poverty, Public Health, Rainforests, Slash-and-burn, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SAVA REGION, Madagascar – Squatting barefoot in a field of mud on the outskirts of Marojejy National Park, easing rice seedlings from the earth, Paul Tiozen shrugged out one of Madagascar’s most pressing conundrums: how to get more rice? He looked bitter. “Rice is the source of Malagasy life. It’s so difficult to work the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SAVA REGION, Madagascar – Squatting barefoot in a field of mud on the outskirts of Marojejy National Park, easing rice seedlings from the earth, Paul Tiozen shrugged out one of Madagascar’s most pressing conundrums: how to get more rice? He looked bitter. “Rice is the source of Malagasy life. It’s so difficult to work the rice, because we need the shovel, and water to work it. I need more land. I have a big family, so I need more. What I want is half a hectare,” he said. Therein lies the catch. Madagascar’s population is about to boom. The International Futures center at the University of Denver estimates that by 2060 Madagascar will have close to 60 million people, up from 25.5 million today. And yet, only 1.2 million hectares of land are used for rice cultivation, a tiny proportion of the island’s total size. To feed its people, agricultural productivity must rise. Rice farmer Paul Tiozen says he needs half a hectare of land to grow enough rice for his family, more farmland than he currently has. Photo by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor for Mongabay. But population growth in this largely rural and agrarian country is giving birth to a piece-by-piece land grab of plots, often in the worst possible way for the environment. In the hilly tracks off the mountain road to the town of Andapa in the country’s northeastern Sava region, one can see the plot problem written onto the sides of hills and around the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/to-feed-a-growing-population-farms-chew-away-at-madagascars-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/to-feed-a-growing-population-farms-chew-away-at-madagascars-forests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-201301</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Trump family planning policy may increase population, hurt women and environment</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/trump-family-planning-policy-may-up-population-hurt-women-environment/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/trump-family-planning-policy-may-up-population-hurt-women-environment/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Nov 2017 11:07:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tina Deines]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/11/10105234/FEATURED-women-768x448.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=201053</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Global Environmental Impacts of US Policy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Global, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate Change, Conservation, Controversial, Diseases, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Ethics, Food, food security, Foreign Aid, Global Environmental Crisis, Globalization, Green, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Health, Overconsumption, Overpopulation, Politics, Population, Poverty, Poverty Alleviation, Public Health, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One of the Trump administration’s first acts was to reinstate the global gag rule, with repercussions for women’s health and empowerment, population and the environment.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Katoyo Women&#8217;s Group in the Democratic Republic of Congo leads a procession through their village in proud celebration of International Women&#8217;s Day, 2017. The empowerment of women is good for communities and the environment, say researchers and activists. Photo courtesy of Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center In January, President Donald Trump re-instated the global gag rule with sweeping consequences for women’s health and the environment globally. President Ronald Reagan first introduced the rule — also known as the Mexico City Policy — in 1984. It requires foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receiving U.S. global family planning assistance to certify they will not “perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning” with non-U.S. funds. The rule has been rescinded and re-instated multiple times, and has been an active policy for 17 of the past 32 years. According to Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity in Washington D.C., the Trump administration policy — which she says is “rolling out as we speak,” — has created confusion on the ground and funding cuts for many organizations. Two of the world’s largest family planning organizations, the International Planned Parenthood Foundation and Marie Stopes International (MSI), will be stripped of U.S. funds because they offer abortions in countries where it is legal to do so. A memo released by the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute asserts that the gag rule increases unwanted pregnancies and back street abortions. And according to Marie Stopes International, the gag rule could result in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/trump-family-planning-policy-may-up-population-hurt-women-environment/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/trump-family-planning-policy-may-up-population-hurt-women-environment/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-201053</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Trump budget undercuts U.S. commitment to global wildlife conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/trump-budget-undercuts-u-s-commitment-to-global-wildlife-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/trump-budget-undercuts-u-s-commitment-to-global-wildlife-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2017 18:13:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[William H. Funk]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/10/30180100/FEATURED-wild-768x494.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=200590</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Global Environmental Impacts of US Policy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Global, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Carnivores, Cats, Conservation, Crime, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Ethics, Extinction, Foreign Aid, Global Environmental Crisis, Globalization, Green, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Mammals, Mass Extinction, Over-hunting, Overconsumption, Overpopulation, Pangolins, Politics, Poverty, Poverty Alleviation, Primates, Rainforests, Restoration, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Congress is locked in a heated debate over the 2018 budget, but if the GOP follows Trump’s lead, they could do extensive harm to the world’s wildlife and to developing nations.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A black rhino. U.S. wildlife conservation efforts have contributed much to the preservation of animals worldwide in past years. Those efforts are now threatened by the Trump administration. Photo by John and Karen Hollingsworth, US Fish and Wildlife Service Proposed funding cuts to environmental programs in President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget have drawn anxious attention from around the world. But while the biggest numbers deal with rolling back the Obama administration’s climate change initiatives, more subtle withdrawals of federal support from lesser known international programs threaten the continued existence of some of the planet’s most iconic animals. President Trump’s 2018 budget proposes a 32 percent across-the-board shrinkage of U.S. foreign assistance, affecting hundreds of sustainability, health and environmental programs. As comparatively paltry as a few million dollars retracted here and there from a $1.15 trillion federal budget may seem, for those desperately striving through underfunded programs to preserve the world’s wildlife, the loss of monetary and moral support from the U.S. could be devastating. And wildlife wouldn’t be the only victims. The societal havoc wreaked by unchallenged trafficking cartels, and the loss of important tourist income due to vanished elephants, lions and giraffes resulting in abandoned safaris, could directly impact poor communities in Africa and Asia. It remains to be seen if the U.S. Congress will embrace Trump’s draconian cuts for 2018. But even if the legislature disallows the reductions next year, the administration still has between three and seven years left to run. And it seems unlikely that the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/trump-budget-undercuts-u-s-commitment-to-global-wildlife-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-200590</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pursuing a decent life for all on a sustainable planet (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/pursuing-a-decent-life-for-all-on-a-sustainable-planet-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/pursuing-a-decent-life-for-all-on-a-sustainable-planet-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2017 21:26:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David WilkieMichael Painter]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/09/18212005/Skidder-dragging-logs-out-of-the-forest1210x452-768x452.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=199195</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Commentary, Environment, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Indigenous Peoples, Overpopulation, Politics, Population, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Mounting evidence reminds us how human actions have begun changing the climate and forced an awareness of global warming’s impact on the quality of human life. That awareness will be top of mind for participants in the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly taking place in New York City this week. General Debate [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Mounting evidence reminds us how human actions have begun changing the climate and forced an awareness of global warming’s impact on the quality of human life. That awareness will be top of mind for participants in the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly taking place in New York City this week. General Debate in the assembly this year considers the theme of “Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet.” That topic deliberately invites discussion about the inter-connectedness of all the world’s people and our dependence on a shared planet if we are to thrive and prosper. A critical dimension of this is our collective responsibility to sustain the integrity of the natural ecosystems upon which our aspirations for peace and a decent life for all depend. (left) Log truck transporting old-growth trees out of the forest in Northern Congo. Photo by David Wilkie / WCS. (right) Sign in Iquitos Peru says “Do not throw trash“ Photo by David Wilkie / WCS As many human societies have changed over millennia from hunter-gatherers to farmers to city dwellers, we have increasingly become less directly connected to nature. As we consume more and more things not produced in our backyards, it becomes harder and harder for us to see how the way we chose to live impacts the health of our planet. As a result, we have generally shown little regard for how our decisions in pursuit of a better life are&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/pursuing-a-decent-life-for-all-on-a-sustainable-planet-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-199195</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Why we can’t lose hope: Dr. David Suzuki speaks out</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/why-we-cant-lose-hope-dr-david-suzuki-speaks-out/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/why-we-cant-lose-hope-dr-david-suzuki-speaks-out/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2017 15:23:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/09/11151022/FEATURED-4-USE-768x452.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=198965</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Consumption, Controversial, Corruption, Crime, Culture, Ecology, Ecosystems, Education, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Extinction, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Law, Overconsumption, Overpopulation, Politics, Population, Science, Social Conflict, Social Justice, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientist, activist and elder Dr. David Suzuki sounds off on Trump, Canada’s Blue Dot amendment to protect the environment, and about stonewash jean mania.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Dr. David Suzuki: “We&#8217;re in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone&#8217;s arguing over where they&#8217;re going to sit… We must reinvent a future free of blinders so that we can choose from real options.” Photo courtesy of David Suzuki To many who grew up with the environmental movement, Dr. David Suzuki is a legend. He has always been there — a guiding light. A pragmatic scientist, he has never sugar coated the difficult truths regarding carrying capacity, tipping points, climate change, over-consumption, population, and pollution. But he has also never been a doomsayer. Suzuki, a Canadian geneticist and biologist, has always been about solutions, both societal and individual. And though he became an icon of television, radio, the lecture circuit, and the Internet, and has written more than fifty books, he isn’t just a talker. As co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation he seems to be everywhere: meeting with First Nation leaders, surrounded by children or by performers like Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot as he promotes the Blue Dot Movement and seeks to enshrine the right to a protected environment in the Canadian Constitution. Dr. Suzuki is over 80 years old now, but shows no sign of slowing his advocacy for the Earth or his zest for life. If anything, he has become more frank, more outspoken, in the face of the world’s deepening environmental crisis. Recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology, Suzuki is the recipient of UNESCO&#8217;s Kalinga Prize for Science, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/why-we-cant-lose-hope-dr-david-suzuki-speaks-out/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-198965</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On poaching in South Africa, education “has saved more wildlife than any guard with a gun”</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/on-poaching-in-south-africa-education-has-saved-more-wildlife-than-any-guard-with-a-gun/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/on-poaching-in-south-africa-education-has-saved-more-wildlife-than-any-guard-with-a-gun/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2017 12:16:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Justin Catanoso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/07/13111729/Elephant-copy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=197285</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community Development, Ecotourism, Education, Elephants, Endangered Species, Overpopulation, Poaching, Population, Rhinos, Tourism, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HOEDSPRUIT, South Africa – Vince Barkas, a grizzled high-school dropout with a sharp tongue and piercing blue eyes, is at war in the grasslands and savannas here in northeast South Africa. The war is fought at multiple levels with elements that define this complex nation: iconic wildlife being poached, loss of habitat, race, poverty, overpopulation. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HOEDSPRUIT, South Africa – Vince Barkas, a grizzled high-school dropout with a sharp tongue and piercing blue eyes, is at war in the grasslands and savannas here in northeast South Africa. The war is fought at multiple levels with elements that define this complex nation: iconic wildlife being poached, loss of habitat, race, poverty, overpopulation. In essence, it’s humans versus nature. And hope, where it exists, lies in basic education and jobs in tourism. “Working with communities and the actual poachers,” Barkas tells me amid a cluster of offices and meetings rooms, “have saved more wildlife than any guard with a gun in the bush.” Vince Barkas of ProTrack Anti-Poaching Unit. Photo by Bobby Amoroso For now, reality runs ahead of hope. Since 1992, Barkas has put guards with guns in the bush. He runs ProTrack Anti-Poaching Unit, which patrols the sprawling private game reserves that border the western edge of Kruger National Park, one the largest and best-known parks for large animals in the world. ProTrack has 300 employees, 140 of whom wear camouflage uniforms with bulletproof vests. They carry automatic weapons. Rhinos are the poachers’ target of choice. Their keratin horns sell for more than $4,000 per ounce, making the value of gold seem paltry by comparison, at $1,200 per ounce. The ivory tusks of African elephants are still in demand, and the bones from lions, hyenas and vultures have a black market value all their own. “The poachers are winning; they never take a day off,” said Glenn&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/on-poaching-in-south-africa-education-has-saved-more-wildlife-than-any-guard-with-a-gun/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-197285</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kiribati confronts climate upheaval by preparing for ‘migration with dignity’</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/kiribati-confronts-climate-upheaval-by-preparing-for-migration-with-dignity/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/kiribati-confronts-climate-upheaval-by-preparing-for-migration-with-dignity/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jul 2017 05:42:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kayla Walsh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Maria Angeles Salazar]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/07/11051121/kiribati-768x433.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=197181</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kiribati and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate Change, Extreme Weather, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Human Migration, Impact Of Climate Change, Islands, Overpopulation, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[High tide keeps getting higher on the islands of the Republic of Kiribati – 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean that rest only a few feet above sea level. In Kiribati culture, Nareau the Creator scattered stones to the north and south to create this mosaic of coral and rock. But, today, the effects [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[High tide keeps getting higher on the islands of the Republic of Kiribati – 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean that rest only a few feet above sea level. In Kiribati culture, Nareau the Creator scattered stones to the north and south to create this mosaic of coral and rock. But, today, the effects of climate change are closing in and there’s no higher land to move to. Even as the atolls shrink, Kiribati’s population grows. The country is experiencing baki-aba: “land hunger.” In 2014, Kiribati president, Anote Tong purchased 20 square kilometers on Vanua Levu, a Fiji island making this the first international land purchase intended for climate refugees. For Kiribati, adapting to climate change might mean relocating entirely. Pacific islanders’ identities are very much tied to their ancestral land, the physical islands on which they live. Migration may mean a national and cultural loss, especially when most traditions are preserved orally. “They worry about the new country and if the people of that country will accept them,” Anterea Claire Anterea, co-founder of Kiri-CAN (Kiribati Climate Action Network International) and well-known climate activist in the country, said. Pacific island nations are some of the most vulnerable spots on Earth from climate change. According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, small islands emit less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but they disproportionately suffer the effects of rising tides, drought, and extreme storms. Today, small island states are often allocating their scarce resources&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/kiribati-confronts-climate-upheaval-by-preparing-for-migration-with-dignity/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-197181</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Government action needed on climate resiliency and food security in West Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/government-action-needed-on-climate-resiliency-and-food-security-in-west-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/government-action-needed-on-climate-resiliency-and-food-security-in-west-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2017 07:38:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lillie Howell]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Maria Angeles Salazar]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/05/19073652/featuredafrica1-768x375.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=195897</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Food, food security, Overpopulation, Research, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While some leaders in Washington are barely getting their toes wet to address global climate change, researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have dived in head-first. A new study published in Global Environmental Change modeled potential future scenarios for climate change and food security in West Africa to determine how policymakers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[While some leaders in Washington are barely getting their toes wet to address global climate change, researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have dived in head-first. A new study published in Global Environmental Change modeled potential future scenarios for climate change and food security in West Africa to determine how policymakers in the region can move toward a more sustainable and productive future. Ramatou Diouf is part of a women&#8217;s farming group that grows high-value crops for additional income. In Daga Biram Climate-Smart Village, farmers and scientists are testing a range of interventions to improve climate resilience and adaptation. Photo credit: V. Meadu (CCAFS) “Policymakers in the region have already used our scenarios to test their proposed climate adaptation strategies,” said Amanda Palazzo, a researcher with the IIASA. “When policy makers can visualize how their policies would work in the future, they can identify changes or actions to take that will yield more desirable results in all possible futures.” West Africans are extremely vulnerable to climate change because a large portion of their income is derived from rain-fed agriculture, according to the research. Three-quarters of the population also lives on less than two dollars per day. Potential future challenges include political instability and a rapidly growing population. Palazzo noted that the population could double or triple by 2050. Based on estimates from the United Nations, the population of West Africa could climb from its current number at approximately 371 million to almost 800 million in 2050.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/government-action-needed-on-climate-resiliency-and-food-security-in-west-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-195897</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate change driving widespread local extinctions; tropics most at risk</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/03/climate-change-driving-widespread-local-extinctions-tropics-most-at-risk/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/03/climate-change-driving-widespread-local-extinctions-tropics-most-at-risk/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2017 12:59:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claire Salisbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/03/30124228/FEATURED-tropics-440x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=193831</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Carnivores, Cats, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Frogs, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Herps, Mammals, Mass Extinction, Monkeys, Overpopulation, Primates, Rainforests, Reptiles, Tropical Deforestation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A species has just three options in the face of environmental change: move, adapt or die. As global temperatures rise many species are shifting their ranges, particularly towards the cooler poles and upslope to higher elevations. But if they can’t adapt or move, populations can be lost along the warmer edge of their range. These [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus), a species found in the western Amazon, a region where many mammal species are unlikely to be able to keep pace with climate change. Photo by Rhett A. Butler A species has just three options in the face of environmental change: move, adapt or die. As global temperatures rise many species are shifting their ranges, particularly towards the cooler poles and upslope to higher elevations. But if they can’t adapt or move, populations can be lost along the warmer edge of their range. These local population extinctions could have major implications for individual species, ecosystems and global biodiversity. New research, published in PLOS Biology, warns that local extinctions caused by climate change are already widespread. The meta-analysis, by John Wiens of Arizona University, compiled data from 27 studies that resurveyed sites to see how species distributions had changed over time. These studies spanned a range of timescales between 10 and 159 years, and encompassed 976 species. Almost half of these (47 percent) had seen some local populations disappear along the warm edge of their range. Local extinctions were prevalent in all geographic regions and taxonomic groups. “As Yogi Berra said, it is tough to make predictions, especially about the future,” said Wiens, whose research has contributed to a growing body of work that tries to forecast how biodiversity will respond to climate change. “And it is hard to tell whether your predictions are actually accurate or not. So, for this study, I changed my focus&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/03/climate-change-driving-widespread-local-extinctions-tropics-most-at-risk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-193831</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>E.O. Wilson on Half-Earth, Donald Trump, and hope</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/01/e-o-wilson-on-half-earth-donald-trump-and-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/01/e-o-wilson-on-half-earth-donald-trump-and-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jan 2017 17:34:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/01/17152328/mezzanine_263.jpg.resize.800x450-768x432.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=192481</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Global, Mozambique, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Anthropocene, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environmental Heroes, Extinction, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Overpopulation, Politics, Rainforests, Religions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At 87, E.O. Wilson has lost none of his intellectual rigor. His sentences are long, rolling, full of enough parentheticals to make Proust smile, and delivered in a wonderfully soothing, southern voice. He has an incredible ability to jump from subject to subject, to provide detailed context and endless lines of proofs for every argument. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At 87, E.O. Wilson has lost none of his intellectual rigor. His sentences are long, rolling, full of enough parentheticals to make Proust smile, and delivered in a wonderfully soothing, southern voice. He has an incredible ability to jump from subject to subject, to provide detailed context and endless lines of proofs for every argument. He can spout data like fertility statistics or findings from the latest research on the fly. But, for all his accomplishments, he has retained a politeness that is pleasantly disarming and a humility that is astounding. When you speak with him – even as I did over the phone – you feel like you’re talking to a grandparent (who just happens to be a genius) and not one of the foremost scientists of the last hundred years. It’s not hyperbole to contend that E.O. Wilson is the greatest biologist since Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace sailed the Earth armed with butterfly nets, microscopes and piles of notebooks. In a career that spans six-plus decades (and ongoing) Wilson aided in developing the concept of biodiversity, biophilia, and uncovered – along with partner Robert McArthur – the theory of island biogeography, all of which overturned how conservationists, ecologists and, yes even, world leaders looked at the natural world. But these revolutionary discoveries were actually a tad outside Wilson’s main expertise. Wilson is regarded as the world’s leading expert on that taxonomic family that outweighs collectively all others: ants. Wilson was instrumental in discovering how ants communicate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/01/e-o-wilson-on-half-earth-donald-trump-and-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-192481</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A dam shame: the plight of the Mekong giant catfish</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/11/a-dam-shame-the-plight-of-the-mekong-giant-catfish/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/11/a-dam-shame-the-plight-of-the-mekong-giant-catfish/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Nov 2016 16:31:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claire Asher]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/11/30162500/FEATURED-catfish-663x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=191347</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Animals and Mekong dams]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Dams, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Fish, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Overpopulation, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Humanity rarely seems to get very excited about conserving fish species, maybe because they are largely invisible to us land-dwelling creatures — except when they arrive on a dinner plate. But if any fish is deserving of a spot on the Almost Famous Asia list of threatened animals, it is the Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Mekong River flowing through Luang Prabang, Laos. This great Southeast Asian river is home to unknown numbers of Critically Endangered Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas). Photo by Claire Asher Humanity rarely seems to get very excited about conserving fish species, maybe because they are largely invisible to us land-dwelling creatures — except when they arrive on a dinner plate. But if any fish is deserving of a spot on the Almost Famous Asia list of threatened animals, it is the Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas). P. gigas is the world’s largest freshwater fish, with the biggest individuals weighing in at a remarkable 650 pounds (300 kilograms) and reaching up to 10 feet (3 meters) in length. They are found throughout the length of Southeast Asia’s Mekong River, and their health is inextricably linked to the health of the river itself. Sadly, the prognosis isn’t good. The giant catfish’s population is thought to have crashed by 80 percent in recent decades. The species is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, but no one really knows how many survive in the Mekong today. And future development on the river doesn’t bode well. As goes the Mekong River, so goes the giant catfish “As one of the largest freshwater fish on earth, [the Mekong giant catfish] is symbolic of the integrity and health of the Mekong River”, says Zeb Hogan, an ecologist with the University of Nevada in Reno, who has been studying the species for nearly 20 years. “In a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/11/a-dam-shame-the-plight-of-the-mekong-giant-catfish/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/11/a-dam-shame-the-plight-of-the-mekong-giant-catfish/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-191347</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate change pledges not nearly enough to save tropical ecosystems</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/climate-change-pledges-not-nearly-enough-to-save-tropical-ecosystems/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/climate-change-pledges-not-nearly-enough-to-save-tropical-ecosystems/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Aug 2016 16:38:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/08/01193007/final-featured-388x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=188660</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Science, Cloud Forests, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Extreme Weather, Fish, Forests, Frogs, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Mammals, Mangroves, Mass Extinction, Mitigation, Oceans, Overpopulation, Politics, Rainforests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Paris Agreement marked the biggest political milestone to combat climate change since scientists first introduced us in the late 1980s to perhaps humanity’s greatest existential crisis. Last December, 178 nations pledged to do their part to keep global average temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial levels — [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[US Secretary of State John Kerry signs the Paris Agreement at the UN in New York while holding granddaughter Dobbs Higginson on his lap. Scientists warn that the agreement is insufficient to prevent disastrous climate change. Photo courtesy of US Department of State. The Paris Agreement marked the biggest political milestone to combat climate change since scientists first introduced us in the late 1980s to perhaps humanity’s greatest existential crisis. Last December, 178 nations pledged to do their part to keep global average temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial levels — adding on an even more challenging, but aspirational goal of holding temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). To this end, each nation produced a pledge to cut it’s own carbon emissions, targeting everything from the burning of fossil fuels to deforestation to agriculture. It seems like a Herculean task, bound, the optimistic say, to bring positive results. Yet, less than eight months later, a study in the journal Nature finds that those pledges are nowhere near as ambitious as they need to be to keep temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius, let alone 1.5 degrees. And in August, British scientists reported that this year’s record El Niño has already pushed us perilously close to the 1.5 degree milestone. The Bramble cay melomy (Melomys rubicola) declared extinct in 2016 due to habitat loss due to rising sea levels, the first mammal known to go extinct due to human caused climate change. Photo&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/climate-change-pledges-not-nearly-enough-to-save-tropical-ecosystems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-188660</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Unknown, ignored and disappearing: Asia&#8217;s Almost Famous Animals</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/07/unknown-ignored-and-disappearing-asias-almost-famous-animals/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/07/unknown-ignored-and-disappearing-asias-almost-famous-animals/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2016 17:25:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laurel Neme]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/07/01200401/FEATURED-douc-2-467x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=187453</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Animals]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Bushmeat, Carnivores, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Fish, Frogs, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Herps, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Mass Extinction, Monkeys, Natural Capital, Overconsumption, Overpopulation, Pangolins, Primates, Rainforests, Reptiles, Species Discovery, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is the first of 20 Mongabay stories highlighting Almost Famous Asian Animals — all to be published by the end of 2016. You can find the complete Almost Famous series here. Try to name Asia’s most endangered animals, and iconic species such as tigers, orangutans and rhinos likely leap to mind. But pangolins, langurs [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Often called the most beautiful of the monkeys, the Red-shanked Douc langur of Southeast Asia hasn&#8217;t benefited much from its good looks. It is barely known to the public or most conservationists and is Endangered. Photo by Art G. on flickr CC BY 2.0 This is the first of 20 Mongabay stories highlighting Almost Famous Asian Animals — all to be published by the end of 2016. You can find the complete Almost Famous series here. Try to name Asia’s most endangered animals, and iconic species such as tigers, orangutans and rhinos likely leap to mind. But pangolins, langurs or saola? Not so much. Most of us haven’t heard of these “other” species, and can’t even picture them. Yet these little-known primates and other mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and fish are no less valuable to their habitats, and to earth’s overall biodiversity, than their more famous, more charismatic Asian animal compatriots. But unfortunately for these lesser-known creatures, they face the same deadly threats as the “top” tier endangered species. They walk the same paths, use the same rainforest trees and mangrove swamps, and drink from the same rivers. They depend on the same ecosystems, and those ecosystems depend on them. So when habitats are logged, fragmented by roads, polluted, or taken over by oil palm plantations, their survival is just as perilous as for the “big name” species. Each species’ loss slashes yet another thread from the web of life, and threatens to leave that rich weave hanging in tatters.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/07/unknown-ignored-and-disappearing-asias-almost-famous-animals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-187453</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conservation and birth control: a controversial mix?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/03/conservation-and-birth-control-a-controversial-mix/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/03/conservation-and-birth-control-a-controversial-mix/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Mar 2016 14:01:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Roz Evans]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/03/01221203/REvans_FamilyPlanning_Madagascar_Woman-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Evolving Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Cambodia, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, East Africa, Global, Madagascar, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Controversial, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Human Rights, Overpopulation, Planetary Health, Population, and Poverty]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Family planning can prevent unwanted pregnancies, increase birth spacing, and improve women’s reproductive rights. All of this can reduce human populations, theoretically taking pressure off local environments. In recent years, some conservation organizations, seeing a win-win for women and ecosystems alike, have been widening their remits to include the provision of family planning services for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Family planning can prevent unwanted pregnancies, increase birth spacing, and improve women’s reproductive rights. All of this can reduce human populations, theoretically taking pressure off local environments. In recent years, some conservation organizations, seeing a win-win for women and ecosystems alike, have been widening their remits to include the provision of family planning services for local communities. But the path is fraught with controversy. The organizations involved are diverse. Big players like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Conservation International (CI), and the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) have been involved, as have numerous less well-known NGOs. The groups often combine family planning information, contraceptive delivery, and other health services with environmental education in a development framework known as Population, Health, and Environment (PHE). Some 215 million women in the Global South have an unmet need for modern contraception, with many of them living in remote communities that may lack basic health care services, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a U.S.-based NGO working to advance reproductive health. In addition to meeting some of this need in order to reduce pressure on the environment, conservation groups have also become interested in providing health services as a way of gaining communities’ trust and opening up discourse to engage them in conservation practices. Vezo woman with facepaint in Arovana, Madagascar. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Yet empirical evidence to support these concepts is somewhat scarce. Conservation NGO Blue Ventures helps coastal communities in Madagascar manage their marine resources. Blue Ventures began training local women to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/03/conservation-and-birth-control-a-controversial-mix/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-183399</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Human impacts are &#8216;decoupling&#8217; coral reef ecosystems</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/03/human-impacts-are-decoupling-coral-reef-ecosystems/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/03/human-impacts-are-decoupling-coral-reef-ecosystems/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2015 15:06:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/03/human-impacts-are-decoupling-coral-reef-ecosystems/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Pacific Islands and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Anthropocene, Climate Change, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Ecology, Economics, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Green, Impact Of Climate Change, Invertebrates, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Overpopulation, Population, Science, Solutions, Strange, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers argue that predictability of ecosystem could be sign of health A largely pristine coral reef in the remote Pacific on an island largely unpopulated by humans. Photo by: Brian J. Zgliczynski. There is a growing consensus among scientists of all stripes that we have entered the age of the Anthropocene, or the epoch of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers argue that predictability of ecosystem could be sign of health A largely pristine coral reef in the remote Pacific on an island largely unpopulated by humans. Photo by: Brian J. Zgliczynski. There is a growing consensus among scientists of all stripes that we have entered the age of the Anthropocene, or the epoch of humans. In other words, at some point between the 12,000 years separating the beginning of agriculture and the Industrial Revolution, humans became the dominant source of change on the planet, shaping everything from the land to the atmosphere to even the geologic record where we etch our reign. Scientists are only now beginning to catalog the many ways in which the Anthropocene has upended the usual course of nature, and a new, ground-breaking paper in Ecography highlights this. According to the researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and NOAA&#8217;s Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), human impacts are causing biophysical decoupling in many of the world&#8217;s coral reefs. But, that begs the question: what&#8217;s biophysical decoupling? Meet biophysical decoupling Lead author of the study Gareth Williams said his team coined the term &#8220;biophysical decoupling&#8221; to describe what they were seeing in coral reef islands with dense human populations versus remote reefs. According to Williams, the workings of ecological communities in human-dominated coral reefs have essentially &#8220;decoupled from their surrounding environment and instead echo chronic human-induced change.&#8221; &#8220;Humans have effectively altered the natural rules of nature,&#8221; Williams, with the Sandin Lab in the Center for Marine Biodiversity&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/03/human-impacts-are-decoupling-coral-reef-ecosystems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24017</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Without draconian measures, global population boom is &#8216;locked in&#8217;</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/without-draconian-measures-global-population-boom-is-locked-in/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/without-draconian-measures-global-population-boom-is-locked-in/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Dec 2014 19:57:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chris Cesare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/12/without-draconian-measures-global-population-boom-is-locked-in/</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Green, Overpopulation, Population, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Little chance of reaching &#8216;sustainable population&#8217; in next century According to recent projections, the number of people living on Earth could exceed ten billion by the end of this century. Now, a new study has examined what it would take to reverse that unrelenting growth and achieve a sustainable population that is less threatening to [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Little chance of reaching &#8216;sustainable population&#8217; in next century According to recent projections, the number of people living on Earth could exceed ten billion by the end of this century. Now, a new study has examined what it would take to reverse that unrelenting growth and achieve a sustainable population that is less threatening to biodiversity and ecosystems around the world. Short of a global catastrophe, scientists say, the only way to halt this population momentum is to institute a planet-wide one-child policy within a few decades. The new study comes on the heels of a statistical projection released in September. It analyzed U.N. data from July and calculated how likely population is to end up in different ranges. In particular, it found an 80 percent chance for a population between 9.6 billion and 12.3 billion by century&#8217;s end, with the most likely figure at around 10.9 billion. That number is not sustainable, according to Corey Bradshaw, a biologist at the University of Adelaide in Australia. &#8220;Things like forest elephants? Kiss &#8217;em goodbye. Tigers in India? They&#8217;re gone,&#8221; Bradshaw told mongabay.com. Bradshaw and his Adelaide colleague, Barry Brook, examined whether it&#8217;s possible to rein in population growth in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They found that without draconian limits on the number of children per family, population growth is &#8220;virtually locked in.&#8221; The researchers studied computer models of population over the next century, focusing particularly on how different parameters—or levers—affected their models. &#8220;We&#8217;re not out there trying&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/without-draconian-measures-global-population-boom-is-locked-in/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24389</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World population could surpass 13 BILLION by the end of the century</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/world-population-could-surpass-13-billion-by-the-end-of-the-century/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/world-population-could-surpass-13-billion-by-the-end-of-the-century/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2014 22:14:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Tiffany Roufs]]>
					</author>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/09/world-population-could-surpass-13-billion-by-the-end-of-the-century/</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Green, Overpopulation, Population, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Highly unlikely that global population will peak this century Crowd from above. Photo by: Public Domain. By 2100, over 13 billion people could be walking the planet. That&#8217;s the conclusion of a new study published today in Science, which employed UN data to explore the probability of various population scenarios. The new study further demolishes [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Highly unlikely that global population will peak this century Crowd from above. Photo by: Public Domain. By 2100, over 13 billion people could be walking the planet. That&#8217;s the conclusion of a new study published today in Science, which employed UN data to explore the probability of various population scenarios. The new study further demolishes the long-held theory that human population growth will quit growing by mid-century and then fall. &#8220;Analysis of these data reveals that, contrary to previous literature, world population is unlikely to stop growing this century,&#8221; reads the paper. It&#8217;s worth noting that 13 billion is at the very high end of the researcher&#8217;s projections and, therefore, unlikely, but hardly impossible. The scientists estimated that there is an 80 percent probability the global population fall somewhere between 9.6 and 12.3 billion in 2100, meaning there is a ten percent chance that population will be above 12.3 billion. Going further, there was a 95 percent probability that the population will be between 9.0 and 13.2 billion, putting the chances of a population exceeding 13.25 billion at 2.5 percent. The results follow a revision by the UN last year of population projections, which first reported that global population rates were not behaving as expected, due largely to stubbornly high fertility rates in Africa. &#8220;What&#8217;s new is that we are able to quantify the confidence that underlie the projected population growth. Earlier projections were strictly based on scenarios, so there was no uncertainty,&#8221; explained lead author Patrick Gerland with the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/world-population-could-surpass-13-billion-by-the-end-of-the-century/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24679</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Booming populations, rising economies, threatened biodiversity: the tropics will never be the same</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/07/booming-populations-rising-economies-threatened-biodiversity-the-tropics-will-never-be-the-same/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/07/booming-populations-rising-economies-threatened-biodiversity-the-tropics-will-never-be-the-same/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Jul 2014 19:50:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
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											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Latin America, South America, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Consumption, Coral Reefs, Deforestation, Developing Countries, Development, Earth Science, Economics, Ecosystems, Environment, Extinction, Farming, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Governance, Green, Health, Islands, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Mangroves, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overpopulation, Parks, Politics, Population, Poverty, Poverty Alleviation, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Science, Threats To Rainforests, Traditional People, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
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											<description>
							<![CDATA[For those living either north or south of the tropics, images of this green ring around the Earth&#8217;s equator often include verdant rainforests, exotic animals, and unchanging weather; but they may also be of entrenched poverty, unstable governments, and appalling environmental destruction. A massive new report, The State of the Tropics, however, finds that the [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[For those living either north or south of the tropics, images of this green ring around the Earth&#8217;s equator often include verdant rainforests, exotic animals, and unchanging weather; but they may also be of entrenched poverty, unstable governments, and appalling environmental destruction. A massive new report, The State of the Tropics, however, finds that the truth is far more complicated&#8212;and much more interesting. Starting with Aristotle&#8217;s misguided belief that no civilization could thrive in the tropics, the region&#8212;which covers around 40 percent of the world&#8217;s surface&#8212;has long been defined by views from the outside. But, according to the report&#8217;s co-author Sandra Harding, that must change. &#8220;At a time of increasing concern about social, environmental and economic sustainability, a different approach is long overdue,&#8221; writes Harding, Vice-Chancellor and President of James Cook University. &#8220;It is time to recognize and acknowledge the tropics as a region defined from within, rather than without, to embrace the wisdom and experience of its peoples.&#8221; Compiled by 12 institutions, the 400-plus page report attempts to explore the full region of the tropics, including demographics, health, science, economics, biodiversity, and climate change, among other issues. It finds that major changes are afoot in the region, including incredible population growth, rising economic importance, clashes over land-use, imperiled biodiversity, and worsening impacts of climate change. Population explosion Currently, the tropics are home to about 40 percent of the world&#8217;s population, but house the majority (55 percent) of children under five. Populations in the tropics&#8212;especially Africa&#8212;are growing at a much&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/07/booming-populations-rising-economies-threatened-biodiversity-the-tropics-will-never-be-the-same/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24975</doi>				</item>
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