In Nepal, women seek ownership rights to the lands they tend (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-nepal-women-seek-ownership-rights-to-the-lands-they-tend/
- In Nepal, the law has eliminated gender discrimination when it comes to property rights, but cultural norms still interfere with land ownership.
- Many of the country’s agricultural workers are women, yet they do not own the land they work.
- Research shows that globally, women’s access to secure land tenure is linked to higher agricultural productivity, lower food insecurity, reduced poverty and slower environmental degradation.
- While some women in Nepal say the lack of land ownership is not a problem for them, others do not recognize the legal rights they have; experts say education is key.
New report reveals the environmental cost of USAID’s destruction (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/new-report-reveals-the-environmental-cost-of-usaids-destruction/
- The consultancy firm One Earth Partners has published an analysis of the environmental consequences of USAID’s closure.
- One Earth Partners was founded by Monica Bansal and Hadas Kushnir, two former senior employees at the U.S. international development agency.
- The report is based on interviews with 150 people in five countries who were familiar with USAID’s conservation and environmental work.
- It finds that a large number of projects in fragile ecosystems have stalled or collapsed, and is accompanied by a list of 100 that are looking for new funders.
‘Lost’ bird reappears in West Africa’s forests after more than a decade (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/lost-bird-reappears-in-west-africas-forests-after-more-than-a-decade/
- In June, a team of researchers working in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park spotted a Ghana cuckooshrike, a bird that hadn’t been seen in 13 years.
- The bird’s home range in West Africa’s Upper Guinean rainforest has been whittled away by logging and agriculture, leaving a patchwork of disconnected forests.
- The ‘rediscovery’ shows the value of conserving places like Taï, where mining and illegal hunting also pose threats.
- The finding relied on close collaboration with West African researchers, the experience and knowledge of the team, and the Ghana cuckooshrike’s listing by the Search for Lost Birds partnership.
Earth life support systems are flashing red, warns 2026 Planetary Health Check (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/earth-life-support-systems-are-flashing-red-warns-2026-planetary-health-check/
- planetary boundaries — vital for preserving the safe operating space for humanity — are transgressed and heading further into the danger zone.
- Mounting pressures on land carbon sinks, the seafloor, and escalating releases of novel entities (various forms of synthetic pollution) risk increased destabilization of Earth’s life support systems.
- Large-scale and urgent action is needed to return as swiftly as possible to the safe zone, scientists say.
Biodiversity credits shouldn’t copy the carbon market playbook (commentary) (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/biodiversity-credits-shouldnt-copy-the-carbon-market-playbook-commentary/
- The biodiversity credit market should stop trying to copy the carbon market’s method of reducing everything to one tradable unit, a new op-ed argues.
- Instead, these credits should be measured by how continuously and independently a claim can be verified, since their benefit cannot be expressed as simply as carbon credits can.
- “A hectare of mangrove forest is not interchangeable with a hectare of grassland: pretending otherwise is closer to a category error than a measurement gap, and I suspect it is the real reason estimates of this market vary by a factor of 80,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Indonesia’s geothermal push runs into local fears at Mount Ungaran (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/
- Indonesia’s push to expand geothermal power is facing resistance from communities around Mount Ungaran in Central Java province, where a long-running dispute over the proposed project has resurfaced.
- The government says further exploration is needed to determine whether the area can support a commercially viable power plant, with electricity generation targeted for 2031.
- Residents and civil society groups have raised concerns about potential impacts on water resources, farming livelihoods, the environment, and cultural heritage.
- Questions over public consultation and differing estimates of the area’s potential electricity output have added to the debate over the project’s future.
Floating weeds threaten farming and fishing at Malawi’s Chia Lagoon (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/floating-weeds-threaten-farming-and-fishing-at-malawis-chia-lagoon/
A mass of floating weeds at Chia Lagoon, Malawi’s largest, is choking out waterways and livelihoods as farmers and fishers struggle to access fields and fishing areas. Seven months after the rainy season ended in Malawi, fields that once absorbed seasonal water at the lagoon are submerged, frustrating irrigated maize and rice production, according to […]
Planned US tech hub in Philippines hit over environmental and Indigenous land concerns (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/
- The Philippines is a key location for the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative, a global pact to establish a semiconductor and AI supply chain not reliant on China.
- Pax Silica, and a related national initiative called the Luzon Economic Corridor, have been met with opposition from civil society and Indigenous groups.
- Land for the planned Pax Silica hub overlaps with land thousands of Indigenous Aeta claim as their ancestral domain.
- Protesters also cite concerns about water, energy use, and waste management plans for the planned hub.
US contractors reportedly purchase tin from company accused of illegal Amazon mining (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/us-contractors-reportedly-purchase-tin-from-company-accused-of-illegal-amazon-mining/
Brazilian tin-producing company, White Solder, has been accused of acquiring a mineral illegally mined in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon. White Solder has supplied hundreds of metric tons of tin to companies with U.S. Department of Defense contracts, according to an investigation by Repórter Brasil. White Solder, which describes itself as one […]
Agency says sea turtle eggs laid on California beaches are a first for the US West Coast (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/agency-says-sea-turtle-eggs-laid-on-california-beaches-are-a-first-for-the-us-west-coast/
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A reptile believed to be struggling in sand at a Southern California beach was simply making history: a sea turtle laying eggs on the U.S. West Coast. And three days later, there were more. An olive ridley turtle — maybe the same one — laid eggs on Sept. 19, a […]
Logging still threatens Bornean forest once envisioned as an Indigenous-led peace park (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-still-threatens-bornean-forest-once-envisioned-as-an-indigenous-led-peace-park/
- Indigenous communities in Malaysia’s Upper Baram Forest Area say a planned conservation area is being eroded by the existence of an active timber concession within the forest area.
- A new report by civil society groups questions the legality of how the concession was granted, and presents evidence of ongoing logging of primary forest.
- The Sarawak forest department says the Upper Baram Forest Area was intended from its outset to allow areas for both conservation and timber harvesting, and that the concession was granted legally.
Two decades on, Nepal’s conservationists search for new ‘dream’ generation (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/two-decades-on-nepals-conservationists-search-for-new-dream-generation/
- In September 2006, a helicopter crash killed 24 people, including then forest minister and senior officials from Nepal’s government and WWF — a day after they handed over a conservation area to resident communities.
- Since the crash, some conservationists say individual roles were replaced, but what was lost was never truly recovered, with visionary leadership growing scarcer since the accident.
- Nepal’s tiger population has more than tripled and forest cover has grown beyond 46%, built on the community forestry model the “lost generation”, but human-wildlife conflict and the emptying of hill villages remain as unresolved conservation issues.
- Devolving control of buffer zones to local communities remains incomplete two decades on, and even the crash’s own commemoration has largely lapsed, leaving current leaders to decide whether to keep running the old conservation model or build a new one.
A mega-dam made this community move (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/a-megadam-made-this-community-move/
The green transition is crucial to tackling climate change. But around the world, the same question keeps cropping up: who pays the price? In Malaysian Borneo, hydroelectric dams are playing an increasingly important role in Sarawak’s renewable energy ambitions, with the state now looking to supply power beyond its borders. One of the biggest projects […]
In Peru’s high Andes, restoring ancient ecosystems could help protect water security (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-perus-high-andes-restoring-ancient-ecosystems-could-help-protect-water-security/
- In Peru’s high Andes, water security is under threat as glaciers retreat and changing weather patterns threaten natural reservoirs.
- At 3,200 meters (10,500 feet) altitude, in the community of Villa de Arma, Huancavelica, a conservation initiative that started in 2025 aims to secure water resources in the Chincha watershed, helping to supply water to the arid coast below.
- The project uses nature-based solutions such as wetland conservation and native forest regeneration to combat water security issues in the region.
- Some scientists caution that the benefits of nature-based solutions are hard to predict and that they are “not a panacea”.
New Galápagos Atlas charts the islands’ biodiversity and the mysteries that remain (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/new-galapagos-atlas-charts-the-islands-biodiversity-and-the-mysteries-that-remain/
A new atlas of biodiversity of the Galápagos Islands highlights the unique evolutionary and ecological diversity of life in the famed archipelago that helped Charles Darwin develop the theory of natural selection. The Galapagos Atlas, created by the Darwin Foundation, highlights 68 species and species groups in the island chain. These include the celebrities of […]
4 million lakes in ‘Lost Lakes’ map offer clues to Arctic permafrost (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/4-million-lakes-in-lost-lakes-map-offer-clues-to-arctic-permafrost/
The Arctic is dotted with millions of lakes that sit on persistently frozen soil called permafrost. These lakes are crucial for the region’s wildlife and local communities. However, as temperatures rise, the permafrost thaws, which causes new lakes to form or existing lakes to abruptly disappear as lake water drains away through newly created channels. […]
A ‘devil-like’ flower from Thailand is new to science — and critically endangered (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/a-devil-like-flower-from-thailand-is-new-to-science-and-critically-endangered/
Botanists in Thailand have identified a new-to-science species of “fairy lantern” — plants that live almost entirely buried under leaf litter, emerging aboveground only occasionally to flower. Researchers were surveying evergreen forests in the mountains of Thong Pha Phum National Park when they chanced upon a plant none of them had ever seen before, at […]
As fires spread in Indonesia, Bornean orangutans run out of forest to flee (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-fires-spread-in-indonesia-bornean-orangutans-run-out-of-forest-to-flee/
- Fires are spreading across Bornean orangutan habitat in West Kalimantan, including Gunung Palung National Park and the Mendawak Biodiversity Corridor.
- Conservationists said losing forest in the national park would be devastating for its large orangutan population and long-running research program.
- More than 40 people, including field assistants, staff and local villagers, have been working around the clock to protect a research station from the fires.
- Geopix detected 17,865 fire hotspots in mapped orangutan habitat across Kalimantan between June 1 and Aug. 28, while conservationists warn that fires are shrinking the forest available for orangutans to escape.
Reptiles, gold and money: How Australia is cracking down on wildlife trafficking (September 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/reptiles-gold-and-money-how-australia-is-cracking-down-on-wildlife-trafficking/
- Australian authorities disrupted an alleged wildlife trafficking ring in Sydney, seizing 36 reptiles and about AU$300,000 (more than $215,000) in cash and gold bullion.
- The animals included 28 native Australian reptiles, including shingleback lizards, spiny-tailed skinks and lace monitors.
- This bust was the first major wildlife crime operation conducted by the National Environmental Protection Agency (National EPA), Australia’s new federal environmental regulator.
- The National EPA alleges native reptiles were supplied to foreign nationals for illegal export.
The Home Planet Fund succeeds by giving directly to local communities (September 22, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/09/the-home-planet-fund-succeeds-by-giving-directly-to-local-communities/
This week on the Newscast, we’re joined by Dilafruz Khonikboyeva, the founder of the Home Planet Fund, an independent, Indigenous-led nonprofit that provides funding for local and Indigenous communities and conservation projects around the world. Khonikboyeva, who is also the organization’s executive director, speaks about the ethos of the Home Planet Fund and how it […]