Guatemala: Proposed new park on indigenous land treads fine ethical line
LA GLORIA, Guatemala — The sun was still rising when Ovidio Yat Sacul set out, machete in hand, in search of a waterfall near the top of the mountain overlooking…
Vaquita still doomed without further disruption of totoaba cartels (commentary)
My organization, the Elephant Action League (EAL), spent 14 months investigating and infiltrating the illicit totoaba swim bladder supply chain, from Baja California in Mexico to Southern China. We released…
Nicaragua crisis takes an environmental toll with plunder of turtle eggs
Some 2,000 sea turtle nests were raided and at least six turtles killed in La Flor Wildlife Refuge on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast during the summer of 2018, according to a…
The secret to a town’s perfect potatoes? Its well-preserved forest.
Links to other stories in this three-part profile of the Concepción Chiquirichapa community’s stewardship of its sacred cloud forest will appear here once they are published: How a Mayan town restored…
Ancient spirituality guides a Maya town’s conservation efforts
Links to other stories in this three-part profile of the Concepción Chiquirichapa community’s stewardship of its sacred cloud forest will appear here once they are published: How a Mayan town restored…
RSPO should suspend membership of groups undermining Guatemala’s anti-impunity commission (commentary)
In the coming weeks and months, a number of Guatemalan palm oil producers are expecting to receive memberships in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) — a move that…
Audio: Good news from Mexico monarch reserve despite looming deforestation, mine threat
On today’s episode, we talk with Mongabay contributor Martha Pskowski, who recently traveled to central Mexico to report on threats to monarch butterflies in their overwintering grounds. Listen here: …
How a Mayan town restored its sacred cloud forest and water supply
Links to other stories in this three-part profile of the Concepción Chiquirichapa community’s stewardship of its sacred cloud forest will appear here once they are published: Ancient spirituality guides a Maya…
‘Ecosystem guardians’ remain passionate despite dicey conditions
Central America is home to some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, with its rich savannas, tropical forests and coastal dunes hosting a bounty of flora and fauna.…
Copper mine destroying forests in Panama’s Mesoamerican Biological Corridor
From the air one can observe the destruction wrought by an open-pit mining project in Cerro Petaquilla and on the ground people talk about its environmental consequences. A security checkpoint…
The female park rangers protecting turtles from traffickers in Nicaragua
The lights draw uncertain lines under the blanket of stars that joins the sea to the sky at El Ostional Beach in southern Nicaragua, 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the…
Peccary’s disappearance foreboding for other Mesoamerican wildlife
The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), a hairy, pig-like mammal that once lived throughout the forests of Central and South America, now only skitters around in 13 percent of its former…
Scarlet macaws stalked by wildlife traffickers in Guatemala
Travel the pathways of what was once the Mayan world, and you’ll see images of the scarlet macaw, appearing at bus stations and on advertisements for hundreds of tour operators.…
Deforestation and mining threaten a monarch butterfly reserve in Mexico
ZITÁCUARO, Mexico - “As long as the butterflies keep coming, we’ll still have work here,” says Javier Ambrocio, looking out over the Sierra Chincua Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. A cold breeze…
Relative of ‘penis snake’ amphibian named after Donald Trump
A newly discovered species of amphibian that is related to the notorious Brazilian 'penis snake' has been named after President Donald Trump in a charity auction benefiting the Rainforest Trust,…
Guatemala: An indigenous community rejects, then accepts, a protected area
RÍO SARSTÚN, Guatemala — Riding in a small motorboat along the Atlantic coast of Guatemala, Francisco Cuz Acal looked over his left shoulder at the lush forest cover whizzing by.…
Pesticides could be painting black howler monkeys yellow in Costa Rica
Pesticide use on agricultural plantations may be shifting the color palette of howler monkey fur in Costa Rica, a team of scientists has found. Mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) are…
Secondary forests in Costa Rica are re-cleared within decades
Secondary forests — those that regrow naturally after being cleared or degraded — constitute more than half of existing tropical forests. When they are old enough, they support a wide…
‘There are no laws’: Cattle, drugs, corruption destroying Honduras UNESCO site
While many people from Atlantida, Honduras, are attempting to escape desperate poverty and deepening political violence by traveling some 3,000 miles to reach the border of the U.S., a few…
Tropical trees grow most easily where they are rare
Tropical forests are incredibly diverse ecosystems, and ecologists have long wondered why. New research studying a specific Panamanian tree – the yellow-flowering Handroanthus guayacan – has provided an answer. But…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- In Cambodia, a rare acquittal in a climate of danger for green activists
- On Peru’s border, the Tikuna tribe takes on illegal coca growers
- Peru: Invaders claim their first victim at the Macuya Forest Investigation Center
Indonesias forest guardians
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
- On the island of Java, a social forestry scheme creates jobs at home
- In Indonesia, bigger catches for a fishing village protecting its mangroves
Amazon infrastructure
- Yanomami Amazon reserve invaded by 20,000 miners; Bolsonaro fails to act
- Amazon infrastructure puts 68% of indigenous lands / protected areas at risk: report
- Amazon fish kill at Sinop spotlights risk from 80+ Tapajós basin dams
Asian rhinos
- Is the rhino horn trade a cartel? Economic analysis suggests it works like one
- Indonesia agrees to attempt Sumatran rhino IVF with eggs from Malaysia
- When it comes to captive breeding, not all Sumatran rhinos are equal
