For all the economic benefits the palm oil industry has brought to Indonesia and Malaysia, which together produce more than 80 percent of the global supply of the commodity, the…
The number of companies that have pledged to stop selling or using commodities that drive tropical deforestation has proliferated over the past several years. These commitments to clean up commodities…
New research provides yet more evidence that granting indigenous and other local communities formal title to their traditional lands can be a boon to efforts to conserve forests. Deforestation is…
The month of March saw the world’s largest meatpacker, Brazilian company JBS, rocked by not one but two major scandals. On March 17, agents with Brazil’s Federal Police raided facilities…
A species has just three options in the face of environmental change: move, adapt or die. As global temperatures rise many species are shifting their ranges, particularly towards the cooler…
Map for Environment is a free online open-source mapping platform that offers spatial data, tools, and hosting to encourage a wider environmental community to produce maps and increase transparency in decision-making.
Greenhouse gas emissions reduction programs often focus on the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities that lead to tropical deforestation. However, according to a new study published last week in…
Deforestation is a big source of atmospheric carbon, one that is increasingly targeted by climate change mitigation projects around the world. Now, even forests in protected areas can be “significant”…
Deforestation is estimated to be responsible for about 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, which is why mechanisms for reducing forest destruction and promoting the reforestation of already degraded forestlands…
If quizzed on what we know about Asia’s clouded leopard, most of us would be stumped. But ask an expert who works with these wild cats, and you’ll get an…
On the latest episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we welcome journalist Sue Branford, a regular contributor to Mongabay who has been reporting from Brazil since 1979 when she was with…
The Jeypore ground gecko (Geckoella jeyporensis) was first noted and described by a British colonel in 1877, but was not seen again for more than 130 years, and presumed extinct.…
Romer's tree frog is, in every respect, an animal that keeps out of the way. Start with its size: averaging just 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters (0.6 to 1 inches) in…
It’s estimated that about 10 percent of global emissions comes from deforestation — meaning we could make considerable progress toward halting climate change simply by keeping what remains of the…
Loans and credit from the British bank HSBC have helped support the unsustainable clearing of forests for oil palm plantations in Indonesia, Greenpeace said in a report published Tuesday. The…
There’s already ample evidence of the ways environmental degradation can contribute to the spread of infectious diseases, and now a recent study provides an example of how the disruptions to…
Among best selling items this gift-giving season are Hatchimals, a Retro Pop-Up Hot Dog Toaster, and a Monogrammed Blackhead Remover. But what do you buy for a harried, underfunded, hard…
Two new analyses show that companies reliant on agricultural commodities like beef, palm oil, pulp and paper, and soy have underestimated the risk of deforestation in their supply chains and…
Scientists and conservationists have long argued that, given the vast amount of degraded forestland in the tropics, large-scale and long-term restoration efforts are urgently needed, not just to help reverse…
It’s a hummingbird… it’s a bumblebee… it’s Kitti’s hog-nosed bat. Yes, seriously, look at it: it’s a bat. A teensy, tiny, teeny, weeny bat. Kitti’s hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) is…
Against all odds, a young illegally trafficked chimpanzee held in a tiny cage at a private zoo in war-torn Iraqi Kurdistan has been rescued, and has arrived safely at a…
A multitude of conservation strategies are currently deployed across the tropics in order to curb deforestation, preserve biodiversity, and mitigate global warming. But conservationists and researchers often point to a…
Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, better known to the world as Chico Mendes, was a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader, and activist who fought for the Amazon rainforest and the…
Brazil is forging ahead with plans to build a vast hydropower dam complex in the heart of the Amazon that would convert the now remote and wild Tapajós river system…
Americans might not even be aware of the impact their instant noodles are having on the world’s tropical forests — and soon they may have less reason to worry about…
When I mentioned to some friends that I was writing a piece for Mongabay about langurs, their perplexed reactions were similar: “I thought you were an environmental journalist?” they said.…
Seven oil palm-growing African nations pledged today to protect their tropical forests by shifting to sustainable palm oil production. The TFA 2020 Marrakesh Declaration for the Sustainable Development of the…
As palm oil has become one of the most in-demand global commodities over the past several years, oil palm plantations have proliferated quickly throughout the tropics. Oil palm is currently…
More than 90 countries have now ratified the Paris Climate Agreement, which will enter into force tomorrow. Just 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas…
IRRAWADDY DELTA, Myanmar – In a country with forests under increasing threat, Myanmar's southern Irrawaddy Delta is home to one last precious pocket of green: Mein-ma-hla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary. Although the Irrawaddy…
