National parks in Africa shutter over COVID-19 threat to great apes
Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo shut its doors to tourists this week in an attempt to protect its great apes from possibly being infected by the…
Mongabay series: 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.
Three new species of chameleons emerge from centuries-old entanglement
For more than 180 years, several soft-nosed chameleons from Madagascar sat together in a single species complex (Calumma nasutum) until scientists decided to take a closer look. They disentangled the…
Madagascar off pace to meet Aichi targets, which is bad news for the world
The megadiverse island nation of Madagascar isn’t doing enough to meet the Aichi targets, which means the unique biodiversity of the world’s oldest island remains as imperiled as ever. The…
Marginalized voices from resource conflicts enter the mainstream via video
IABOAKOHO, Madagascar — The only light for many miles came from the glow of the makeshift screen as a cool July evening descended on the Iaboakoho commune. A generator whirred…
Raze here, save there: Do biodiversity offsets work for people or ecosystems?
ANTSOTSO, Madagascar — Moussa Evariste, 53, treads lightly on sinewy legs across fields of grass that were once forest. The terrain is sandy and prickly, punctuated by the relief of…
Lucky ducks: Once thought extinct, rare pochards take steps toward recovery
One of the world’s rarest birds, once thought to be extinct, successfully bred in the wild late last year. The crop of ducklings marks a victory for conservation groups that…
Madagascar launches massive planting drive, eyes 60 million trees
Madagascar has embarked on its most ambitious tree-planting drive yet, aiming to plant 60 million trees in the coming months. The island nation celebrates 60 years of independence this year,…
Concerns about radioactive contamination dog Rio Tinto’s Madagascar mine
Activists have accused mining giant Rio Tinto of dragging its feet in addressing the fallout from a breach that occurred at its mine in Madagascar five years ago and that…
Madagascar: Is NGO-led conservation too conservative to conserve much?
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Madagascar’s natural resources are under threat. Local people use some for food, fuel and shelter, but foreign capital drives the most intense exploitation. Gem dealers oversee the destruction…
Tree-planting programs turn to tech solutions to track effectiveness
ROCHESTER, New York and RANOMAFANA NATIONAL PARK, Madagascar — Tom Snyder wants to change the way people see trees. Specifically, he wants to help donors to Seneca Park Zoo in…
Madagascar’s bold reforestation goal lacks a coherent plan, experts say
RANOMAFANA and ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — While many U.S. travelers dream of the fabled forests of Madagascar, for Malagasy conservationist Mahandry Hugues Andrianarisoa, 28, it was the verdant landscape of upstate…
Madagascar regulator under scrutiny in breach at Rio Tinto-controlled mine
The government of Madagascar is looking into the actions of its top environmental regulator in the case of a buffer zone breach at a mineral sands mining operation in the…
Can a national management plan halt Madagascar’s shark decline?
MORONDAVA, Madagascar — When older people on Madagascar’s west coast were children, there were so many sharks that they had to be a bit careful when playing in the water.…
Madagascar suspends activities at controversial Base Toliara mine
This week the Malagasy government indefinitely suspended activities of the Base Toliara mine project, the third-largest mining project in Madagascar. It cited friction between the project and local communities and…
What makes community ecotourism succeed? In Madagascar, location, location, location
ANJA COMMUNITY RESERVE, Madagascar — When the Anja Community Reserve opened in 2001 the organizers of this bite-size protected area along the highway knew they’d need to come up with…
A ‘sly’ species of leaf-tailed gecko uncovered from Madagascar
Until they looked into the mouth of a leaf-tailed gecko collected in Madagascar last year, scientists couldn’t be sure they were looking at a new species of lizard. The specimen…
Madagascar calls for assistance as fires imperil its protected areas
Fires razed more than 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) of forestland in Madagascar’s Ankarafantsika National Park in August and September — four times the size of New York City’s Central Park.…
Madagascar: Opaque foreign fisheries deals leave empty nets at home
TOLIARA AND MORONDAVA, Madagascar — When fishers on the west coast of Madagascar arrive home after a day at sea, children often poke their heads into the pirogues to see…
CITES appeals to countries to watch out for trafficked Malagasy rosewood
International wildlife trade regulators have issued an advisory drawing attention to $50 million worth of Malagasy rosewood logs seized in 2014 in Singapore that could potentially end up in the…
Demand for charcoal threatens the forest of Madagascar’s last hunter-gatherers
MIKEA FOREST, Madagascar — A spear, an ax, a fire starter crafted from cow horn, a hand-carved pipe, and tobacco: these are all of Bezery’s material possessions, and he carries…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- On anniversary of nun’s murder Amazon land rights activists at high risk
- Iran upholds heavy sentences for conservationists convicted of spying
- Two deaths trigger alarm at Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
Indonesias forest guardians
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
Amazon infrastructure
- BR-319 illegal side road threatens Amazon protected area, indigenous land (commentary)
- Barrage of mining requests targets Brazil’s isolated indigenous peoples
- Database offers new details on the dams that hold mining waste
Asian rhinos
- Indonesia-WWF split puts rhino breeding project in Borneo in limbo
- Indonesian officials wield sharia law in defense of Sumatran rhinos
- Love triangle complicates efforts to breed Sumatran rhinos
