Researchers uncover 10 new moth species and 7 new genera in Hawaiʻi (April 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/researchers-uncover-10-new-moth-species-and-7-new-genera-in-hawai%ca%bbi/
Researchers in Hawai’i have described 10 new species and seven new genera of moths, highlighting how much remains unknown about the Pacific archipelago’s biodiversity. Hawai’i is home to a large number of endemic species, plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Discovery of a new species is so common, “nobody turns their head,” study […]
Orcas never seen before in Seattle delight whale watchers with a visit (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/orcas-never-seen-before-in-seattle-delight-whale-watchers-with-a-visit/
Seattle (AP) — When tourists travel to Seattle, it’s common to take in the Space Needle and the downtown skyline from Puget Sound. It’s an itinerary that a newly arrived pod of killer whales appears to be following too. Three orcas that had not previously been recorded in the Seattle area have delighted whale watchers with several […]
Kenya to receive 4 mountain bongos from European zoos (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/kenya-to-receive-4-mountain-bongos-from-european-zoos/
The Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy (MKWC) is on track to receive four male mountain bongos from European zoos, a move aimed at helping boost the population of one of Africa’s most endangered antelope. The transfer was led by experts from Chester Zoo, in England, in collaboration with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the European Association […]
Canadian muskoxen hit by double punch of novel diseases and climate change (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/canadian-muskoxen-hit-by-double-punch-of-novel-diseases-and-climate-change/
- New emerging diseases and other threats, including climate change, are upending muskox recovery in parts of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
- An emerging pathogen, dubbed Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Arctic clone, was linked to widespread muskox mortalities on Victoria and Banks islands from 2009-14. Another outbreak was identified on Ellesmere Island in 2021.
- Brucellosis, a zoonotic disease, is now appearing in muskoxen on Victoria Island and parts of the mainland, with rates increasing since 2015.
- These emerging diseases were identified, researched and tracked via an innovative community-based wildlife health surveillance program that teams up Inuit hunters and trappers, scientists and government agencies. Muskoxen are a key food source for many Inuit communities and play a vital role in Arctic ecology. Their loss could put food security and Indigenous culture at risk.
How an engineer brought degraded wetlands back to life in drought-hit Bangladesh (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/how-an-engineer-brought-degraded-wetlands-back-to-life-in-drought-hit-bangladesh/
- In drought-hit regions of Bangladesh, excavation and restoration of wetlands are crucial for local ecosystem and agriculture.
- An engineer at a government agency, A.K.M. Fazlul Haque challenges anomalies in wetland regulations around the country’s northern region.
- His efforts serve the community and biodiversity, and Fazlul’s story shows that conservation is a continuous struggle.
Pyrenees brown bear population climbs to an estimated 130 in latest census (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/pyrenees-brown-bear-population-climbs-to-an-estimated-130-in-latest-census/
The annual census of brown bears in the Pyrenees mountain range of Spain, France and Andorra estimated that 130 bears are now living in the region with an average annual population growth rate of more than 11% over the last 18 years. The subpopulation of Pyrenees brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) has been steadily increasing […]
Unwrapping deforestation: Your chocolate Easter bunny may harm the environment (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/unwrapping-deforestation-your-chocolate-easter-bunny-may-harm-the-environment/
- The United Kingdom’s cocoa imports drove more than 2,000 hectares of deforestation in 2025 alone, mainly in Côte d’Ivoire (78%) and Ghana (18%), according to an analysis by climate NGO Global Witness.
- Total post-2021 losses linked to chocolate products exceeded 8,244 hectares. For all commodities — including palm oil, soy, beef, coffee and rubber — the deforestation exposure was 52,000 hectares.
- Britain continues to be exposed to deforestation despite enacting the 2021 Environment Act, designed to purge illegal forest destruction from supply chains. The reason is that the U.K. has not put in place key rules.
- Promised regulations remain stalled, with no timeline from the government to implement them. This leaves companies without due diligence rules and consumers remain exposed to goods linked to deforestation.
Indonesian geothermal projects stall amid Indigenous concerns over justice (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/indonesian-geothermal-projects-stall-amid-indigenous-concerns-over-justice/
An island in eastern Indonesia was meant to lead the country’s transition into renewable energy. But nearly a decade later, the “geothermal island” has suspended projects due to local resistance and concerns for justice and safety. Mongabay’s Basten Gokkon reports that, back in 2017, up to 21 geothermal sites were identified on the island of […]
Indonesia’s deforestation surges 66% in 2025, reversing years of decline (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/indonesias-deforestation-surges-66-in-2025-reversing-years-of-decline/
- New satellite data show that deforestation in Indonesia surged in 2025, up 66% from the previous year, marking a sharp reversal after several years of decline.
- The implications extend beyond forest loss, as rising deforestation could derail Indonesia’s climate goals, including its target of turning the forestry and land use sector into a net carbon sink by 2030.
- NGO Auriga Nusantara points to policy decisions under both the current and former administrations; at the same time, government-backed projects have been allowed to expand into forest areas, often without adequate spatial planning.
Today is Jane Goodall Day. Her movement continues. (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/today-is-jane-goodall-day-her-movement-continues/
- April 3, now recognized as Jane Goodall Day, is intended as a day of action—an invitation to carry forward the habits and responsibilities she encouraged, rather than simply commemorate her life.
- From Roots & Shoots to community-led conservation models like Tacare, her work continues through people who apply her approach locally, linking the well-being of people, animals, and the environment.
- Colleagues at the Jane Goodall Institute describe a consistent throughline in her thinking: start small, stay attentive, and build change through actions that accumulate over time.
- The day reflects a broader idea at the center of her life’s work—that progress depends less on scale or certainty than on individuals choosing to act, where they are, with what they have.
Talks to reduce funding for overfishing remain stalled at WTO meeting (April 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/talks-to-reduce-funding-for-overfishing-remain-stalled-at-wto-meeting/
- Delegates at a recent World Trade Organization summit in Cameroon agreed to continue “Fish Two” negotiations aimed at a deal to curb government subsidies that support unsustainable fishing, but progress remains limited, with just three countries blocking consensus despite broad support.
- The first phase of the deal, “Fish One,” entered into force in September 2025 and now has 116 ratifications; but key fishing nations, including India and Indonesia, have not joined.
- Disputes over Fish Two center on fairness: Developing countries argue the draft text disadvantages them, particularly through sustainability-based exemptions that favor wealthier nations with better scientific capacity.
- A four-year “sunset clause” triggered by Fish One’s entry into force now puts pressure on talks: If a full agreement is not reached by 2029, the entire deal, including Fish One, risks collapsing.
Return of the giant tortoises (April 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/return-of-the-giant-tortoises/
For the first time in nearly two centuries, giant tortoises are once again roaming Floreana Island in the Galápagos, a conservation milestone more than a decade in the making.
Green and gray: Mangroves and dikes show potential in protecting shorelines together (April 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/green-and-gray-mangroves-and-dikes-show-potential-in-protecting-shorelines-together/
- A recent paper modeled how restoring mangroves in front of water-controlling infrastructure like dikes might create a hybrid coastal defense system in the face of global sea level rise.
- The model found that this combination, put in place today, could reduce the annual damage from storms and flooding by $800 million, and that 140,000 fewer people would be impacted by these events every year.
- They also found that these numbers would increase over time with the impacts of climate change.
- The researchers also evaluated where these projects would be most cost-effective, finding that the benefits disproportionately help lower-income areas, particularly in Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Africa.
Banned but not silenced: Gerry Flynn’s commitment to uncovering the truth across the Mekong (April 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/banned-but-not-silenced-gerry-flynns-commitment-to-uncovering-the-truth-across-the-mekong/
- Gerald “Gerry” Flynn is Mongabay’s features writer for Southeast Asia, reporting on the intersection of human rights, ecosystems and natural resource governance.
- In January 2025, Flynn was permanently banned from Cambodia in what appeared to be retaliation for his journalistic work; he is now based in Thailand and covers the Mekong region more broadly.
- He emphasizes that environmental journalism in authoritarian contexts must expose realities often omitted from state-controlled media.
- Flynn says he values on-the-ground reporting, amplifying local voices and balancing bravery with safety.
Brazilian banks to verify satellite deforestation data for rural credit (April 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/brazilian-banks-to-verify-satellite-deforestation-data-for-rural-credit/
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s banks will be required to verify official satellite deforestation data before approving rural credit beginning on Wednesday in the South American country. Under the new rule, financial institutions must check whether a property appears in a government registry of areas with potential illegal deforestation after July 31, 2019. The database, maintained […]
Railroad & tariff war boost soy in Brazil’s Cerrado, endangering Indigenous lands (April 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/railroad-tariff-war-boost-soy-in-brazils-cerrado-endangering-indigenous-lands/
- Driven by the tariff war between the U.S. and China, soy production in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state is breaking records and encroaching on the Cerrado biome.
- Logistics projects such as the Ferrogrão railroad are expected to scale up production, further increasing the risk of deforestation.
- In the Tirecatinga Indigenous Land, amid still-standing Cerrado, Indigenous peoples are already feeling the impacts of pesticides and dams.
New species discovered in Cambodia’s rare rocky ecosystems (April 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/new-species-discovered-in-cambodias-rare-rocky-ecosystems/
Scientists have discovered at least 11 new species in the caves and rocky outcroppings of northern Cambodia’s Battambang and Stung Treng provinces. The findings were compiled into a new biodiversity report. Seven new species have already been formally described and another four are in the process. To map the biodiversity in the nation’s karst ecosystems, […]
How underinvesting in information threatens our collective well-being (April 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/how-underinvesting-in-information-threatens-our-collective-well-being/
- This essay is adapted from the article, “Information as Civic Infrastructure—and How Philanthropy Can Support the Ecosystem,” which was originally published in Nonprofit Quarterly on March 3, 2026.
- While philanthropy traditionally funds direct solutions like land conservation or technology, it often overlooks the fragile information environment that these interventions require to succeed.
- The lack of credible, verified data creates an “information gap” that allows environmental harms to go unnoticed and undermines the public oversight necessary for regulatory and market accountability.
- Investing in the core capacities of a healthy information ecosystem—such as data verification and digital security—provides the essential clarity needed to address our most urgent global challenges.
How wild cattle recovery is transforming local livelihoods near key Thai reserve (April 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/how-wild-cattle-recovery-is-transforming-local-livelihoods-near-key-thai-reserve/
- Banteng, a species of wild cattle, have suffered an 80% population decline across their range in recent decades. But in Thailand, populations are rebounding strongly in well-protected areas.
- Decades of strict habitat protection and ranger patrols have reduced poaching and recovered numbers to such an extent that several herds have spread outside of protected sites into surrounding buffer areas, where enforcement of wildlife laws is limited.
- In an effort to protect the growing herds, villagers living in the buffer area of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, who once experienced conflict with the banteng, have set up a community-led ecotourism initiative based on banteng-watching.
- The wildlife tours are creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching, and the banteng are proving to be a key species around which to rally local support for conservation.
Linda Dakin-Grimm and Geo Chen join Mongabay’s board as it expands global coverage (April 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/linda-dakin-grimm-and-geo-chen-join-mongabays-board-as-it-expands-global-coverage/
- Mongabay has appointed Linda Dakin-Grimm and Geo Chen to its board of directors, adding legal, philanthropic and investment expertise to support its mission of independent environmental journalism.
- Their appointments come amid rapid organizational growth, with traffic up 166% and story production rising 44% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year.
- The organization continues to expand its editorial capacity and global reach, including new investments in key reporting areas, additional language offerings, and a fellowship program that is expected to nearly double in size.
- Mongabay’s growth is guided not by scale alone but by how its reporting informs decisions by policymakers, practitioners and communities working on environmental challenges.