Tracking tools identify regional hubs of whale shark activity
Where do the biggest fish in the sea go to find enough food? Turns out, not too far, if they live in a region with lots of food. Whale sharks…
Environmental headlines
Mongabay is a non-profit provider of conservation and environmental science news.
Earth has more trees now than 35 years ago
Despite ongoing deforestation, fires, drought-induced die-offs, and insect outbreaks, the world's tree cover actually increased by 2.24 million square kilometers — an area the size of Texas and Alaska combined…
Scientists say endangered whale sharks can live up to 130 years
We know very little about the growth and reproductive biology of whale sharks, the world’s largest fish species. Because they’re listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, scientists are…
South American soy fed to EU livestock drives Gran Chaco deforestation
Commodities traders have largely curbed soy buying from Brazilian Amazon producers, shifting buys to the Gran Chaco and Cerrado, where deforestation is now in full swing.
‘Not doing anything is no longer acceptable’: Q&A with Alice Thomas, climate refugee expert
In many ways, 2018 is the year of the refugee. At U.S. borders, Mediterranean shores and Asian cities, millions are fleeing war, hunger and persecution in search of safety and…
‘Biological passports’ show whale sharks travel less than we thought
Whale sharks are capable long-distance swimmers, but it turns out that a lot of them are also homebodies. A new study published Aug. 9 in the journal Marine Ecology Progress…
Recovering conservationist: Q&A with orangutan ecologist June Mary Rubis
KUCHING, Malaysia — For more than a decade, June Mary Rubis has worked on orangutan conservation in Borneo. The critically endangered apes face a bleak future there, hammered by habitat…
When it comes to carbon storage, not all mangroves are equal
Mangroves are carbon warriors. These salt-tolerant forests of trees and shrubs are known to lock away far greater amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide than any other terrestrial forests, forming some…
Technological breakthroughs are changing how researchers observe the world’s fishing fleet
For decades, researchers studying the global fishing industry had to cope with minimal data about what goes on out at sea. The ocean’s surface is so vast that most of…
Industrial fishing is dominated by just a few of the world’s wealthiest nations
Recent research found that, despite having expanded into 90 percent of the world’s oceans, the industrial fishing fleets of the top 20 fishing countries in the world are catching less…
The tropics are in trouble, warn scientists
Plants and animals in the tropics are disproportionately threatened by a range of dangers, including habitat loss, overexploitation, and climate change, warn researchers writing in the journal Nature. Conducting an…
Brazil austerity policies devastating to rural communities: analysis
Brazil’s rural poor were once well served by social programs that offered urgently needed income, food, water and hope. But those programs have seen recent deep cuts, hurting rural communities.
Bornean villagers who fought off a mine prepare to do battle again
“We stayed quiet for a while because after the customary fine they never came back," said Markus, deputy head of the village council in Ongko Asa, a traditional Dayak village…
Ruralists in Brazilian congress put nation’s protected areas at risk
A bill, which experts say could pass, would set a 5-year deadline for land dispute resolution in protected areas. If not resolved by then, a conserved area’s protected status could be revoked.
Predatory coral bring down jellyfish by working together
While it might lack the coordinated attacks that lions or wolves can mount against their prey, a species of coral has shown that it, too, can pull together a collaborative…
In protecting songbirds, Indonesia ruffles owners & breeders’ feathers
JAKARTA — Songbird owners in Indonesia are up in arms over the recent inclusion of hundreds of bird species in the national list of protected animals. The owners plan to…
RSPO should ban deforestation, say investors representing $6.7t in assets
More than 90 institutional investors managing more than $6.7 trillion in assets have called on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to strengthen its standards, including by banning deforestation. The…
Ecology monks in Thailand seek to end environmental suffering
As development in Thailand is increasing, so is deforestation. Acres of forests are cleared for contract farming, habitats are torn down to make room for new factories, and soil is…
Trase.earth tracks commodities, links supply chains to deforestation risk
Report details soy supply chains, shows that just six traders control most of Brazil’s deforestation risk. Report is product of Trase, a powerful new Internet tracking tool.
Millipedes might soothe itchy lemurs, research finds
Pesky itchiness caused by parasitic worms may have driven one of Madagascar’s lemur species to come up with a natural remedy. New research, published July 30 in the journal Primates,…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Murder of activist in India highlights growing risk to environmental defenders
- Number of murdered environmental activists rose once again in 2017
- Indonesia to investigate death of journalist being held for defaming palm oil company
Indonesias forest guardians
- Papuan chef Charles Toto serves up sustainability and environmental protection in a platter
- In eastern Indonesia, a forest tribe pushes back against miners and loggers
- Faith in the forest helps Indonesia’s Dayaks keep plantations, loggers at bay
Amazon infrastructure
- Brazilian elections and the environment: where top candidates stand
- Community-run trading posts help Amazon forest people reverse rural exodus
- Ruralists in Brazilian congress put nation’s protected areas at risk
Asian rhinos
- A herd of dead rhinos
- 1984: the meeting that changed everything for Sumatran rhinos
- In protecting the Javan rhino, locals gain a ‘more meaningful life’
