Extractive industries threaten global goal to protect 30% of nature by 2030, report finds (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/extractive-industries-threaten-global-goal-to-protect-30-of-nature-by-2030-report-finds/
- A new report finds that more than 61.5 million hectares of protected areas analyzed across tropical countries overlap with oil and gas blocks, while another 42.7 million hectares overlap with mining concessions.
- It identifies major gaps in protection for key biodiversity areas, with more than 40% in the Amazon, 29% in the Congo Basin and more than half in Southeast Asia and Central America still unprotected.
- Ahead of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP17) in Armenia, the report authors call on governments to restrict extractive activities in high-biodiversity areas and strengthen Indigenous peoples and other local communities’ land rights and role in conservation.
- The report says that meeting the 30×30 target requires more than expanding protected areas, arguing that governments should ensure that conservation protects the right ecosystems, is effectively enforced and prevents large-scale extractive and industrial activities from undermining biodiversity.
Nature has a new Noah’s Ark moment at the biodiversity summit (commentary) (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nature-has-a-new-noahs-ark-moment-at-the-biodiversity-summit-commentary/
- As delegates assemble this week in Yerevan, Armenia, for a summit on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), an environmental leader argues in a new op-ed that it’s a moment of seemingly Biblical importance and resonance.
- Set in view of Mount Ararat, where Noah’s Ark is said to have found dry land and wildlife species rescued from the Biblical flood disembarked, it’s an opportunity for world leaders to chart a new course for biodiversity conservation, which lately appears to be faltering.
- “Thousands of years later, our fellow creatures need another rescue in the shadow of Mount Ararat, via this summit,” he writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
A ‘Treasury of Ice’ goes on show, revealing relics as Swiss glaciers rapidly melt (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/a-treasury-of-ice-goes-on-show-revealing-relics-as-swiss-glaciers-rapidly-melt/
LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) — A bow once used to fire arrows in an ancient hunt. A crunched tube of mayonnaise and a discarded wine bottle. An alpinist’s cracked helmet. A statuette dating back to Roman times. The Glacier Garden in Lucerne is showcasing artifacts like these in a new exhibit of relics that have emerged […]
Seabird guano and native trees keep islands above rising seas: Study (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/seabird-guano-and-native-trees-keep-islands-above-rising-seas-study/
- Seabirds and native forests build climate resilience in atoll islands, a new study finds.
- Using data collected on 28 atoll islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans, the study finds that nutrients from seabird guano, along with native vegetation, boost island building and maintenance processes.
- Researchers find that on rat-free islands with abundant seabird populations, reef accretion (growth) will be able to keep pace with levels of sea-level rise projected under 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming, until 2100.
- The study shows that rewilding atoll islands by removing invasive predators and planting native vegetation would build resilience to sea-level rise.
Bangladesh garment factory workers bear the brunt of rising temperatures (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/bangladesh-garment-factory-workers-bear-the-brunt-of-rising-temperatures/
- Extreme heat is becoming a workplace health crisis for Bangladesh’s garment workers amid rising temperatures and prolonged heat waves, increasing concerns about occupational heat exposure.
- But comprehensive health data remain limited as experts say systematic monitoring of heat exposure is needed to understand the scale of the problem and identify workers most at risk.
- Besides health risks, extreme heat also creates economic losses for factories.
- Experts say protecting workers requires enforceable standards and shared responsibility among governments, garment manufacturers and international fashion brands.
Just transition remains elusive for Kenyan women despite robust policies (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/just-transition-remains-elusive-for-kenyan-women-despite-robust-policies/
- Kenya has made significant progress in climate legislation and policy, but a gap remains between its commitments to a just transition and women’s lived realities, particularly the unequal burden of unpaid care work.
- Experts say women’s experiences of climate stress, from collecting firewood and water to navigating floods and losing income, constitute critical expertise that must inform climate financing, policy decisions and adaptation strategies.
- The researchers say a just transition needs three things: The costs and benefits of environmental action must be fairly distributed, people affected by environmental decisions must have a say in those decisions, and historical inequalities leaving some communities exposed to environmental harm cannot be carried forward into a changing climate.
IUCN’s Madhu Rao on the world’s protected areas: Progress, pressures and the race to 2030 (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/iucns-madhu-rao-on-the-worlds-protected-areas-progress-pressures-and-the-race-to-2030/
- Madhu Rao, chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) told Mongabay governments must confront the conflict between industrial development and biodiversity protection and that expanding protected areas alone will not be enough.
- Rao said that countries must invest in effective management, protect critical ecosystems, support rangers and ensure Indigenous peoples and local communities have a meaningful role in conservation.
- As governments prepare to review progress toward protecting 30% of the world’s land and waters by 2030, Rao identifies a serious gap between international commitments and what happens on the ground.
- Yet she remains cautiously optimistic, arguing that stronger national institutions, better funding and clearer restrictions on damaging industrial activities could still make a difference.
Sustainable silvopasture is popular with US farmers despite waning financial supports (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sustainable-silvopasture-is-popular-with-u-s-farmers-despite-waning-financial-supports/
- A recent survey of American farmers revealed that many are practicing an ecological form of agriculture that incorporates woody perennials like trees and shrubs — agroforestry — including a livestock-centric brand of this called silvopasture.
- Grazing animals on pasture with trees has many advantages for them and their keepers, and many U.S. farms are working to implement these systems despite waning federal support for such highly climate- and biodiversity-positive methods.
- Silvopasture seems to be growing in popularity across Vermont that Mongabay recently visited, and nationally too, since it increases the quality of forage while providing shade to animals during the hotter and drier conditions that are increasingly prevalent due to climate change.
Heavy rains during critical period of cacao cultivation hit Ghana’s yields (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/heavy-rains-during-critical-period-of-cacao-cultivation-hit-ghanas-yields/
- A new study describes how short periods of heavy rainfall play a key role in low cacao harvest yields in Ghana.
- Using newly available data on daily temperatures and precipitation in Ghana, the authors found that rains occurring during the flowering season damage the plants, leading to poorer harvests.
- The findings build on previous research which has found that heat and drought impact cacao harvests, ultimately pushing up global chocolate prices and presenting new challenges to farmers.
Six beluga deaths cast a shadow over rescue from Canada’s Marineland (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/six-beluga-deaths-cast-a-shadow-over-rescue-from-canadas-marineland/
- Six belugas from the 30 transferred from Marineland, a shuttered marine park in Canada, have died after an unprecedented two-month-long rescue operation.
- Four of the beluga deaths occurred at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, one at SeaWorld San Diego, and one at Oceanogràfic València in Spain, which also reported the death of a bottlenose dolphin.
- The deaths aren’t surprising considering the cetaceans suffered from ill health for years as Marineland was unable to provide them adequate care for months after it closed, according to a marine mammal biologist.
- Conservationists have called for an end to keeping cetaceans in captivity around the world to prevent a repeat of situations like this that put animals in harm’s way.
Wildlife photography’s dirty little secret (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/wildlife-photographys-dirty-little-secret/
Have you ever seen a wildlife photograph so spectacular that you’ve wondered if it was even real? Enter “photography game farms”: captive facilities where photographers can create photographs of wild animals, which they can then sell to stock sites, magazines and enter into awards. Photographers like @MelissaGroo are trying to put an end to this […]
Delegates at biodiversity COP17 should follow the lead of Global South women (commentary) (October 21, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/delegates-at-biodiversity-cop17-should-follow-the-lead-of-global-south-women-commentary/
- Delegates gathering for the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference of the parties (COP17) will debate how to protect biodiversity and finance its conservation, and they should start by listening to Global South women already doing this work, a new op-ed argues.
- Women-led solutions to crises like biodiversity loss and climate change provide ready examples for the delegates, if they are open to learning about them.
- “Working with the women behind these initiatives [has] shown me that documenting their solutions is only part of the task,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Search for the ‘Asian unicorn’ faces an uncertain future amid funding losses (October 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/search-for-the-asian-unicorn-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-losses/
- The saola, a tropical bovid that superficially resembles an antelope, was only discovered by scientists in 1992, and has not been recorded since 2013.
- A search for the saola in the Annamite Mountains in Laos risks coming to a halt due to a loss of funding.
- In addition to searching for the saola, the research team is documenting the wildlife of a particularly remote corner of the Annamites, a global biodiversity hotspot.
Mozambique’s Maputo National Park showcases biodiversity and shelters migratory birds (October 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/mozambiques-maputo-national-park-showcases-biodiversity-and-shelters-migratory-birds/
A recent State of the World’s Birds report found nearly half of the migratory birds assessed are declining. The stark finding comes as world governments are gathered in Armenia for the ongoing U.N. Biodiversity Conference to review progress toward global conservation goals. In southern Mozambique, Maputo National Park illustrates the biodiversity importance of conserving key […]
For Australia’s Indigenous Desert Alliance, caring for Country starts with a story (October 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/10/for-australias-indigenous-desert-alliance-caring-for-country-starts-with-a-story/
This week on the Mongabay Newscast, Samantha Murray, CEO of the Indigenous Desert Alliance, joins the program to discuss the IDA’s recent nomination for an Earthshot Prize. The alliance is a network of 70 ranger teams across the Australian desert, covering 270 million hectares (667 million acres), an area almost as large as Argentina. This […]
US deep-sea mining claims in Pacific’s high seas now rival the area set aside by international regulator (October 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/10/us-deep-sea-mining-claims-in-pacifics-high-seas-now-rival-the-area-set-aside-by-international-regulator/
The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a U.N.-associated body, has long managed activities related to deep-sea mining in international waters. But after the Trump administration issued an executive order in 2025 calling for the U.S. to develop its deep-sea mining sector, companies have been applying to the U.S. for rights to explore and exploit the international […]
The women keeping Uttarakhand’s native bees alive (October 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-keeping-uttarakhands-native-bees-alive/
- In the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India, traditional homes include wall hives for native bees.
- It’s the women of the household who typically care for the bees and hives.
- These indigenous bees, Apis cerana indica, face numerous threats — climate change, habitat fragmentation, pesticide exposure and even the loss of the traditional wall hives, as modern homes often do not include them.
- Women play a vital role in the survival of this native bee species.
As silky sharks decline, Costa Rica’s dominant trade faces a reckoning (October 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-silky-sharks-decline-costa-ricas-dominant-trade-faces-a-reckoning/
- The silky shark, a large, slender species that swims the tropical seas and is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, is heavily hunted for its fins and, to a lesser degree, for meat —and is caught in nets as bycatch.
- Between 2020 and 2024, Costa Rica accounted for 82% of global exports of silky shark products, according to a recent report from the United Nations Environment Programme.
- Its exports are under review under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty: If Costa Rica can’t prove its fishery is sustainable, the CITES Animals Committee will recommend new management measures; without implementation, the country’s export of silky sharks could be suspended.
- Meanwhile, a Costa Rican NGO has questioned the exports’ sustainability and alleged that the silky shark trade is being unduly influenced by the Costa Rican fishing industry.
‘Stay alive’: Brazil’s Indigenous people mobilize to vote for Lula to protect their rights (October 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/stay-alive-brazils-indigenous-people-mobilize-to-vote-for-lula-to-protect-their-rights/
“It’s such a simple phrase: stay alive! The other side is necropolitics.” This appeal was made by philosopher and prominent Indigenous leader Ailton Krenak to Brazilians to reelect President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over far-right candidate, senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Flávio’s statement that he will not demarcate any Indigenous lands “reveals his malicious intent to […]
Can larger batteries safely power residential buildings? A project in New York aims to show how (October 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/can-larger-batteries-safely-power-residential-buildings-a-project-in-new-york-aims-to-show-how/
A battery system that stores excess energy when it’s plentiful will power an apartment building in Buffalo, New York, when the grid is strained and electricity is costly. The manufacturer and state officials hope it will show that larger batteries can safely operate where people live and work. Buffalo-based battery storage manufacturer Viridi and developer […]