Endangered environmentalists
Green groups under threat from governments and corporate actors: As climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction worsen across the globe, environmental groups are responding by ratcheting up the pressure on governments and corporations to act. Many governments have responded by increasing restrictions on environmental NGOs, including revoking charity status, increasing sentences for protestors, and passing legislation restricting NGO activity.
Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
Mongabay video screening at Chile’s Supreme Court expected to help landmark verdict in Brazil
Indonesian activist freed in hate speech case after flagging illegal shrimp farms
Final cheetah conservationists freed in Iran, but the big cat’s outlook remains grim
Global forest reporting network
A new 100-page report raises alarm over Chevron’s impact on planet
Science refutes United Cacao’s claim it didn’t deforest Peruvian Amazon
‘We are invisible’: Brazilian Cerrado quilombos fight for land and lives
Chimps in Sierra Leone adapt to human-impacted habitats, but threats remain
Cocaine blamed for rising deforestation in Peru’s Bahuaja-Sonene National Park
Devastating Laos dam collapse leads to deforestation of protected forests
Indonesian coal
Indonesian Islamic behemoth’s entry into coal mining sparks youth wing revolt
Muhammadiyah latest faith group to join Indonesia religious coal rush
Jokowi’s religious mining rule divides Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization
Biomass-burning coal plants leave the air even dirtier, Java communities say
Indonesians uprooted by mining industry call for a fairer future amid presidential vote
Experts see red over Indonesia’s planned green investment label for coal plants
Southeast asian infrastructure
Focusing on the social and environmental impacts of roads, dams, mines, and other infrastructure projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.
An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest
Robust river governance key to restoring Mekong River vitality in face of dams
Amazon infrastructure
Mouth of the Amazon oil exploration clashes with Lula’s climate promises
Electricity day and night: Solar power is changing isolated Amazon communities
Road network spreads ‘arteries of destruction’ across 41% of Brazilian Amazon
‘Lost’ Amazonian cities hint at how to build urban landscapes without harming nature
Making room in the Atlantic Forest for the largest primate in the Americas
New transport infrastructure is opening the Amazon to global commerce
Asian rhinos
More alarms over Indonesia rhino poaching after latest trafficking bust
Javan rhino poaching saga reveals serious security lapse
Javan rhino poacher gets 12 years in record sentence for wildlife crime in Indonesia
Poachers claim to have killed one-third of all Javan rhinos, Indonesian police say
Max sentence request for Javan rhino poacher too low, experts say
New calf, same threats: Javan rhinos continue to reproduce despite perils
Indonesian fisheries
An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
New abuse allegations hit China ghost ships in Indonesia waters
Javan fisherwomen lead fight against marine dredging amid fears of damage
Marine ecosystems still overlooked in Indonesia’s new conservation law, critics say
Indonesia must integrate marine protection with fisheries subsidies, study says
Bali’s rapid coastal erosion threatens island’s ecosystems & communities: Study
Global environmental impacts of u s policy
President Biden signs order aimed at protecting old-growth forests across U.S.
FOREST Act bill would hold global suppliers accountable for illegal deforestation
As the rest of world tackles plastics disposal, the U.S. resists
As climate chaos escalates in Indian Country, feds abandon tribes
COP24: Trumpers tout clean coal; protesters call it ‘climate suicide’
COP24: US, Russia, Saudis downplay IPCC report in display of disunity
Conservation in madagascar
Madagascar has been a global conservation priority for decades, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in conservation funds from international donors, but rising deforestation, commercial exploitation of wildlife, and degradation of critical habitats suggest that conservation investments may not be reaching their full potential. This series investigates the effectiveness of past conservation spending in Madagascar, examining the factors that contribute to or hinder success, with the aim of informing future investments.
Newly described gecko from Madagascar a master of disguise
Fire imperils Madagascar’s baobabs: Q&A with park director Diamondra Andriambololona
Extreme reforestation: Baobab planters confront fires, loggers, cattle and more
Eight new-to-science geckos described from biodiversity haven Madagascar
Rio Tinto-owned mine is polluting Malagasy water with uranium and lead, NGOs say
Even as the government bets big on carbon, REDD+ flounders in Madagascar
Conservation effectiveness
How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
The nature of conservation evidence: Imperfect, but good enough (commentary)
Conservation Effectiveness series sparks action, dialogue
Global agroforestry
An ancient agricultural system, agroforestry combines trees with shrubs, crops, and livestock in a system that produces food, supports biodiversity, builds soil horizons and water tables, and sequesters carbon from the atmosphere – this series explores how and where it is being practiced by Indigenous communities, traditional agriculturists, and new farmers.