The Amazon’s lakes are heating up at ‘alarming’ rate, research finds (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/12/the-amazons-lakes-are-heating-up-at-alarming-rate-research-finds/
Five out of 10 lakes in the central Amazon had daytime temperatures over 37° Celsius, (98.6° Fahrenheit) during the region’s 2023 extreme heat wave, a recent study found. One of the most well-known water bodies is Tefé Lake in Amazonas state, northern Brazil. In September and October 2023, 209 pink and grey river dolphins, roughly […]
Elephant seals can recognize the voices of their rivals (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/12/elephant-seals-can-recognize-the-voices-of-their-rivals/
Elephant seals spend most of their lives at sea, returning to shore just twice every year to molt and breed. The breeding season typically includes males weighing thousands of kilograms violently clashing with each other to compete for females. New research finds the hefty mammals remember the voices of rivals they’ve met before and retreat […]
African environment programs still try to fill funding gap since USAID freeze (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/african-environment-programs-still-try-to-fill-funding-gap-since-usaid-freeze/
- Close to a year after the suspension of USAID funding in Africa, the future of many environmental programs remains uncertain.
- Alternative funding is sought from the EU, World Bank and private sector initiatives, yet experts say a significant climate finance gap remains, especially as some of these sources curtail their funding as well.
- Africa receives just 3-4% of global climate finance, according to the African Development Bank Group; while the continent contributes just 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it remains especially vulnerable to climate disasters.
Global manta and devil ray deaths far exceed earlier estimates: Study (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/global-manta-and-devil-ray-deaths-far-exceed-earlier-estimates-study/
- A new global assessment estimates more than 259,000 manta and devil rays (genus Mobula) die in fisheries each year, far exceeding previous figures, with researchers warning that the true toll is likely higher due to major data gaps.
- Small-scale fisheries account for 87% of global mortality, with India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Peru responsible for most mobulid deaths .
- The study documents steep, long-term declines, including in Mozambique, the Philippines and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Yet many losses came to light only recently due to late adoption of monitoring and weak reporting.
- Researchers say the recent uplisting of all mobulid species to CITES Appendix I, which bans international commercial trade, is a key step, but note that national-level protections, improved data reporting, gear reforms, and better spatial management are needed to reduce mortality.
Africa’s wildlife has lost a third of its ‘ecological power,’ study says (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/africas-wildlife-has-lost-a-third-of-its-ecological-power-study-says/
- A recent study quantifies the impact of biodiversity loss on ecological functions by tracking energy flows within them. It found that declines in birds and small mammals have led to a significant erosion of ecological functions in sub-Saharan Africa.
- The study crunched data on nearly 3,000 bird and mammal species found in the region, which performed 23 key ecosystem functions, ranging from pollination to nutrient disposal.
- In the paper, the researchers group animals according to the ecological roles they play. By taking into account species present in an area, their abundance, body sizes, diets, and metabolic rates, they turn the animal’s food consumption into a measure of energy flow.
- The analysis found that the “ecological power” of wild mammals and birds weakened drastically, by about 60%, in areas converted to agricultural land; however, in well-managed protected areas, ecological functions are almost 90% intact.
As fish catches fall and seas rise, Douala’s residents join efforts to restore mangroves (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/as-fish-catches-fall-and-seas-rise-doualas-residents-join-efforts-to-restore-mangroves/
- Cameroon’s coastal fisheries are in decline, leaving fishers with dwindling catches — a crisis linked directly to the depletion of the country’s mangroves, experts say, which are breeding grounds for fish.
- The expansion of urban settlements, conversion of coastal land for agriculture, and sand extraction drives mangrove loss in Cameroon; another key driver is the use of mangrove wood for smoking fish.
- The Cameroon government and NGOs have set themselves an ambitious goal of restoring 1,000 hectares (nearly 2,500 acres) of mangrove forests by 2050.
- A key strategy involves engaging local communities in the replanting process and providing alternative livelihoods, such as urban farming and beekeeping, to reduce dependence on mangrove wood.
South Greenlanders speak out on rare earths interests (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/video/2025/12/south-greenlanders-speak-out-on-rare-earths-interests/
QAQORTOQ, Greenland – South Greenland is increasingly targeted for new mining projects as global demand for critical minerals continues to grow. These developments promise jobs, revenue and the prospect of greater economic independence. Yet for small-scale fishermen like Jens Peter, the expansion of mining into coastal zones presents real risks, including potential restrictions on access […]
‘My mother would not be happy with the state of the planet’: Interview with Wanjira Mathai (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/my-mother-would-not-be-happy-with-the-state-of-the-planet-interview-with-wanjira-mathai/
- Twenty years after Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize, her daughter Wanjira Mathai says the world has grown more fragmented even as environmental crises deepen — but insists there are bright spots Africa must seize on.
- Wanjira warns that her mother would be troubled by the pace of climate action and the growing dangers faced by environmental defenders, but she believes Africa’s youth, green industrialization, and renewable energy potential offer unprecedented hope.
- Speaking after a Nairobi event honoring her mother’s legacy, Wanjira reflects on the “power of one,” Africa’s leadership gaps and opportunities, and what it means to “bask in her mother’s light” while carving her own path.
Study warns of major funding gap for 30×30 biodiversity goal (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/12/study-warns-of-major-funding-gap-for-30x30-biodiversity-goal/
A new study launched at the U.N. Environment Assembly in Nairobi warns that international funding to help countries meet the global “30×30” biodiversity target is rising but remains billions of dollars short of what is needed. The State of International 30×30 Funding report has tracked public and philanthropic support for protected and conserved areas in […]
Climate change is straining Alaska’s Arctic. A new mining road may push the region past the brink (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/12/climate-change-is-straining-alaskas-arctic-a-new-mining-road-may-push-the-region-past-the-brink/
AMBLER, Alaska (AP) — In Northwest Alaska, a proposed 211-mile mining road has divided an Inupiaq community already devastated by climate change. The Western Arctic Caribou Herd has plummeted 66% in two decades while salmon runs have collapsed from record rainfall and warming waters. The Trump-approved Ambler Access Road would unlock copper deposits and other […]
Small cat conservationists hail Uganda’s new Echuya Forest National Park (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/small-cat-conservationists-hail-ugandas-new-echuya-forest-national-park/
- Uganda’s Echuya Forest Reserve will become a national park, alongside five other forest areas. That news is being heralded by small cat conservationists as a win for the threatened African golden cat (Caracal aurata) and other wildlife that dwell in the forest.
- African golden cats are forest dependent and considered vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN. They’re especially threatened by snaring across their range. It’s unknown exactly how Echuya’s population is faring, but camera-trapping efforts in 2015 required 90 days to record just one of these elusive cats.
- Data coming out of Uganda suggest that national parks can act as strongholds for the felid, raising hopes that Echuya’s population can recover and possibly thrive.
- Wildcat conservationists have also developed programs to build engagement and benefit communities near the new park, initiating goat and sheep “seed banks” as alternatives to bushmeat, setting up savings and loan associations to improve quality of life, and arranging community soccer matches to build goodwill.
Nepal’s cities must plan for resilience and inclusion for the future & nature (commentary) (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepals-cities-must-plan-for-resilience-and-inclusion-for-the-future-nature-commentary/
- The current growth trajectory of Nepal’s cities appears to be unsustainable and unready for the increasing stresses of climate change, an environmental engineer writes.
- Unplanned expansion and the breakdown of the natural/urban interface are diminishing wildlife in this nation, and women suffer disproportionately from the impacts, with an increase in the time spent on water collection of up to 30%, for example.
- But, as this new op-ed argues, “If cities learn from each other, they will see transformed public open spaces, demonstrating how we can turn a climate liability into a community asset.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Mexico is inflating its climate spending by billions of dollars. Here’s how. (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mexico-is-inflating-its-climate-spending-by-billions-of-dollars-heres-how/
- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took office last year touting her climate science background, yet continues to neglect renewable energy and conservation while subsidizing state-owned oil company Pemex.
- Funds her government earmarked for climate change and a renewable energy transition are actually going to infrastructure, oil and gas, and other projects unrelated to the environment, a review of the 2026 budget shows.
- In one case, more than $40 million for a train line is counted twice but only spent once, misrepresenting how much money the government is dedicating to the environment.
Despite a growing planetary crisis, leaders find hope in community efforts (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/despite-a-growing-planetary-crisis-leaders-find-hope-in-community-efforts/
- This week in Nairobi, yet another report on the planet’s decline was released, at the seventh United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), amid dire alarms on everything from wetlands to pollution and climate disinformation.
- Yet cost-effective solutions exist, and leaders called for multilateral approaches that move toward a more circular economy.
- Grassroots leaders say they find hope in real-world examples of restoration and reform efforts led by community groups and in the growing evidence that, even in a destabilized world, communities, institutions and governments are laying the foundations of a livable future.
Corridors, not culls, offer solution to Southern Africa’s growing elephant population (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/corridors-not-culls-offer-solution-to-southern-africas-growing-elephant-population/
- Elephant populations in Southern Africa are stable or growing, but the space available for them is not.
- Often, elephant populations are constrained, increasing their impact on the environment or surrounding communities, and triggering calls for controversial solutions, like culls or contraception.
- But studies in a region that hosts 50% of Africa’s remaining savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) show how the animals make use of wildlife corridors to move between protected areas and neighboring countries.
- Encouraging elephants to migrate can help relieve overpopulation in some areas, but any corridor invariably intersects with human communities, making it both vital ecological infrastructure and a social challenge.
Choosing coexistence over conflict: How some California ranchers are adapting to wolves (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/choosing-coexistence-over-conflict-how-some-california-ranchers-are-adapting-to-wolves/
- California’s expanding gray wolf numbers — a conservation success for an endangered species — have worried ranchers in recent years as wolf-related livestock kills mount.
- Some ranchers are adapting to the changing landscape, using short-term nonlethal deterrents, some of which are funded by a state compensation program.
- A few ranchers are exploring long-term approaches, such as changing their ranching practices and training their cattle to keep them safe from wolves.
- While change is hard, ranchers acknowledge that learning to live with the new predator is the only way forward, and it pays to find ways to do so.
Chris Grinter has spent much of his life surrounded by insects (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/12/chris-grinter-has-spent-much-of-his-life-surrounded-by-insects/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Chris Grinter has spent much of his life surrounded by insects — though not in the way most people imagine. As senior collection manager of entomology at the California Academy of Sciences, he oversees one of the world’s […]
Wildlife and communities bear the cost as Simandou rail corridor advances across Guinea (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/wildlife-and-communities-bear-the-cost-as-simandou-rail-corridor-advances-across-guinea/
- A 650-km (400-mi) railway corridor is being built that will link the iron ore mine in eastern Guinea to the country’s Atlantic port of Moribaya.
- Its route crosses forests that are home to some of the last populations of forest elephants and western chimpanzees in the country, with NGOs warning of disruptions and fragmentation of vital habitat, putting several species at risk of local extinction.
- Villagers along the route also complain that dust and pollution have impacted their livelihoods, and that compensation has been delayed or incomplete.
- Experts and civil society actors are calling for a strategic environmental study and better implementation of environmental and social management plans.
Unregulated tourism risks disrupting Timor-Leste’s whale migration (December 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/unregulated-tourism-risks-disrupting-timor-lestes-whale-migration/
- 2025 has been a big whale tourism season in Timor-Leste; operators were fully booked during the peak season of September to December.
- But increasingly aggressive practices fueled by competition between tour operators could mean “another Sri Lanka,” where whales already stressed by climate-induced food scarcity are disappearing from the area.
- East Timorese are mostly excluded from the sector, which is controlled by expats and foreign tour operators raking in thousands from “bucket listers” and social media “influencers.”
- Whale tourism in Timor-Leste needs regulation, enforcement and legal compliance to ensure sustainable, inclusive growth, experts say.
Deep-sea mining interests raise alarms among Mariana Trench communities (December 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/deep-sea-mining-interests-raise-alarms-among-mariana-trench-communities/
- On Nov. 12, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a request for information (RFI), indicating its interest in “leasing” marine minerals located on the CNMI’s outer continental shelf, a process that would allow commercial mining to proceed on the seabed of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
- Critics say BOEM’s handling of the RFI was rushed and opaque, noting that the agency failed to consult the CNMI and Guam governments or communities before opening a brief 30-day window for public comment.
- Critics also warn that deep-sea mining could irreversibly harm the marine environment and undermine the region’s deep cultural ties to the ocean, while amounting to another form of U.S. colonial exploitation in the Pacific.