Vantara works with lobbyist tied to Trump Jr. and pro-hunting groups (September 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/vantara-works-with-lobbyist-tied-to-trump-jr-and-pro-hunting-groups/
- Vantara, the controversial billionaire-run Indian zoo, has worked with lobbyists in the U.K. with ties to pro-hunting organizations and the Trump administration, sources told Mongabay.
- Tristan Breijer, a U.K.-based lobbyist at Checkmate Government Relations, invited at least one wildlife conservation organization to a roundtable hosted by Vantara on the sidelines of the CITES Animals Committee in July 2026, according to sources.
- Checkmate was founded by Charles ‘Ches’ McDowell, a hunting friend of Donald Trump Jr. Its long list of clients includes Reliance Industries, the petrochemical giant owned by the Ambani family, which includes Anant Ambani, who started Vantara.
- Conservationists say Vantara’s lobbying efforts at CITES meetings before a key November meeting raises questions about its intentions. India is expected to respond to a CITES report on the origins of some endangered and protected species imported by Vantara. They also question the Indian zoo’s association with lobbyists tied to pro-hunting organizations, when it claims to be rescuing animals from around the world.
Rescuers scramble to save orangutans as El Niño-boosted fires spread across Borneo (September 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-scramble-to-save-orangutans-as-el-nino-boosted-fires-spread-across-borneo/
- Through last month, Indonesian wildlife conservation NGO YIARI and government conservation officials recovered seven critically endangered Bornean orangutans from wildfires raging across the island.
- One of the orangutans died from smoke exposure, while others were taken some to YIARI’s rehabilitation center and some released others into a nearby national park.
- A strengthening El Niño threatens to fuel major fires across Indonesia’s peatlands and mineral soils during this year’s dry season.
- YIARI workers in Ketapang district, a low-lying peatland area in Borneo’s West Kalimantan province, remain on high alert for orangutans stranded or injured by wildfires.
Colombia’s Indigenous guardians adapt as pressures mount on the ‘Heart of the World’ (September 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/colombias-indigenous-guardians-adapt-as-pressures-mount-on-the-heart-of-the-world/
- Indigenous Wiwa families in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta are moving farther downslope in an effort to preserve community cohesion amid climate and security pressures.
- The mountain range’s Indigenous nations continue to hold to a “law of origin” that guides their path amid intensifying pressures from armed violence, resource extraction, and climate change.
- Wiwa leaders describe sacred sites, rivers and forests as “living curricula,” inseparable from cultural and ecological responsibilities.
- Recent protections have expanded the protected parts of the Sierra Nevada and prohibited new bids for mining and fossil fuel extraction.
To save Europe’s raptors, conservationists say, look to West Africa (September 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/to-save-europes-raptors-conservationists-say-look-to-west-africa/
- The fate of an osprey that was tagged in Scotland and shot in Ghana highlights the dangers migratory raptors face far from their European breeding grounds.
- Researchers found strong migratory links between Northern Europe and West Africa by analyzing records from 257 tagged raptors.
- Habitat loss, hunting and belief-based trade threaten both migratory and resident raptors across West Africa.
- Conservationists say better tracking, monitoring, and collaboration between European and West African institutions could help protect raptors along their entire migratory routes.
Colorful Himalayan pheasants face a less rosy future under human pressure (September 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/colorful-himalayan-pheasants-face-a-less-rosy-future-under-human-pressure/
In the Indian Himalayas, numerous species of colorful pheasants roam the understory, pecking at seeds, roots, leaves, berries, and insects. These large, ornate birds are vital to the Himalayan ecosystem. But some species now face increasing pressures from habitat degradation and hunting, reports contributor Hirra Azmat for Mongabay India. Among them is the white-crested kalij […]
Sickles, sarees and smoke: Women on the frontlines of Uttarakhand forest fires (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/sickles-sarees-and-smoke-women-on-the-frontlines-of-uttarakhand-forest-fires/
- Uttarakhand is the most fire-prone state in the Indian Western Himalayas, where wildfire seasons are expanding — and women are taking the lead on fighting fires in their communities.
- Traditional gender roles assigning household and caregiving work to women is a reason why women are first responders to fire.
- In addition, many men have left rural villages in Uttarakhand to search for opportunities elsewhere; women often stay behind for agriculture and feel obliged to protect their land and animals.
- Despite a lack of formal employment, equipment and support for their firefighting work, Uttarakhand women successfully work to stop fires at their source, protecting their villages from hazard.
Indigenous peoples near Congo parks propose diverse solutions for the future of conservation (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indigenous-peoples-near-congo-parks-propose-diverse-solutions-for-the-future-of-conservation/
- Mongabay spoke with Indigenous people and members of local communities living near four national parks in the Congo Basin, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to gather their testimonies and learn about the solutions they envision for reconciling forest conservation with the rights of nearby communities.
- Many Indigenous peoples wish to return to their ancestral lands from which they were displaced when the national parks were established; though some still prefer that authorities continue to lead conservation efforts.
- Others, however, believe they should remain outside the parks, while calling for better living conditions and greater access to resources and economic opportunities to prevent environmental destruction.
- Initiatives such as community forest concessions, local employment and ecotourism programs seek to reconcile conservation, land rights and the needs of communities, but their implementation continues to face tensions and significant challenges.
A health crisis for Peru’s recently contacted people brings planetary health to the fore (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/09/a-health-crisis-for-perus-recently-contacted-people-brings-planetary-health-to-the-fore/
Mongabay staff writer Aimee Gabay joins the Newscast this week to discuss her reporting trip to the Peruvian Amazon, where she spoke with the Indigenous Matsés community. She made the trip initially to examine environmental threats to Matsés territory. Instead, she found them suffering from an epidemic of malaria and hepatitis B, which they have […]
Singkil peat swamp: The embattled orangutan capital of the world (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/singkil-peat-swamp-the-embattled-orangutan-capital-of-the-world/
- The Singkil peat swamp, part of Sumatra’s Leuser ecosystem, is a critical habitat for Sumatran orangutans.
- Although legally protected, the Singkil peat swamp is being cleared and drained for oil palm and other crops.
- Drained and deforested peat swamps are highly flammable, and Indonesia’s fire season is beginning.
- This photo essay highlights the beauty and diversity of Singkil, as well as documenting some of the many threats facing the ecosystem.
Riverside families in the Amazon change meals as mercury poisons staple fish (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/riverside-families-in-the-amazon-change-meals-as-mercury-poisons-staple-fish/
- A database built by Mongabay Latam, based on the analysis of scientific studies that gathered more than 7,000 samples from humans and 5,900 from fish, identified the areas most affected by mercury contamination in the Madeira River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon.
- Mongabay Latam investigated the impact of mercury contamination on the health of the most affected communities: Lake Puruzinho in the state of Amazonas, and the riverside community of Calama and the Karipuna Indigenous Territory, in Rondônia state.
- Studies show that mercury concentrations among residents of Lake Puruzinho are among the highest recorded in the Madeira River Basin and well above what the World Health Organization considers safe, prompting residents to change their eating habits.
- High levels of mercury in Amazonian communities are related to fish consumption, their main source of protein; the accumulation of mercury in humans can cause serious health damage, such as motor and neurological problems, researchers say.
In Peru, mercury leaves a toxic footprint on those who depend on a river (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-peru-mercury-leaves-a-toxic-footprint-on-those-who-depend-on-a-river/
- Mongabay reviewed nearly three decades of scientific research on the impact of heavy metals and traveled to several Amazonian communities to track the course of mercury contamination.
- Previous studies reviewed found that one-third of the children evaluated in the Amarakaeri Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon grew up with mercury levels in their hair that exceed the limit established by the World Health Organization (WHO).
- The pollution does not remain within mining enclaves: Mercury travels through the river and reaches Indigenous peoples who are unrelated to the mining practice, while pregnant women and newborns show exposure to mercury and lead, with impacts on infant development and birth weight.
- Meanwhile, the state budget for caring for those affected is minimal, and Peru lacks laboratories to measure methylmercury levels — the most toxic form of this metal, associated with fish consumption.
Indigenous territories maintain Amazon forest just as well as protected areas, study finds (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/indigenous-territories-maintain-amazon-forest-just-as-well-as-protected-areas-study-finds/
A new study has found that in Ecuador’s Amazon, Indigenous territories without formal conservation contracts maintained forest conditions just as well as formal protected areas. Ecuador has three different approaches to forest governance: Forests protected by government institutions, forests managed by local communities under formal conservation agreements and Indigenous territories without formal conservation agreements. To […]
Mercury threatens over 160 communities in Bolivia’s Beni River basin (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mercury-threatens-over-160-communities-in-bolivias-beni-river-basin/
- Mongabay found that 39 communities in Bolivia are suffering from mercury poisoning and that 125 more face a similar risk.
- The findings were part of a scientific and geographic analysis covering 42 investigations published over 27 years. Seven were conducted in Bolivia.
- The Indigenous and riverside communities affected consume fish daily. Mongabay’s database showed that the protein is contaminated with mercury in at least 17 communities.
- Mongabay reached five Indigenous communities located on the banks of the Beni River (northern Bolivia). In some of them, such as Santa Rosita, mercury levels are nine times higher than the limit permitted by the World Health Organization.
New analysis maps mercury threat to 951 Amazon communities in three countries (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/09/new-analysis-maps-mercury-threat-to-951-amazon-communities-in-three-countries/
For the first time, Mongabay Latam analyzed 39 scientific studies published between 1997 and 2024 that confirm that 249 Indigenous and riverside communities in Peru, Bolivia and Brazil have been exposed to mercury contamination. Nearly all of them exceed the limits considered safe by the World Health Organization. The stories reported by three journalistic teams […]
Carbon credit financing emerges as Africa’s biggest bet for expanding clean cooking (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/carbon-credit-financing-emerges-as-africas-biggest-bet-for-expanding-clean-cooking/
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Carbon credit financing is helping to drive Africa’s clean cooking transition by making cleaner stoves affordable for millions of low-income households. As governments introduce new policies, securing $900 million in fresh financing commitments, companies such as Kenya’s BURN are using carbon credits to subsidize electric and efficient biomass cookstoves across the […]
New-to-science Amazon frog stands out for its slow ‘lazy’ song (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/new-to-science-amazon-frog-stands-out-for-its-slow-lazy-song/
Scientists recently described a new species of a tiny brown frog found in the Amazonian floodplain forests of Ecuador and northwestern Brazil. It looks nearly identical to related species but its slow, widely spaced out call sets it apart, researchers note in a study. “I’ve had to get into arguments because people said the frog […]
Why is Amazonian wildlife turning up at a Bangkok market? (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-amazonian-wildlife-turning-up-at-a-bangkok-market/
- The sheer numbers and vast array of Latin American wildlife species offered for sale in one of Southeast Asia’s largest wildlife markets, in Thailand, has been steadily rising over the past two years, observers say, alongside animals from across the globe.
- The trend points to a broader shift in the global wildlife trade, with more species coming out of the imperiled Amazon and many of them sold as pets.
- Trafficked animals are often laundered from other South American countries through Peru, where regulations make it easier to export species abroad.
- Many of these species are threatened, plucked from the wild, and then face abhorrent conditions during the journey from the Amazon to Asia, raising further animal welfare concerns; many perish during transit.
‘Plastic pollution hotspots’ spawn a public health crisis across Latin America (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/plastic-pollution-hotspots-spawn-a-public-health-crisis-across-latin-america/
- Since 2018, when China banned the import of plastic waste, many countries in Latin America have been struggling to manage a huge increase in the amount of plastic waste imported into the region, some of them becoming “plastic pollution hotspots,” according to a recent study.
- Overstretched waste management infrastructure and a glut of hard-to-recycle plastics mean that thousands of tons of plastic are leaking out into the environment every day, experts say, with major health implications for communities already facing poor sanitary conditions.
- With talks for a global plastics treaty set to resume next year, campaigners say only a reduction in plastic production can solve the problem but warn against the influence of the powerful petrochemical lobby.
‘Birds know no borders’: Interview with BirdLife Africa’s Alex Ngari (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/birds-know-no-borders-interview-with-birdlife-africas-alex-ngari/
- “[M]igratory birds do not belong to any one country, but are a shared global heritage, and their survival requires a borderless safety net,” says Alex Ngari, migratory birds and flyways programme manager for BirdLife Africa.
- Gaps in scientific knowledge regarding migratory birds’ pathways affect conservation efforts, Ngari explains.
- These gaps also prevent us from predicting the safety of bird populations in relation to climate change, he adds in a Q&A with Mongabay ahead of the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
Protect this tree. Save Africa’s rainforests. (September 8, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/protect-this-tree-save-africas-rainforests/
Ogbono is one of Africa’s most iconic plants, and its seed is one of African cuisine’s iconic ingredients. Providing both food and shelter for a great many species; this canopy tree is integral to many of the continent’s rainforests! In this 4-part series on NTFPs (non-timber forest products) with The Rainforester and Mongabay, we explore […]