Newsletter 2020-07-09

 

FEATURED

Pandemic or not, the mission to save the rare Philippine eagle grinds on by Leilani Chavez [07/08/2020]

– A critically endangered Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) was rescued in the Zamboanga Peninsula in the southern Philippines during the height of the country’s COVID-19 lockdown, when all land, sea and air travel were barred.
– Despite the mobility limitations, various groups were able to exchange information and provide the much-needed proper first aid and rehabilitation for the rescued eagle, which was released back into the wild on May 20.
– There are currently seven known and identified Philippine eagles in the Zamboanga Peninsula, where there are ample protection mechanisms to support breeding eagle pairs.
– Deforestation, hunting and poaching are still the biggest threats to Philippine eagles, but recent collective efforts by various stakeholders have helped strengthen their conservation, experts say.

Investors say agroforestry isn’t just climate friendly — it’s also profitable by Stephanie Hanes [07/08/2020]

– Investments in agroforestry systems are growing along with the recognition that this model of farming is climate-friendly, environmentally sustainable, and profitable.
– Recently the startup company Propagate Ventures raised $1.5 million in seed funding to help farmers in eight U.S. states transition from conventional agriculture to agroforestry.
– For-profits ranging from individual farms to coffee companies and some of the largest chocolate companies in the world are currently investing in agroforestry.
– The relatively longer wait until profitability complicates its adoption by investors and farmers alike, where quick returns and obligations to shareholders are normally required, underscoring the niche for companies like Propagate.

World Bank’s IFC pumped $1.8b into factory farming operations since 2010 by Ashoka Mukpo [07/07/2020]

– Over the past 10 years, the World Bank’s private investment arm has sunk more than $1.8 billion into major livestock and factory farming companies across the world.
– Of the total, $686 million went to dairy companies, with $563 million for pork and $353 million for poultry production.
– While the IFC says the investments create jobs and reduce poverty, critics contend they harm the environment and concentrate profits into the hands of a small few.
– The investments come amid calls to reduce meat and dairy consumption to help tackle climate change and deforestation.

Brazilian court orders 20,000 gold miners removed from Yanomami Park by Sue Branford [07/07/2020]

– The Yanomami Park covers 37,000 square miles in the Brazilian Amazon on the Venezuelan border; it is inhabited by 27,000 Yanomami. Soaring gold prices have resulted in a massive ongoing invasion of the indigenous territory by gold miners who are well supported with monetary backing, heavy equipment and aircraft.
– On 3 July, a federal judge issued an emergency ruling ordering the Jair Bolsonaro administration to come up with an immediate plan to stop the spread of the pandemic to Yanomami Park, a plan which must include the removal of all 20,000 invading miners within ten days. Brazil’s Vice President pledges to back the plan.
– That eviction must stay in effect until the danger to the Yanomami of the pandemic passes. There have so far been five Yanomami deaths due to the disease and 168 confirmed cases. More are expected.
– The invasion has also resulted in violent clashes between miners and indigenous people. In mid-June two Yanomami were killed in a conflict, evoking fears of a replay of retaliatory violence that occurred in the 1990s. In response to the current crisis, the Yanomami have launched their “Miners Out, Covid Out” campaign.

Gray areas and weak policies mar lucrative Asian trade in live reef fish by Keith Anthony Fabro [07/06/2020]

– High demand for wild-caught reef fish from Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia to stock upscale restaurants in East Asia could be driving overfishing and depletion of fish stocks, export trends indicate.
– To ease the strain on wild fish populations, countries started adopting fish-farming practices in which they raise wild-caught grouper species in pens — a practice that is far from sustainable, a marine expert says.
– Government attempts to regulate the trade by imposing size limits and closed fishing seasons have largely fallen short, experts say.
– The COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest in Hong Kong, the prime market for the live reef food fish trade, have driven demand down, providing a window to aid the recovery of species like the leopard coral trout.

World’s biggest trade deal in trouble over EU anger at Brazil deforestation by Jenny Gonzales [07/06/2020]

– The trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), is the biggest trade treaty ever negotiated. Signed a year ago, the US$19 trillion deal’s ratification could fail due to Brazil’s refusal to respond.
– At the end of June, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that his nation will not make “any trade agreement with countries that do not respect the Paris [Climate] Agreement,” a direct reference to the administration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who has pursued an aggressive policy to develop the Amazon.
– The Dutch parliament, Austria, Belgium, Ireland and Luxembourg, plus some EU parliamentarians, and NGOs are opposed to the deal, saying it brings unfair competition to EU farmers and accelerates Amazon deforestation. French and Brazilian business interests and diplomats meet this week to try and settle differences.
– Brazil’s Bolsonaro has so far been unmoved by all these objections. While the government plans to launch a PR campaign to convince the EU to ratify the trade agreement, it continues pressing forward with plans to allow industrial mining and agribusiness intrusion into Amazon indigenous reserves and conserved areas.

For two rhino species on brink of extinction, it’s collaboration vs. stonewalling by Lauren Evans [07/06/2020]

– An ocean apart, and genetically separated into two distinct genera, the Sumatran and northern white rhinos have something in common: populations so small that researchers are looking to artificial reproductive technologies (ART) to ensure their survival.
– The situation is particularly dire for the northern white rhino, with just two known living individuals, both female. However, in 2019, a team of international experts successfully created northern white rhino embryos in a lab.
– With an estimated population of 80, Sumatran rhinos are more numerous, but ART efforts have been slowed by strict regulations imposed by the Indonesian government.

COVID-19 lockdown precipitates deforestation across Asia and South America by James Fair [07/03/2020]

– Increased logging activity has been reported from Brazil, Colombia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal and Madagascar since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
– Reduced monitoring by enforcement authorities and social upheaval have both been cited as reasons for the increase.
– Environmental groups are concerned that the expected global economic recession will result in governments deregulating businesses, leading to a less green recovery as a result.

 

NEWS

Shanthi, world’s most studied elephant, dies at Washington’s National Zoo by Malaka Rodrigo [Thu, 09 Jul 2020]
– Shanthi, a 45-year-old female Asian elephant considered the world’s most studied elephant, was euthanized on June 26 at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., after decades of increasingly debilitating osteoarthritis.
– She was sent to the U.S. from Sri Lanka in 1976 as an orphaned calf, a symbolic diplomatic gift from Colombo.
– During her time at the National Zoo, Shanthi gave birth to two calves, and was part of pioneering techniques of artificial insemination that are today practiced at zoos around the world.
– Since 1975, Sri Lanka has gifted 35 elephants to zoos in various countries — a practice that animal welfare groups say is inhumane for such large animals that evolved to roam over expansive tracts of land.

After canoe chase, Madagascar authorities seize 144 endangered tortoises by Edward Carver [Thu, 09 Jul 2020]
– Authorities in Madagascar have seized 144 radiated tortoises from poachers in the country’s south, in the biggest tortoise trafficking bust in the country since 2018.
– Radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata), a critically endangered species, are illegal to collect or trade; most of the 144 were adults targeted for their meat.
– The tortoises are being cared for at a recovery facility, but may not be returned to the wild anytime soon; trafficking has increased so much in recent years that conservation groups engaged in the rescue of tortoises have stopped all wild releases.
– Experts warn of a likely increase in poaching in Madagascar’s south, where radiated tortoises are found, as a result of the economic slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Indonesian parliament to probe pulpwood firm’s dispute with Indigenous group by Hans Nicholas Jong [Thu, 09 Jul 2020]
– Lawmakers in Indonesia want to question pulp and paper company PT Arara Abadi about its dispute with an Indigenous community in Sumatra that resulted in a member of the community being jailed on dubious charges.
– The company has held the concession to the land since 1996, but the Sakai Indigenous tribe have lived and farmed there since 1830, and claim ancestral rights to the area.
– Those rights, however, are not recognized by the government, which allowed PT Arara Abadi, a subsidiary of paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), to press charges against Indigenous farmer Bongku for clearing a small plot of pulpwood trees.
– Bongku was granted early release in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and says his fight will continue.

Forest communities in Mexico suffer the blow of COVID-19 pandemic by Emiliano Rodríguez Mega [Thu, 09 Jul 2020]
– Rural communities involved in forest management and ecotourism across Mexico are reeling from the economic impact of the shutdown sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
– Many of these communities run ecotourism projects for income, but mobility restrictions have meant no more visitors, and therefore no income.
– The communities are also struggling with a slowdown in their other main income stream, the sale of forestry products, as the wider economy takes a hit from the pandemic response.
– Without assistance to stay afloat, community managers say they fear they will have to shut down their ecotourism initiatives, which is one of the main incentives for keeping their forests standing.

Indonesia identifies rhino to capture for breeding, but will have to wait until next year by Basten Gokkon [Thu, 09 Jul 2020]
– Indonesian officials have identified a wild Sumatran rhino they plan to catch in Borneo for a captive-breeding program, but have not said whether it’s a male or female.
– The planned capture will have to wait until next year at least, with officials citing the COVID-19 pandemic as an obstacle.
– Officials already have a female Sumatran rhino at the Kelian Lestari captive-breeding facility in Borneo, and hope to either find her a mate from the wild or fertilize her eggs with sperm from rhinos held at the Way Kambas facility in Sumatra.
– The Sumatran and Bornean populations are distinct subspecies of the Sumatran rhino, and conservationists agree on the need to interbreed them to boost the genetic diversity of a species that numbers fewer than 80.

Prosecutors target Brazil’s environment minister over dismantling of protections by Suzana Camargo [Wed, 08 Jul 2020]
– On June 6, federal prosecutors in Brazil filed a lawsuit seeking the dismissal of the environment minister, Ricardo Salles, alleging “countless initiatives that violate the duty to protect the environment.”
– Since he took office at the start of 2019 under President Jair Bolsonaro, Salles has worked to weaken the country’s main federal environmental agencies, IBAMA and ICMBio, including slashing the number of regional positions and offices and weakening control of protected areas.
– He has also appointed police officials to key roles in supervisory agencies, frustrating experts who say those positions should go to experts who understand the issues.
– Staff report that a gag order has been in force under Salles, and that they now work in a climate of persecution and threats, both open and veiled.

Brazil bows to pressure from business, decrees 120-day Amazon fire ban by Jenny Gonzales [Wed, 08 Jul 2020]
– 38 transnational companies in the agricultural, industrial, mining and service sectors, along with four major business associations, sent a letter Monday to Brazil VP Hamilton Mourão, president of the Amazon Council, asking him to address “environmental irregularities and crime in the Amazon and other Brazilian biomes.”
– The letter — backed by Amaggi, Suzano, Vale, Bradesco, Alcoa, Bayer, Shell, Siemens, among others — comes just weeks before this year’s Amazon fire season begins, and as criticism of rapid Amazon deforestation under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro intensifies in the European Union and threatens the EU-Mercusor trade agreement.
– The administration — long resistant to all efforts to redirect its Amazon development and environmental policies — responded today announcing a decree for a 120-day ban on fires in the Amazon. The Army has also been deployed to the region to guard against a replay of last year’s wildfires. Analysts say this is not near enough to curb rampant deforestation.
– The business letter came just weeks after 32 international financial institutions that manage US$4.5 trillion in assets told Brazil that if it didn’t curb deforestation they would stop investing in Brazil. The problem, say critics, is Bolsonaro has set new policies that greatly undermine past socio-environmental safeguards, policies which need to be reversed.

Turtles and tortoises in trouble: More than half of all species face extinction by Liz Kimbrough [Wed, 08 Jul 2020]
– More than half of the world’s turtle and tortoise species are now threatened with extinction, according to a new study published by a group of 51 global turtle and tortoise experts.
– Loss of habitat is the biggest threat to turtles and tortoises globally. Other threats include the pet trade, overconsumption for food and medicine, pollution, invasive species, and climate change.
– Preventing turtle extinctions this century requires protecting their remaining habitat, the authors write, particularly limited nesting habitats.
– Individuals also have a role to play in safeguarding turtle and tortoise survival worldwide by being aware of the risks involved in the pet, food and medicine trades, keeping dogs under control in important turtle habitats, and keeping off-road vehicles away from sensitive beaches and desert areas where turtles roam and nest.

Podcast: Five years after the death of Cecil the Lion, trophy hunting debate rages on by Mike Gaworecki [Wed, 08 Jul 2020]
– On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we take a look at the state of the debate over trophy hunting five years after the killing of Cecil the Lion sparked widespread outrage.
– How has the debate over trophy hunting evolved since Cecil’s death? We’re joined by three guests to discuss the issue: Iris Ho of Humane Society International; Amy Dickman, founder of the Ruaha Carnivore Project; and Maxi Pia Louis, director of a Namibian organization that works with local communities to support conservation.
– We also revisit a conversation with Jane Goodall that we featured here on the Mongabay Newscast in 2017, in which she discusses her take on trophy hunting.

The sponge with the secret recipe: A cancer-fighting chemical by Julia John [Wed, 08 Jul 2020]
– Scientists have discovered that a common sea sponge growing in Indonesian waters produces a chemical called manzamine A that has been shown to fight cervical cancer cells in the lab.
– They say that if it can be produced at scale, manzamine A could be used to fight a wider variety of cancers as well as infectious diseases.
– Cultivating the sponge Acanthostrongylophora ingens at scale would also be beneficial to coastal communities and the Indonesian economy at large, the scientists say.
– And because the sponge has a high tolerance for poor-quality water, its cultivation can help purify contaminated water, buffer unspoiled reefs from pollution, and otherwise enhance the marine ecosystem.

Investigation hints at cronyism in awarding of Indonesia lobster export permits by Basten Gokkon [Tue, 07 Jul 2020]
– A report by Indonesian investigative publication Tempo has identified political ties between the country’s fisheries minister and a slew of companies recently awarded licenses to export lobster larvae.
– Among the owners, directors or executives of several of those companies are politicians from the Gerindra party of which minister Edhy Prabowo is a senior member.
– Two other companies that received export licenses are run by a former fisheries ministry official who was fired in 2017 after being convicted and jailed for smuggling lobster larvae and money laundering.
– The decision to resume exports is itself hugely controversial, with experts saying it’s not sustainable and threatens Indonesia’s already declining lobster populations in the wild.

Civil war didn’t hurt this Sri Lankan mangrove forest, but shrimp farming might by Malaka Rodrigo [Tue, 07 Jul 2020]
– Environmentalists have opposed plans to establish shrimp farms in the Vidattaltivu nature reserve, home to an important mangrove forest and biodiversity-rich marine habitat in northern Sri Lanka.
– Critics say the plan goes against the government’s wider efforts to conserve mangrove areas.
– They also point to the failure of a similar project to establish firm farms in a mangrove area, which resulted in 90% of the farms being abandoned because of disease outbreaks among the shrimp.
– The plan also threatens the hundreds of thousands of migratory birds that stop to feed in the area during their long journeys along the Central Asian Flyway.

Groups demand financial, human rights probes into palm conglomerate Korindo by Hans Nicholas Jong [Tue, 07 Jul 2020]
– Activists have called for a financial probe into the Korindo Group, a conglomerate that paid a $22 million “consultancy fee” for the permits to expand its oil palm operations in Indonesia’s Papua province.
– The circumstances around the payment were recently uncovered in an investigation by Mongabay, The Gecko Project, the Korean Center for Investigative Journalism-Newstapa and Al Jazeera.
– Activists want Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency to look into the possibility that the money was channeled as bribes to officials.
– They also want the government to ensure the safety of Papuan communities featured in the Al Jazeera documentary about the payment, in light of a record of rights abuses associated with Korindo’s operations.

How Mexican communities are helping to save a fir forest by Agustín del Castillo [Tue, 07 Jul 2020]
– The future of an endemic tree and the ecosystem where it’s found depends, to a large extent, on stopping illegal logging and the expansion of avocado crops in southern Jalisco.
– The Colima fir tree (Abies colimensis) is listed as an endangered species by Mexican authorities that can reach 60 meters (196 feet) in height and 2 meters (6.5 feet) in diameter.
– Its survival has been threatened by logging and, more recently, by fires to clear the land and the avocado orchards that follow.
– But community-driven efforts are finding ways to leave the forest standing while still generating livelihoods and developing the local economy.

What is a dhole? Candid Animal Cam takes you to Asia by Mongabay.com [Tue, 07 Jul 2020]
– Every Tuesday, Mongabay brings you a new episode of Candid Animal Cam, our show featuring animals caught on camera traps around the world and hosted by Romi Castagnino, our writer and conservation scientist.

That coconut oil you love? Species have gone extinct over it. True story by Elizabeth Claire Alberts [Mon, 06 Jul 2020]
– A new study found that coconut oil production, by some measures, is more destructive than palm oil production, with coconuts affecting 20 threatened species per million liters of oil produced, and palm oil only affecting 3.8 species per million liters.
– Globally, coconut farms occupy 12.3 million hectares (30.4 million acres) of land, about two-thirds the area of oil palm plantations, with most farms located in Indonesia and the Philippines.
– Instead of positioning coconut oil as a product that should be avoided, the study aims to demonstrate that most consumable oils, such as olive, soy and rapeseed oil, have a negative impact on the environment, although these impacts are not all well known or publicized.

In Sri Lanka, the hunt is on for alien fish in native lakes by Malaka Rodrigo [Mon, 06 Jul 2020]
– A young fish enthusiast from suburban Sri Lanka is on a personal mission to remove invasive species from the island’s lakes and other waterways, starting with clown knifefish and alligator gars introduced as part of the aquarium fish trade.
– Sri Lanka’s freshwater habitats are plagued by at least 30 exotic fish species, according to the most recent assessment — either released intentionally for aquaculture or mosquito control, or accidentally through the aquarium trade — with a number of them having turned invasive.
– Some of the carnivorous species are listed among the world’s worst invasive fish, including the knifefish, which has become established in a number of key habitats and poses a threat to native freshwater species, many of which are endemic.
– Experts have called for stronger regulation to prevent the continued introduction of alien invasive fish species into Sri Lanka’s freshwater habitats.

COVID-19 may worsen burning and haze as Indonesia enters dry season by Hans Nicholas Jong [Mon, 06 Jul 2020]
– Reallocation of disaster preparedness funds for the COVID-19 pandemic could allow a flare-up of forest fires and haze as the dry season gets underway in Indonesia, with smog from Sumatra reported to have reached Southern Thailand.
– While the country is expected to see a milder dry season than last year, any haze episodes will exacerbate an already precarious public health situation as a result of the pandemic.
– Researchers in Singapore say Indonesian authorities are largely on the right track in preventing fires, which are typically set to clear land for plantations, but more needs to be done in terms of enforcement on the ground.
– They also suggest that small and medium plantation companies — rather than large companies or smallholder farmers — will have the most impact on how severe the fire and haze problem will be.

Myanmar ponders what to do with its out-of-work elephants by Curtis Segarra [Sun, 05 Jul 2020]
– As the Myanmar government moves to rein in deforestation, thousands of captive elephants trained to haul logs in Myanmar may lose the care and protection they received when working.
– A government body that owns more than 2,900 captive elephants has turned to ecotourism to raise funds to care for the elephants, but it’s not enough.
– Releasing the elephants into the wild presents its own difficulties, including increased risks of human-wildlife conflict and poaching.
– Private owners, strapped for cash, may be forced to kill their elephant and sell its parts, or sell it alive to another country.

Trafficking of thousands of songbirds highlights rampant trade in Indonesia by Ayat S. Karokaro [Fri, 03 Jul 2020]
– Smugglers in Indonesia managed to ship more than 7,000 birds on commercial flights from Sumatra to Java last month.
– Another shipment of 2,300 birds was foiled by authorities days later; more than 800 of the seized birds were found to have died due to the cramped conditions they had been kept in.
– Wildlife watchers say up to 40,000 birds a month are trafficked out of Kualanamu Airport in North Sumatra, likely with the help of complicit officials.
– The high volume strongly suggests the birds are wild-caught rather than captive-bred; the former is illegal, while the latter requires a permit and is subject to a quota.

Discovery of fish never recorded in the Amazon shows richness of Brazil’s Calha Norte by Fernanda Wenzel [Fri, 03 Jul 2020]
– Brazilian scientists have identified six fish species never before seen in the Amazon in Calha Norte, in the state of Pará, one of the best-preserved and least studied parts of the rainforest.
– Calha Norte lies north of the Amazon River, along the border with Guyana and Suriname, where those species were previously thought to be endemic, and 80% of its area is protected within conservation areas and Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian territories.
– Even though it is remote and hard to reach, illegal hunting, mining and deforestation are already placing local biodiversity at risk.
– These threats have made research even more urgent, with scientists warning the risk is that species will disappear before they are ever described.

Drug trafficking could be putting ‘fragile fisheries’ at risk, study says by Elizabeth Claire Alberts [Thu, 02 Jul 2020]
– A new study found that fishing vessels are increasingly being used to traffic drugs, tripling over the past eight years, and accounting for 15% of the global retail value of illegal drugs.
– Small-scale fishermen commonly get involved in the drug trade, possibly due to collapsing fish stocks and strict conservation measures threatening their livelihoods, or because they have been coerced.
– While most fishing vessels carrying drugs don’t appear to be involved in other maritime crimes like illegal fishing, drug traders may reinvest profits into illegal fishing activities, which could lead to fisheries collapse and environmental destruction.
– The COVID-19 pandemic may intensify the issue of drug trafficking on small fishing vessels due to global economic stress, and maritime routes currently being more accessible than land routes.

Brazil could dynamite Amazon dolphin, turtle habitat for industrial waterway by Tiffany Higgins [Thu, 02 Jul 2020]
– Brazil plans to excavate and dredge many millions of cubic meters of material, including the ecologically sensitive Lourencão Rocks, to create an industrial shipping channel on the Tocantins River in the Amazon. This article includes rarely seen video images of some of the endemic and threatened fish living in the Tocantins River rapids.
– Citing cost considerations, São Paulo-based DTA Engineering plans to dump more than 5.6 million cubic meters of sand inside the Tocantins riverbanks, where Amazonian turtles now lay their eggs. The endangered Araguaian river dolphin would also be impacted.
– In September 2019, IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental agency, identified dozens of mistakes in DTA Engineering’s environmental impact studies, which failed to list a dozen endangered fish, ignored the specialized riverine rock environment, and didn’t study turtles in most affected areas.
– IBAMA ordered DTA to redo fish and turtle studies, with new studies conducted on local traditional fisherfolk’s fishing practices. Six fisherfolk village associations near the Lourencão Rocks (35 kilometers of which are due to be dynamited and dredged) warn that the fishery and the unique traditional culture it supports are in peril.

Treetop cameras capture first known video of a wild roloway monkey by Elizabeth Claire Alberts [Thu, 02 Jul 2020]
– Treetop cameras in Côte d’Ivoire’s Tanoé-Ehy forest recently captured the first known video of a wild roloway monkey, a critically endangered species that spends most of its time high up in trees.
– There are only about 300 roloway monkeys left in the wild, and 36 individuals living in captivity, so conservation efforts are paramount to preserve the species, according to experts.
– Conservationists are also hoping to capture video of the critically endangered Miss Waldron’s red colobus monkey, which hasn’t been spotted in 42 years.

EU and partner countries must protect gains in legal timber trade during COVID-19 (commentary) by Paolo Omar Cerutti [Thu, 02 Jul 2020]
– Paolo Omar Cerutti, a Senior Scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), argues maintaining global trust in the legality of timber exports is critical to secure investments and deliver on sustainability commitments.
– Far from stimulating business, relaxing efforts aimed at guaranteeing timber legality would undermine the hard-earned trust of European investors and consumers who demand a more responsible use of resources.
– This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Calls for swift action as hundreds of elephants die in Botswana’s Okavango Delta by Ed Holt [Thu, 02 Jul 2020]
– As many as 400 elephants have died in Botswana’s Okavango Delta since March, wildlife experts say.
– Government authorities say poaching, poison and anthrax have been ruled out as the causes of death.
– Conservationists have questioned the government’s handling of the mass deaths and rejection of assistance to test and investigate.
– Botswana has the largest elephant population of any country, with the resultant rise in human-animal conflicts leading the government to rescind some protections for the animals.

 

PREVIOUS FEATURES

Gold priced at $1,700 per ounce brings new gold rush to Brazilian Amazon by Fabio Nascimento (photos) and Gustavo Faleiros (text) [07/01/2020]
‘They took it over by force’: Corruption and palm oil in Sierra Leone by Victoria Schneider [06/30/2020]
‘If they take our lands, we’ll be dead’: Cameroon village battles palm oil giant by Victoria Schneider [06/26/2020]
How the legacy of colonialism built a palm oil empire by Victoria Schneider [06/26/2020]
Court forces Ecuador government to protect Indigenous Waorani during COVID-19 by Kimberley Brown [06/26/2020]

 

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