In the rugged karst forests of northern Vietnam, researchers have identified a new gecko species, Vietnam’s 12^th known species of gecko. The discovery highlights how much diversity the often-overlooked landscape holds.

Ziegler’s Slender Gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus ziegleri) was discovered during surveys in the Copia Nature Reserve, in Son La province. The species was named in honor of Thomas Ziegler from the University of Cologne, Germany, “for his outstanding contribution to biodiversity research and conservation in Vietnam,” the study said.

These small, yellowish-grey geckos were observed at night on limestone cliffs and, in one instance, an electric pole in a cornfield.

While study co-author Minh Le from Vietnam National University called the find “exciting,” he noted the team was not shocked.

“Because we acknowledge, based on our research, that the diversity of this group of cryptic geckos is substantially underestimated,” he told Mongabay by email. “We expect that more new species will be described in the future.”

In this case, the term ‘cryptic’ refers to species that appear nearly identical to others. Despite their physical similarities, genetic testing revealed a 14% divergence between the new gecko and its closest relatives, a significant gap that represents a major evolutionary distinction between the new species and its relatives.

This finding is part of a broader trend; 85% of species in this genus have been described only in the last decade. Though many of them have been newly described, their habitat and ecosystems are already under threat.

For now, researchers recommend that the new slender geckos should receive a “data deficient” status on the IUCN Red List. They say more research is needed to understand the full impact of human activity on its tiny known range which spreads across less than 50 square kilometers (31 sqm).

“The main threat to the species is habitat loss and degradation,” Le said. He explained that Vietnam’s limestone habitats, frequently overlooked for their biodiversity, are often quarried for the cement industry. “However, recent research has shown that limestone harbors unique biodiversity with many endemic and threatened species.”

Even within the protected Copia Nature Reserve, the gecko’s habitat is being degraded by road construction and timber logging, the study noted.

Le added that it’s “crucial to raise public awareness” before these ecosystems are lost to overexploitation.

Banner image: An image of a male Hemiphyllodactylus ziegleri. Courtesy of Pham A.V. et al (2026) under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0).

Researchers have described a new-to-science species of skink that may be one of Australia’s most threatened reptiles.

The small population of the skink, possibly fewer than 20 individuals, lives in a pocket of rocky gorge within the arid Mutawintji National Park in New South Wales state, the researchers report in a new paper.

The skink has been named Liopholis mutawintji, in a nod to the park, the only place it’s currently known from. Its common name is Kungaka, meaning “the Hidden One” to Wiimpatja Aboriginal Owners. This refers to the species’ habit of hiding in crevices and burrows.

Scientists from the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI) partnered with Wiimpatja Aboriginal Owners and the New South Wales National Parks & Wildlife Service to confirm the Kungaka as a distinct species.

Thomas Parkin, the study’s lead author with AMRI, told Mongabay by email that the Kungaka was previously thought to be a highly isolated population of White’s skink (L. whitii), a species widely distributed in southeastern Australia.

But with Mutawintji roughly 500 kilometers (300 miles) away from the closest White’s skink population, the team decided to revisit the reptile’s taxonomy. The team analyzed DNA samples and compared physical traits of White’s skinks from different populations across Australia.

Their analyses revealed that White’s skink is not one species, but three deeply divergent lineages. The three species in the revised taxonomy are the southern White’s skink (L. whitii), northern White’s skink (L. compressicauda), and the Kungaka.

Parkin said the Kungaka can be distinguished from the other two White’s skinks “by the presence of dark-tipped scales on the palms of its hands and feet, a proportionately longer tail, and subtle differences in overall body proportions.”

Alex Slavenko, a member of the Skink Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, who wasn’t involved in the analysis, told Mongabay by email: “The team here have done a fantastic job bringing together genetics, morphological data from museum specimens, Traditional Owner knowledge and ecological data to resolve a long-standing taxonomic issue.”

Monitoring of the skinks over 25 years suggests the Kungaka may already be critically endangered, the authors say. Threats include damage to their habitat from feral goats, drought, and introduced predators like feral cats.

“[T]he formal description of Kungaka as a distinct species will allow its listing under state and federal threatened species lists, which is a crucial first step for planning and implementing management plans,” Slavenko said.

Parkin said efforts are underway to manage threats and that captive breeding and genetic management are also being considered.

Warlpa Thompson, study co-author from the Mutawintji Board of Management, said in a statement: “Our people have been leading the way for looking after this extremely rare lizard. Now that it’s about to be given the name Kungaka, the Hidden One, in Wiimpatja parlku, the world will soon know how special they are.”

Banner image: Kungaka in Mutawintji National Park. Image by Tom Parkin (CC BY-ND 4.0).

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has touted his country’s natural resources as the main attraction for securing more than $700 billion in new investments over the next five years — a plan that a mining watchdog has blasted as “robber baron capitalism.”

Carney announced in a press release a summit scheduled for Sept. 14-15 in Toronto that will convene “top CEOs, entrepreneurs, and prominent global business leaders” in an effort to attract C$1 trillion ($730 billion) in investments.

The government is highlighting Canada’s natural resources as one of the primary draws for investors, including liquefied natural gas and vast deposits of critical minerals like nickel, graphite and tungsten. The press release cites several major mining and LNG projects as examples of what the country offers global investors. Specific projects include the Canada Nickel Company’s Crawford mine in Ontario province, and the Nouveau Monde Graphite project in Québec province.

“Canada has what the world wants,” Carney said in the release. “We’re an energy superpower, with the most educated workforce in the world and rock-solid fiscal strength. The first-ever Canada Investment Summit will capitalise on those advantages to help drive billions in new investments into Canada.”

However, conservationists have raised concerns about environmental degradation associated with existing projects, and warn new developments will only exacerbate the problems.

“A healthy environment is the foundation of Canada’s long-term prosperity,” Stephen Thomas, clean energy manager for the David Suzuki Foundation, wrote in an email to Mongabay. “That’s why it’s concerning the Prime Minister’s investment summit announcement makes no mention of the national interest in attracting investments that advance climate and nature solutions.”

Thomas added that a better approach would be to “prioritize the transition away from volatile, expensive fossil fuels and toward affordable, reliable, clean energy which is a generational opportunity that will lower energy bills and create millions of jobs.”

Jamie Kneen, the national program co-lead with MiningWatch Canada, told Mongabay, “I have a lot of questions … This is entirely consistent with the Carney government’s approach, which is to bring 19th century robber baron capitalism into the 21st century, bringing together raw material extractivism and intellectual extractivism, committing to the least sustainable, least resilient, least climate-conscious directions possible.”

Banner image: Peyto Lake in Banff National Park, Canada. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Alva Palosaari Sundman scoured the racks of secondhand clothes in Stockholm for hours in search of the right pair of preowned jeans.

The 24-year-old art student was among hundreds of people attending an annual clothing swap on Sunday at a community center in Sweden’s capital. They exchanged their own clothes to “shop” for others. Similar events drew thousands across the country to reduce the environmental cost of clothing production.

Palosaari Sundman said she enjoyed seeing others pick out the clothes she’d brought.

“It’s like, ‘Oh, OK, it gets a new life with this person,’” she said. “It just feels a bit more humane.”

The U.N. Environment Program cites fast fashion as major player in environmental damage, producing up to 10% of the world’s carbon emissions. Discarded clothes gorge landfills that scar landscapes in developing countries, and the plastic fibers used to make cheap fabrics pollute oceans.

To produce a pair of jeans, for example, roughly 2,000 gallons (7,571 liters) of water is required, UNEP has said.

Sweden’s clothing swap initiative began in 2010 and has grown. Last year, some 140,000 people participated in 140 swap events and took home more than 44,000 preowned items.

Sweden is often seen as environmentally advanced, but the reality is more nuanced. Clothing consumption contributes to roughly 3% of a Swede’s total emissions, according to Mistra Future Fashion, a research institute.

Swedes last year were banned from throwing away clothes in the regular trash in a European Union bid to boost recycling. But the measure backfired when municipalities’ collection sites were overwhelmed, leading to stockpiles of unused textiles, and the government reversed part of the rule in October.

The swap events are organized by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. Its chair, Beatrice Rindevall, said each Swede throws away around 9-10 kilograms (20-22 pounds) of clothes.

Swedes on average buy around 25 new items of clothing per year, according to the society, and 90% of items in wardrobes are never used.

“We have to be more careful and we have to think about our consumption,” said Cecilia de Lacerda, one of the society’s volunteers in Stockholm.

At the swap events, tailors helped shoppers repair clothes to extend their life span.

“A lot of people don’t have sewing machines anymore, or they don’t quite know how they should fix that buttonhole that broke,” said Meg Goldmann, another volunteer.

For high school student Alice Dundeberg, 19, secondhand clothes allow her to have a unique style.

“You don’t find multiple types of the same shoes, pants or sweater,” she said. “No one has the same clothes as the others.”

By Chisato Tanaka, Associated Press

Banner image: Meg Goldmann, right, a volunteer with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, folds secondhand clothes at a clothing swap event in Stockholm, Sweden, Saturday, April 19. 2026. (AP Photo/Chisato Tanaka)

Canvas canopies, hand fans, damp cloths and solar reflective paint may not sound like elaborate medical interventions. But in Pakistan’s hottest neighborhoods, they can act as a lifeline for pregnant women and newborns from low-income households.

In a recent trial of affordable cooling solutions led by researchers at Pakistan’s Aga Khan University, low-tech interventions were able to cut indoor temperatures by 3-4° Celsius (5-7° Fahrenheit). Air-conditioning, and even fans, are often not available due to unreliable electricity supply.

“Many commonly recommended heat interventions assume reliable electricity, formal workplaces, and universal phone access, making them impractical for many women in low-income countries,” Gregory Wellenius, director of the Center for Climate and Health at Boston University, told Zuha Siddiqui for Dialogue Earth.

Temperatures in Pakistan often reach 40°C (104°F), with “feels like” temperatures nearing 50°C (122°F) in the summer. Climate change is making heat waves in the region much more likely and frequent, according to World Weather Attribution, a network of scientists studying extreme weather events.

“The heat exhausts me. My body feels like lead,” Asiya, a woman identified only by her first name, told Siddiqui.

Asiya lives in Lyari, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Karachi, and is pregnant with her third child. “During my last pregnancy two years ago, I took showers thrice a day to cool down because I could feel my baby kicking in distress,” she added.

The urban heat island effect traps heat in densely built urban areas, elevating city temperatures. In Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, heat is projected to make the city an additional 2-7°C (4-13°F) hotter, on top of global warming projections.

Social dynamics are also important to consider for solutions to excess heat. For example, canvas canopies and bamboo pole structures create spaces where women from conservative families can sit outdoors while still observing purdah, a practice that includes face-veiling in front of unrelated men.

Asiya, for example, told Siddiqui that her husband doesn’t allow her to stand by the window, which would provide heat relief, due to cultural and religious conventions.

Neha Mankani, a midwife who runs a clinic on Karachi’s Baba Island, told Siddiqui that she has observed rising second-trimester pregnancy losses. She estimated that at least half of her patients now face some kind of heat-related complication, including hypertension and respiratory illnesses, as well as neurological issues in newborns.

A 2026 study across Pakistan found that 9-13% of low birth weight cases were attributable to heat exposure.

Mankani distributes care packages to combat the heat: cotton clothes to replace heat-trapping polyester, spray bottles for misting water, rehydration salts, washcloths that can be dampened, and hand fans.

Pakistan’s neonatal mortality rate is more than double than that of neighboring India and Bangladesh, according to data from the World Health Organization.

Banner image: Children suffering from gastroenteritis due to heat at a hospital in Hyderabad, Pakistan, in May 2024. Image © Pervez Masih/AP Photo.

Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa will stop sourcing wild dolphins for its aquarium and is suspending its captive-breeding program, according to insiders, reports Mongabay contributor Robin Hicks.

Anbarasi Boopal, former co-chief executive of Singapore animal welfare charity Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), said this was a positive step. However, she called for transparency about the facility’s long-term plans for the animals already in captivity. 

While the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) declined to comment on the dolphin sourcing and breeding program , Mongabay learned it is assembling a panel of experts to determine the future of the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) currently held at its Oceanarium — “more than 20,” staff at the facility told Mongabay. The youngest is a 7-year-old male named Kenzo. 

RWS obtained 27 dolphins from the Solomon Islands in 2008 and 2009. At least four died during transit or from infections. The resort opened its exhibit to the public in 2013 amid widespread criticism from animal welfare groups. The RWS says its dolphins receive high-quality care and that the facility provides educational and conservation value. 

“At the Marine Mammal Habitat, the health and well-being of our dolphins is a top priority,” RWS told Mongabay after publication of the article. “They are cared for by a dedicated team of Marine Mammal Specialists, supported by Veterinary Care, Environmental Health and Husbandry professionals, who provide round-the-clock care.”

Staff who spoke to Mongabay said they doubted the animals could survive in the wild after so long in captivity.

An international movement against cetacean captivity for entertainment is growing, with countries like Mexico, Canada and France recently banning the practice. Sustainability expert Darian McBain told Mongabay that keeping dolphins poses reputational and financial risks for companies that claim to be leaders in sustainability.

“No amount of veterinary care or good diet can change their restrictive and unnatural environment,” said McBain, former chief sustainability officer of seafood giant Thai Union Group and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Lincoln O’Barry, campaign coordinator of the dolphin protection group Dolphin Project, which rehabilitates formerly captive dolphins in natural sea pens on the Indonesian island of Bali, said that could be the first step in assessing whether RWS’s dolphins could eventually be released back into the wild.

“Some dolphins can adapt after years in captivity, some can’t,” O’Barry said. “It’s like prison — some people walk out after decades like nothing happened, while others can lose their minds.”

Rob Lott of U.K.-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said any release should return the dolphins to the original population from which they were captured. He added it would be a process that involves significant political and legal hurdles.

Read the full story by Robin Hicks here.

Banner image: An Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) in the Red Sea. Image by טל שמע via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).