Amazon deforestation and development heighten Amazon fire risk: study
Land use, more than climate change, predict how the Amazon burns. Deforestation, and new road building, could expand Amazon wildfire risk by over 70 percent by 2100.
Environmental headlines
Mongabay is a non-profit provider of conservation and environmental science news.
In other news: Environmental stories from around the web, September 6, 2019
Tropical forests More than two-thirds of the world’s forests are at risk, according to a U.N. report (Down to Earth). Research suggests that we might be expecting trees to carry…
Fires in Brazil’s Amazon have devastating consequences
A dense layer of pollution has plagued the Brazilian cities of São Paulo, Manaus and Cuiabá for days on end, rolling in from the large number of fires burning mainly…
Connected forests key to more sustainable palm oil industry: report
Researchers in the U.K. are calling for stronger criteria to ensure that high-quality forested areas remain intact, even if they run through oil palm plantations. The key, they say, is…
Sri Lanka scales up its domestic campaign to protect sharks with a global push
Decades ago along the beaches of Sri Lanka, fish sellers used bicycles to transport their catch, including sharks. It was said the sharks were often so big that, when tied…
New monkey species found in Amazon forest area that’s fast disappearing
From an area of southern Amazonia, where forests are rapidly being cut for gold mining, agriculture, cattle pastures, and construction of dams, researchers have described a species of marmoset that’s…
Protected areas best conserve mammalian diversity when connected with corridors, biologged weasels show
In a recently published study, Canadian researchers monitored the fine-scale movements of GPS-tagged fishers (Pekania pennanti), a member of the weasel family, across a terrain of over 700 protected areas…
Audio: Rev. Lennox Yearwood on why he’s ‘excited’ about the urgency and energy behind climate action
On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with Reverend Lennox Yearwood, President and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, a non-profit group based in the US that advocates…
New report reveals northern Ecuadorian region has lost 61 percent of forests
Spanning nearly 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) along the coast, Ecuador’s Chocó region is known as a biodiversity hotspot with high levels of endemism, among the richest region for…
‘Holy grail’: Nest of extremely rare bird captured on video in Russia
In June this year, researchers surveying a remote part of the Russian Far East finally managed to find what they had been looking for: a Nordmann’s greenshank sitting on a…
New species of giant flying squirrel brings hope to one of the world’s ‘most wanted’
In 1981, a team of scientists led by zoologist Shyamrup Biswas discovered the Namdapha flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi) in the ironwood jungles of Arunachal Pradesh state, India. Little did they…
Transforming African conservation from old social cause into next-gen growth market
Africa's conservation challenges are daunting. The continent faces rapid human population growth, expanding agriculture and infrastructure, and globalized demand for its natural resources, including its forests, oceans, and wildlife. On…
Giant Norway pension fund weighs Brazil divestment over Amazon deforestation
KLP, with over $80 billion in assets, could divest in traders such as ADM, Bunge and Cargill that deal with Brazilian producers contributing to Amazon deforestation.
A Philippine island employs a rare cockatoo in its fight against mines
GUIUAN, Philippines — The island of Homonhon in the Philippines’ Eastern Samar province cemented its place in history when the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan landed on its warm ochre shores…
Indonesian court cancels dam project in last stronghold of tigers, rhinos
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — A court in Indonesia has annulled a permit allowing the development of a $3 billion hydropower plant in a forest that’s home to critically endangered tigers,…
Brazil’s satellite agency resumes releasing deforestation data
Brazil's National Space Research Institute INPE resumed releasing deforestation data after nearly a month-long hiatus that followed the firing of the agency's director on August 2. The newly released data,…
A tiger refuge in Sumatra gets a reprieve from road building
The rainforests that once carpeted Indonesia's Sumatra Island are among the world's most biodiverse ecosystems, home to iconic species like the Sumatran tiger, rhino and orangutan. They are also among…
‘No place to hide’ for illegal fishing fleets as surveillance satellites prepare for lift-off
The prospect of monitoring every vessel at sea in real time has moved a step closer to reality as a new generation of surveillance satellites takes to the skies. The…
Madagascar no longer insisting on selling its seized rosewood, for now
A ban on the international trade in rosewood, a prized timber, remains intact following the close this week of a global summit on the trade in wild animals and plants.…
With new protections, saiga antelope may continue to be a symbol of Central Asia (commentary)
The saiga antelope has great cultural, historical, and ecological importance to Mongolia. So I was proud to be advisor to the Mongolian Government Delegation at the 18th Meeting of the…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- ‘Pray & continue’: Death of Philippine ranger is latest in legacy of violence
- In Cambodia, a rare acquittal in a climate of danger for green activists
- On Peru’s border, the Tikuna tribe takes on illegal coca growers
Indonesias forest guardians
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
- On the island of Java, a social forestry scheme creates jobs at home
- In Indonesia, bigger catches for a fishing village protecting its mangroves
Amazon infrastructure
- Yanomami Amazon reserve invaded by 20,000 miners; Bolsonaro fails to act
- Amazon infrastructure puts 68% of indigenous lands / protected areas at risk: report
- Amazon fish kill at Sinop spotlights risk from 80+ Tapajós basin dams
Asian rhinos
- Nepal to conduct, self-fund, rhino census in March 2020
- Calls for natural solution over man-made one in flood-ravaged rhino refuge
- Death on the Brahmaputra: The rhino, the rangers, and the usual suspects
