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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/water-scarcity/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<title>News on Water Scarcity</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/water-scarcity/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Vietnam’s freshwater obsession leaves decades-long scars for Mekong Delta farmers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/vietnams-freshwater-obsession-leaves-decades-long-scars-for-mekong-delta-farmers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/vietnams-freshwater-obsession-leaves-decades-long-scars-for-mekong-delta-farmers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Nov 2026 09:45:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nguyen Tra My]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/12105012/17196457289_ef08c0aa7a_coconuts-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=335735</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Farming, Freshwater, Law, Natural Resources, Pollution, Rice, Rivers, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BÌNH ĐẠI, Vietnam — For centuries, the Mekong River emptied into the South China Sea through nine vast estuaries, earning it the name Cửu Long, Vietnamese for “Nine Dragons.” In the 1960s, natural deposition of sand swallowed the first dragon, the Bassac River. Now, human-made infrastructure is choking the second, the Ba Lai River. More than [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BÌNH ĐẠI, Vietnam — For centuries, the Mekong River emptied into the South China Sea through nine vast estuaries, earning it the name Cửu Long, Vietnamese for “Nine Dragons.” In the 1960s, natural deposition of sand swallowed the first dragon, the Bassac River. Now, human-made infrastructure is choking the second, the Ba Lai River. More than two decades after a sluice gate began operating near the mouth of the Ba Lai River in southern Vietnam, the river has turned into a stagnant lake, trapping pollutants and accelerating coastal erosion. Intended to protect the region from salinity, the megastructure has created problems and triggered conflicts between local farmers and authorities, sparking semi-open resistance that further destabilizes this already climate-vulnerable area. On a cloudy day in September, Nguyên, a shrimp farmer in Bình Đại commune in Vĩnh Long province, calculates when he should harvest his shrimp as he prepares to feed his two ponds. During the rainy season, water pollution is his primary concern, and a miscalculation can wipe out his entire stock. “This month, the sluice discharges water on the eighth, ninth, 21st, and 22nd, so I will harvest my shrimp on the fifth or sixth,” says Nguyên, which is not his real name. He asks to use a pseudonym due to the sensitive nature of the issue. “Fruit farmers in the freshwater zone use tons of pesticides and herbicides,” Nguyên tells Mongabay. “The chemicals linger on the ground. When it rains, the runoff flows into canals and the river, heavily contaminating&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/vietnams-freshwater-obsession-leaves-decades-long-scars-for-mekong-delta-farmers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/vietnams-freshwater-obsession-leaves-decades-long-scars-for-mekong-delta-farmers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-335735</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peru’s drive for critical minerals threatens a disappearing glacier</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/perus-drive-for-critical-minerals-threatens-a-disappearing-glacier/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/perus-drive-for-critical-minerals-threatens-a-disappearing-glacier/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2026 18:21:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Euan Wallace]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/06181811/IMG_7140-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334959</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Critical Minerals, Ecosystems, Energy Transition, Freshwater, Glaciers, Governance, Health, Lithium, Mining, Natural Resources, Regulations, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Like many in the community of Phinaya, in southeastern Peru, Donato Bermúdez makes his living from alpacas. His flock of 500 roams the slopes beneath the vast Quelccaya glacier, the site of the second-largest tropical ice cap in the world. Reaching 5,600 meters (18,400 feet), its white peak is home to centuries of tradition. “We [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Like many in the community of Phinaya, in southeastern Peru, Donato Bermúdez makes his living from alpacas. His flock of 500 roams the slopes beneath the vast Quelccaya glacier, the site of the second-largest tropical ice cap in the world. Reaching 5,600 meters (18,400 feet), its white peak is home to centuries of tradition. “We believe the glacier is essentially alive,” Bermúdez, a lifelong resident and former community president of Phinaya, told Mongabay by phone. “We say it gives us the water, the lifeblood that flows to the community.” But he and other Phinaya locals now fear that a threat may be looming from the other side of the mountain. In the shadow of Quelccaya, long-delayed lithium and uranium mining projects are gaining fresh momentum under President Keiko Fujimori, who is determined to put transition minerals firmly on Peru’s economic agenda. “Lithium and uranium mining would be catastrophic for the Quelccaya glacier,” said Yolanda Quispe, 44, a community leader and park ranger from Phinaya, who has spent a lifetime beneath the glacier. “The fauna and flora that exist around it, the people — all of this would be destroyed,” she told Mongabay over the phone. Through Peruvian subsidiary Macusani Yellowcake, Canadian firm American Lithium controls major deposits of lithium and uranium — two minerals the Peruvian government describes as critical to the clean energy transition — across at least 174 concessions covering more than 1,090 square kilometers (421 square miles) in the department of Puno, beneath the Quelccaya glacier. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/perus-drive-for-critical-minerals-threatens-a-disappearing-glacier/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/perus-drive-for-critical-minerals-threatens-a-disappearing-glacier/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334959</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Water rationing in Recife, Brazil, falls along racial lines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/water-rationing-in-recife-brazil-falls-along-racial-lines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/water-rationing-in-recife-brazil-falls-along-racial-lines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Nov 2026 19:26:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Adriana AmâncioÁthila GalindoYamini Benites]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/04061448/Water_tap_Cacique_Chicao_settlement_Recife_Ibura_neighborhood_Yamini_Benites_B-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334914</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Global, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Science, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Development, Disasters, Drinking Water, Earth Science, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Gender, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Infrastructure, Landslides, Natural Resources, Public Health, Racism, Research, Science, Social Conflict, Water, Water Scarcity, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[RECIFE, Brazil — In Ibura de Baixo, a neighborhood tucked into the South Zone region of Recife, Northeast Brazil, 27-year-old Jeyne Araújo’s day begins well before dawn. At 4 a.m., while the Pernambuco state capital sleeps, she scrapes buckets and drums across the floor outside her home. The sound marks the start of a daily [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[RECIFE, Brazil — In Ibura de Baixo, a neighborhood tucked into the South Zone region of Recife, Northeast Brazil, 27-year-old Jeyne Araújo’s day begins well before dawn. At 4 a.m., while the Pernambuco state capital sleeps, she scrapes buckets and drums across the floor outside her home. The sound marks the start of a daily scramble against scarcity: With running water flowing for only six hours a day, she must stockpile every drop before the taps run dry. The water Araújo manages to collect is far from the clean supply one would expect from a public utility. It smells strongly of chemicals and is too unpleasant to drink or cook with immediately. It froths into a thick, soapy white foam as it splashes into the bucket. “It arrives so full of chlorine that you can’t do anything with it,” she tells Mongabay. The poor quality of the tap water has taken a serious toll on her family’s health, says Araújo. For six months, her 9-year-old son, Wesley, suffered constant bouts of vomiting and stomach pain. Doctors at Recife’s Areias Hospital traced the intestinal infection back to porridge prepared with tap water. To keep her son safe, Araújo now uses part of her monthly Bolsa Família, a government social welfare program benefit of 950 reais (around $180), to buy jugs of bottled water at 6 reais ($1.12) each — an expense that further strains her already meager budget. Inside the house, stacks of dirty dishes fill the sink, a visible measure&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/water-rationing-in-recife-brazil-falls-along-racial-lines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/water-rationing-in-recife-brazil-falls-along-racial-lines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334914</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amazon communities lose water as mining and deforestation reshape rivers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/amazon-communities-lose-water-as-mining-and-deforestation-reshape-rivers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/amazon-communities-lose-water-as-mining-and-deforestation-reshape-rivers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2026 18:15:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vanessa Romo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexa]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/23193910/Arazaire_community_bisected_by_Inambari_River_Vico_Mendez-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333623</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Bolivia, Colombia, Global, Latin America, Peru, South America, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Culture, Deforestation, Drinking Water, Earth Science, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Health, Human Rights, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Law, Livestock, Mapping, Natural Resources, Pollution, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Research, Rivers, Science, Technology, Tropical Forests, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“People think that because we live in the forest we have plenty of water, but this is the reality,” Erick Tijé, an Indigenous Harakmbut resident of the southern Peruvian Amazon, says in a tone of disappointment, pointing to the murky water flowing down the Inambari River. That river isn’t what it was five years ago, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“People think that because we live in the forest we have plenty of water, but this is the reality,” Erick Tijé, an Indigenous Harakmbut resident of the southern Peruvian Amazon, says in a tone of disappointment, pointing to the murky water flowing down the Inambari River. That river isn’t what it was five years ago, when fishing and life along its banks were very different for residents of the Arazaire Indigenous community. Illegal mining stole their water, only to return it to them polluted. Today, they have to buy the water they drink. On the other side of the Peruvian border, in the Colombian Amazon, Lázaro Ibañez, an elder of the Coreguaje people who live in the Jácome Indigenous Reserve, blames cattle ranching and climate change for reducing water availability around their territory. “The cattle have been destroying everything, and now all you can see is pastureland; there are hardly any trees left,” he says, having witnessed how deforestation to create grazing for cattle has gone hand in hand with the drying up of their water sources. Inhabitants of parts of the world’s greatest rainforest face a paradox: they’re surrounded by water, but can’t use it. For Indigenous peoples, it’s also the loss of the spirits that guard their water sources, driven away by the advance of logging and cattle ranching. Reporters from Mongabay, Colombian news outlet El Espectador, and Venezuela’s El Correo del Caroní, in partnership with scientists from Brazil’s Serrapilheira Institute, analyzed more than two decades of satellite&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/amazon-communities-lose-water-as-mining-and-deforestation-reshape-rivers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/amazon-communities-lose-water-as-mining-and-deforestation-reshape-rivers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333623</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous women bring leadership, creativity &#038; joy to clean water action (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indigenous-women-bring-leadership-creativity-joy-to-clean-water-action-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indigenous-women-bring-leadership-creativity-joy-to-clean-water-action-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Oct 2026 16:23:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Justine Apodaca]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/12160042/Indigenous-woman-and-daughter-with-water-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332259</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Commentary, Culture, Drinking Water, Environment, Freshwater, Gender, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Natural Resources, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On Indigenous Peoples Day, let’s honor the leadership and contributions of Indigenous women in water. Women – and particularly Indigenous women – are underrepresented in the water workforce and make up less than one in three voices in water governance. Yet, the water sector has much to learn from women&#8217;s leadership. Women have always led, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On Indigenous Peoples Day, let’s honor the leadership and contributions of Indigenous women in water. Women – and particularly Indigenous women – are underrepresented in the water workforce and make up less than one in three voices in water governance. Yet, the water sector has much to learn from women&#8217;s leadership. Women have always led, and women get things done. Across the water community, women bring people together, build partnerships, solve problems, and move important work forward every day. Their leadership takes many forms. Some lead through community engagement and relationship building. Others advance technical solutions, policy, research, infrastructure, public health, or education. Many do all of these things at once. Different perspectives help turn vision into action. Women lead in complementary ways, and that collaboration often drives meaningful progress. Indigenous women and girls gather stones to make water filters to provide their community with safe water in Ecuador. Image courtesy of Yachana Foundation. In working alongside Indigenous leaders such as Emma Robbins and Crystal Tulley-Cordova, I have seen how community knowledge, technical expertise, and relationship-building complement one another. Throughout this work, women continue to champion Indigenous knowledge, environmental stewardship, water justice, and community resilience. They advance conversations about water rights, water hauling, universal access to clean water, public health, policy, research, and infrastructure. They also recognize that solving water challenges requires more than technical expertise: Real progress happens when communities, researchers, educators, advocates, and decision-makers come together around shared goals. Women play a leading role in creating and sustaining&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indigenous-women-bring-leadership-creativity-joy-to-clean-water-action-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indigenous-women-bring-leadership-creativity-joy-to-clean-water-action-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332259</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Huge AI data center project blindsides water-stressed town in Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/huge-ai-data-center-project-blindsides-water-stressed-town-in-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/huge-ai-data-center-project-blindsides-water-stressed-town-in-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2026 12:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naira Hofmeister]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/08190834/Headerfeat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328289</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Business, Conflict, Data centers, Development, Environment, Governance, Industry, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Land Use Change, Mining, Natural Resources, Resource Conflict, Technology, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As water wells turn to dust, local leaders learn of the massive facility firsthand from reporters.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PARACATU, Brazil — As the president of Paracatu’s city council, Manoel Alves is used to being courted by companies and executives that want his blessing for new business. But on a Thursday afternoon in May 2026, he was upset talking on the phone about a data center planned for his city, about which he was informed by reporters. “I just heard the data center construction will start in two months. Don’t you guys know about this either?” Alves asked someone at the mayor&#8217;s office. The answer from the other side of the call was “no”, the same received from all interviewees: Local authorities, business owners, farmers, and citizens. “It is some new hotel concept?” a major restaurant owner in the city asked. “A dentist?” a citizen in Paracatu’s main square questioned. “Data center? What is this?” queried the guardian of an 18th-century church. Read it in Portuguese. The data center in Paracatu, a municipality located a three-hour drive from Brazil’s capital, Brasília, is not just any data center, but a 1-gigawatt data center, which will be larger than the combined total of all data centers currently installed in the country, which use around 800 megawatts. Or similar to one of the gigantic projects that are part of the Stargate initiative, one of the world&#8217;s largest artificial intelligence infrastructure networks, strongly supported by the U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Paracatu’s data center is being planned by Atlas Renewable Energy, owned by an arm of the global asset manager BlackRock, which already&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/huge-ai-data-center-project-blindsides-water-stressed-town-in-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328289</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kashmir’s water bodies have declined for decades. Is conservation keeping pace?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 17:58:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hashim Quraishi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/09082340/Wular-Lake-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329254</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Ecosystems, Environment, Fellows, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Lakes, Research, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For generations, Kashmir’s wetlands, lakes and rivers have been woven into the landscape around its towns and villages. Paddy fields once stretched across parts of the valley, while canals and springs were familiar features of everyday life. But much of that landscape has changed. A new study published in Water Science assessing six decades of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For generations, Kashmir’s wetlands, lakes and rivers have been woven into the landscape around its towns and villages. Paddy fields once stretched across parts of the valley, while canals and springs were familiar features of everyday life. But much of that landscape has changed. A new study published in Water Science assessing six decades of land use and land cover change in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the northernmost part of India finds that the extent of water bodies declined between 1960 and 2020, while built-up areas expanded markedly, particularly after the 1990s. The researchers found that socioeconomic factors including urbanization, population growth, literacy, per capita income and passenger and freight traffic were more strongly associated with many of these changes than the climatic variables they examined, including annual precipitation and mean maximum and minimum temperatures. The findings raise a broader question for Jammu and Kashmir: As development continues to reshape the landscape, are conservation initiatives and land use planning keeping pace with the pressures on the region’s water bodies? The authors caution that the study is not based on primary field surveys. Because land use records were available mainly at decadal intervals, the researchers interpolated data between those years to create an annual data set for their statistical analysis. They acknowledge that this approach can inflate some statistical measures and say the results should be interpreted primarily as associations rather than precise predictions. Still, the broad direction of change is clear. The sun peeks through a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/kashmirs-water-bodies-have-declined-for-decades-is-conservation-keeping-pace/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329254</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Urban water quality pose challenges to low-income communities in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/urban-water-quality-pose-challenges-to-low-income-communities-in-sri-lankas-commercial-capital/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/urban-water-quality-pose-challenges-to-low-income-communities-in-sri-lankas-commercial-capital/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Sep 2026 06:49:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/05051051/3-Slave-Island-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328892</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Development, Drinking Water, Environment, Natural Resources, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — As part of his morning routine, Nalin Kaluwitharana from “Ranjan Wijerathnapura,” a low-income settlement in the heart of Colombo, waters his home garden before setting off to work. Like many others in his neighborhood, he works as a three-wheeler driver. “We obtain pipe-borne water provided by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — As part of his morning routine, Nalin Kaluwitharana from “Ranjan Wijerathnapura,” a low-income settlement in the heart of Colombo, waters his home garden before setting off to work. Like many others in his neighborhood, he works as a three-wheeler driver. “We obtain pipe-borne water provided by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB). In the wake of drought conditions, NWSDB has requested people to use water sparingly. But we need water for our daily needs and have no alternatives but to rely on tap water,” he told Mongabay. Despite increasing utility tariffs, he continues to water the plants to keep them green and his surroundings alive. Kaluwitharana and a majority of houses in this settlement do not have water storage facilities and are dependent on the state utility to obtain water directly from the water line. The routine  water cuts and maintenance work disrupt the regular water supply, inconveniencing them. Linda Arulanantham is from the same neighborhood. “Immediately after a water cut, the water turns muddy. We use a water filter to make sure that the water we drink is clean,” she said. But every household doesn’t have a water filter system, and water safety in urban low-income settlements is often neglected. Community water supply schemes In Sri Lanka, community water supply schemes were established around the 1990s to provide safe drinking water to rural communities. Ananda Vijitha Kumara Mapa, director general at the Department of National Community Water Supply (DNCWS) told Mongabay that community water supply&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/urban-water-quality-pose-challenges-to-low-income-communities-in-sri-lankas-commercial-capital/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/urban-water-quality-pose-challenges-to-low-income-communities-in-sri-lankas-commercial-capital/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328892</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous water systems gain ground as climate pressures intensify in Bolivia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-water-systems-gain-ground-as-climate-pressures-intensify-in-bolivia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-water-systems-gain-ground-as-climate-pressures-intensify-in-bolivia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Aug 2026 10:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anastasia Austin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/25151101/restoring-pauros-credit-MAPEKO-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327250</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bolivia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate Change, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Freshwater, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Landscape Restoration, Natural Resources, Nature-based climate solutions, Restoration, Solutions, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, Bolivia — When Rolando Ágreda was 16, a severe drought hit his community of Ascensión de Guarayos in the Bolivian Amazon in 2022. Rumors spread that the municipality’s only water reservoir was dwindling. But it was the communal spring-fed pool, or paúro, that Ágreda had been visiting since childhood that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, Bolivia — When Rolando Ágreda was 16, a severe drought hit his community of Ascensión de Guarayos in the Bolivian Amazon in 2022. Rumors spread that the municipality’s only water reservoir was dwindling. But it was the communal spring-fed pool, or paúro, that Ágreda had been visiting since childhood that evaporated first. “Confusion was the strongest feeling,” Ágreda says in a video call. “But also sadness, because for everyone I know that place represents joy.” According to the Guarayú Indigenous People, who settled the area around Ágreda’s village of Ascensión de Guarayos in the 18th and 19th centuries, woodland spirits guard the paúros, and the community is responsible for maintaining them. But with urbanization, the arrival of non-indigenous Bolivians, and modern water infrastructure, this Indigenous knowledge had nearly disappeared. Ágreda says only three of his 28 classmates knew about paúros. “The others didn’t. It was easy not to know because [the paúros] had been neglected: The grass was so overgrown that they looked like abandoned lots. You would never imagine that there was a pool of water in the middle,” he says. A mural in Ascensión de Guarayos, where ranching is putting pressure on nature. Image by Douwe den Held. With help from his teachers, Ágreda launched a districtwide competition during the spring semester of 2022 to restore paúros across the municipality, which involved locating them, removing trash and clearing vegetation from the walls so water could filter through. By June 2022, they had restored&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-water-systems-gain-ground-as-climate-pressures-intensify-in-bolivia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-water-systems-gain-ground-as-climate-pressures-intensify-in-bolivia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327250</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sri Lanka prepares for impending El Niño with traditional and new approaches</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-prepares-for-impending-el-nino-with-traditional-and-new-approaches/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-prepares-for-impending-el-nino-with-traditional-and-new-approaches/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 13:05:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31104448/2-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325032</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Agroecology, Conservation, Crops, Disasters, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather, Farming, Food, Industrial Agriculture, Rice, Solutions, Subsistence Agriculture, Traditional Knowledge, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — Even though Sri Lankan authorities are preparing to face an impending El Niño phenomenon, Rathnayaka Mudiyanselage Suwandarathne feels that the country may not be impacted as forecasted. A second generation farmer from Thalangama in the Colombo District, Suwandarathne knows about weather and has been leading an agricultural revolution by promoting the cultivation of heirloom varieties [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — Even though Sri Lankan authorities are preparing to face an impending El Niño phenomenon, Rathnayaka Mudiyanselage Suwandarathne feels that the country may not be impacted as forecasted. A second generation farmer from Thalangama in the Colombo District, Suwandarathne knows about weather and has been leading an agricultural revolution by promoting the cultivation of heirloom varieties of rice. According to him, it is normal to experience a dry spell between July and September as forecasted. This period coincides with the Yala season, one of two paddy harvesting seasons in Sri Lanka. “By August, the dry period begins, and we need a dry season to obtain the harvest,” he told Mongabay. “We then conduct culturally significant events praying for rains. This is the cycle during the Yala season. Then again from December to March, there’s a drought season, which coincides with the Maha season. Long dry spells occur every four to seven years. But now, we have changed these harvesting cycles,” he said. The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) monthly global seasonal climate update indicates an 80% probability of a rapid development into a strong El Niño event between July and September 2026. WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo said that it would “intensify chances of drought and heavy rainfall and the risk of heatwaves on land and marine heatwaves in many regions of the world.” “When going by initial predictions, the time period for developing a very strong El Niño was between November 2026 and January 2027,” Ajith Wijemannage, head of the Meteorology&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-prepares-for-impending-el-nino-with-traditional-and-new-approaches/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-prepares-for-impending-el-nino-with-traditional-and-new-approaches/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325032</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thai MP calls for new committee to scrutinize AI data centers’ environmental impact</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 02:48:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/10061600/20251222__DATA-CENTER_THAILAND_ANDY-BALL-RESIZED-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324542</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Development, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fish, Fossil Fuels, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Health, Natural Resources, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Saltwater Fish, Software, Technology, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — An opposition member of Thailand’s parliament has called for the creation of a parliamentary committee on the regulation of data centers. The call comes amid a raft of new project approvals linked to the sector, which requires large amounts of water and electricity. “I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — An opposition member of Thailand’s parliament has called for the creation of a parliamentary committee on the regulation of data centers. The call comes amid a raft of new project approvals linked to the sector, which requires large amounts of water and electricity. “I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to data center development,” Sahassawat Kumkong, a member of the reformist People’s Party, told Mongabay in an interview. “The objective should not simply be to attract investment as quickly as possible. We also need to ensure that development is environmentally sustainable, that local communities are protected, and that the economic benefits are shared more fairly.” Sahassawat represents Constituency 7 in Chonburi, a coastal province in eastern Thailand where at least 13 data centers are in the construction or planning phases, with four more already operational, according to public records, news coverage and, in some cases, on-the-ground reporting by Mongabay. Part of his responsibility in this role, he said, was to safeguard the interests of his constituents, who largely depend on natural resources that data centers may put under strain. The MP said he intends to do this by forming a parliamentary committee to scrutinize the government’s approval and regulation of data centers. This will involve a comprehensive review of Thailand’s current policy framework, including long-term planning for water and energy resources, stronger environmental safeguards, greater transparency, meaningful public participation and mechanisms to ensure that communities sharing the costs of these projects also share in their benefits,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324542</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Michoacán, Mexico, drying soil threatens water supplies and avocados, says study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-michoacan-mexico-drying-soil-threatens-water-supplies-and-avocados-says-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-michoacan-mexico-drying-soil-threatens-water-supplies-and-avocados-says-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jul 2026 21:28:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Caitlin Cooper]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/23202157/plantations-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324409</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Mexico, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity Hotspots, Deforestation, Drinking Water, Drivers Of Deforestation, Drought, Extreme Weather, Farming, Fires, Freshwater, Industrial Agriculture, Natural Resources, Research, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MEXICO CITY — In the heart of Mexico’s southwestern state of Michoacán, Juan Madrigal spends his free time organizing to protect the city of Uruapan’s urban ecological park, a 50-hectare (124-acre) plot of land at the edge of the Río Santa Bárbara. A state-protected area since 1995, the park’s marshlands help to purify the surrounding [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MEXICO CITY — In the heart of Mexico’s southwestern state of Michoacán, Juan Madrigal spends his free time organizing to protect the city of Uruapan’s urban ecological park, a 50-hectare (124-acre) plot of land at the edge of the Río Santa Bárbara. A state-protected area since 1995, the park’s marshlands help to purify the surrounding Cupatitzio watershed, where nine natural springs provide drinking water to approximately half a million people. According to Madrigal, the park, a habitat of the ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush (Catharus frantzii), the endangered Michoacán pocket gopher (Zygogeomys trichopus) and the endemic Pátzcuaro frog (Lithobates dunni), is a victim of neglect. “The authorities have never paid any attention to it, and it’s us citizens who’ve been speaking out,” Madrigal, who in 1993 founded Ecocentro del Río Cupatitzio, a nonprofit educational center, tells Mongabay by phone. The movement to protect the park gained momentum after it involved the ranchers that grow fruit and corn downstream, Madrigal says. “They realized the importance of us supporting each other in defending the vital sources of life,” he says. “Without trees, there is no water.” For a certain type of tree, however, the inverse occurs: Without water, there are no avocados. Defending native forests, urban or otherwise, is a small but important fight in Michoacán, where avocado orchards have replaced nearly 700,000 hectares (1.7 million acres) of tree cover, an area almost three times the size of Cape Town, between 1993 and 2023. Michoacán is the top avocado exporter in Mexico and the only&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-michoacan-mexico-drying-soil-threatens-water-supplies-and-avocados-says-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-michoacan-mexico-drying-soil-threatens-water-supplies-and-avocados-says-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324409</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How saline drinking water raises preeclampsia risks in coastal Bangladesh (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-saline-drinking-water-raises-preeclampsia-risks-in-coastal-bangladesh-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-saline-drinking-water-raises-preeclampsia-risks-in-coastal-bangladesh-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jul 2026 16:59:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashik Rubaiyat]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/23164359/Water-collection-from-pond-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324396</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Commentary, Drinking Water, Ecology, Fisheries, Storms, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Hypertensive or high blood pressure disorders are among the leading causes of maternal deaths in low-income countries. A pregnancy complication known as preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder, is listed among the top five causes of maternal deaths in Bangladesh. For expectant women with preeclampsia, timely treatment is required; otherwise, it can lead to issues such as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Hypertensive or high blood pressure disorders are among the leading causes of maternal deaths in low-income countries. A pregnancy complication known as preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder, is listed among the top five causes of maternal deaths in Bangladesh. For expectant women with preeclampsia, timely treatment is required; otherwise, it can lead to issues such as elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count syndrome, hepatic failure, coma or loss of life.The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the U.N. set an ambitious target to reduce the maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by the end of 2030. While many developed nations have already achieved the U.N. target, low- and middle-income countries are yet to achieve these goals. In Bangladesh, the maternal mortality rate is 196 per 100,000 live births and rates remain significantly higher in the neighboring countries . A recent study reported an association between hypertension, preeclampsia and high-salinity drinking water. The same study argues that, in Bangladesh, preeclampsia is associated with high-salt drinking water. Epidemiological evidence links high salt intake to hypertension in both adults and children. The scarcity of safe drinking water has become a serious global issue due to agricultural expansion, sea level rise caused by global warming and population growth. The IPCC, in its sixth Assessment Report (AR6), stated that climate change affects water availability and water quality. Globally, around 4 billion people face water scarcity for at least one month each year. Storm surges and rising sea levels make it easier for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-saline-drinking-water-raises-preeclampsia-risks-in-coastal-bangladesh-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-saline-drinking-water-raises-preeclampsia-risks-in-coastal-bangladesh-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324396</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can ‘fog harvesting’ help solve water scarcity in Chile’s Atacama Desert?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-fog-harvesting-help-solve-water-scarcity-in-chiles-atacama-desert/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-fog-harvesting-help-solve-water-scarcity-in-chiles-atacama-desert/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 20:09:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/17195707/AP275353435726-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323860</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation Technology, Deserts, Environment, Natural Resources, Technology, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places in the world. Some areas only see rainfall a few times in a century, while others have never recorded rainfall at all. In many rural communities there, local governments have to truck in water from other parts of the country or extract it from deep underground [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places in the world. Some areas only see rainfall a few times in a century, while others have never recorded rainfall at all. In many rural communities there, local governments have to truck in water from other parts of the country or extract it from deep underground wells. But in harder-to-reach settlements, these solutions still aren’t cost-effective or reliable. To address the problem, residents and researchers have looked for more innovative methods of getting water out of the environment. Some have begun using the fog that often blankets northern Chile. Off the Pacific coast, cold air currents cool into low cloud cover that blows inland, getting stopped by coastal mountains and settling at ground level. With the right approach, groups have found ways to “capture,” or “harvest,” the fog, turning it into useable freshwater. “In a very simple way, we have to understand that clouds are made up of water droplets,” Camilo del Río, director of the Catholic University’s Atacama Desert Center in Chile, told Mongabay. “They’re already formed, they’re already condensed. So whenever a cloud is transported by wind and comes into contact with the Earth’s surface, what is touching the surface is thousands and thousands of liters [of water].” Local groups have found ways to harvest enough fog to supplement drinking water and bolster agricultural projects. But many challenges with the strategy still remain. Researchers want to harvest the fog more efficiently and at scale, one day convincing local officials&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-fog-harvesting-help-solve-water-scarcity-in-chiles-atacama-desert/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323860</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rivers are not just water bodies: Interview with the Waterman of Odisha</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/rivers-are-not-just-water-bodies-interview-with-the-waterman-of-odisha/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/rivers-are-not-just-water-bodies-interview-with-the-waterman-of-odisha/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 15:07:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stephin Thomas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/17095646/Fishing_In_Orissa-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323831</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation leadership, Environment, Fellows, Freshwater, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mongabay.org, Natural Resources, Rivers, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rivers are not just seen as water bodies in India, they are considered religious. From taking holy dips (a sacred act of faith in Hinduism, also called snan) for spiritual purification to scattering ashes after one&#8217;s death, it all starts and ends with rivers. While some see them as  religious spaces, others consider them recreational [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Rivers are not just seen as water bodies in India, they are considered religious. From taking holy dips (a sacred act of faith in Hinduism, also called snan) for spiritual purification to scattering ashes after one&#8217;s death, it all starts and ends with rivers. While some see them as  religious spaces, others consider them recreational spaces. For some, there is no life without rivers. But others have forgotten to see how deeply connected rivers are to everyday lives. With rivers like the Ganga (considered the holiest river in the country) drying up and urban Indian cities like Bengaluru facing water crises, Ranjan Panda, popularly known as the Waterman of Odisha, has spent more than three decades working on water conservation and climate advocacy closely with communities in Odisha, eastern India. “I want to be a living Earth citizen and not a dead Earth citizen,&#8221; Panda says. Panda&#8217;s work is especially important at a time when rural India faces groundwater depletion. India&#8217;s share of the world&#8217;s population is roughly 18%, while its share of renewable freshwater resources is only about 4%, a gap that increases the consequences of river degradation. Panda, a trained sociologist, has written widely on water, disasters and climate change-related mental health challenges affecting coastal communities in Odisha. He shares his insights on issues like coastal cities, displacement and the effects of climate change on communities. He is not just a researcher but has also been a journalist for a decade of his early life. He has been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/rivers-are-not-just-water-bodies-interview-with-the-waterman-of-odisha/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323831</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous advocates push for rights protections around AI data centers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-advocates-push-for-rights-protections-around-ai-data-centers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-advocates-push-for-rights-protections-around-ai-data-centers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2026 13:59:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/16134609/emrip-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323706</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Artificial Intelligence, Data centers, Development, Economics, Energy, Environment, Human Rights, Infrastructure, Technology, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Artificial intelligence is said to be the transformative technology of our time, with the potential to reshape our world on a global scale, according to research. Yet AI&#8217;s potential is underpinned by the need for hyperscale data centers, the large, energy-intensive sites that house servers and IT equipment. As tech companies and governments continue to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Artificial intelligence is said to be the transformative technology of our time, with the potential to reshape our world on a global scale, according to research. Yet AI&#8217;s potential is underpinned by the need for hyperscale data centers, the large, energy-intensive sites that house servers and IT equipment. As tech companies and governments continue to develop this infrastructure at scale, Indigenous peoples from Brazil to Canada affected by the projects have responded in different ways. Some have raised concerns about pressure on water resources and inadequate consultation, while others have embraced the projects for their economic benefits. In July 2026, at a meeting of the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Indigenous leaders, government representatives and experts called for data center projects to comply with the principles of free, prior and informed consent, or FPIC. They also explored whether growing AI infrastructure can be developed in ways that advance Indigenous priorities and rights. During a panel discussion on the second day of the EMRIP meeting, Indigenous delegates said that policies to ensure that AI does not harvest Indigenous knowledge without consent are of equal importance to protections for Indigenous lands and waters. “AI is resource-intensive and requires vast amounts of energy,” said Maren Storslett, a member of the Sámi Parliament in Norway at the meeting. “In Sápmi, we already see how large data centers put [immense] pressure on our territories. This forces a conversation about priorities and limits and we need to be at the table&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-advocates-push-for-rights-protections-around-ai-data-centers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323706</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sea level rise is ruining coastal Bangladesh with salty water (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sea-level-rise-is-ruining-coastal-bangladesh-with-salty-water-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sea-level-rise-is-ruining-coastal-bangladesh-with-salty-water-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 17:10:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[AL Sharia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/01160010/Bangladesh-salt-water-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322217</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Justice, Coastal Ecosystems, Commentary, Drinking Water, Erosion, Flooding, Health, Impact Of Climate Change, Natural Resources, Oceans, Pollution, Public Health, Sea Levels, Social Justice, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every morning, before the sun has fully risen over the tidal flats of Satkhira in southwest Bangladesh, women begin walking. They walk two kilometers, sometimes five (about 1.2 to 3.1 miles) and sometimes more, carrying empty vessels that they will fill with water fit for drinking. Then they walk back. Then, some days, they walk [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every morning, before the sun has fully risen over the tidal flats of Satkhira in southwest Bangladesh, women begin walking. They walk two kilometers, sometimes five (about 1.2 to 3.1 miles) and sometimes more, carrying empty vessels that they will fill with water fit for drinking. Then they walk back. Then, some days, they walk again. A UNDP study found that women in coastal Bangladesh spend up to six hours a day on this task alone, six hours that cannot be spent earning, learning or caring for their children, and this is not even a drought zone. This is one of the largest deltas on Earth. The women walk past rivers, channels and flooded fields. The water is everywhere, and none of it is safe. Approximately 20 million people along Bangladesh’s coast cannot safely drink the water that surrounds them. Yet, a UNDP survey found that 73% of residents in five coastal sub-districts of Satkhira consume saline water every single day. The crisis does not make the front pages of international newspapers the way droughts in East Africa or floods in Pakistan tend to. It is slow, structural and unglamorous, which is precisely why it has been allowed to continue for this long. A woman collects water from a pond about 1 km from her home in Shyamnagara, Satkhira district, Bangladesh. Image courtesy of Abu Siddique/Dialogue Earth. The intrusion of saltwater into Bangladesh’s coastal mainland is not simply a consequence of rising seas, though the seas are certainly rising. Studies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sea-level-rise-is-ruining-coastal-bangladesh-with-salty-water-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-322217</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thai farmers fear water woes from planned LNG plant</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/thai-farmers-fear-water-woes-from-planned-lng-plant/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/thai-farmers-fear-water-woes-from-planned-lng-plant/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2026 02:30:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24093029/fisher-offloads-gear-in-front-of-a-liquefied-natural-gas-LNG-terminal-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321660</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Drought, Energy, Environment, Farming, Fossil Fuels, Health, Industry, Natural Resources, Resource Conflict, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PHANOM SARAKHAM, Thailand — On a December afternoon, Suphut Hom Chunthit and his wife were tending to their 12 durian trees. Suphut showed reporters his homemade irrigation system, a series of pipes carrying water from the nearby Yang Deng canal. The durian trees were in their fourth year, Suphut said, so they should fruit and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PHANOM SARAKHAM, Thailand — On a December afternoon, Suphut Hom Chunthit and his wife were tending to their 12 durian trees. Suphut showed reporters his homemade irrigation system, a series of pipes carrying water from the nearby Yang Deng canal. The durian trees were in their fourth year, Suphut said, so they should fruit and be ready for harvest later in 2026 — if they survive. “Last year, we could only water the durian trees for 15 minutes a day,” said Suphut, who also grows cassava, rice, plums, rubber and rambutan in Phanom Sarakham, a district in Thailand’s Chachoengsao province. “It’s barely enough to keep them alive.” Three kilometers, less than 2 miles, down the road from Suphut’s 8-hectare (20-acre) farm sits the 304 Industrial Park (Chachoengsao), home to electronics, automotive and food-processing plants, and a biomass power station. The park is also the site of the planned 600-megawatt Burapa power plant. But locals like Suphut say they fear the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility could exacerbate water shortages and air pollution linked to the expansion of industry in Chachoengsao. The Burapa plant will need up to 12,000 cubic meters (424,000 cubic feet) of water daily, per its 2021 environmental impact assessment (EIA) — equivalent to the daily consumption of some 49,000 Chachoengsao residents, as measured by a 2024 study. Meanwhile, Phanom Sarakham district already faces a “medium-high” risk of drought, according to the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas. Suphut Hom Chunthit stands among durian trees on his&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/thai-farmers-fear-water-woes-from-planned-lng-plant/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321660</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Ecuador, an Indigenous community goes thirsty despite its two rivers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-ecuador-an-indigenous-community-goes-thirsty-despite-its-two-rivers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-ecuador-an-indigenous-community-goes-thirsty-despite-its-two-rivers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jun 2026 07:00:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gabriela Verdezoto Landívar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/11163242/MUJERES-Y-NINAS-CAPIRONA-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321009</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Crime, Drinking Water, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mining, Pollution, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Rivers, Social Justice, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the mining-plagued Ecuadorian Amazon, not even two rivers are enough to ensure safe water for an Indigenous community.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The man&#8217;s cheekbones are painted with achiote, a red pigment extracted from the seeds of the Bixa orellana plant. He wears a thin headband over his gray hair, and a traditional green shirt with yellow and blue trim on the collar and sleeves. In his right hand, he holds a wooden spear, 2.5 meters long, or just over 8 feet, made from the chonta palm (Bactris gasipaes). He stares at the journalist. His dark eyes widen as he laments the occurrence of several cases of community residents, including children, suffering from fungal infections. “Even two people have already died from stomach pain, and at the hospital, they said: ‘Maybe it’s the water.’” The video was first broadcast on Sept. 28, 2024, on an Ecuadorian national news program. The man recorded is Galo Villamil, one of the leaders of the Capirona community, an Indigenous Kichwa resistance enclave in the Ecuadorian Amazon. One year before, in 2023, 22-year-old Joana Ashanga and her 2-year-old nephew, Ville Ashanga, were victims of what the community considers the fatal consequence of river pollution. “Despite the complaints, official reports from the [Ecuadorian] Ministry of Health made no mention of links between the pollution and the deaths, which generated distrust and outrage,” said Linda Tapuy, president of the Capirona community, before an audience at a university auditorium in Ecuador’s capital, Quito, two years after the deaths. The victims’ death certificates said the cause of death was “unknown.” For the Indigenous group, appearing in that television news story was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-ecuador-an-indigenous-community-goes-thirsty-despite-its-two-rivers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321009</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Risk of saltwater intrusion into coastal groundwater spans the globe: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/risk-of-saltwater-intrusion-into-coastal-groundwater-spans-the-globe-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/risk-of-saltwater-intrusion-into-coastal-groundwater-spans-the-globe-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2026 17:26:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/27165515/5-cornfield-flooded-with-salts-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320199</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Conservation, Drinking Water, Environment, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Oceans, Research, Sea Levels, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Globally, about half of drinking water and a quarter of irrigation water comes from under the ground. Yet many coastal sites throughout the world are seeing notable declines in their groundwater levels, putting them at risk of saltwater intrusion, a new study says. The study, published April 14 in the journal Nature Water, found that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Globally, about half of drinking water and a quarter of irrigation water comes from under the ground. Yet many coastal sites throughout the world are seeing notable declines in their groundwater levels, putting them at risk of saltwater intrusion, a new study says. The study, published April 14 in the journal Nature Water, found that more than 10% of monitored locations showed a significant years-long decline in groundwater levels, indicating a susceptibility to saltwater intrusion, which can render water unusable. Annika Nolte, a data scientist at the University of Bremen in Germany and lead author of the study, said the results amounted to a “warning” and the work offered a “broad global look at the existing risks” while also identifying “specific regions where we should prioritize management and monitoring.” Sections of a cornfield in the eastern United States. The areas with elevated salt (left) yielded far fewer crops than areas with normal salt. Image courtesy of Jarrod Miller/Delmarva Saltwater Intrusion. A field in Delaware, in the eastern United States. Salt along the edges affected crop growth. Image courtesy of Jarrod Miller/Delmarva Saltwater Intrusion. Groundwater’s role as a key source of freshwater makes it essential for human existence, according to co-author Robert Reinecke, a professor of earth sciences at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany. &#8220;Generally speaking, the availability of drinking water is a prerequisite for people to be able to live anywhere, grow food, and for us to have healthy ecosystems,” Reinecke told German news program Tagesschau. The insidious creep&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/risk-of-saltwater-intrusion-into-coastal-groundwater-spans-the-globe-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320199</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Saline intrusion in Mekong Delta leaves farmers and scientists at odds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/saline-intrusion-in-mekong-delta-leaves-farmers-and-scientists-at-odds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/saline-intrusion-in-mekong-delta-leaves-farmers-and-scientists-at-odds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2026 22:49:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Minh L Tran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/29170339/Khanh-Chi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318406</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Research, Rivers, Sea Levels, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Vinh Long, VIETNAM — Khanh Chi tends a small apricot blossom orchard in Nhuan Phu Tan, a commune in southern Vietnam’s Vinh Long province by the Co Chien River, one of the Mekong River’s final distributaries before reaching the ocean. Her orchard is 55 kilometers (34 miles) inland. According to the provincial hydrometeorological observatory, Chi’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Vinh Long, VIETNAM — Khanh Chi tends a small apricot blossom orchard in Nhuan Phu Tan, a commune in southern Vietnam’s Vinh Long province by the Co Chien River, one of the Mekong River’s final distributaries before reaching the ocean. Her orchard is 55 kilometers (34 miles) inland. According to the provincial hydrometeorological observatory, Chi’s commune is the furthest point along the Co Chien River where, this year, salinity levels hit 4 parts per thousand (ppt) — the threshold at which rice farming is damaged. As saltwater pushes deeper and less predictably into the delta in recent decades, Vietnam has responded with canals, dikes and sluice gates to keep it out. For farmers, such projects offer the most explicit and immediate relief. Scientists say that might be a problem. Instead of engineering its way out of the salinity crisis, scientists argue, the region must adapt to it. “I buy freshwater, bring it back by truck, and just spray it like a mist,” Chi says, describing how she waters the apricot during dry season, when the river is saline. She used to grow fruit seedlings, durian and jackfruit but made the switch to ornamental plants as they are more resilient to saltwater. A few years ago, Chi dug a small pond in her orchard to store water when it rains or the river runs fresh. She uses it sparingly, enough to stretch through a few worst days of an intrusion. “The bigger the orchard, the larger the lake,” she says. “My&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/saline-intrusion-in-mekong-delta-leaves-farmers-and-scientists-at-odds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318406</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh struggles to choose between food security &#038; stable groundwater table</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/bangladesh-struggles-to-choose-between-food-security-stable-groundwater-table/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/bangladesh-struggles-to-choose-between-food-security-stable-groundwater-table/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2026 17:19:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/30163952/farmers-are-irrigating-their-land-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318504</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Drought, Extreme Weather, Farming, Food, food security, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Rice, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Considering the rapidly depleting groundwater table in Bangladesh’s northwestern zone, known as the Barind Tract, the country declared 25 subdistricts of the region as water crisis-prone areas in December 2025. In a circular, the government suggested that farmers immediately cut their cultivation of the high irrigation-intensive rice variety boro. At the same time, it directed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Considering the rapidly depleting groundwater table in Bangladesh’s northwestern zone, known as the Barind Tract, the country declared 25 subdistricts of the region as water crisis-prone areas in December 2025. In a circular, the government suggested that farmers immediately cut their cultivation of the high irrigation-intensive rice variety boro. At the same time, it directed the state-owned Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) to stop providing irrigation to the farmers. BMDA is an authority under the Ministry of Water Resources that oversees irrigation of extracted groundwater through roughly 16,000 deep tube wells to more than half a million hectares (1.2 million acres) of arable land in northern Bangladesh. “The water crisis is nothing new in the region. However, the sudden declaration of stopping irrigation and boro cultivation brought BMDA and the farmers into a confrontational situation,” said Md Abul Kasem, additional chief engineer of BMDA. “Later, we discussed the situation with the Water Resources Ministry and got a verbal direction to continue the irrigation till the next formal decision is made,” he added. The declaration came per the suggestion of the Bangladesh Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO), as it suggested the government take measures to curb groundwater depletion in the country. According to WARPO, five subdistricts of Chapai Nawabganj, 10 subdistricts of Rajshahi and 10 subdistricts of Naogaon are marked at different levels of groundwater scarcity, including high, medium and low. A 2024 study said the Barind Tract was the most drought-affected zone in the country due to its lesser rainfall,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/bangladesh-struggles-to-choose-between-food-security-stable-groundwater-table/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318504</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>AI is a double-edged sword for Indigenous stewardship, say U.N. experts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/ai-is-a-double-edged-sword-for-indigenous-stewardship-say-u-n-experts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/ai-is-a-double-edged-sword-for-indigenous-stewardship-say-u-n-experts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Apr 2026 15:05:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/24150037/Capture-decran-le-2026-04-24-a-11.00.09-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318127</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, data, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Technology, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This story is republished through the Indigenous News Alliance. At the 2026 United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII, in New York, experts warned of the opportunities and dangers of using artificial intelligence (AI) in conservation and climate adaptation efforts. AI can support the protection and management of Indigenous peoples’ lands and resources, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This story is republished through the Indigenous News Alliance. At the 2026 United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII, in New York, experts warned of the opportunities and dangers of using artificial intelligence (AI) in conservation and climate adaptation efforts. AI can support the protection and management of Indigenous peoples’ lands and resources, such as by monitoring deforestation, fires and illegal extraction, but it can also contribute to greater environmental harm and infringe on Indigenous rights. A study published by Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, former chair of the permanent forum from the Mbororo people of Chad, highlighted some of the possibilities and challenges AI presents for environmental protection, as well as the impacts of this technology on Indigenous territories. This includes land-grabbing, water overexploitation and land degradation due to its high energy, water and critical minerals needs. “For generations, Indigenous Peoples have protected the world’s most intact ecosystems without satellites, without algorithms or technologies,” Ibrahim told Mongabay over email. “AI can become a powerful ally to that stewardship, if it is used on our terms in a culturally appropriated way.” AI and conservation Ibrahim explained that AI can help Indigenous communities monitor biodiversity, detect deforestation, illegal mining, wildfires, or water contamination through the use of satellite imagery and sensors. “When combined with Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, AI can help predict climate impacts, track wildlife movements, and strengthen land-use planning while helping to plan faster resilience strategies,” she added. Setting up a camera trap in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/ai-is-a-double-edged-sword-for-indigenous-stewardship-say-u-n-experts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318127</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Brazil, unfinished water project leaves Indigenous villages without safe water</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-brazil-unfinished-water-project-leaves-indigenous-villages-without-safe-water/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-brazil-unfinished-water-project-leaves-indigenous-villages-without-safe-water/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Apr 2026 21:13:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Adriana AmâncioFelipe Medeiros]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/14211159/Caixa-d_agua-na-comunidade-Bem-Viver_Fotos-Felipe-Medeiros-7-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317557</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Culture, Drinking Water, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[RAPOSA SERRA DO SOL, Brazil — Turned upside down on the dirt floor, next to an artisanal flour mill, a huge water tank catches the eye of those passing through the Bem Viver community, in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory, located 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Roraima’s state capital Boa Vista. Under the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[RAPOSA SERRA DO SOL, Brazil — Turned upside down on the dirt floor, next to an artisanal flour mill, a huge water tank catches the eye of those passing through the Bem Viver community, in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory, located 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Roraima’s state capital Boa Vista. Under the sun and rain, in the open air, the dusty object conveys an urgent message: Instead of storing drinking water for the Bem Viver (an Indigenous concept of ‘living well’ lifestyle prevalent in Latin America) village population, the 5,000-liter (1,320-gallon) container has remained unused for almost two years. The reservoir was provided to the community by the East Roraima Special Indigenous Sanitation District (DSEI in Portuguese), the managing unit of the federal government’s Indigenous Health Care Subsystem (SASISUS). It has not received a single drop of water — because it has not even been installed yet. Unable to use it, local residents were forced to devise an alternative plan: The mission consists of collecting water from a nearby waterfall connected to the village through an improvised network of pipes approximately 700 meters (2,296 feet) long. While the connection provides some water, it is consumed without proper treatment. At the same time, the thin and fragile pipes suffer from daily obstructions, almost always caused by the accumulation of leaves and debris. Improvised piping system for collecting water from a waterfall at the Bem Viver community in Raposa Serra do Sol, Roraima. Image by Felipe Medeiros. According to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-brazil-unfinished-water-project-leaves-indigenous-villages-without-safe-water/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317557</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A nature-based solution to save the Mekong Delta’s water future (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Mar 2026 10:01:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pham Phan Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/26082735/52314040736_af2758dde2_3k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316323</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Community Development, Conservation, Drinking Water, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Nature-based climate solutions, Rivers, Solutions, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Mekong Delta of Vietnam ranks among the world’s three most climate-vulnerable regions. Known as Southeast Asia’s “rice basket,” the region is home to 18 million people, produces half of Vietnam’s rice and 65% of its aquaculture, but faces escalating threats from rising sea levels, water pollution, groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion and land subsidence. With [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Mekong Delta of Vietnam ranks among the world’s three most climate-vulnerable regions. Known as Southeast Asia’s “rice basket,” the region is home to 18 million people, produces half of Vietnam’s rice and 65% of its aquaculture, but faces escalating threats from rising sea levels, water pollution, groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion and land subsidence. With only 20% of wastewater treated and more than 60% of rural residents lacking safe water and sanitation, the region’s environmental and economic stability hangs in the balance. A new proposal, the Nature-Based Mekong Delta Water Replenishment System (MD-GWRS), offers a sustainable, cost-effective solution to restore water security, leveraging the delta’s natural features and proven global technologies. The proposed MD-GWRS will increase Mekong groundwater yield by 1.5 million cubic meters per day to 4 million m3/day (53 million to 141 million cubic feet per day) at a cost of $317 million per year, with a potential benefit of $450 million per year from higher agriculture yield and aquaculture production. A region under threat The Mekong Delta’s challenges are stark. Surface water, often a mix of stormwater and untreated wastewater, is heavily contaminated. Groundwater is increasingly saline due to saltwater intrusion, affecting 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres), while overextraction has led to depletion and land subsidence at alarming rates (1.1-5.7 centimeters per year, or 0.4-2.2 inches, in Can Tho). Sea-level rise (2.2-13.5 millimeters per year, or 0.09-0.5 in), frequent droughts, and reduced dry-season river flows exacerbate the crisis, threatening the livelihoods of millions and the region’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-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-316323</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thai data center boom sparks fears of water shortage, air pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/thai-data-center-boom-sparks-fears-of-water-shortage-air-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/thai-data-center-boom-sparks-fears-of-water-shortage-air-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Mar 2026 03:54:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/10054228/20251216__DATA-CENTER_THAILAND_ANDY-BALL-5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315482</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Artificial Intelligence, Community Development, data, Data centers, Economics, Ecosystems, Energy, Energy Transition, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Planetary Health, Renewable Energy, Resource Conflict, Rivers, Technology, Traditional People, Waste, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This story was produced in collaboration with the Environmental Reporting Collective (ERC). Read the ERC’s story on the impacts of data centers globally here. CHONBURI, Thailand — The sun had yet to rise at 6 a.m., but Sarayuth Sonlacksa was already crouched on his wooden jetty, hoisting up plastic crates of crabs from his pond [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This story was produced in collaboration with the Environmental Reporting Collective (ERC). Read the ERC’s story on the impacts of data centers globally here. CHONBURI, Thailand — The sun had yet to rise at 6 a.m., but Sarayuth Sonlacksa was already crouched on his wooden jetty, hoisting up plastic crates of crabs from his pond to see if any had reached the size needed to sell to restaurants in Bangkok. He’s able to farm crabs this far inland, said Sarayuth, a former biochemist, thanks to the unique ecosystem provided by the mix of seawater, brackish water and freshwater that flows through the Bang Pakong River into the creeks near his home on the border between Chachoengsao and Chonburi provinces in eastern Thailand. But that delicate balance, he fears, may be upended by a new data center being built in Chonburi’s Khlong Tamru subdistrict, 10 kilometers (6 miles) from his crab farm in Chachoengsao province. The facility is one of at least 19 data centers reportedly planned or under construction in Chonburi and neighboring Rayong province. With the data centers springing up in an already heavily industrialized area that has struggled with water shortages and pollution, local residents say they fear the new sector could make the situation worse. “For me, data centers are better than normal factories,” Sarayuth said. “But for sure they will result in more water conflict, with more competition for resources, and more wastewater.” Sarayuth Sonlacksa inspects his crab farm, some 10 km from the construction site&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/thai-data-center-boom-sparks-fears-of-water-shortage-air-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315482</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Seven years after Brazil’s worst dam disaster, mining operations bounce back</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/seven-years-after-brazils-worst-dam-disaster-mining-operations-bounce-back/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/seven-years-after-brazils-worst-dam-disaster-mining-operations-bounce-back/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Feb 2026 08:11:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Felipe SabrinaMylena Melo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/13181329/Brumadinho_Minas_Gerais_32132222887-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314254</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Crime, Disasters, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Mining, Rivers, Traditional People, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BRUMADINHO, Brazil — In the rural community of Jangada, in the municipality of ​​Brumadinho in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, the water that supplies local families comes from springs that emerge onsite. In a Youtube video uploaded last December, local resident Lorraine Nascimento talks proudly about how “the water belongs to us.” More than 30 years [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BRUMADINHO, Brazil — In the rural community of Jangada, in the municipality of ​​Brumadinho in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, the water that supplies local families comes from springs that emerge onsite. In a Youtube video uploaded last December, local resident Lorraine Nascimento talks proudly about how “the water belongs to us.” More than 30 years ago, without any support from the state waterd board, Copasa, the residents built a system by themselves to collect and distribute water from the springs. Today, the system is managed autonomously by a community association created for this purpose, and supplies water to hundreds of families in Casa Branca, the rural district where the Jangada community is located. Cátia Patrocinia Cruz Maia is a schoolteacher who, like everyone in her family, was born and raised in the community. She’s a member of the association that manages the water collection and distribution system. She recalls that, before the system was created, residents used to get their water from a creek that ran through the area. As the community grew, the demand for piped water increased as well. That was when her father, João de Sousa Cruz, joined friends and neighbors to solve the problem. “They got together and started building a system to pipe water for all the families,” Maia says. “Those who could afford it pitched in to help buy the pipes. Not a single cent came from the local government; it was all a community effort.” Today, however, Jangada’s water is threatened by the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/seven-years-after-brazils-worst-dam-disaster-mining-operations-bounce-back/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314254</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Farmers fear displacement, drought, flooding tied to Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/farmers-fear-displacement-drought-flooding-tied-to-cambodias-funan-techo-canal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/farmers-fear-displacement-drought-flooding-tied-to-cambodias-funan-techo-canal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2026 06:33:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald FlynnPhoung Vantha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/12060609/FTC-pt-2-banner-img-v1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314184</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Canals, Conservation, Drought, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Farming, Fish, Fishing, Flooding, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Infrastructure, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Land Use Change, Rivers, Traditional People, Tropics, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is the second of two stories about the potential impact of Cambodia’s planned Funan Techo Canal. Read part one, about consequences for coastal communities and wildlife, here. TAKEO, Cambodia — Thet Chanton finally finished construction on his new home along the banks of the Prek Bassac (Bassac creek) in Prey Sambor village, a small farming [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is the second of two stories about the potential impact of Cambodia’s planned Funan Techo Canal. Read part one, about consequences for coastal communities and wildlife, here. TAKEO, Cambodia — Thet Chanton finally finished construction on his new home along the banks of the Prek Bassac (Bassac creek) in Prey Sambor village, a small farming community in Cambodia’s southern province of Takeo. That was in June 2024. Just five months later, when Mongabay first interviewed Chanton in November 2024, he said local authorities had already told him his house would need to be demolished. “We had a meeting with the village chief, but there were commune, district and provincial authorities there too,” Chanton said. “They told us that Prek Bassac will be studied to become part of the Funan Techo Canal.” The canal is a controversial new waterway the Cambodian government is planning to link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand. It will cut a 180-kilometer (112-mile) trench through farms, wetlands and homes in Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep provinces as it goes. Chanton’s household is one of 400 the government estimates will lose their houses to the mega-project’s construction. The same estimates suggest that, in total, 2,305 households consisting of 11,525 people will be directly impacted in some way by the Funan Techo Canal. “We spent about $20,000 to build this house, but we did that with a $10,000 microfinance loan,” said Chanton, who owned a small rice farm around his newly built home when Mongabay met&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/farmers-fear-displacement-drought-flooding-tied-to-cambodias-funan-techo-canal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314184</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>When nature becomes a security risk</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/when-nature-becomes-a-security-risk/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/when-nature-becomes-a-security-risk/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Feb 2026 14:58:27 +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/20/2022/12/12231629/GP1T2OKD-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313602</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Britain, Europe, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conflict, Environment, Food, food security, Forests, Green, Human Migration, Pandemics, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Britain’s national security thinking has traditionally been shaped by familiar concerns: hostile states, terrorism, energy supply, and, more recently, cyber threats. A new assessment from the U.K. government adds a different category to that list. Global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, it argues, now pose a direct and growing risk to national security, with implications [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Britain’s national security thinking has traditionally been shaped by familiar concerns: hostile states, terrorism, energy supply, and, more recently, cyber threats. A new assessment from the U.K. government adds a different category to that list. Global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, it argues, now pose a direct and growing risk to national security, with implications that extend well beyond conservation policy and into food supply, economic stability, migration, and conflict. The assessment is explicit about its framing. This is not a scientific review, nor an environmental strategy. It is an intelligence-style analysis, designed to support national security planning under conditions of uncertainty. It draws on scientific literature, expert judgment, and probabilistic reasoning, applying the same tools used to assess geopolitical or military risk. Its core judgment is delivered with high confidence: global ecosystem degradation already threatens U.K. prosperity and security, and without major intervention, those risks are likely to intensify through mid-century and beyond. Deforestation for palm oil production in Malaysian Borneo. At the heart of the argument is the idea of cascading risk. Ecosystems underpin food production, water availability, climate regulation, and disease control. When they degrade, the effects rarely remain local. Crop failures in one region can ripple through global markets. Water scarcity can destabilize fragile states. Disease outbreaks can spread rapidly through interconnected societies. The assessment emphasizes that biodiversity loss should be understood not as an isolated environmental problem, but as a multiplier of existing social, economic, and political stresses. The report identifies several pathways through which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/when-nature-becomes-a-security-risk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/when-nature-becomes-a-security-risk/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313602</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bird diversity drops in human-dominated habitats, Nepal study suggests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/bird-diversity-drops-in-human-dominated-habitats-nepal-study-suggests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/bird-diversity-drops-in-human-dominated-habitats-nepal-study-suggests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Nov 2025 13:55:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/26131636/3-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310196</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Conservation, Deforestation, Drinking Water, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Land Use Change, Landscape Restoration, Rivers, Species, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Birds prefer to live in a mix of forests, fields and wetlands, but human activities such as logging, hunting and sand and gravel mining are taking a toll on such mosaics in Nepal’s southern plains, a recent study shows. The research, published in the Journal of Environmental Management, suggests such a mosaic of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Birds prefer to live in a mix of forests, fields and wetlands, but human activities such as logging, hunting and sand and gravel mining are taking a toll on such mosaics in Nepal’s southern plains, a recent study shows. The research, published in the Journal of Environmental Management, suggests such a mosaic of connected habitats coupled with a reduction of disturbances from human activities such as extraction may help boost not only the numbers of birds, but species as well. “We found that while birds seek heterogeneity in their habitats, human activities are increasingly homogenizing the landscapes at the cost of bird habitats,” said Hem Bahadur Katuwal, assistant professor at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. As part of the study, researchers studied the diversity, ecological traits and functions (habitat, diet, mobility and body size) and ancestry of 238 randomly selected bird species in an anthropogenic (farmland and settlement) and a natural (forest and riverine) habitat within the Parsa-Koshi Complex (PKC) in southern Nepal for more than a year. “We chose the study area because it is not only rich in natural habitat, but it also has the highest population density in Nepal,” Katuwal said. Grey Heron spotted in the study area. Image courtesy of Hem Bahadur Katuwal. Katuwal and his team then used computer models to compare this data with the level of human activity and landscape patterns in the same area, aiming to see if human activities acted like a &#8220;filter&#8221; that only allowed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/bird-diversity-drops-in-human-dominated-habitats-nepal-study-suggests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310196</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Makassar women press for water as taps and wells run dry in sweltering Indonesian city</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/makassar-women-press-for-water-as-taps-and-wells-run-dry-in-sweltering-indonesian-city/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/makassar-women-press-for-water-as-taps-and-wells-run-dry-in-sweltering-indonesian-city/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Nov 2025 12:14:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sri Wahyuni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/19122852/Makassar-woman-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309824</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, South Sulawesi, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities, Drinking Water, Environment, Freshwater, Gender, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Human Rights, Rivers, Social Justice, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MAKASSAR, Indonesia — For years, Rahma paid a monthly rate for water that never flowed to her home in eastern Indonesia’s largest urban area, here where the Tallo River meets the Pacific Ocean. “If I&#8217;m late by one day, I’ll be fined,” Rahma told Mongabay Indonesia near the coast of Makassar, the largest city on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MAKASSAR, Indonesia — For years, Rahma paid a monthly rate for water that never flowed to her home in eastern Indonesia’s largest urban area, here where the Tallo River meets the Pacific Ocean. “If I&#8217;m late by one day, I’ll be fined,” Rahma told Mongabay Indonesia near the coast of Makassar, the largest city on the island of Sulawesi. “They didn’t take away the meter, so we thought maybe the water would come back on, but it never did.” In the 15th century, the kingdom of Tallo transformed Makassar into a maritime power that dominated southern Sulawesi’s trading routes until eventual defeat by Dutch occupiers in the 1660s. Today, thousands who live on the modern seafront in the sweltering port of 1.5 million battle daily water scarcity, where access to this most basic of needs is already squeezed by crisis. In 2000, the regional government established a local water company to help supply water to parched households here in Tallo. But the local utility, known in Indonesia as a PDAM, is unreliable and the water often runs only at night, if at all, local customers in Makassar told Mongabay. Around three-quarters of those surveyed in Makassar for a report published last year by Indonesia’s largest environmental organization said they experienced difficulties in obtaining water. That means residents like Rahma and Sinar, 45, who is the ward of Tallo’s seventh neighborhood, have to resort to wearying daily treks across one of the hottest parts of Indonesia to queue at dawn for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/makassar-women-press-for-water-as-taps-and-wells-run-dry-in-sweltering-indonesian-city/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309824</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How to clean solar panels in arid areas? Waterless systems could improve efficiency</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/how-to-clean-solar-panels-in-arid-areas-waterless-systems-could-improve-efficiency/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/how-to-clean-solar-panels-in-arid-areas-waterless-systems-could-improve-efficiency/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Oct 2025 16:41:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Samuel Ogunsona]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/24125511/Yurt_in_Gobi_Desert-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308253</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Deserts, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Fellows, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the world grapples with the challenges of meeting rising electricity demand, particularly in developing countries, solar energy has emerged as a beacon of hope. In sub-Saharan Africa, where energy poverty is a persistent challenge, the potential for solar energy is vast. Monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) panels have become a popular choice for solar energy generation [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the world grapples with the challenges of meeting rising electricity demand, particularly in developing countries, solar energy has emerged as a beacon of hope. In sub-Saharan Africa, where energy poverty is a persistent challenge, the potential for solar energy is vast. Monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) panels have become a popular choice for solar energy generation in the region. These panels convert sunlight into electrical energy, providing a clean and renewable source of power. However, efficiency is affected by the harsh environmental conditions in arid regions. One of the major challenges facing solar panels is the accumulation of dust, bird droppings and other contaminants on the panel surface. Research has shown that dust accumulation can significantly reduce a solar panel’s power output up to 56% over time, compared with clean modules. Research also shows that the method of cleaning affects solar panel efficiency, depending on whether soap or pressurized water are used. “Cleaning using water is an effective method but it needs pressurized water or a cleaning brush to help the water to remove sticky or muddy particles,” the authors of a 2013 Energy Conservation and Management study write. The study also notes that surfactants (soap) help maintain the panel’s efficiency. A Syrian man, Abdul Razzaq Al-Jenan, cleans solar panels on his house roof, in Damascus. Image by AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed. In many parts of the world, manual cleaning of solar panels using water, brushes and mild soap is a common practice, but it has downsides: It can be labor-intensive, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/how-to-clean-solar-panels-in-arid-areas-waterless-systems-could-improve-efficiency/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308253</doi>				</item>
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