Meat giant JBS silently ditches bolder environmental targets in latest review (July 16, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/meat-giant-jbs-silently-ditches-bolder-environmental-targets-in-latest-review/
The world’s largest meatpacking company, JBS, has scrapped two of its key environmental goals in its latest annual sustainability report. JBS’s “Net Zero by 2040,” which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout its supply chain, and zero deforestation targets were substantially rolled back compared to previous years, according to its 2025 Sustainability report, published July […]
European Commission excludes leather from landmark deforestation law (July 16, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/european-commission-excludes-leather-from-landmark-deforestation-law/
The European Union has dropped leather from its final list of products targeted under the bloc’s landmark antideforestation law. Experts say the July 13 decision is the result of industry lobbying rather than a true reflection of leather’s deforestation footprint. The EU deforestation regulation, or EUDR, mandates that companies selling commodities such as cattle, soy, […]
War heightens isolation of Iran’s scientists (July 16, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/war-heightens-isolation-of-irans-scientists/
The ongoing war in Iran, which began following a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Feb. 28, has intensified the long-standing isolation of the country’s wildlife conservation community, Mongabay’s John Cannon reports. While the current war has directly hindered research and damaged educational facilities, conservationists and researchers said that decades of international sanctions and political disconnect had […]
Like ‘climbing Kilimanjaro’ without help: Interview with a Limpopo conservationist (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/like-climbing-kilimanjaro-without-help-interview-with-a-limpopo-conservationist/
- In South Africa’s Limpopo province, one man, Tshilidzi Mulugana, spearheaded a community project to educate youth about conservation and replant indigenous trees.
- The project received some initial funding, which lasted a few months; despite current financial constraints, Mulugana and his wife continue the push to change the way local residents view trees.
- He says some community members make a living from cutting and selling firewood, and many people are not interested in conservation without compensation; meanwhile, repeated floods have washed away trees and vegetation.
- Mulugana spoke with Mongabay about the challenges he and his wife face in running a community conservation effort on their own.
New colobus monkey, ‘Likweli’, confirmed in DRC (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/new-colobus-monkey-likweli-confirmed-in-drc/
In 2008, wildlife researchers surveying a massive, underexplored forested region in the Democratic Republic of Congo photographed a black monkey. That region eventually became Lomami National Park. And now, nearly 20 years later, the team has confirmed in a study that the black primate is a new-to-science species of colobus monkey. The monkey isn’t well […]
No corporation can buy the ‘right to destroy’: Interview with activist Raja Waseem Ahmed (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/no-corporation-can-buy-the-right-to-destroy-interview-with-activist-raja-waseem-ahmed/
- Raja Waseem Ahmed, a dedicated activist in Pakistan’s Chakwal district, is well-known for his decades-long fight to conserve the natural resources and heritage of the Kahoon Valley.
- Through the Kahoon Protection Committee, he led a legal battle against mega cement factories, ultimately prompting the Supreme Court of Pakistan to issue a historic ruling that banned the corporations from extracting local groundwater.
- His persistent advocacy against unchecked industrial expansion recently earned him the WWF-Pakistan Al-Mizan Award for Environmental Justice.
- Raja Waseem Ahmed spoke to Mongabay about his work and steps needed for using the judicial system to safeguard the region’s environment.
Community conservation under fire: Interview with Myanmar’s Clean Mountains founder (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/community-conservation-under-fire-interview-with-myanmars-clean-mountains-founder/
- Since the 2021 coup in Myanmar, environmental degradation has worsened, but one small women-led team works on grassroots conservation in conflict areas.
- Clean Mountains helps local communities in Karenni and Karen states with waste management, water conservation, sustainable agriculture and forest conservation.
- Founder Ou Ou discusses how the ongoing conflict has fueled natural resource destruction and also silenced the voices of conservationists.
- She also speaks about the role of gender in conservation work, why women participate more often in waste management efforts and how long-standing traditional beliefs continue to leave women out of decision-making roles.
Brazil lists the Amazon river turtle as endangered for the first time (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazil-lists-the-amazon-river-turtle-as-endangered-for-the-first-time/
- The cágado-iaçá, or six-tubercled Amazon River turtle, had its risk elevated from near threatened to endangered, entering Brazil’s official list of fauna species threatened with extinction for the first time.
- Despite protection and conservation efforts, cágado-iaçá’s populations over the past 36 years declined by more than 50% in Amazonas and western Pará states, according to official data.
- The species is widely consumed in the northern region, alongside the yellow-spotted river turtle and the Amazon turtle, which remain in a less concerning category, according to ICMBio.
- The hyacinth macaw, the black howler monkey and the red silky anteater were reclassified as vulnerable, adding to the list of 790 species recently published.
Sitesh Ranjan Deb turned a hunter’s knowledge to saving wildlife (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sitesh-ranjan-deb-turned-a-hunters-knowledge-to-saving-wildlife/
- Sitesh Ranjan Deb gave up hunting after a bear attack left him badly injured and cost him an eye.
- He turned the grounds of his home in Sreemangal into a wildlife treatment center that cared for injured, confiscated, and displaced animals.
- His knowledge of animal behavior, learned during years in the forest, helped him capture, treat, and release wildlife ranging from slow lorises and pythons to bears and monkeys.
- He also campaigned against wildlife killing and trafficking and warned that shrinking forests were driving more animals into conflict with people.
South Africa’s free-roaming cheetahs in steep decline, first national census finds (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/south-africas-free-roaming-cheetahs-in-steep-decline-first-national-census-finds/
- The first thorough census of free-roaming cheetahs in South Africa finds less than 100 mature adult individuals, much less than previous estimates.
- The researchers confirmed cheetahs in less than half of what is currently defined as suitable habitat by the IUCN and called for the adjustment of habitat maps based on current field data.
- The biggest threats are habitat fragmentation due to development and infrastructure, and persecution by landowners who perceive cheetahs as threats to their livestock.
In India’s Western Ghats, sacred groves are better at growing future forests (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-indias-western-ghats-sacred-groves-are-better-at-growing-future-forests/
- A study of “giant” trees in India’s Western Ghats finds that sacred groves, forest patches that communities protect, because they believe the trees belong to their gods, hold nearly twice the giant-tree species of nearby villages.
- The groves also grow far more young trees from large, bird-spread seeds, making them nurseries for the next forest.
- Researchers call giant trees “ecological catcher’s mitts” and say conservation should protect whole forests and the cultures around them, not just single animals.
- The groves are under pressure as simple forest shrines are replaced with concrete temples and young people leave villages, taking their knowledge with them.
Deep sea mining identified as biggest threat to known and unknown deep-sea creatures (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/deep-sea-mining-identified-as-biggest-threat-to-known-and-unknown-deep-sea-creatures/
In its most recent update to the Red List of threatened species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) identified deep-sea mining as the biggest threat to a critically endangered deep-sea snail. Discovered in 2021, scientists named the mollusk Lirapex felix — the lucky lirapex — because of the luck it took to find […]
Warming world could push Southeast Asia forests toward thermal limits, new study (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/warming-world-could-push-southeast-asia-forests-toward-thermal-limits-new-study/
- Countless forest-dwelling species depend on the cooler, moister and more stable conditions found in the understory, beneath leafy tree canopies.
- A new study from Southeast Asia finds the combined pressures of global warming and habitat degradation could send forest understory heat levels soaring within the next three decades, potentially exposing species to unprecedented levels of thermal stress.
- The findings can help prioritize conservation action on vulnerable landscapes, intact forests and heat-resilient areas that could become important refuges for forest species, the research team says.
- Experts say gaining a fuller picture of how forest-dwelling species will be affected by climate change will ultimately require further studies that consider additional factors, such as humidity, wind and ecosystem feedbacks.
Mongabay, Scientific American, and Project Multatuli release a documentary on Indonesia’s new capital (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/07/mongabay-scientific-american-and-project-multatuli-release-a-documentary-on-indonesias-new-capital/
PEMALUAN, East Kalimantan — Indonesia’s plan to build a new capital in the province of East Kalimantan has captured global attention. Called Nusantara, the project is intended to ease pressure on Jakarta, a sinking and overcrowded megacity, by shifting the country’s administrative centre to the island of Borneo. But the new city is also reshaping […]
How Brazil’s federal fiscal policy hinders Amazon Rainforest conservation (commentary) (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-brazils-federal-fiscal-policy-hinders-amazon-rainforest-conservation-commentary/
- The three Brazilian states whose territory is mostly Amazon Rainforest — and carry the heaviest share of its conservation burden — are among the poorest and most fiscally dependent in the country.
- Amapá, Acre, and Amazonas operate on budgets so dependent on federal funding that they have almost no ability to act on their own, yet they are also precluded from developing their economies within their vast and federally protected swaths of forest.
- “It is a design flaw in Brazil’s fiscal constitution, and it is getting worse,” a new op-ed argues. “Brazil cannot credibly lead global climate diplomacy while its Amazonian states remain fiscally trapped.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Wildfires expose millions in the Midwest and Northeast US to dangerous smoke (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/wildfires-expose-millions-in-the-midwest-and-northeast-us-to-dangerous-smoke/
Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is expected to engulf large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this week, exposing millions of people to dangerous air pollution. Minnesota officials issued an air quality alert from Tuesday through Friday for areas including the Twin Cities metro area, Alexandria and Two Harbors, with very […]
‘Bear-dar’ aims to give Arctic communities a heads-up on nearby polar bears (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bear-dar-aims-to-give-arctic-communities-a-heads-up-on-nearby-polar-bears/
- An early-warning system, aided by radar and AI, aims to help mitigate human-polar bear encounters in the Arctic.
- Bear-dar scans the landscape for polar bears and alerts people if a bear is spotted approaching human settlements.
- In May, the system detected a polar bear family and helped people at a weather station guide them back onto sea ice.
- As sea ice rapidly melts due to global warming, polar bears are losing their habitats; as a result, they’re increasingly foraging for food on land, putting them in growing contact with humans.
How a spiritual practice is preserving Benin’s mangroves (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/how-a-spiritual-practice-is-preserving-benins-mangroves/
In the West African nation of Benin, Vodun, an ancient spiritual religion rooted in a deep connection between humans and nature, has become a primary tool for protecting the country’s disappearing mangroves. By invoking the authority of the Zangbéto deity, local communities and conservationists create spiritual sanctuaries that forbid the destruction of mangroves under threat […]
Bill Montevecchi showed what seabirds could tell us about the sea (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bill-montevecchi-showed-what-seabirds-could-tell-us-about-the-sea/
- Bill Montevecchi spent more than five decades showing how seabirds could reveal changes in the North Atlantic, helping establish them as indicators of ocean health, fisheries, pollution, and climate change.
- Based at Memorial University in Newfoundland, he combined field research with public communication, believing scientists had a responsibility to explain their work beyond academic journals.
- His research informed marine conservation, fisheries management, and environmental policy, while his mentorship and interdisciplinary collaborations influenced generations of seabird scientists.
- Montevecchi approached birds as sources of evidence rather than symbols, arguing that careful observation and rigorous science offered one of the clearest ways to understand a rapidly changing ocean.
Laos’s illegal wildlife shops keep growing despite enforcement, investigators find (July 15, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/
- Illegal wildlife shopping sites targeting Chinese tour groups in Laos appear to have expanded despite recent law raids, with investigators identifying up to 35 suspected locations, nearly double the number Mongabay documented in 2025.
- Investigators say the shops, embedded in low-cost package tours, continue to pressure tourists into buying illegal wildlife products, while some restaurants are reportedly serving highly threatened pangolins to tour groups.
- Laotian authorities say they’ve seized illegal wildlife products and launched investigations, but conservation groups argue enforcement remains too limited to disrupt the broader network.
- Experts warn the trade could undermine Laos’s efforts to improve its standing under the global wildlife trade convention, and say a coordinated regional response is needed to prevent the business model from spreading elsewhere in Southeast Asia.