Mongabay’s Rhett Butler on building a global newsroom for local impact (February 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/mongabays-rhett-butler-on-building-a-global-newsroom-for-local-impact/
When I launched Mongabay in 1999, I’d just finished college, armed mainly with a love of rainforests, a pile of musty field notes from Borneo to Madagascar and the uneasy realization that the forests I’d explored were vanishing faster than most people knew. I coded the first version of the site by hand in my […]
Animals dying in Kenya as drought conditions leave many hungry (February 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/animals-dying-in-kenya-as-drought-conditions-leave-many-hungry/
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Drought conditions have left over 2 million people facing hunger in parts of Kenya, with cattle-keeping communities in the northeast the hardest hit, according to the United Nations and others. In recent weeks, images of emaciated livestock in the arid area near the Somali border have shocked many in a region […]
Abandoned tuna-fishing devices pollute the Galápagos Marine Reserve (February 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/abandoned-tuna-fishing-devices-pollute-the-galapagos-marine-reserve/
- The tuna industry commonly uses fish aggregating devices (FADs) to efficiently collect large volumes of fish; when these devices are lost or abandoned, they can harm marine wildlife and habitats.
- In Ecuador, lost FADs can drift into the Galápagos Marine Reserve, a protected area with hundreds of endemic and threatened species, where they pollute the environment with plastic, harm reefs and entangle wildlife.
- Local agencies and organizations are developing ways to prevent FADs from entering the marine reserve in the first place and trying to clean up the mess they make when they do get in.
‘We have to bring trust’ into funding talks: Valéria Paye on Indigenous-led funds (February 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/we-have-to-bring-trust-into-funding-talks-valeria-paye-on-indigenous-led-funds/
- Indigenous-led funds provide direct funding and support for Indigenous movements, including on the frontlines of environmental change.
- Mongabay speaks with Valéria Paye, executive director of the Podáali Fund (the Indigenous fund for the Brazilian Amazon), about how their approach differs from mainstream philanthropy by prioritizing trust, reciprocity and Indigenous leadership, governance and management.
- She explains how supporting Indigenous peoples and their territories is a form of “climate policy” and highlights the strong presence of and global support for Indigenous peoples at U.N. climate conference COP30 in Brazil as the reason for tangible outcomes such as the legal recognition of several Indigenous territories.
- Paye shares key lessons from her experience to date with the Podáali Fund, why she thinks the Tropical Forests Forever Fund is “no different” from other state-established funds and her advice for non-Indigenous organizations that want to support Indigenous environmental stewardship.
Rodent burrows offer unusual sanctuary to Africa’s smallest wildcat (February 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/rodent-burrows-offer-unusual-sanctuary-to-africas-smallest-wildcat/
- New research shows female black-footed cats rely heavily on abandoned springhare burrows to shelter themselves and raise their kittens, using a constantly shifting network of underground dens to survive Southern Africa’s harsh, semiarid landscape.
- Mothers rotate frequently among multiple dens — sometimes almost daily once kittens begin to move — a strategy likely aimed at avoiding predators and minimizing scent trails.
- Despite weighing as little as 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), black-footed cats are among the most active and efficient hunters of any feline, ranging over large territories at night and retreating underground by day.
- With low reproductive rates, disease pressure and a population of around 10,000, the species’ survival depends on protecting both springhares and the working landscapes of livestock farms, where burrow loss, overgrazing and predator control can indirectly threaten the cats.
Landslides claim more than 220 lives in DRC’s Rubaya coltan mining site (February 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/landslides-claim-more-than-220-lives-in-drcs-rubaya-coltan-mining-site/
- In the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 200 people have died in landslides at an artisanal coltan mine in Rubaya, in the east of the country.
- The accident occurred as a result of successive risky activities on the rugged and unstable terrain, which was prone to landslides; prior to the accident, heavy rains had fallen on the region.
- According to an expert contacted by Mongabay, safety measures are not generally respected in these artisanal mines where thousands of Congolese “diggers” operate.
Gerard C. Boere, conservationist and designer of flyways, died Jan 6, aged 83 (February 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/gerard-c-boere-conservationist-and-designer-of-flyways-died-jan-6-aged-83/
At the edges of continents, where water thins into mud and birds gather before long journeys, conservation has often been a matter of persistence. It has required people willing to think across borders, seasons, and political cycles. Long before such thinking was fashionable, a small group of scientists and civil servants argued that migratory birds […]
Financing biodiversity: Lisa Miller on investing in nature (February 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/financing-biodiversity-lisa-miller-on-investing-in-nature/
- Lisa Miller’s path into biodiversity finance grew out of an early fascination with animals, later shaped by training in zoology, museum science, and science communication in Australia.
- After nearly two decades working in technology, she began asking how capital, business models, and execution could be redirected toward slowing and reversing biodiversity loss.
- That question led to the creation of the Wedgetail Foundation, which blends philanthropy, investment, and direct land stewardship to support conservation and restoration in practice.
- In January 2026, Lisa Miller spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler about her journey, her approach to investing in nature, and what it takes to make biodiversity work endure.
Tipping points and ecosystem collapse are the real geopolitical risk (commentary) (February 9, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/tipping-points-and-ecosystem-collapse-are-the-real-geopolitical-risk-commentary/
- Robert Muggah of the Igarapé Institute argues that climate tipping points and large-scale biodiversity loss now pose a more profound threat to global security than many conventional risks, undermining food systems, water supplies, public health, and state legitimacy across borders.
- Drawing on a newly released UK security assessment and wider research, he shows how ecosystem collapse creates cascading, non-linear shocks — from inflation and political polarization to displacement and conflict — that current economic and risk models consistently underestimate.
- He concludes that protecting and restoring nature, alongside a rapid energy transition, is not a secondary environmental concern but a core security and economic strategy, and often cheaper than coping with systemic collapse after the fact.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
After intense flooding, Kruger National Park rushes to repair damage (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/after-intense-flooding-kruger-national-park-rushes-to-repair-damage/
In mid-January, intense flooding across South Africa’s Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces forced Kruger National Park to briefly close to day visitors. Now, South African National Parks (SANParks) says it has reopened some roads and camp infrastructure. “Restoration efforts are ongoing, and visitor safety remains our highest priority,” the agency wrote in a Feb. 2 update. […]
Encouragement boosts people’s likelihood to take climate action (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/encouragement-boosts-peoples-likelihood-to-take-climate-action/
The fight against climate change is often framed as a sacrifice: eat less meat and drive less often. But those actions could also be framed positively: eat more plants and ride bikes more often. A new study finds presenting environmental action in a more proactive light makes people more likely to act and feel happier […]
Kathy Jefferson Bancroft, guardian of a stolen lake (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/kathy-jefferson-bancroft-guardian-of-a-stolen-lake/
- For decades, Kathy Jefferson Bancroft challenged the idea that Owens Lake was merely a technical problem, insisting it be understood as a living place with history, meaning, and obligations.
- As Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Lone Pine Paiute–Shoshone Tribe, she worked at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge and Western science, pressing agencies to account for longer timescales and deeper responsibilities.
- Her advocacy helped protect sacred sites, resist destructive mining and mitigation schemes, and reshape how land and water decisions were made in California’s Owens Valley.
- Bancroft’s work rested on a simple proposition that unsettled bureaucracies: water is not something to be managed at will, but something that carries memory, limits, and consequence.
Pesticides found in 70% of European soils, harming beneficial life: Study (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/pesticides-found-in-70-of-european-soils-harming-beneficial-life-study/
- A new study found pesticide residues in 70% of soil samples across 26 European countries, making contamination the second-strongest factor shaping soil biodiversity after basic soil properties.
- The pesticides severely harmed beneficial organisms like mycorrhizal fungi and nematodes that help plants absorb nutrients, and disrupted critical soil functions, including phosphorus and nitrogen cycling.
- Pesticide contamination extended beyond farmland into forests and grasslands where pesticides aren’t applied, likely due to spray drift, with some chemicals persisting in soil for years.
- Researchers say current regulations are inadequate because they test pesticides on only a few individual species rather than examining effects on entire soil communities and the ecosystem functions they perform.
AI-generated wildlife photos make conservation more difficult (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/ai-generated-wildlife-photos-make-conservation-more-difficult/
Anyone who looks at a social media feed with any regularity is likely familiar with the deluge of fabricated images and videos now circulating online. Some are harmless curiosities (other than the resource use). Others are more troubling. Among the most consequential are AI-generated depictions of wildlife, which are beginning to distort how people understand […]
Morocco evacuates 140,000 people as torrential rains and dam releases trigger floods (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/morocco-evacuates-140000-people-as-torrential-rains-and-dam-releases-trigger-floods/
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — More than 140,000 people were evacuated from their homes in northwestern Morocco as heavy rainfall and water releases from overfilled dams led to flooding, the Interior Ministry said. Stormy weather also disrupted maritime traffic between Morocco and Spain. Torrential rains and water releases from overfilled dams raised water levels in recent days in rivers […]
What is lost when environmental coverage is cut (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/what-is-lost-when-environmental-coverage-is-cut/
- The Washington Post’s decision to cut a large share of its climate and environmental reporters is not just a newsroom story; it reflects a broader weakening of the institutions that sustain a shared, reliable public record on complex and contested issues.
- Environmental reporting plays an underappreciated coordinating role, helping policymakers, regulators, markets, and communities see how dispersed decisions connect and where responsibility plausibly lies—work that becomes most visible when it is diminished.
- Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler argues that cuts to environmental journalism thin the information infrastructure societies rely on to recognize risks and respond before harm becomes harder to reverse.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
How intermediaries are reshaping mangrove restoration (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/california-ngo-uses-science-storytelling-to-boost-global-mangrove-restoration/
- Despite growing global interest in mangrove conservation and restoration, many projects fail; experts say one reason is that restoration efforts are often led by small community groups with limited resources and expertise.
- Over the past five years, Seatrees, a California-based NGO, has supported mangrove restoration projects in Kenya, Mexico, the U.S. and Indonesia by providing funding to scale up tree planting, produce storytelling materials and build capacity in science, monitoring and impact measurement.
- In Kenya, where their restoration efforts are most advanced, Seatrees and its local project partner have supported more than 30 community groups to plant more than 1 million mangrove seedlings, maintain nurseries, dig trenches to improve hydrology and patrol forest areas for illegal logging — while paying participants for this important work.
- Seatrees has recently funded the creation and operation of a mangrove seedling nursery in the Florida Keys, run by CoastLove, a local NGO that engages residents and tourists in hands-on activities.
Bolivia Indigenous communities, local gov’ts help protect nearly 1 million hectares (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/bolivia-indigenous-communities-local-govts-help-protect-nearly-1-million-hectares/
- Bolivia has created four new protected areas covering 907,244 hectares (2.2 million acres) of Amazon lowlands and Andean highlands, creating corridors intended to improve wildlife migration and maintain forest-based economies for local families.
- Because the creation of nationally protected areas has slowed in Bolivia in recent years, conservation groups have looked to departmental and local governments for help protecting the rainforest.
- The new protected areas help strengthen wildlife corridors between larger national parks.
Partnering up to run a DRC reserve: Interview with Forgotten Parks’ Christine Lain (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/partnering-up-to-run-a-drc-reserve-interview-with-forgotten-parks-christine-lain/
- In 2017, Upemba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo was largely a “paper park,” badly underfunded and encroached on by poachers, farmers, artisanal miners and armed groups, with its wildlife in steep decline.
- That year, Forgotten Parks signed a 15-year deal with the DRC government to manage the park.
- The agreement was one of a growing number of public-private partnerships for conservation in Africa.
- Mongabay spoke to Forgotten Parks’ DRC director, Christine Lain, about how Forgotten Parks approaches its work at Upemba.
Risk-taking comes earlier in chimpanzees than in humans, study finds (February 6, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/risk-taking-comes-earlier-in-chimpanzees-than-in-humans-study-finds/
- A study found that chimpanzees tend to take more physical risks as infants and young animals rather than as adolescents, like humans.
- The researchers hypothesize that the level of care humans provide may cut down on the risks young children might otherwise take.
- The team tracked how often 119 chimps dropped or leaped through the forests without holding onto any branches at Uganda’s Ngogo Chimpanzee Project, and analyzed the results according to the animals’ ages.
- Infant and young chimpanzees were more likely to launch themselves through the trees than adolescents or adults, despite the risk of injury.