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New book unearths environmental crime’s psychological roots (October 21, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025/10/new-book-unearths-environmental-crimes-psychological-roots/ Psychologist and true crime presenter Julia Shaw joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss her latest read, examining some of the highest-profile environmental crimes and why they occur, in Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet and How to Stop Them. She details the commonalities behind six major cases, and what can be […] | |
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Radar study shows when offshore turbines pose greatest risks to migrating birds (October 21, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/radar-study-shows-when-offshore-turbines-pose-greatest-risks-to-migrating-birds/ - A new study looks at bird migration patterns over open ocean in an attempt to assess how much risk offshore wind turbines and other marine infrastructure might pose to them. - The authors used radar data from U.S. coastal weather stations to find that hundreds of millions of birds migrate over tight windows of time in the spring and fall while flying at slightly lower elevations on average than over land. - This puts a proportion of them at risk of being killed by wind turbines, but that risk could be mitigated with dynamic management that accounts for their patterns, according to the study. - The Trump administration, in office since January, says it doesn’t support offshore wind development, but the research has long-term implications and could be used more immediately for mitigating the impact of offshore oil and gas projects. | |
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Primatology goes high tech — from bioacoustics to drones & AI (October 21, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/primatology-goes-high-tech-from-bioacoustics-to-drones-ai/ - From thermal cameras to deep learning AI, researchers are reinventing how they study primates in the wild. - What began with Jane Goodall’s observational notes has evolved into artificial intelligence that identifies chimpanzees and decodes their social lives. - A custom-built “dronequi” with a thermal and a high-definition camera is helping scientists spot Brazil’s elusive and endangered muriquis from above the trees. - Hidden microphones across Borneo’s rainforests capture haunting gibbon duets, revealing clues about hybridization and habitat loss. | |
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Booming sea otters and fading shellfish spark values clash in Alaska (October 21, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/booming-sea-otters-and-fading-shellfish-spark-values-clash-in-alaska/ - In Alaska, a state brimming with iconic wildlife — from grizzly bears to king salmon, humpback whales to harbor seals — the charismatic, densely coated sea otter stands out as perhaps the state’s most hotly debated, controversial species. - Sea otters were nearly hunted into extinction a century ago for their luxurious pelts. But they have been surging in population in the Gulf of Alaska, bringing both benefits to nearshore ecosystems and drawbacks to the shellfish economy (due to the otters’ voracious caloric needs). - Described by commercial shellfish harvesters and Native Alaskans as pillagers of clams and crabs, sea otters are seen by many marine biologists as having positive impacts on kelp forests — important for biodiversity and carbon storage. Scientists stress that shellfish declines are complex, with sea otters being just one among multiple causes. - Native Alaskans are the only people given free rein to hunt sea otters. But long-standing federal regulations stipulating who qualifies as Native Alaskan make it illegal for most to manage their own waters. Tribes are fighting for regulatory changes that would enable them to hunt and help balance booming sea otter populations. | |
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Rise in persecution of climate defenders in Europe slammed by UN expert (October 21, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/rise-in-persecution-of-climate-defenders-in-europe-slammed-by-un-expert/ Climate activists worldwide are facing increased persecution and criminalization by governments, with some of the most severe measures coming from Europe, according to a United Nations human rights expert. Governments including those of the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Spain have introduced measures that criminalize protests and redefine terrorism and organized crime laws to persecute […] | |
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Rescued African gray parrots return to DRC forests (October 21, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/rescued-african-gray-parrots-return-to-drc-forests/ - In early October, 50 African gray parrots were released into the wild by the Lukuru Foundation, after having been rescued from poachers and undergoing rehabilitation for a year at a refuge run by the foundation. - The foundation’s two parrot rehabilitation centers have been joined by a third one, at Kisangani Zoo, in April, which has already received 112 African grays. - As the DRC begins enforcing a July ban on the trade in African grays, authorities will need to raise awareness in communities, dismantle well-established trading networks, and ensure released birds aren’t recaptured, conservationists say. | |
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Environmental groups slam Amazon oil drilling approval ahead of COP30 (October 21, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/environmental-groups-slam-amazon-oil-drilling-approval-ahead-of-cop30/ Brazil’s environment agency, IBAMA, has approved an environmental license for state-owned oil company Petrobras to drill for oil near the mouth of the Amazon River. The license, issued Oct. 20, allows the company start drilling the offshore Morpho well in oil block FZA-M-059, about 500 kilometers (311 miles) from the river’s mouth, and 2.8 km […] | |
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Ghost nets entangling turtles, marine life in Sri Lanka’s waters (October 21, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/ghost-nets-entangling-turtles-marine-life-in-sri-lankas-waters/ In Sri Lankan waters, there’s a growing problem of ghost nets that are entangling sea turtles, fish, dolphins and seabirds, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. “Ghost nets” are fishing gear that have either been abandoned, lost or discarded into the sea. As these drift with the ocean currents, they continue to trap marine animals […] | |
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Rare dugong calf sighting in Alor spotlights seagrass & marine mammal conservation (October 21, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/rare-dugong-calf-sighting-in-alor-spotlights-seagrass-marine-mammal-conservation/ - A rare sighting of a dugong calf in Alor, Indonesia, has renewed focus on the health of the region’s seagrass ecosystem and the species’ fragile future. - Conservationists say the presence of multiple dugongs indicates a thriving habitat, but threats from tourism, habitat loss and limited population data remain pressing concerns. - Authorities and experts are pushing for stronger monitoring and coordinated conservation strategies under a forthcoming national action plan. | |
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Trust-based philanthropy: Lessons from MacKenzie Scott and Laurene Powell Jobs (commentary) (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/trust-based-philanthropy-lessons-from-mackenzie-scott-and-laurene-powell-job/ - Laurene Powell Jobs and MacKenzie Scott both call for a reimagining of philanthropy: one that shifts from control and performance to participation and trust, recognizing that true generosity empowers rather than directs. - Philanthropy’s challenge lies not only in giving more, but in governing money differently—inviting community voices into decision-making and valuing learning, failure, and endurance as much as measurable results. - The future of giving may depend less on innovation than humility: funders moving from command to accompaniment, treating funding as a relationship rooted in shared purpose, trust, and collective movement toward change. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. | |
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Negro River study finds genetic damage in fish after oil spill (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/negro-river-study-finds-genetic-damage-in-fish-after-oil-spill/ - Scientists assessed harmful effects on Amazonian fish after a barge capsized in 2013 with approximately 60,000 liters of petroleum asphalt cement in Manaus. - Although the concentration of the contaminant decreased with rising water levels, the fish continued to exhibit effects of exposure three months after the accident, including DNA damage and neurotoxicity. - The Negro River’s waters are rich in dissolved organic matter, which may increase the toxicity of the chemical compound. - This research adds to other studies that attest to the harmful effects of oil on vertebrates, aquatic insects and plants in the Amazon, given the pressure for greater exploration in the region. | |
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South African sharks threatened by fisheries, weak enforcement (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/south-african-sharks-threatened-by-fisheries-weak-enforcement/ - The only permit holder in South Africa’s demersal shark longline fishery has been reported breaching permit regulations, raising questions about the sustainability of the fishery. - The fishery targets critically endangered and endangered shark species with no catch limits in place to prevent overfishing. - Target species are already depleted, according to scientific assessments, while little is known about bycatch of other protected and endangered species. | |
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Mining the deep-sea could further threaten endangered sharks and rays (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/mining-the-deep-sea-could-further-threaten-endangered-sharks-and-rays/ - A new study indicates that deep-sea mining could threaten at least 30 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras, many of which are already at risk of extinction. - The authors found that seabed sediment plumes and midwater discharges of wastewater from mining activities could cause a range of impacts on shark, ray and chimaera species, including, but not limited to, disruptions to breeding and foraging, alterations in vertical migration, and exposure to metal contamination. - The authors recommend precautionary measures, including improved baseline monitoring, the development of protected zones, and discharging wastewater below below 2,000 m (about 6,600 ft). - With companies planning to begin deep-sea mining in international waters as early as 2027, the authors say more research is urgently needed to understand the full ecological impact of this emerging industry on biodiversity. | |
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Guava yields in South Asia shrink due to unpredictable heat & rainfall (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/guava-yields-in-south-asia-shrink-due-to-unpredictable-heat-rainfall/ - Changing rainfall patterns due to climate change are posing threats to guava farming in South Asia, the global hub of the tropical fruit. - In recent years, rising temperatures and delayed monsoons have been affecting the flowering and fruiting of even the drought-tolerant guava varieties. - Experts in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have identified links to climate change with vulnerabilities in guava farming and suggest solutions. | |
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The slender-billed curlew, a migratory waterbird, is officially extinct: IUCN (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/the-slender-billed-curlew-a-migratory-waterbird-is-officially-extinct-iucn/ The last known photo of the slender-billed curlew, a grayish-brown migratory waterbird, was taken in February 1995 at Merja Zerga, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. There will likely never be another one. The species, Numenius tenuirostris, has officially been declared extinct by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. “The extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew is […] | |
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Conversations with Mongabay leaders (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2025/10/conversations-with-mongabay-leaders/ Meet the leaders of Mongabay’s global newsroom — people who have built Mongabay into an impactful news organization capable of telling underreported environmental stories relevant to audiences worldwide. This series profiles Mongabay’s journalists through candid conversations that explore how we’ve expanded access to information from hard to reach places, created opportunities for local reporters around […] | |
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Measuring success in trees, not clicks (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/measuring-success-in-trees-not-clicks/ Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. “I knew I was disposable.” That realization, from earlier in his career, helps guide Willie Shubert today in building a kind and capable global newsroom. Shubert oversees Mongabay’s English-language newsroom — its largest — and shapes the organization’s […] | |
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South Africa court halts natural gas power plant project, cites climate commitments (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/south-africa-court-halts-natural-gas-power-plant-project-cites-climate-commitments/ A South African court has nullified the environmental authorization for state-owned electricity utility Eskom’s proposed 3,000-megawatt gas-fired power plant. The court cited multiple reasons for its decision, including the failure to adequately consult local residents and consider the full impacts of the power plant’s entire life cycle on climate change. “This ruling shows that environmental […] | |
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Deforestation and disease spread as Nicaragua ignores illegal cattle ranching (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/deforestation-and-disease-spread-as-nicaragua-ignores-illegal-cattle-ranching/ - Illegal cattle ranching has torn through Nicaragua’s rainforests in recent years, supplying a growing international market for meat despite calls for better oversight of the industry. - The practice has led to a spike in cases of New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax), a parasitic fly that feeds on warm-blooded animals - A new investigation by conservation group Re:wild found that years of industry reforms still haven’t prevented cattle ranchers from deforesting protected areas and Indigenous territories. | |
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Heat surges put preserved Amazon areas at high risk, study says (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/heat-surges-put-preserved-amazon-areas-at-high-risk-study-says/ - A new study conducted by a group of 53 scientists from Brazil and other nationalities revealed that preserved forest areas are increasingly harmed by climate change in the Amazon, largely due to the rapid increase in extreme temperatures. - Between 1981 and 2023, extreme temperatures in the Amazon have risen at double the global average rate, increasing by 0.5° Celsius (0.9° Fahrenheit) per decade. The largely preserved north-central Amazon, home to conservation units and Indigenous territories, registered a rise of more than 3.3°C (5.9°F) in maximum extreme temperatures in the period. - According to the study, the scenario provokes dry periods that lead to increasing forest fires and large-scale tree and fauna mortality, while bearing negative impacts on human access to services and health. - Meanwhile, the fast temperature increase also demonstrates that high-emitting nations bear a strong responsibility for the changes in the Amazon, underscoring the urgent need for emission reductions and internal adaptation to save preserved areas of the tropical biome. | |
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Voices from the land: Indigenous women and the path to a just energy transition (commentary) (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/voices-from-the-land-indigenous-women-and-the-path-to-a-just-energy-transition-commentary/ - The implementation of the energy transition is unfolding at the expense of biodiversity and communities — particularly Indigenous women, says Galina Angarova and Daniela De León, members of the SIRGE Coalition. - They say Indigenous women stand at the frontlines of the energy transition as defenders of their lands and waters and as visionaries shaping alternative pathways rooted in balance, reciprocity and care. - “A just and sustainable future cannot be achieved without the full participation, leadership and consent of Indigenous women,” they write in this opinion piece. - This commentary is part of the Voices from the Land series, a compilation of Indigenous-led opinion pieces focusing on their lived experiences, land stewardship and visions for environmental justice. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay. | |
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More Thai rivers and downstream communities at risk from Myanmar’s rare earth mines (October 20, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/more-thai-rivers-and-downstream-communities-at-risk-from-myanmars-rare-earth-mines/ - Satellite data reveal 513 rare earth mining sites across rivers feeding into the Mekong, Salween and Irrawaddy in Myanmar, including 40 new ones in 2025 — far more than previously estimated. - Toxic runoff from unregulated mines in Shan and Kachin states has polluted rivers flowing into northern Thailand, causing some $40 million in losses to farming, fishing and tourism. - Communities in the Thai provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are struggling with contaminated water and weak government response, prompting grassroots groups to demand testing, clean water sources, and a halt to imports from Myanmar. - China’s tightening controls and rising demand for rare earths have fueled Myanmar’s mining boom, with conflict and lax oversight allowing environmental destruction and cross-border pollution to spread downstream through Southeast Asia. | |
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Scientists describe new-to-science mouse opossum from Peruvian Andes (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/scientists-describe-new-to-science-mouse-opossum-from-peruvian-andes/ Scientists have described a new species of mouse opossum discovered in 2018 in the cloud forests of the Peruvian Andes, 2,664 meters (8,740 feet) above sea level. The find was reported by Mongabay Latam staff writer Yvette Sierra Praeli. The new marsupial is named Marmosa chachapoya after the ancient Chachapoya people who once lived in […] | |
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Nations delay vote on shipping decarbonization rules after fierce US resistance (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nations-delay-vote-on-shipping-decarbonization-rules-after-fierce-us-resistance/ - The shipping sector was widely expected to become the first industry to adopt a binding set of global greenhouse gas emissions rules during an Oct. 14-17 meeting in London. - Instead, member countries of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) committee voted to delay the decision until October 2026. - The rules would have established emissions intensity limits that become more stringent each year, with substantial fees paid for noncompliance. - The United States and other oil-exporting countries dominated much of the discussion in London as they sought to prevent the rules from being adopted, arguing that they amounted to an illegitimate international tax and that they would have dire economic consequences. | |
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Banking alliance aimed at limiting fossil fuel investments collapses (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/banking-alliance-aimed-at-limiting-fossil-fuel-investments-collapses/ A coalition formed to align the international banking sector’s investments with global climate goals has disbanded nearly four years after it was launched. Set up in 2021, the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) was a U.N.-sponsored initiative to shift bank financing away from fossil fuels — the biggest source of climate changing greenhouse gases — and […] | |
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US blocks a global fee on shipping emissions as international meeting ends without new regulations (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/us-blocks-a-global-fee-on-shipping-emissions-as-international-meeting-ends-without-new-regulations/ The U.S. has blocked a global fee on shipping emissions as an international maritime meeting ended Friday without adopting new regulations. The world’s largest maritime nations had been discussing ways to move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump urged countries to vote against the regulations. The International Maritime […] | |
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A closer look at Peru’s Amazon reveals new mining trends, deforestation (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-closer-look-at-perus-amazon-reveals-new-mining-trends-deforestation/ - A new analysis from the Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program shows differences in mining patterns in the central and northern departments of the country, compared with southern departments like Madre de Dios. - The mapping analysis is one of the first visualizations of Peru’s mining problem on a nationwide scale. - The organization called for a better gold traceability system and for small-scale and artisanal mining activities to be subject to stricter environmental oversight. | |
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Deforestation for soy continues in Brazilian Cerrado despite EUDR looming (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/deforestation-for-soy-continues-in-brazilian-cerrado-despite-eudr-looming/ - Some agricultural producers in the Brazilian Cerrado who indirectly supply soy to the European market still haven’t complied with the forthcoming European Union’s antideforestation regulation, or EUDR, an investigation has found. - Two companies, Mizote Group and Franciosi Agro, have cleared 986 hectares (2,436 acres) since May 2024, advocacy group Earthsight found, including forested areas — meaning any of the soy grown isn’t EUDR-compliant. - The Cerrado, a biodiverse savanna, is the Brazilian biome most vulnerable to deforestation driven by agricultural expansion, losing more than 652,000 ha (1.6 million acres) of native vegetation in 2024. - The EUDR and voluntary certification schemes like the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS) aim to root out deforestation from supply chains — but the latter has limitations, while implementation of the former risks being delayed by another year. | |
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West Africa’s leopards now officially endangered after 50% population crash (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/west-africas-leopards-now-officially-endangered-after-50-population-crash/ There are only about 350 mature leopards left in West Africa, according to the latest regional assessment by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. Leopards (Panthera pardus) in West Africa are thought to be genetically isolated from those in Central Africa, with little or no interbreeding between populations. They’re found in 11 countries: Benin, […] | |
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In Nepal’s hills, a fight brews over the country’s biggest iron deposit (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/in-nepals-hills-a-fight-brews-over-the-countrys-biggest-iron-deposit/ - Nepal’s government has granted a mining concession for what it calls the country’s biggest iron deposit in Jhumlabang, a remote farming community that could supply Nepal’s steel demand for years. - Local residents say they were never properly consulted and fear displacement, water pollution, and destruction of forests and farmlands that sustain their livelihoods and cultural traditions. - Community groups and Indigenous rights advocates argue the project violates Nepal’s obligations under international law guaranteeing the right to free, prior and informed consent for Indigenous peoples. - Officials and the mining company insist due process will be followed, but villagers vow to resist the project, saying development should not come at the cost of their land, health and environment. | |
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Indonesia court clears wildfire scientists in case brought by palm oil company (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-court-clears-wildfire-scientists-in-case-brought-by-palm-oil-company/ - A district court in a Jakarta suburb has dismissed a lawsuit brought by palm oil company PT Kalimantan Lestari Mandiri against two scientists who provided expert testimony in a 2018 court case that found the palm oil firm liable for wildfires on hundreds of hectares of land in Central Kalimantan province. - Bambang Hero Saharjo and Basuki Wasis, two professors at Bogor Institute of Agriculture, said defending the suit required time that could have been spent in the field or laboratory working to establish the facts in other cases. - Civil society representatives responded to the ruling with relief. The heads of several nonprofits expressed hope that the verdict would provide reassurance to others that corporate actors had limited ability to use the courts against scientists. | |
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Green turtle rebounds, moving from ‘endangered’ to ‘least concern’ (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/green-turtle-rebounds-moving-from-endangered-to-least-concern/ The green turtle, found across the world’s oceans, is recovering after decades of decline, according to the latest IUCN Red List assessment. The species has been reclassified from endangered to least concern. “I am delighted,” Brendan Godley, a turtle expert from the University of Exeter, U.K., told Mongabay. “It underlines that marine conservation can work, […] | |
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Nepal seeks World Bank loan to fight air pollution despite hefty taxes to do so (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nepal-seeks-world-bank-loan-to-fight-air-pollution-despite-hefty-taxes-to-do-so/ - Nepal is negotiating $155 million in loans and grants from the World Bank for the Nepal Clean Air and Prosperity Project to reduce industrial emissions, strengthen pollution control and build government capacity. - The government collected roughly 22.4 billion rupees ($160 million) in pollution control taxes since 2008-09, including 2.8 billion rupees ($20 million) in the most recent fiscal year. - Auditors, lawmakers and courts have questioned transparency and directed that pollution tax funds be used specifically for pollution control. - Air pollution remains a major public health risk, especially in Kathmandu Valley and the Terai, with little improvement over the last decade. Officials emphasize the urgency of action and say World Bank funding provides an opportunity to strengthen Nepal’s pollution control efforts despite existing tax revenues. | |
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Chief Kokoi, defender of the Rupununi, died on October 12th (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/chief-kokoi-defender-of-the-rupununi-died-on-october-12th/ - Tony Rodney James, known as Chief Kokoi, was a Wapichan leader from Guyana’s South Rupununi who devoted his life to defending Indigenous rights, culture, and ancestral lands. - After leaving politics in the 1970s, he became toshāo (village chief) of Aishalton for six terms and helped establish the Region Nine Toshaos Council, which united Indigenous communities across the Rupununi. - As president and vice president of the Amerindian Peoples Association, he fought for legal recognition of Indigenous territories and opposed gold mining at Marudi Mountain, despite facing death threats for his stance. - Decorated with the Golden Arrow of Achievement, he remained a mentor to younger toshaos until his death on October 12th 2025; in Aishalton, he is remembered as a guardian of the land whose spirit still walks the savannas. | |
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Indonesia retiree rewilds world’s largest volcano lake as church demands plantation closures (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-retiree-rewilds-worlds-largest-volcano-lake-as-church-demands-plantation-closures/ - In 2005, career civil servant Wilmar Eliaser Simandjorang became the first district leader of Samosir, home to Lake Toba, the largest lake in Indonesia and largest volcanic lake in the world. - After retiring, Wilmar devoted his time to building grassroots networks to rewild parts of Lake Toba, while advocating for greater environmental protection in the Sumatran upland. - In 2013, Wilmar declined to accept the Wana Lestari prize awarded by Indonesia’s government, citing what he saw as shortcomings in government initiatives to manage the land. - This year, the largest Batak church, the Batak Protestant Christian Church (HKBP), made a public call for the region’s largest plantation company, PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL), to be shut down. | |
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New cluster of Tapanuli orangutans discovered in Sumatra peat swamp (October 17, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/tapanuli-orangutan-sumatra-endangered-ape-conservation-forest-indonesia/ - Researchers have confirmed that the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, previously thought to live only in Sumatra’s Batang Toru forest, also inhabits a peat swamp forest 32 kilometers (20 miles) away in the Lumut Maju village forest. - DNA analysis of fecal samples verified the Lumut Maju apes as Tapanuli orangutans, marking the first confirmed record of the species outside Batang Toru. - The discovery highlights the conservation value of nonprotected peat swamps, which are rapidly being cleared for oil palm plantations, threatening the orangutans’ survival. - Conservationists warn that the isolated Lumut Maju population, likely fewer than 100 individuals, may not be viable long term unless habitat protection or relocation strategies are implemented. | |
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Vast freshwater reserves found beneath Atlantic seafloor (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/vast-freshwater-reserves-found-beneath-atlantic-seafloor/ Scientists recently discovered vast freshwater reservoirs beneath the Atlantic seafloor, stretching off the U.S. East Coast from the states of New Jersey to Maine. The find was “a beautiful scientific accident,” Brandon Dugan, a professor of geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines, U.S., and co-chief scientist on the expedition, told Mongabay in a video […] | |
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As wolves roam California, livestock losses remain low, yet ranchers’ fears grow (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/as-wolves-roam-california-livestock-losses-remain-low-yet-ranchers-fears-grow/ - In California, as wolf numbers grow — a remarkable return after a century — livestock producers are increasingly worried as these predators occasionally take down cattle. - Gray wolves are an endangered species, protected under both federal and state laws, complicating the balance between conservation and economic losses, though livestock kills remain low. - California introduced a compensation program that pays ranchers for direct and indirect losses from wolves as a way to mitigate conflicts, but ranchers say this program isn’t scalable with expanding wolf numbers. The livestock industry also receives substantial taxpayer-funded subsidies. - Wolves were extirpated from California a century ago, so ranchers haven’t lived alongside them for generations and are pushing to remove all protections for the species. Conservationists argue coexistence is the only way forward. | |
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A week after floods, swathes of central Mexico reel from devastation (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/a-week-after-floods-swathes-of-central-mexico-reel-from-devastation/ POZA RICA, Mexico (AP) — The stench of decay spread for several miles around Poza Rica on Wednesday, one of the areas hardest hit by last week’s torrential rains that flooded central and eastern Mexico. In the center of this oil-producing city near the Gulf of Mexico, a lingering cloud of dust hovered over the main avenue […] | |
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Indonesia falls short in bid to increase its share of southern bluefin tuna catch (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/ - The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), a multilateral body that manages the stock of southern bluefin tuna, held its annual meeting Oct. 6-9 in Bali, Indonesia. - Indonesia pushed for a larger share of the global catch, which is currently dominated by Australia and Japan, but CCSBT members instead kept each nation’s share unchanged. - Members also agreed to once again fully fund a key stock monitoring program, and to set up a future meeting for discussion of seabird protection in the fishery, amid criticism from conservationists that the commission hasn’t done enough to protect seabirds. | |
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Indigenous monitoring project helps protect isolated peoples in Colombia’s Amazon (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indigenous-monitoring-project-helps-protect-isolated-peoples-in-colombias-amazon/ - Indigenous communities neighboring the peoples living in isolation in Colombian Amazon have spent more than a decade helping the latter remain separate from the outside world. - Members of the Curare-Los Ingleses Indigenous Reserve and of the community of Manacaro use traditional knowledge and technology alike to monitor threats to their territory and to protect nearby communities living in isolation. - In Manacaro, women take on traditionally masculine roles by patrolling the rivers, collecting data, and safeguarding their neighbors’ lives amid the advance of armed actors and illegal mining. - Surveillance work has provided evidence of uncontacted peoples, such as the Yuri and Passé ethnic groups, which was fundamental in the federal government’s decision to formally recognize them. | |
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State-NGO collaboration expands protection for Patagonia’s biodiversity hotspot (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/state-ngo-collaboration-expands-protection-for-patagonias-biodiversity-hotspot/ - A new provincial park in the province of Chubut aims to conserve one of Argentina’s most biodiverse stretches of coastline. - The park is based on a conservation model that involves an NGO buying up private land and then donating it back to the provincial government in return for new legal protections. - The park will complement existing legislation and the area’s existing status as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. - Sustainable, low-impact tourism and a no-take fishing zone, which will support the local shrimp industry, are both set to give the region an economic boost. | |
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Legal actions to protect the Amazon produce mixed results across the region (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/legal-actions-to-protect-the-amazon-produce-mixed-results-across-the-region/ - Amazon countries employ various civil procedures that empower people to seek legal redress for damage to the environment and its associated consequences. - Several cases from Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, have set international legal precedents for punishing negligence by both extractive companies and the state. - Civil lawsuits are not an effective approach when in the case of informal economies, which require more drastic mitigation measures. | |
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Drone surveys offer early warnings on whale health and survival (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/drone-surveys-offer-early-warnings-on-whale-health-and-survival/ - Scientists have deployed drones and are using photogrammetry to determine how climate change is impacting the health of whale populations. - By collecting the measurements of whales, scientists are able to track how environmental factors impact the growth and reproduction of right whales off the coast of New England and orcas in Alaska. - Using the data, they found that a marine heat wave in 2013 reversed the revival of the population in Alaska that had plummeted after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989; they also noticed that the whales didn’t grow as much as they should have. - The method also enabled scientists to detect pregnant whales well in advance, allowing them to monitor if the pregnancy was successful or not. | |
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Benin puts solar power at the heart of its energy policy (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/benin-puts-solar-power-at-the-heart-of-its-energy-policy/ - Benin’s government has reaffirmed its intention to make renewable energy the main source of the country’s power supply by 2030. - Access to electricity in Benin remains both low and highly uneven: Around 42% of urban households are connected, with less than 13% in rural areas. - With financial and technical support from a variety of sources, Benin previously built several solar power plants and installed dozens of mini-grids; solar power currently contributes around 15% of domestic production. - Benin is dependent on imported power for 95% of its electricity needs, but is placing resilient renewable energy at the center of its strategy to increase and expand its domestic generating capacity. | |
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20 animal species on the road to recovery: IUCN Red List update (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/20-animal-species-on-the-road-to-recovery-iucn-red-list-update/ From three species of Arctic seals to more than half of all birds globally, several animals have slipped closer to extinction, according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List. However, 20 species have seen a positive change in their status: they’ve moved farther away from the threat of extinction, thanks to effective conservation […] | |
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Bangladesh plans to rehabilitate captive elephants in the wild (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/bangladesh-plans-to-rehabilitate-captive-elephants-in-the-wild/ - Bangladesh is one of the Asian elephant’s habitats, with a presence of 268 giant mammals in its wild; the IUCN declared the species critically endangered in Bangladesh, with the animals living in the southeastern hilly forests and the northeastern part of the country. - Data show that apart from populations in the wild, the country is home to 96 elephants living in captivity for different purposes, including for hauling logs and circuses. - The government planned to withdraw captive elephants from their current owners and rehabilitate them in the wild and therefore took a project in this regard. | |
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Nickel mining threatens Raja Ampat ecosystems, communities & conservation: Report (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nickel-mining-threatens-raja-ampat-ecosystems-communities-conservation-report/ - A new environmental report warns that expanding nickel mining is placing Raja Ampat’s coral reefs, forests and Indigenous communities under intensifying threat. - Using geospatial mapping and field evidence, researchers document how mining concessions overlap with critical ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots within the UNESCO-designated geopark. - They also describe the industry’s deep colonial-era roots, its modern expansion under state and private control and its connections to global electric vehicle supply chains through companies like Tesla, Ford and Volkswagen. - Activists are urging the Indonesian government to revoke all remaining mining permits, enforce no-go zones and shift toward sustainable economic alternatives that protect the archipelago’s ecological and cultural heritage. | |
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Mamai Lucille Williams, a quiet symbol of dignity amid destruction, has died, aged about 93 (October 16, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/mamai-lucille-williams-defended-her-land-and-lost-it/ - Mamai Lucille Williams, a Patamona elder from Karisparu in Guyana’s North Pakaraimas, was forcibly evicted in 2018 when miners—accompanied by police and a mining officer—destroyed her home and farm to clear land for gold extraction. - Her case, raised by local Indigenous councils, became emblematic of the wider struggle against illegal and unsafe mining that continues to displace Amerindian communities across Guyana and the Amazon. - Despite government promises of compensation, Mamai spent her final years away from her ancestral land, which she had occupied since childhood, symbolizing the precariousness of Indigenous tenure amid extractive expansion. - She died in September 2025, remembered by her community as a “living symbol of courage, resilience, and dignity” and honored for preserving the Patamona language through her contribution to the first Patamona Learning Handbook. | |
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Warmer climate could slash threatened whitebark pine territory within decades: Study (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/warmer-climate-could-slash-threatened-whitebark-pine-territory-within-decades-study/ - A study published Sept. 2 in the journal Environmental Research Letters forecasts an 80% reduction in the area with suitable climates for whitebark pine by the mid-21st century. - This long-lived, high-elevation tree plays a critical role in mountain ecosystems in western North America, providing food for wildlife and regulating water supplies. - But a disease-causing fungus has ravaged whitebark and other pine species, compounded by other threats, such as wildfire, mountain pine beetles and climate change. - The research, which identifies areas that will likely be climatically suitable for whitebark pine in the future, could help guide restoration efforts to save the species. | |
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Feel the heat: New app maps heat stress anywhere on Earth, 1940 to now (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/feel-the-heat-new-app-maps-heat-stress-anywhere-on-earth-1940-to-now/ - The new Thermal Trace app allows users to explore thermal stress and related data from 1940 until five days before present, for anywhere in the world. The app, free for users, was developed by the European Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). - Thermal Trace combines a range of metrics including ambient temperature, humidity, wind speed and more to come up with a “feels like” temperature that reflects the impact of heat and cold on the human body. - Both heat and cold are physiologically stressful, and prolonged exposure can cause short- and long-term health impacts. Building up a greater awareness and understanding of heat stress and the harm it can do is especially important in our globally warmed world. - Researchers warn that as climate change impacts accelerate, heat-related health impacts will become more serious and of especially grave concern to the parts of the world that reach the limits to human heat stress adaptation. | |
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Putumayo’s women guardians defend land and culture amid Colombia’s deforestation (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/putumayos-women-guardians-defend-land-and-culture-amid-colombias-deforestation/ - In Colombia southwest, Kamëntšá and Inga Indigenous women are at the forefront of the struggle to defend their territory, which provides water to the rest of the Putumayo. Through transmitting their language, cultivating traditional farms, sharing ayahuasca, and traveling the Sibundoy Valley, they keep their knowledge system alive: this is the basis of their defense of the territory. - Although less than 30% of land in the region is suitable for cattle ranching, approximately 8,000 hectares (84%, 19,700 acres) are dedicated to this activity, impacting key ecosystems and water sources. - At least 45 women have organized to resist the advance of monocultures and deforestation. They achieve this through their chagras, traditional growing spaces that contain hundreds of edible and medicinal plant species. - Their knowledge and deep connection with the territory have enabled them to participate in the creation of Indigenous reserves and to oppose large-scale road-building projects on their land. | |
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Scientists hope underwater fiber-optic cables can help save endangered orcas (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/scientists-hope-underwater-fiber-optic-cables-can-help-save-endangered-orcas/ SAN JUAN ISLAND, Wash. (AP) — Scientists from the University of Washington recently deployed a little over 1 mile of fiber-optic cable in the Salish Sea to test whether internet cables can monitor endangered orcas. The technology is called Distributed Acoustic Sensing. It transforms cables into continuous underwater microphones that can pinpoint whale locations and […] | |
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Aloyce Mwakisoma, keeper of forest knowledge in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains, has died at 45 (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/aloyce-mwakisoma-keeper-of-forest-knowledge-in-tanzanias-udzungwa-mountains-has-died-at-45/ He was born in the forests that would later define his life. In Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley, where mist drifts down from the Udzungwa Mountains, young Aloyce Mwakisoma learned the names of plants before he could read their Latin equivalents. His father, once a hunter, became a research assistant after hunting was outlawed in the 1990s, […] | |
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Microplastics found in the stomachs of Amazon tree-dwelling monkeys (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/microplastics-found-in-the-stomachs-of-amazon-tree-dwelling-monkeys/ Scientists have detected microplastics in the digestive systems of red howler monkeys living in protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon, marking the first evidence of plastic ingestion by a tree-dwelling primate, according to a recent study. The researchers evaluated 47 Juruá red howler monkeys (Alouatta juara) and found green-colored microplastic filaments, smaller than 5 millimeters […] | |
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‘Alarming’ levels of toxins found in free-range eggs near dumpsites globally (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/alarming-levels-of-toxins-found-in-free-range-eggs-near-dumpsites-globally/ - A recent review paper identifies toxic chemicals, including dioxin, in free-range eggs on five continents — likely the result of nearby open burning and incineration of plastic and e-waste containing legacy and banned chemicals, as well as unregulated toxins. - Researchers tested eggs produced near e-waste sites, dumpsites, and waste incinerators and found high levels of globally banned flame retardant chemicals, including brominated dioxins which are toxic and pose a serious risk to human health and the environment. - Experts note that while some brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are regulated and banned, others haven’t been. Critics also note that the chemical industry often replaces individual banned chemicals with other unregulated but still potentially toxic chemicals in the same family, a process known as “regrettable substitutions.” - Experts are calling for stronger regulation to prevent release of known toxins, not by banning one chemical at a time, but by addressing entire classes of chemicals. But a just completed UN Stockholm Convention meeting deferred listing and monitoring brominated and mixed brominated-chlorinated dioxins. | |
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‘We can have abundant rivers and wildlife’: Director of ‘The American Southwest’ on new film (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/we-can-have-abundant-rivers-and-wildlife-director-of-the-american-southwest-on-new-film/ - “The American Southwest” is a new film that explores the importance of the Colorado River in western North America to people and to wildlife. - Part natural history film, part social documentary, it explores the challenges the Colorado faces as its resources are stretched thin by the demands for cities, energy and agriculture. - Negotiations over the river’s water after a current agreement expires at the end of 2026 offer an opportunity for more equitable sharing that includes the river itself and long-marginalized representation from the Native tribes who live along the river’s length. - The film appeared in theaters beginning Sept. 5 and on streaming platforms Oct. 10. | |
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Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil must halt Liberian palm oil company’s abuses (commentary) (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-must-halt-liberian-palm-oil-companys-abuses-commentary/ - For more than a decade, communities in Liberia have struggled against palm oil company Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL), which has razed more than 1,000 hectares (almost 2,500 acres) of rainforest, destroyed sacred sites, and violated their land rights, leading the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to issue a stop-work order. - Then, in June, the RSPO reversed its ruling, raising concerns over the fate of Liberia’s dense forests and communities, despite the long list of allegations. - “There is of course another path. The RSPO can stand on its stated principles and maintain the stop-work order,” a new op-ed argues. - This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. | |
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An invite to the tapir toilet buffet (cartoon) (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2025/10/an-invite-to-the-tapir-toilet-buffet-cartoon/ The tapir’s role as a keystone species includes seed dispersal, ecosystem engineering, and … feeding the forest with its poop! Tapirs have been found to defecate regularly in shared toilet spaces called “communal latrines”, which become important feeding sites for a myriad species like squirrel, tinamou, thrushes and wood quails. | |
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Voices from the Land (October 15, 2025) https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2025/10/voices-from-the-land/ Indigenous peoples are experiencing firsthand the impacts of the environmental and climate crises on their lands and communities. This commentary series, produced by the collective Passu Creativa with the support of Earth Alliance, is written by Indigenous leaders from around the world, including Goldman Prize winners, political officials, and representatives of grassroots movements. These leaders […] | |
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