World’s rarest duck on the rebound in Madagascar
After a final sighting in 1991, the Madagascar pochard was thought to have vanished for good. But this diving duck was rediscovered in 2006 when a flock of 22 individuals…
The river of plenty: uncovering the secrets of the amazing Mekong
Home to giant catfish and stingrays, feeding over 60 million people, and with the largest abundance of freshwater fish in the world, the Mekong River, and its numerous tributaries, brings…
Yangtze porpoise down to 1,000 animals as world’s most degraded river may soon claim another extinction
A survey late last year found that the Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) population has been cut in half in just six years. During a 44-day survey, experts estimated…
Mekong dam spree could create regional food crisis
A fisherman on the Mekong River in Laos. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Fish are a hugely important protein source for many people around the world. This is no more…
Chinook salmon return to Olympic National Park after dam demolished
Chinook salmon. Photo by: USGS. In March of this year the Elwha Dam, which had stood for 99 years, was demolished in the U.S. state of Washington. Five months later,…
North American freshwater fish going extinct at rate over 800 times the fossil record
Since 1898 North America has lost at least 39 species of freshwater fish, according to a new study in Bioscience, and an additional 18 subspecies. Moreover, the loss of freshwater…
Featured video: restoring rivers in the Tongass Rainforest
A new video highlights recent efforts to restore rivers in the Tongass Forest, the world's largest intact temperate rainforest. Industrial logging in vital watersheds have hurt salmon populations and other…
Cute animal pictures of the day: smooth-coated otter cubs
Two male smooth-coated otter cubs were recently born at the Colchester Zoo. Photo by: Colchester Zoo. Smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) are found from India to Sumatra. They are listed as…
Conservationists successfully hatch world’s fourth most endangered turtle
The world's fourth most endangered turtle has received a happy boost from breeding efforts, reports the AFP. Bangladeshi scientists have successfully hatched 25 northern river terrapins (Batagur baska) using an…
Wildlife in the tropics plummets by over 60 percent
Devastated rainforest in Indonesian Borneo. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. In 48 years wildlife populations in the tropics, the region that holds the bulk of the world's biodiversity, have fallen…
Over 30 Yangtze porpoises found dead in China as population nears extinction
There are two subspecies of the finless porpoise, one is found in the Yangtze River, the other in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. This individual is the latter and was…
Eye-popping purple crabs discovered in the Philippines
New species of purple crab: Insulamon palawanense. Photo by: Hendrik Freitag. Scientists have discovered four new species of brilliantly-colored freshwater crabs on the Philippine island of Palawan. Described in the…
Hail Mary effort aims to save the world’s most endangered turtles
Roti snake island turtle, which is number 12 of the world's most endangered turtles, are being captive bred at the WCS's Bronx Zoo. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. The Wildlife…
How tiny otters survive in agricultural India
An Asian small-clawed otter caught on camera trap in the Western Ghats. Photo by: Clusteronefloyd. In the fragmented rainforests of India, many animals must move through human-modified landscapes such as…
Photo: new blue, red, yellow lizard discovered in the Andes
A male Potamites montanicola, a new species of lizard discovered in the Peruvian Andes. Photo courtesy of German Chávez. Researchers have discovered a new species of lizard in the Peruvian…
Saving the world’s biggest river otter
The giant river otter. Photo by: Frank Hajek. Behavior and conservation of the Amazon's giant river otter. Charismatic, vocal, unpredictable, domestic, and playful are all adjectives that aptly describe the…
Picture of the day: nearly-extinct turtle released into the wild in Cambodia
Children watch the rereleasing of a southern river terrapin back into the wild. Photo by: Eleanor Briggs. Only around 200 southern river terrapins (Batagur affinis) survive in the wild, but…
Florida loses two species to extinction
The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced yesterday that the believe two species in Florida have vanished into the long dark night: the South Florida rainbow snake (Farancia erytrogramma seminola)…
Opposition rises against Mekong dam as governments ponder decision
Mekong river at Chiang Saen in Thailand. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. As the governments of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam ready to meet on April 19th to decide whether…
Giant fish help grow the Amazon rainforest
Researchers discover that overexploited fish are long-distance seed dispersers. The giant tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) in Manaus Fish Market, Brazil. Photo by: Thorke Østergaard. A fruit in the flooded Amazon falls…
More biodiversity equals cleaner water, but why?
New study shows how greater biodiversity more efficiently scrubs pollutants from freshwater. A new landmark study not only proves that adding more species to a freshwater stream linearly increases the…
Photos: two new freshwater stingrays discovered in the Amazon
Heliotrygon gomesi in dorsal view. Photo taken by Ken Jones, University of Toronto at Scarborough Staff Photographer. Few people probably realize that in the rivers and lakes of the Amazon…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Bolivia’s El Curichi Las Garzas protected area taken over by land-grabbers
- Authorities struggle to protect Bolivian national park from drug-fueled deforestation
- Poverty and plantations: Nigerian reserve struggles against the odds
- Logging, road construction continue to fuel forest loss in Papua New Guinea
Oceans
- Warming seas push India’s fishers into distant, and more dangerous, waters
- No protection from bottom trawling for seamount chain in northern Pacific
- Annual ocean conference raises $11.3b in pledges for marine conservation
- Caribbean startups are turning excess seaweed into an agroecology solution
Amazon Conservation
- Deforestation haunts top Peruvian reserve and its Indigenous communities
- Amid record-high fires across the Amazon, Brazil loses primary forests
- A web of front people conceals environmental offenders in the Amazon
- Brazil boosts protection of Amazon mangroves with new reserves in Pará state
Land rights and extractives
- Women weave a culture of resistance and agroecology in Ecuador’s Intag valley
- Hyundai ends aluminum deal with Adaro Minerals following K-pop protest
- Brazil’s illegal gold trade takes a hammering, but persists underground
- Maluku bone collector unearths troubling consequence of coastal abrasion
Endangered Environmentalists
- Indonesian activists face jail over FB posts flagging damage to marine park
- Vietnamese environmentalist sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- Video: Five Tembé Indigenous activists shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
- After 20 years and thousands of trees planted, Kalimantan’s veteran forester persists
Conservation Effectiveness
- The conservation sector must communicate better (commentary)
- Thailand tries nature-based water management to adapt to climate change
- Forest restoration to boost biomass doesn’t have to sacrifice tree diversity
- How scientists and a community are bringing a Bornean river corridor back to life
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
- To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest
