As exotic pet demands rise, invertebrates need trade protections too: Study (July 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/as-exotic-pet-demands-rise-invertebrates-need-trade-protections-too-study/
As the demand for butterflies, spiders, ants and other terrestrial invertebrates grows worldwide, researchers in a recent study say better policy and regulation coverage can help ensure sustainability. The researchers reviewed existing scientific studies that mention the trade in terrestrial invertebrates and found that most research focuses on the exotic pet trade, specifically of spiders […]
Nearly three-quarters of solar and wind projects are being built in China (July 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/nearly-three-quarters-of-solar-and-wind-projects-are-being-built-in-china/
China is rapidly scaling up its solar and wind energy infrastructure, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all utility-scale projects currently under construction worldwide, according to a new report from the Global Energy Monitor (GEM). With 510 gigawatts (GW) already under construction and a total pipeline of over 1.3 terawatts (TW), China is consolidating its position […]
U’wa people await implementation of landmark court ruling against Colombian gov’t (July 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/uwa-people-await-implementation-of-landmark-court-ruling-against-colombian-govt/
- The U’wa Indigenous people have waited almost 27 years for a decision by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to acknowledge the systematic violation of their rights by the Colombian government.
- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled on Dec. 20, 2024 that Colombia violated their rights, including access to a healthy environment and children’s rights.
- Since the 1990s, the U’wa people have reported exploration and drilling for oil and gas in their territory. This activity, which has been done without free, prior and informed consent, has affected the lives of the U’wa people.
- The U’wa territory partially overlaps with El Cocuy National Park and with oil and gas blocks of great interest to Colombia.
Locals fear Chile’s new port project for green energy will disrupt ecosystems (July 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/locals-fear-chiles-new-port-project-for-green-energy-will-disrupt-ecosystems/
- A new private port for public use near Punta Arenas, a city in southern Chile’s Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region, has been approved for multipurpose services, such as the development of green hydrogen and salmon industries.
- The region has recently attracted a lot of attention due to its enormous green energy potential.
- The company concerned told Mongabay that this port will reduce the need for developers of green hydrogen and other projects in the region to build their own private ports as there is currently a limited capacity.
- Environmental organizations and local residents fear the port’s construction and operations will impact marine ecosystems and boost industries that will likely cause greater environmental impacts, such as contamination from salmon farms.
From cattle to crayfish, human pressures mount on Zambia’s Kafue River (July 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/from-cattle-to-crayfish-human-pressures-mount-on-zambias-kafue-river/
- A group of scientists paddled the length of Zambia’s Kafue River to document ecological pressures, including invasive species, habitat changes and human encroachment.
- Australian red-clawed crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) have infested the river, outcompeting native species, disrupting fisheries and altering fishing practices. The crayfish invasion spans nearly the entire 1,600-kilometer (995-mile) river, traced to an original introduction in 2001.
- Overgrazing and invasive plants like the giant sensitive bush are transforming some riparian zones, threatening biodiversity, including endemic species like the Kafue lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis).
- Researchers with The Wilderness Project’s Great Spine of Africa project are using standardized field methods to monitor river health and the spread of invasive species to inform future conservation efforts.
Coral once feared extinct rediscovered in the Galápagos after 25 years (July 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/coral-once-feared-extinct-rediscovered-in-the-galapagos-after-25-years/
Wellington’s solitary coral, a species thought to be extinct for more than two decades, was rediscovered in 2024 near Tagus Cove in Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, according to a recent study. Over multiple dives in 2024, scientists from the Charles Darwin Foundation, the Galápagos National Park Directorate, and the California Academy of Sciences spotted more than […]
Study links surge in lightning disasters in Bangladesh to transboundary air pollution (July 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/study-links-surge-in-lightning-disasters-in-bangladesh-to-transboundary-air-pollution/
- Air pollution — especially from transboundary dust and sulfate particles — is intensifying lightning activity in Bangladesh, particularly during the pre-monsoon season. Studies show that these pollutants, mostly coming in from northern and western India, alter cloud dynamics and increase lightning frequency.
- Bangladesh records the highest lightning-related death density in South Asia, with over 4,000 deaths since 2010. Vulnerable rural populations with limited infrastructure and outdoor labor during harvest seasons are victims of these fatalities.
- Experts urge Bangladesh to strengthen early warning systems, improve air quality monitoring, and reduce both domestic and cross-border pollution through coordinated policies targeting traffic emissions, industrial sources and open burning.
Energy transition boom drives rise in lawsuits against alleged rights abuses (July 11, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/energy-transition-boom-drives-rise-in-lawsuits-against-alleged-rights-abuses/
A new analysis has found that lawsuits against transition mineral mining firms and renewable energy companies are increasing worldwide. The NGO Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) in its new report published July 1 notes that since 2009, its transition litigation tracking tool has documented 95 legal cases filed against companies linked to the […]
Roberto Zolho, conservationist who helped restore Mozambique’s wildlife following its civil war, has died at 65. (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/roberto-zolho-conservationist-who-helped-restore-mozambiques-wildlife-following-its-civil-war-has-died-at-65/
For a man who spent his life studying the movements of wildlife, Roberto Zolho was most at peace when not moving at all—drifting in a kayak down the Guacheni channels, pausing to admire an egret, a kingfisher, or a sunlit curve in the reeds. In these secluded corners of Mozambique’s wetlands, he was not a […]
Endangered Andean cat is imperiled by climate change and its solutions (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/
- The Andean cat is an endangered and elusive wildcat species found in the high Andes Mountain regions of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.
- The species is exceedingly rare across its entire range and researchers must endure high altitudes, reduced oxygen levels and adverse weather conditions to study and monitor widely scattered populations.
- Climate change and our attempts to curb it both put this small cat at risk. As the world warms, the Andean cat’s cold mountain habitat shrinks ever smaller. Global warming is also driving up demand for lithium and other rare metals for electric vehicles, with extractive industries pushing ever deeper into alpine zones.
- With low numbers and low density, addressing local threats is vital to protecting felid populations, making every single Andean cat important for species survival, researchers say. Innovative local community programs have contributed to conserving this small Latin American cat.
Brazil court halts plan to blast 35-km river rock formation hosting endangered species (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/brazil-court-halts-plan-to-blast-35-km-river-rock-formation-hosting-endangered-species/
A federal court in Brazil has blocked the start of planned explosions along a 35-kilometer (22-mile) rock formation called Pedral do Lourenço in the Tocantins River, pausing a major infrastructure project until a judge can inspect the site. The decision suspends the federal government’s attempt to clear the way for large cargo ships to travel […]
Suspicions surround international legal trade in Galápagos iguanas (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/suspicions-surround-international-legal-trade-in-galapagos-iguanas/
- The mega-diverse Galápagos archipelago is home to more than 9,000 species, most of them endemic, including four species of threatened iguanas.
- A new study has uncovered how traffickers obtain valid CITES permits for trafficked animals — Galápagos iguanas in this case — and trade them legally, highlighting the role of national CITES authorities in enabling illegal wildlife trade.
- The study identifies a transnational trafficking network of Galápagos iguanas, with Uganda being a hub for the “legal” trade and raises questions on the origins of these animals.
- Conservationists urge all CITES parties to exercise caution when issuing future permits for endemic species and to consult with countries where they are native. They also recommend canceling all previously issued export permits for Galápagos iguanas and refraining from issuing future export permits.
How private funding helped one NGO survive the USAID cuts (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-private-funding-helped-one-ngo-survive-the-usaid-cuts/
- After the U.S. government announced large cuts to USAID funding earlier this year, NGOs that relied on it were left in a state of uncertainty, with some needing to suspend activities or lay off staff.
- NGOs like World Neighbors that relied largely on private funding say this focus comes with several advantages and has helped it continue its work with little interruption after the USAID cuts.
- While government funding is often vulnerable to fluctuations in national politics, private funding also comes with its own challenges, such as smaller grants and more competition.
- Experts say a blend of government and private funding could be the best option for international NGOs seeking to support Indigenous peoples and other local communities to conserve or restore their lands.
Mining spill highlights need to protect Zambia’s vital Kafue River & its fish (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/mining-spill-highlights-need-to-protect-zambias-vital-kafue-river-its-fish/
- Researchers from The Wilderness Project (TWP) are documenting fish diversity along Zambia’s Kafue River to build a DNA reference library.
- The TWP scientists are collecting fin clippings and environmental DNA to help identify species, including some potentially new to science, without needing to catch them in the future.
- The river, a vital source of food and income for local communities, suffered from major pollution in February when a mine waste dam failed upstream.
- Protected stretches of the river within Kafue National Park offer crucial refuge for fish and other aquatic life, enabling recolonization after environmental shocks like toxic spills.
Rare pygmy hippo born in Kansas zoo offers hope for endangered species (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/rare-pygmy-hippo-born-in-kansas-zoo-offers-hope-for-endangered-species/
A zoo in the U.S. state of Kansas has welcomed the birth of a healthy baby pygmy hippopotamus, raising hope for a species that’s becoming rare in the wild. The yet-to-be-named male pygmy hippo calf, born June 26, is the fifth offspring of parents Pluto and Posie since their arrival at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in […]
Iconic Brazil nut crop plunges after extreme drought, skyrocketing prices (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/iconic-brazil-nut-crop-plunges-after-extreme-drought-skyrocketing-prices/
- Communities in the Amazon reported severe cuts of up to 80% of Brazil nut crops, with some territories collecting “not even a single nut.”
- The nut tree, which can live up to 800 years, is crucial for forest economies and ecosystems, but is increasingly vulnerable to extreme climate events, such as the historic droughts of 2023 and 2024.
- Sold worldwide, the Brazil nut’s price soared fourfold, prompting experts to warn of market instability if buyers abandon it, urging recognition of their ecological value and continued inclusion in product lines.
Inside Panama’s gamble to save the Darién (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/inside-panamas-gamble-to-save-the-darien/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the dense, humid expanse of the Darién Gap — a forbidding swath of rainforest bridging Panama and Colombia — a tentative transformation is underway. Once synonymous with lawlessness and unchecked migration, this biologically rich frontier is now […]
Scientists describe three new frog species from Peruvian Andes (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/scientists-describe-three-new-frog-species-from-peruvian-andes/
Peruvian scientists have identified three new-to-science frog species in the Andes, highlighting the mountains’ wealth of biodiversity, according to a recent study. The three species have been named Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi and P. yonke. “They’re small and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” […]
Indonesian civil society urges probe after payout for mine recovery that never happened (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/indonesian-civil-society-urges-probe-after-payout-for-mine-recovery-that-never-happened/
- The former head of the East Kalimantan provincial mining agency is facing corruption charges, after he allegedly disbursed a guarantee payment used for environmental restoration to a company in East Kalimantan province.
- Muhammad Muhdar, an environmental lawyer at Mulawarman University in Samarinda, the provincial capital, told Mongabay that gaps in land rehabilitation of closed mining pits are so extensive that there’s potential for further unlawful activity to come to light.
- Data from the Mining Advocacy Network, a civil society organization known as Jatam, showed more than 1,700 former coal mine sites in East Kalimantan province, and that around 39 people had died in the excavations, most of them children.
Community patrolling reduces crime numbers in the Amazon, study shows (July 10, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/community-patrolling-reduces-crime-numbers-in-the-amazon-study-shows/
A study conducted in the Brazilian Amazon has found that community-based volunteer patrolling efforts in two protected areas were associated with an 80% reduction in recorded environmental crimes from 2003-13. During the same period, there was no clear decline in environmental violations detected by government-led operations outside those protected areas, suggesting that community-based patrols were […]