Environmental Heroes News

The vast Mesoptomian marshes in southern Iraq were said to be the site of the original Garden of Eden. On their fringes have risen and fallen 12,000 years of Sumerian,…

Aleta Baun, an activist who led a movement to block a destructive mine in a remote part of Indonesia, was today awarded the prestigious Goldman Prize, the top honor for…

Jose Rodrigues Moreira, a Brazilian landowner who allegedly ordered the killings of Amazon activists Jose Claudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife Maria, was acquitted this week due to lack…

On Wednesday, in the Brazilian state of Pará, the trial begins of three men accused of murdering José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife Maria do Espirito Santo, who…

Miranda Gibson in the Observer Tree. Photo courtesy of Gibson. A bushfire has forced an environmental campaigner from the top of a tree following a 449-day vigil to block logging…

This interview is an excerpt from The WildLife with Laurel Neme, a program that explores the mysteries of the animal world through interviews with scientists and other wildlife investigators. "The…

Rebecca Tarbotton, the executive director of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) died Wednesday. She was 39. Tarbotton died in rough surf off a beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where she…

Atamato Madrandele, 1969 - 2012 Atamato Madrandele, Chief Warden of Upemba National Park, was ambushed and killed December 16, 2012 by Mai-Mai militia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,…

Confiscated elephant parts from poachers. Photo by: Nuria Ortega. For the past five years, Spanish biologist Luis Arranz has been the director of Garamba National Park, in the Democratic Republic…

Aerial view of illegal logging in Cambodia. Photo by: Paul Mason USAID/Cambodia/OGD. An investigation into the mysterious death of Cambodian forest activist, Chut Wutty, has been dismissed by the courts,…

After suffering from bladder cancer at 20, Sandra Steingraber began to study the links between toxic chemicals and deadly diseases. Her research led her to write the the much-acclaimed book…

Aerial view of illegal logging in Cambodia. Photo by: Paul Mason USAID/Cambodia/OGD. Less than five months after high-profile forest activist, Chut Wutty, was killed in Cambodia, an environmental journalist, Hang…

Yao Ming walks with Kinango, an infant elephant whose mother was killed by poachers at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. Photo by: Kristian Schmidt/WildAid. Former NBA Basketball player…

A Malagasy girl. While Madagascar faces widespread deforestation and erosion, it is estimated that 70 percent of its people suffer from malnutrition. The Rio+20 Summit is attempting to tackle both…

José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva speaking at a TEDx Amazon in 2010, just a few months before he and his wife were assassinated for their activism. On May 24th, 2011,…

In March 2012 the head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and well-known climatologist, James Hansen, spoke at a TED conference to explain what would push a 70-year-old scientist…

A portion of Virachey National Park as viewed by Google Earth in Cambodia. Last year Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, approved a 9,000 hectare (22,200 acre) rubber plantation inside the…

Chut Wutty with Prey Lang Network representatives, November 2011. Copyright Fran Lambrick 2011. All rights reserved. Chut Wutty, a dedicated Cambodian activist, was shot dead at an illegal logging site…

Aerial view of illegal logging in Koh Kong Province where forest activist, Chut Wutty, was shot dead today. Photo by: Paul Mason USAID/Cambodia/OGD. Chut Wutty, a prominent activist against illegal…

An interview with Dr. Sarah Bexell. The vanishing giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is just one victim of the global environmental crisis. Photo by: Sarah Bexell. Several years ago while teaching…

The past ten years have seen unprecedented progress in fighting deforestation in the Amazon. Indigenous rights, payments for ecosystem services, government enforcement, satellite imagery, and a spirit of cooperation amongst…

Observations of planet Earth from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on July 11, 2005. Photo by: NASA. Seventeen top scientists and four acclaimed conservation organizations have called for radical…

Right of left: Evgenia Chirikova, Edwin Gariguez, Ma Jun, Ikal Angelei, Caroline Cannon, and Sofia Gatica. Photo courtesy of Goldman Environmental Prize. A controversial dam, a massive mine, poisonous pesticides,…

Former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed speaking to reporters at the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009. Photo by: Adam Welz. Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives, told the…

The indomitable Wangari Maathai would have turned 72 yesterday, April 1st, 2012. Maathai, who was the first African woman and the first environmentalist to win a Nobel Peace Prize (in…

UNFF Director Jan McAlpine with winners Paulo Adario, Rhiannon Tomtishen, Madison Vorva, Paul Nzegha Mzeka, Shigeatsu Hatakeyama, and Anatoly Lebedev. Courtesy of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) The…

Dr George Schaller is a veteran ecologist affiliated with two conservation organizations in New York, Panthera and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Spending much of his time during the past six…

Bunda Bokitsi. Photo by: Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM). The effort to save wildlife from destruction worldwide has many heroes. Some receive accolades for their work, but others live in…

Palm oil plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Girl Scouts USA has announced that it will lessen palm oil in its ubiquitous cookies by using alternatives when…

The Wildlife Conservation Network's co-founder, Charles Knowles, looks back at a decade of hands on work in conservation. The Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) is dedicated to protecting endangered species and…