In search of the tiny toad that stopped a dam (March 14, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/03/in-search-of-the-tiny-toad-that-stopped-a-dam/
Arvoreznha, Brazil — Meet the admirable red-belly toad — a tiny amphibian found nowhere else on Earth but a small forest patch in southern Brazil. Don’t let its size fool you. In 2014, it made history by halting the construction of a hydroelectric dam that would have wiped out its only home. With just over […]
Mass pilot whale stranding in Indonesia raises questions about ocean health (March 14, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/mass-pilot-whale-stranding-in-indonesia-raises-questions-about-ocean-health/
Villagers in central Indonesia rescued 34 short-finned pilot whales following a mass stranding on March 9, but despite their overnight efforts were unable to save 21 others. Mongabay Indonesia’s Ebed De Rosary reports that residents first discovered the pod in the shallow waters off Deranitan village, in East Nusa Tenggara province, at approximately 3:30 p.m. […]
Indigenous knowledge confirms what scientists observe: Large birds are disappearing (March 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-confirms-what-scientists-observe-large-birds-are-disappearing/
Many Indigenous peoples and local communities live in close contact with nature and learn to identify the wildlife around them from an early age. New research published in the International Journal of Conservation draws on that knowledge to better understand a scientifically documented trend: large bird populations are shrinking. Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, an ethnobotanist with the […]
A fish a day: More than 300 freshwater species described in 2025 (March 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/a-fish-a-day-more-than-300-freshwater-species-described-in-2025/
Taxonomists described 309 new species of freshwater fish in 2025, according to a report released by SHOAL, the IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group (FFSG) and the California Academy of Sciences (CAS). With nearly one new description each day of the year, the tally is the highest since 2017, and the third-highest since 1758, when scientists […]
Costa Rica’s head start may mask tougher EUDR road ahead (March 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/costa-ricas-head-start-may-mask-tougher-eudr-road-ahead/
- The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), passed in 2023, will require that traders in several agricultural commodities, including coffee, prove that their products don’t contribute to deforestation.
- To prepare, Costa Rica developed a pilot program with the country’s largest coffee growers’ cooperative, and started shipping deforestation-free coffee to Europe in March 2024.
- Costa Rica has since provided the tools developed for this pilot to the entire coffee sector, with the aim of all coffee shipped from the country being certified deforestation-free.
- However, Costa Rica’s long-standing sustainability standards gave it a head start on meeting the new regulations, experts say, warning that other countries with lower standards and fewer resources may find it difficult to quickly emulate its success.
Photos show the dramatic dawn flight of migrating snow geese (March 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/photos-show-the-dramatic-dawn-flight-of-migrating-snow-geese/
KLEINFELTERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Birdwatchers gather before dawn at Middle Creek in Pennsylvania to witness thousands of migrating snow geese lifting off from the reservoir in a swirling mass. The display lasts only minutes before the birds fan out to nearby farm fields to feed as they continue their annual spring migration north toward New […]
Disastrous floods in Colombia reignite debate over hydroelectric dam (March 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/disastrous-floods-in-colombia-reignite-debate-over-hydroelectric-dam/
- In early February, severe flooding across the Colombian department of Córdoba affected 24 municipalities and displaced tens of thousands of people across the region.
- The heavy rainfalls occurring during the dry season have been linked to increasing temperatures and stronger coastal winds, which have amplified the impacts of a cold front in the Caribbean region. As official efforts to clean up the flooded areas fall short, locals worry that mosquito-borne diseases like dengue might spread.
- The flooding has reopened debate over Urrá, a large hydroelectric dam on the Sinú River. The project has been the subject of Indigenous resistance for decades, and some locals, experts and politicians blame it for intensifying recent flooding.
South Africa endorses treaty to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050 (March 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/south-africa-endorses-treaty-to-triple-global-nuclear-energy-capacity-by-2050/
South Africa has endorsed the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy Capacity by 2050, joining 33 other countries that signed the nonbinding pledge during the United Nations climate summit in Dubai in 2023. Tsakane Khambane, spokesperson for South Africa’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy, told Mongabay via email that the move marks a “significant moment” beyond […]
Forest advocates accuse EU energy firm of Dutch biomass certification fraud (March 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/forest-advocates-accuse-eu-energy-firm-of-dutch-biomass-certification-fraud/
- The sustainability certification of forest biomass produced to generate industrial-scale energy has long been controversial and called into question.
- Wood pellet companies argue their product is sustainable and doesn’t cause deforestation, while governments claim biomass burning results in climate-neutral emissions, which is why they offer subsides to energy companies burning sustainability certified forest biomass.
- However, forest advocates and scientists have provided significant evidence that forest biomass production contributes to deforestation, is not sustainable and that burning wood generates more carbon emissions per unit of energy than coal.
- In an unprecedented move, Dutch law enforcement is considering a criminal investigation into RWE, one of the Netherlands’ largest energy providers, after a Dutch forest advocate alleged that the firm dodges biomass certification rules, using wood pellets imported from Malaysia sourced not from sawmill waste, but allegedly from whole trees.
Oil patch appears after IRIS Dena sinking in Sri Lanka; origins still unverified (March 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/oil-patch-appears-after-iris-dena-sinking-in-sri-lanka-origins-still-unverified/
- Following the March 4 sinking of an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, fishers and coastal communities have spotted an oil patch along the Hikkaduwa coast in southern Sri Lanka, raising concerns about its origin.
- Authorities are conducting investigations to determine the origin of the oil patch and debris washed ashore.
- Studies show the sea around Sri Lanka as highly vulnerable to oil spills, as more than 25% of oil transported globally passes through Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone.
- Legal experts say in the event of confirmed environmental impact due to the ship sinking, the “polluter pays principle” should be applied.
Study finds livestock pushing lions away from shared rangeland in Kenya (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-finds-livestock-pushing-lions-away-from-shared-rangeland-in-kenya/
- A new study in Kenya’s Mara conservancies finds lions increasingly avoiding areas used by Maasai livestock, even after the animals have moved on.
- Researchers suggest lions are responding not just to immediate encounters with herders but to past grazing pressure and perceived long-term risk.
- The findings raise questions about how livestock grazing may reshape predator behavior and wildlife use of shared landscapes.
- Experts say any grazing limits must balance conservation goals with Maasai livelihoods that depend heavily on livestock.
Conservationists are burning out — and some are breaking (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/conservationists-are-burning-out-and-some-are-breaking/
Conservation has long been framed as a moral calling. For many who enter the field, it is precisely that sense of purpose that sustains difficult work in remote places, under uncertain funding, and against problems that rarely yield quick victories. Yet the same intensity of commitment now appears to be exacting a psychological toll, Mongabay’s […]
At least 50 people killed and 125 others reported missing after landslides sweep Ethiopia (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/at-least-50-people-killed-and-125-others-reported-missing-after-landslides-sweep-ethiopia/
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — At least 50 people have died and 125 others are missing after landslides hit three districts in southern Ethiopia following a week of heavy rains, a local official said Thursday. The landslides happened in Gamo Zone and affected the Gacho Baba District, Kamba District and Bonke District, according to Gamo […]
Why saving seagrass meadows could help save the world’s coastlines (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/why-saving-seagrass-meadows-could-help-save-the-worlds-coastlines/
- Seagrass is known for its blue carbon potential, but meadows also play an important role in coastal protection by helping reduce wave intensity and stabilizing sediments, both of which are key to reducing coastal erosion.
- Experts point out that seagrass brings multiple other benefits, such as improving water quality that helps the marine environment, including coral reefs.
- Yet seagrass meadows across the globe face declines due to multiple stressors, including climate change.
- Conservationists and researchers are working to restore meadows and help them become resilient to increasing ocean temperatures and potentially devastating marine heat waves.
Outlook for migratory species worsens amid habitat loss & avian flu, report finds (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/
- A U.N.-backed report finds that nearly half of the world’s migratory species protected under a global treaty are now decreasing — and about one in four now faces extinction.
- Habitat loss and degradation as well as hunting and fishing are driving these declines, but a deadly virus, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, is also taking a heavy toll on bird populations.
- Wildlife corridors and protected ocean networks can play a pivotal role in conserving imperiled species: Animals need to move to find food, a mate and migrate.
If Florida reefs aren’t protected, storms will increase flooding & costs: Study (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/if-florida-reefs-arent-protected-storms-will-increase-flooding-costs-study/
- Coral reefs absorb incoming waves, protecting shorelines from tropical storms.
- A recent Earth’s Future study examines flood risks from tropical storms to communities in Florida, if coral reefs keep degrading at current rates.
- The study finds that future coral reef degradation will increase the annual risk of flooding to people by 42% and to buildings by 47%.
- This increased degradation would predictably cause $412.5 million in damages to structures and economic disruption of $438.1 million annually.
Marine biologist Edie Widder chases bioluminescence in new ‘Life Illuminated’ film (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-biologist-edie-widder-chases-bioluminescence-in-new-life-illuminated-film/
- The new documentary “A Life Illuminated” traces the career arc of U.S. marine biologist Edie Widder, an expert on bioluminescence who’s made headlines for decades.
- The film documents her team’s attempt to capture a remarkable deep-water phenomenon called “flashback” on camera. (Spoiler alert.)
- Bioluminescence serves a variety of functions for deep-sea creatures, and flashback may originate from bioluminescent bacteria on drifting organic matter, Widder said.
- “A Life Illuminated” will make its Washington, D.C., premiere on Mar. 19, the first night of the D.C. Environmental Film Festival, where Mongabay is a media partner.
Modest controls put on freewheeling squid fleet at South Pacific fisheries meeting (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/modest-controls-put-on-freewheeling-squid-fleet-at-south-pacific-fisheries-meeting/
- The 14th meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) took place in Panama City from March 2-6.
- The intergovernmental organization regulates fishing activities in the high seas of the South Pacific, a vast area encompassing about 59 million square kilometers.
- Key decisions concerned tightening regulation of the jumbo flying squid fishery following increased fishing activity and signals of overfishing, and adopting measures to reduce illegal fishing practices and labor abuses in the squid fleet.
- Decision-makers also took steps toward finalizing a new management procedure for jack mackerel. Negotiations over regulating bottom trawling, a source of disagreement at recent SPRFMO meetings, remained stalled.
Indonesia’s orangutan trafficking cases reveal need for a change in approach (commentary) (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesias-orangutan-trafficking-cases-reveal-need-for-a-change-in-approach-commentary/
- Indonesia needs a new approach to illegal wildlife trafficking that does more than intercept and repatriate animals to their home habitats, a new op-ed suggests.
- Seizures of trafficked orangutans have been in the news often lately, and the nation needs to make trafficking of animals such as these unprofitable, unviable and socially unacceptable.
- “Repatriation brings (trafficking) victims home, but it should never become a routine that normalizes the crime. If a country celebrates each return while shipments keep moving through the next gap, it is responding, never preventing,” he argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
The dark side of smiling sloths (March 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/the-dark-side-of-smiling-sloths/
The apparent friendliness of “smiling” sloths have made them tourist darlings, but have also put a target on their backs. In their home range of South and Central America, tourism companies encourage customers to take photos with sloths, and the government fears the smuggling of animals across country borders. The rise in sloth trafficking has […]