China’s deep-sea mining fleet may also track US submarines (March 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/03/chinas-deep-sea-mining-fleet-may-also-track-us-submarines/
A Mongabay and CNN investigation found the eight Chinese state-owned ships that conduct deep-sea mining research in China’s mining areas allocated by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) actually spent little time in these exploration areas, while spending much of their remaining time operating in militarily strategic waters. Many of these vessels are linked to the […]
Argentina updates national IUCN mammal list with new focus on non-native species (March 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/argentina-updates-national-iucn-mammal-list-with-new-focus-on-non-native-species/
- The Argentine Society for the Study of Mammals reviews the national IUCN Red List of mammal species the goal of better understanding population trends and threats across the country’s many ecosystems.
- This time around, scientists evaluated 417 mammal species, 22 more than the 395 species evaluated in 2019.
- The increase reflects newly discovered mammals but also taxonomic revisions to mammals that were once grouped together and are now recognized as distinct species.
- For the first time, SAREM also used the environmental impact classification for alien taxa, known as EICAT, to determine how much damage non-native species were doing to biodiversity in the country.
Conservation win as first palm cockatoo chick fledges from artificial hollow in Australia (March 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/conservation-win-as-first-palm-cockatoo-chick-fledges-from-artificial-hollow-in-australia/
Conservationists in Australia are celebrating the fledging of a palm cockatoo chick, a species considered endangered in the country. It fledged from an artificial log hollow installed on a tree for breeding cockatoos. The structure is one of 29 such spaces created as part of People For Wildlife’s (PFW) Breeding Habitat Restoration Project, in partnership […]
The ocean’s enforcement gap (March 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-oceans-enforcement-gap/
- Governments have designated vast marine protected areas and pledged to conserve 30% of the ocean by 2030, enforcement often lags behind these commitments.
- Research shows that the ecological benefits of marine protected areas depend less on their size than on whether rules are visible, monitored, and enforced.
- New tools—such as satellite imagery, vessel-tracking systems, and data analytics—are making it easier and cheaper to detect illegal fishing and focus enforcement efforts.
- As monitoring improves, the future of ocean conservation may depend less on creating new protected areas than on ensuring existing rules are consistently applied.
Indigenous groups demand halt to Belo Sun Amazon gold mine (March 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/indigenous-groups-demand-halt-to-belo-sun-amazon-gold-mine/
More than 120 Indigenous protesters have occupied a federal building in Altamira in the Brazilian Amazon since Feb. 23. They are demanding that authorities block a Canadian mining company’s license to open one of the country’s largest open-air gold mines on the Xingu River. Led by a movement of Indigenous women, the protest follows a […]
Huge amounts of nanoplastics discovered in tap and bottled water (March 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/huge-amounts-of-nanoplastics-discovered-in-tap-and-bottled-water/
The amount of nanoplastics in drinking water in the U.S. has been wildly underestimated. That’s according to a new study that found the amount of plastic in both tap and bottled water was 10-100 times higher than previous estimates. For the new study, researchers used more advanced methodology and found more plastic. “It is like […]
Can this giant freezer de-extinct animals? (March 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/can-this-giant-freezer-de-extinct-animals/
We’re losing species at an alarming rate. Could freezing the genetic material of the world’s most endangered animals help save them? Biotech start-up Colossal Biosciences is developing a “biovault” — a massive facility designed to store the frozen DNA of threatened species. Their founder calls it “a backup plan for life on Earth.” But can […]
French company stops US offshore wind projects in $1B deal with Trump administration (March 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/french-company-stops-us-offshore-wind-projects-in-1b-deal-with-trump-administration/
The Department of Interior says a French energy company has agreed to give up two U.S. offshore wind leases and invest in fossil fuel projects instead. The department said Monday that TotalEnergies committed to invest approximately $1 billion in oil and natural gas production in the United States. That is the amount the company paid […]
How Namibia’s bird conservation projects build community resilience (commentary) (March 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-namibias-bird-conservation-projects-build-community-resilience-commentary/
- Droughts and land degradation often erode communities’ social bonds, but in the Karas region of Namibia, bird conservation initiatives have become a rallying point.
- Women and youth are at the forefront of these initiatives, which has inspired confidence among peers and shown that conservation is not the domain of scientists alone, but also a practice of everyday community resilience.
- “It is time for policymakers, NGOs, and donors to support these initiatives not just as biodiversity projects, but as investments in community well-being,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Songbird trade threatens lesser-known ‘master birds’ with secondary extinctions: Study (March 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/songbird-trade-threatens-lesser-known-master-birds-with-secondary-extinctions-study/
- Master birds are used in songbird competitions in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world to “teach” competitors elements of their songs. This trade, largely unknown and under-researched, is pushing some species to the brink of extinction.
- A recent market study investigated the trade in crested jayshrikes, a popular master bird in Indonesia, and discovered rampant trade: This bird was sold openly across the country, despite its protected species status.
- The trade in master birds has driven serious declines of numerous species in the wild, including the Javan green magpie.
- To save these rapidly disappearing birds, the researchers say that stricter law enforcement is urgently needed to shut down illegal markets and stem the trade.
World Water Day: Earth’s freshwater reveals new species & faces mounting threats (March 22, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/world-water-day-earths-freshwater-reveals-new-species-faces-mounting-threats/
Water covers most of our planet, yet less than 3% of it is freshwater and most of it is contained in glaciers, making it not readily usable. Contamination and overuse threaten the valuable supplies of freshwater that humans and other animals, especially aquatic organisms, depend on to live. On World Water Day, a United Nations […]
PNG’s New Ireland coastal waters causing fish deaths, human sickness (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/pngs-new-ireland-coastal-waters-causing-fish-deaths-human-sickness/
- Communities on the east coast of Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland province report that contact with the seawater there has made people sick since December 2025; residents have also reported spikes in the number of dead fish and other marine life along the shoreline.
- A group of local and international NGOs has responded, providing help with sampling to determine the cause and raising money for the affected villages.
- New Ireland’s coastal communities depend on the sea for food, but government officials have warned against eating fish until the cause of the problems has been identified.
- Government ministries have been aware of the situation for at least two months, and while leaders say that tissue, water and soil samples have been collected, no results have been released yet.
Captive-bred Panamanian golden frogs released to the wild (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/captive-bred-panamanian-golden-frogs-released-to-the-wild/
Since 2009, no one has seen a Panamanian golden frog in the wild. These bright yellow frogs disappeared completely when an amphibian fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, swept through Panama reaching El Valle de Anton, the last stronghold of golden frogs. Researchers at the Smithsonian Institution predicted these declines based on the pattern of disease spread, but […]
Vatican launches campaign to encourage divestment from mining industries (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/vatican-launches-campaign-to-encourage-divestment-from-mining-industries/
ROME (AP) — The Vatican on Friday launched a campaign to encourage divestment from mining industries, saying the Catholic Church should invest its money in ways that are consistent with its ecological teachings. The effort, which also involves other Christian organizations, takes as its inspiration Pope Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical “Praised Be.” The document, and the ecological movement it […]
Proboscis monkey found in Thailand adds to evidence of cross-border illegal trade (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/proboscis-monkey-found-in-thailand-adds-to-evidence-of-cross-border-illegal-trade/
- In January, an injured proboscis monkey was found near a railway track in Thailand’s Samut Sakhon province and brought to a nearby clinic.
- Proboscis monkeys are an endangered species endemic to Borneo, and international trade is banned except for research or conservation purposes — no permits that would allow such trade exist for the species in Thailand.
- Historically, trafficking for pets or zoos has not been a major threat to proboscis monkeys because it is very difficult to keep them alive in captivity, but recent research has found an uptick in live trade of the species.
- The monkey is currently recovering from its injuries at a government-run rehabilitation center, and while he will never be able to live in the wild again, officers there say he may be transferred back to his native range once his health is stable.
Deep-sea mining rules face delays despite urgent push (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/deep-sea-mining-rules-face-delays-despite-urgent-push/
Commercial deep-sea mining hasn’t yet begun, but it soon could — with the potential to reshape vast stretches of the ocean as companies move to extract minerals from the seafloor. However, this nascent industry lacks a set of international rules to govern it, and a recent meeting of the regulatory body charged with drafting one […]
Many Indigenous peoples in Asia feel excluded from nat’l biodiversity planning: Report (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/many-indigenous-peoples-in-asia-feel-excluded-from-natl-biodiversity-planning-report/
- Many Indigenous peoples in Asia say they have little sway on their nation’s biodiversity goals, despite calls in the global U.N. biodiversity agreement for their full and effective participation in decision-making, according to recent reports.
- The research found 13% of survey respondents participated in state-led consultations with Indigenous peoples while almost 60% reported that participation was not meaningful.
- However, the research also found that Indigenous peoples increasingly participated in the NBSAP revision processes compared with a previous global biodiversity agreement for the 2011-20 period.
- Some Indigenous sources said they felt like their participation was tokenistic and recommend the creation of an Indigenous-led version of the national biodiversity targets to help influence policy.
World Rewilding Day: Hope for species and ecosystems (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/world-rewilding-day-hope-for-species-and-ecosystems/
World Rewilding Day on March 20 celebrates human efforts to rewild and restore degraded areas. Rewilding can focus on a single species, a city park, or even an entire island, and Mongabay has reported on such efforts from around the word. Rewilding in France’s Dauphiné Alps France’s largest rewilding project is underway in the Dauphiné […]
Deadly Indonesia landfill collapse a ‘serious warning’ of systemic failure (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/deadly-indonesia-landfill-collapse-a-serious-warning-of-systemic-failure/
A mountain of waste at Indonesia’s largest landfill recently collapsed following days of extreme rainfall that destabilized the massive pile. The tragedy resulted in seven confirmed deaths.
Shipping’s biofuel gamble could deepen Africa’s land squeeze and food insecurity (commentary) (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/shippings-biofuel-gamble-could-deepen-africas-land-squeeze-and-food-insecurity-commentary/
- Using crops as fuel to cut emissions from the shipping sector could cause more harm than good, the authors of a new op-ed argue.
- Next month, leaders will gather at the UN’s International Maritime Organization meeting to lay down the rules for decarbonizing shipping, and African governments must ensure that crop-based biofuels are not a part of the solution, they say.
- “African states should demand that food-based biofuels are excluded from shipping’s decarbonization targets, and insist on robust sustainability criteria to prevent the conversion of forests, peatlands, and other high-biodiversity or community-managed areas into fuel plantations,” the authors say.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.