Madagascar mine ignites protests, community division
FIANARANTSOA, Madagascar — Last month, a Madagascar court ended a six-week saga for people in the southwestern village of Benetse, near the city of Toliara. Nine members of the community…
Environmental headlines
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Search for a new home for Javan rhinos put on hold
JAKARTA — Indonesia has put on hold a plan to establish a second habitat for the Javan rhinoceros beyond the single site on the planet where the critically endangered species…
Amazon rural development and conservation: a path to sustainability?
Small-scale oil palm projects show that sustainable supply chains, coupled with tough environmental regulation could benefit both farmers and forests.
As opposition wanes, a Malaysian land reclamation project pushes ahead
In April 2018, a month before Malaysian voters elected Mahathir Mohamad to the prime minister’s office, Ng Zhu Hann couldn’t have been more open and enthusiastic about Forest City, the…
Casualty of peace? Study shows rise in deforestation after conflicts
The advent of peace in four countries with long experiences of deadly armed conflict hasn’t been kind to the environment, with a new study showing greater rates of deforestation during…
In India’s Sundarbans, communities shrink as their island sinks
MOUSUNI ISLAND, West Bengal - Ashida watched the rising tide fearfully. Lifting her baby son onto her hip, the 24-year-old took a break from her morning duties and stood outside…
As climate chaos escalates in Indian Country, feds abandon tribes
The climate crisis is bringing extreme storms, drought and temperatures to the High Plains, even as U.S. administrations from Clinton to Trump have withdrawn aid to reservations.
An Indonesian forest community grapples with the arrival of the outside world
DOROGOT, Indonesia — Toikot rises as the golden light of dawn begins to shine on the heavy mist that cloaks the rainforest canopy outside his home in Indonesia's Siberut Island.…
Rivers are the world’s heritage. Time to treat them as such (commentary)
This July represents a critical opportunity to protect rivers and the World Heritage sites that depend on them. Key government leaders will converge on Baku, Azerbaijan for the 43rd annual…
Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
The island of Borneo is renowned by scientists for its biological bounty. From orangutans to pygmy elephants to towering dipterocarp trees, the forests of the world's third largest island are…
Six endangered North Atlantic right whales died last month alone
There’s more grim news for the North Atlantic right whale, one of the most endangered whale species in the world. In June this year, six individuals were spotted dead in…
La Mosquitia: Dangerous territory for scarlet macaws in Honduras
MABITA, Honduras — When the clock strikes four in the afternoon, Anaida Panting bangs the pots full of food that she’s prepared for her scarlet macaws. Dozens of the birds…
Colombia gasoline fueling cocaine production
Colombian authorities have announced they will investigate 33 gas stations for allegedly selling an estimated 70 million gallons (265 million liters) of gasoline to cocaine producers in rural regions of…
What happens to an ecotourism town when the wildlife doesn’t show?
DONSOL, Philippines — Omar Nepomuceno is looking for the whale sharks, as he has for over 20 years. Ask him what the odds are of finding one, and he’ll answer…
Researchers discover right whales singing for the first time ever
Whales like humpbacks are famous for their mellifluous calls, typically referred to as whale songs. But right whales — three species of large baleen whales in the genus Eubalaena —…
An ill-deserved reputation threatens Sri Lanka’s ‘secretive snake’
A general fear of snakes, lack of understanding of reptile behavior, and human encroachment into wilderness areas are putting increasing pressure on a unique snake species found only in Sri…
Altered fish communities persist long after reefs bleach, study finds
The bleaching of coral reefs could permanently change the composition of the fish communities that inhabit them, a new study has found. The research, published online June 18 in the…
Amazon infrastructure puts 68% of indigenous lands / protected areas at risk: report
Indigenous reserves and other conserved lands in nine Amazonian nations are under extreme pressure as roads, mining, dams, oil drilling, fires and deforestation encroach.
Despite fiery campaign rhetoric, Chinese-backed projects in Malaysia steam ahead
China’s mammoth spending on transportation, energy and residential infrastructure was a potent issue in Malaysia’s raucous 2018 election that saw Najib Razak replaced as prime minister by his former mentor…
More than 50 lakes lie hidden beneath Greenland ice sheet, study finds
Until recently, researchers knew of four lakes lying hidden underneath the Greenland ice sheet. Now, scientists say they’ve identified 56 more, bringing the total to 60 known subglacial lakes beneath…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Environmental defenders in Peru’s Madre de Dios face double jeopardy
- Arson attack in Indonesia leaves activist shaken
- For embattled environmental defenders, a reprieve of sorts in 2018
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
- Search for a new home for Javan rhinos put on hold
- Keeping stray rhinos safe is a challenge on fringes of Nepal park
- Sumatran rhinos to get a new sanctuary in Leuser Ecosystem
