Two public servants in Brazil removed after threatening to poison Indigenous people (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/two-public-servants-in-brazil-removed-after-threatening-to-poison-indigenous-people/
Brazil’s Indigenous voters helped reelect incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Oct. 25. Following his win, two officials in the municipality of Tacuru, Mato Grosso do Sul, allegedly sent WhatsApp messages threatening to poison the water supply used by the Guarani-Kaiowá Indigenous people. The officials have been suspended; however, activists argue that’s insufficient […]
Indigenous peoples and local communities solidify decision-making powers at COP17 (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/indigenous-peoples-and-local-communities-solidify-decision-making-powers-at-cop17/
At the 2026 U.N. Biodiversity Conference in Armenia (COP17), Indigenous peoples and local communities strengthened their role in the decision-making of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), with the full operationalization of a subsidiary body within the treaty. The Subsidiary body on Article 8(j) (SB8J) was historically created at the 2024 biodiversity summit in Colombia. […]
Diverse forests can better withstand extreme weather events, study finds. Here’s why (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/diverse-forests-can-better-withstand-extreme-weather-events-study-finds-heres-why/
- A new study used data from U.S. forests to analyze whether diversity in tree species helped forests weather compound climate extremes, such as drought and high temperatures occurring at the same time.
- The study found that diversity did have a protective effect: More diverse forests were more resilient during compound climate events, and recovered more effectively afterwards.
- However, the study also found that the protective effect of diversity wasn’t equally strong across all types of climate events, and that other factors — like rainfall, soil health and day-to-day temperatures — also played a role in how well these forests handled climate stress.
- Researchers say that the study’s findings give forest managers a good place to start when planning adaptation strategies for the climate extremes that lie ahead.
Extreme heat no longer confined to summer, extending health risks, study finds (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/extreme-heat-no-longer-confined-to-summer-extending-health-risks-study-finds/
- A study of climate data from 1980 to the present showed a broad global expansion of extreme heat days outside of summer months, extending into spring and fall.
- Extreme heat occurrences varied by region: Western Europe, southern Africa and northwest India are seeing hotter springs, while eastern China, northern Africa, eastern Europe and the western U.S. are largely experiencing hotter autumns.
- Extreme heat (and humidity) occurring outside the traditional summer window threatens both public health and agriculture. It also increases the risk of wildfires and accompanying health-threatening smoke, and even hurricanes.
- Researchers warn that vulnerable populations can be caught off guard by unseasonable extreme heat days. Likewise, governments need to extend summer heat precautions into the spring and fall to protect citizens.
Ranchers in Brazil ordered to leave home of Indigenous people living in voluntary isolation (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ranchers-in-brazil-ordered-to-leave-home-of-indigenous-people-living-in-voluntary-isolation/
- A Brazilian federal court has ordered the removal of non-Indigenous occupants from the Piripkura Indigenous Territory in Mato Grosso, home to Indigenous people living in voluntary isolation.
- The order gives those affected 120 days to leave and remove cattle, machinery and other belongings.
- The ruling follows recent and new evidence of illegal deforestation and cattle ranching in the territory, including a recent inspection that identified 36.83 hectares (91 acres) of unauthorized clearing attributed to a rancher.
- Federal prosecutors have raised concerns about a new threat to the Piripkura in court files seen by Mongabay, including reports of clandestine airstrips allegedly being used for drug trafficking inside the territory, raising fears about violence and unwanted contact.
New index tracks countries’ vulnerability to conflict between large and small-scale fishers (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/new-index-tracks-countries-vulnerability-to-conflict-between-large-and-small-scale-fishers/
- Conflict between small-scale fishers and industrial vessels can threaten food security and livelihoods in coastal communities, including via direct competition for species, disputes over fishing grounds or damage to gear.
- A new study introduces an index that scores 126 countries on their vulnerability to such conflicts.
- The scores are based on factors such as how much industrial activity occurs near shore, how reliant countries are on small-scale fishing for food and income and the strength of their governance systems.
- West Africa and East Asia are the most vulnerable subregions, according to the index, with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mozambique the most vulnerable countries.
Zanzibar’s seaweed farmers seek better future through science and partnership (commentary) (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/zanzibars-seaweed-farmers-see-better-future-through-science-and-partnership-commentary/
- On the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, thousands of women work among the tides to cultivate an important natural resource: Seaweeds.
- But this ‘seaweed economy’ is not immune to pressures brought by climate change, disease, and changing environmental conditions affecting many other marine economies across the world, so a partnership between the national government, the U.N., and NGOs is working to ensure its future.
- “The future of this industry will not be secured by hope alone. It will be secured by bringing science into traditional knowledge and practices through partnerships and investment,” the authors write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Flash flooding triggers evacuations in Southwest and dire warning for Colorado spa town (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/flash-flooding-triggers-evacuations-in-southwest-and-dire-warning-for-colorado-spa-town/
Heavy rains and flash flooding have prompted mandatory evacuation orders in parts of the U.S. Southwest. In Colorado, officials in Pagosa Springs warned Sunday of potentially catastrophic flooding as the San Juan River was forecast to crest at more than 19 feet Sunday night. Officials say anyone in low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio […]
Ecotourism may deter hunters, but also keeps wildlife away, Laos study suggests (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ecotourism-may-deter-hunters-but-also-keeps-wildlife-away-laos-study-suggests/
- A camera-trapping study in a protected area in northern Laos found community-led ecotourism plays a paradoxical role by reducing localized hunting pressure, but also scaring wildlife away from habitats around tourism hotspots.
- There were roughly twice the number of medium to large mammals on average in more remote parts of the forested landscape than at sites closer to trekking and kayaking routes, the camera-trap data showed.
- Experts caution against viewing tourism as a bigger threat to wildlife than more direct exploitation, such as hunting, logging and mining.
- They highlight the revenue that ecotourism generates and the support that it builds among local communities for conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
Cyanide ponds from illegal mining threaten Amazon Indigenous territory (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/cyanide-ponds-from-illegal-mining-threaten-amazon-indigenous-territory/
- Federal prosecutors are demanding an action plan after authorities found cyanide-contaminated ponds in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon.
- A cheaper and more profitable alternative to mercury for miners, cyanide can kill by asphyxiation within minutes and severely contaminate soil and water.
- As crackdowns on mercury drive miners toward cyanide, a regulated chemical, officials say they hope Brazil’s legal cyanide supply chain will allow them to trace the sources and cut off the flows.
How bats can be forest architects (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/how-bats-can-be-forest-architects/
Amazonian tiny bats are turning leaves into homes. Some species build shelters by biting and folding giant leaves into hidden “tents” suspended in the forest understory. But scientists discovered these bats may be doing something even more important. Inside their droppings are seeds from wild fruits — seeds that Indigenous and local communities later use […]
Togo’s growing belief-based use trade sweeping up avian biodiversity, says study (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/togos-growing-belief-based-use-trade-sweeping-up-avian-biodiversity-says-study/
One of West Africa’s largest markets selling wildlife for belief-based uses has expanded rapidly over the past decade, according to a recent study. Researchers surveyed the Akodessewa Fetish Market in Lomé, Togo, between 2022 and 2024 and found a booming trade in both live and dead birds and their parts. They registered more than twice […]
Experts warn of long-term health risks as Indonesia’s wildfire haze takes a growing toll (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/experts-warn-of-long-term-health-risks-as-indonesias-wildfire-haze-takes-a-growing-toll/
- Months-long wildfires and the resulting thick smog are taking a growing toll on public health in Indonesia, with residents reporting respiratory illnesses and even deaths.
- Indonesia’s Health Ministry recorded 333,470 acute respiratory infection cases in the seven worst-affected provinces by Oct. 21, while nonprofit Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has estimated that short-term exposure to wildfire-related air pollution contributed to 5,200 deaths in August and September.
- The haze crisis is affecting millions across Indonesia and neighboring countries, with residents in Singapore and Malaysia reporting health problems and authorities recording increases in respiratory illnesses.
- Health experts warn that repeated exposure to fine-particle pollution can cause long-term medical problems and call for stronger public-health protections and a shift from reactive to preventive policy in handling wildfires.
Venomous Indonesian primate feared extinct still clings on – but threats persist (November 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/venomous-indonesian-primate-feared-extinct-still-clings-on-but-threats-persist/
A small, venomous primate that scientists thought had gone extinct still survives on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, and to the communities there was never really “lost,” according to a recent study. The Bangka slow loris (Nycticebus bancanus), native to parts of Borneo and the island of Bangka, was declared critically endangered, and possibly extinct, on the […]
Environmental defenders testify about attacks in Latin America linked to Canadian mining companies (October 31, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/environmental-defenders-testify-about-attacks-in-latin-america-linked-to-canadian-mining-companies/
- In Panama, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard testimony Oct. 27 from representatives of six countries alleging harm linked to Canadian mining companies in Latin America.
- Among the complaints, Marco Manobanda, an Indigenous fish-farmer from Las Naves, Ecuador, testified that a copper and gold mine, owned by two Vancouver-based companies, Silvercorp Metals Inc. and Salazar Resources Ltd., is causing deforestation and water contamination where he lives.
- The hearing comes about four months after the government eliminated the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, created to investigate complaints about overseas human rights abuses and environmental harm linked to Canadian companies.
- Civil society witnesses asked the commission to recommend that the Canadian government adopt mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation.
Leaders grapple with finance and harmful subsidies at UN’s COP17 biodiversity conference (October 31, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/leaders-grapple-with-finance-and-harmful-subsidies-at-uns-cop17-biodiversity-conference/
- The U.N. biodiversity conference (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, produced roughly $1.8 billion in new nature-finance announcements, including $500 million from the Netherlands to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, but overall spending on biodiversity remains far short of the $200 billion per year target in the Kunming-Montreal framework.
- Spending that is harmful to nature is far greater than beneficial financing and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s call to reform $500 billion in damaging subsidies remains largely unmet.
- The framework is off-track, with 22 of its 23 targets behind schedule, less than 20% of land protected against the 30×30 goal and the Cali Fund for genetic-resource revenues holding only about $10,000 against a $1 billion annual goal.
- Hambardzum Matevosyan, Armenia’s environment minister and the COP17 president, was praised for focusing conference parties on reforming and eliminating harmful subsidies through a series of initiatives.
World Lemur Day: How can we save these primates’ forest homes? (October 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/world-lemur-day-how-can-we-save-these-primates-forest-homes/
More than 100 known species of lemurs live in Madagascar. These primates with large eyes, a pointed snout, and long bushy tails are found only in the island country, where they usually live in large groups on trees. Lemurs are one of the world’s most threatened groups of primates, under pressure from the loss of […]
The women who won’t let go: Female-led resistance to development harms across Asia (October 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-who-wont-let-go-female-led-resistance-to-development-harms-across-asia/
- During a recent “people’s tribunal” in Bangkok, women from across Asia spoke about their experiences as leaders of movements seeking justice for communities affected by World Bank-funded development projects.
- The women are from communities affected by a variety of projects across the continent, including dams and land redistribution programs.
- Several themes emerged from the discussions, including the importance of maintaining resistance for decades, the obstacles and dangers faced by protest leaders, and the way that documenting struggles can serve as both a tool of resistance and a means of survival.
Given a chance, women-led microenterprises uplift Nepali communities & conservation (October 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/
- In Naya Padampur, Nepali women are building livelihoods through microenterprises that earn them income and reduce their dependence on forest products.
- Previously, many women ventured into the forest outside of Naya Padampur to fetch firewood, a dangerous task due to the proximity of wild animals such as rhinos and tigers.
- Successful women-led microenterprises in Nepal and beyond have provided a symbiosis between land and community, allowing conservation efforts to flourish while acting as a catalyst for women’s empowerment.
- Still, many women in Nepal face societal and financial hurdles to building businesses and owning property.
US lawmakers urge Trump administration to oppose Colombia’s Amazon aerial spraying plans (October 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/us-lawmakers-urge-trump-administration-to-oppose-colombias-amazon-aerial-spraying-plans/
A group of U.S. lawmakers is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio not to support Colombia’s plans to restart aerial spraying of coca crops in the Amazon, warning of risks to human health and the environment. The Colombian government says spraying is needed to combat cocaine production and weaken armed groups, but critics argue the […]