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Steve Smit, South Africa’s “Monkey Man,” has died (August 15, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/steve-smit-south-africas-monkey-man-has-died/ - Steve Smit, known in KwaZulu-Natal as the “Monkey Man,” spent three decades rescuing and rehabilitating vervet monkeys and other urban wildlife. - Before becoming a full-time rescuer, he spent roughly 25 years in South Africa’s intelligence services and helped build the country’s early animal-rights movement. - Through FALCON, Justice for Animals, and later Monkey Helpline, he challenged elephant culling, wildlife trade, vivisection, and other practices he believed sacrificed individual animals. - Smit, who died on August 12 at 70, became known for an uncompromising defense of animals that many people regarded as common, troublesome, or expendable. | |
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John Salehe helped shape Tanzania’s community conservation movement (August 15, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/john-salehe-helped-shape-tanzanias-community-conservation-movement/ For wildlife moving between Lake Manyara and Tarangire, a line on a map was never enough. Elephants, wildebeest, and other animals crossed land used by pastoralists and farmers, where roads, cultivation, and settlements were expanding. Keeping such routes open meant persuading people who lived there that wildlife had a place in their future. It meant […] | |
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The king of the Andes: How a village learned to coexist with condors (August 15, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/the-king-of-the-andes-how-a-village-learned-to-coexist-with-condors/ PÁRAMO EL ALMORZADERO, Colombia — Doris Torres is a sheepherder who grew up seeing Andean condors as enemies. In this remote village high in the Colombian Andes, the birds were blamed for livestock losses and often killed through poisoning or shooting — persecution that helped push their population to the brink. But as Torres learned […] | |
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Global marine protected areas fail to safeguard most sharks and rays: Study (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/global-marine-protected-areas-fail-to-safeguard-most-sharks-and-rays-study/ - Marine protected areas (MPAs) cover less than 10% of the ranges of most species of sharks and rays, with significant shortfalls for threatened and critically endangered species, a new study finds. - The analysis also reveals major gaps in reporting on the extent of fishing and harvesting re-strictions in these preserves. - The study’s authors recommend including biodiversity targets as part of the 30×30 framework and encourage policymakers to consider aligning MPAs with important shark and ray areas to maximize conservation and biodiversity benefits. - However, some researchers disagree that blanket MPAs would meaningfully benefit shark and ray conservation. | |
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Among the sacred hills of Colombia’s Guainía (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/08/among-the-sacred-hills-of-colombias-guainia/ I had been struck by photographs of the Cerros de Mavicure rising above the forest and the Inírida River in eastern Colombia. The dark rock, exposed against an almost unbroken expanse of green, seemed unlike anywhere else I had visited in the Amazon. Last month, ahead of Mongabay Latam’s PUMA FEST in Bogotá, I finally […] | |
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Caught on camera: Sand cats may have a ‘sizable population’ in Qatar (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/caught-on-camera-sand-cats-may-have-a-sizable-population-in-qatar/ - The tiny, seldom-studied sand cat is the only feline adapted to survive in harsh deserts: It lives across Southwest and Central Asia, northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. - Because of its large geographic range, this cat isn’t classified as threatened by the IUCN, but data is difficult to come by. Some scientists want to uplist the species to near-threatened status. - The sand cat is difficult to see, day or night. After scattered anecdotal reports, scientists used camera traps to document the first systematic record of the sand cat in Qatar. Their findings offer valuable glimpses into this elusive species’ distribution and preferred habitat. | |
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New studies portray Amazon as surprisingly resilient, but tipping point looms (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-studies-portray-amazon-as-surprisingly-resilient-but-tipping-point-looms/ - Three 2026 studies reveal that the Amazon can regrow quickly, but deforestation and warming could trigger a system-wide tipping point in the next 15 years. - Research also shows that repeated wildfires are replacing fire-resistant specialist trees with generalist species, halving biodiversity at forest edges despite a closing canopy. - According to research, extreme conditions have increased tree mortality due to hydraulic failure, which is key to understanding the forest’s shrinking carbon sinks. - Ending deforestation is necessary and achievable, but must be combined with global actions to curb climate change, say experts. | |
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How women farmers are helping elephants and forests in a Sumatran national park (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-women-farmers-are-helping-elephants-and-forests-in-a-sumatran-national-park/ - Tesso Nilo National Park on the Indonesian island of Sumatra is notorious for human-wildlife conflicts, but women farmers living in its buffer zone are working to protect the park. - Members of the Batang Nilo Women’s Forest Farmer Group, known as Perbani, plant citrus trees, which elephants avoid, around their farms, while also growing fruits that the animals can feed on. - Perbani also empowers its more than 30 members through monthly gender equality classes, covering skills such as leadership and public speaking, as well as a savings-and-loans scheme. - In 2024, the forestry ministry granted the women’s group Wanawiyata Widyakarya status, awarded to community organizations that successfully run conservation and forestry-related enterprises and provide training to residents. | |
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Sand mining plans spark opposition from fishers in Indonesia’s Riau Islands (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/sand-mining-plans-spark-opposition-from-fishers-in-indonesias-riau-islands/ - Plans to mine marine sand off Indonesia’s Numbing Island have sparked opposition from fishers, environmental groups, and some lawmakers who warn of damage to fishing grounds and marine tourism. - Although the government describes the project as marine sediment management and no company has begun operations, the proposal has divided local communities over the promised compensation. - Critics warn the dredging could increase water turbidity, damage coral reefs, alter coastal currents, and weaken natural coastal defenses. - The dispute has also raised legal and geopolitical concerns, with researchers arguing the Riau Islands’ strategic location makes the environmental risks a national security matter. | |
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How AI helps gather remote biodiversity data: Interview with Microsoft’s Juan Lavista Ferres (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-ai-helps-gather-remote-biodiversity-data-interview-with-microsofts-juan-lavista-ferres/ - An AI-powered tool is helping keep an eye on the world’s most remote forests. - Named SPARROW, the biodiversity monitoring tool continuously gathers and analyzes images and audio from forests over a long time period without human intervention. - Developed by Microsoft, it aims to make data gathering and analysis from remote forests easier for scientists and conservationists. - SPARROW has been deployed in five continents and, according to Microsoft, tests on location show it can function for more than a year without interruption. | |
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‘To speak of agroecology is to speak of farmers’ autonomy’: Interview with Olga Muthambe (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/to-speak-of-agroecology-is-to-speak-of-farmers-autonomy-interview-with-olga-muthambe/ - In an interview with Mongabay, Mozambican social activist Olga Muthambe advocates agroecology as a response to the challenges confronting rural women affected by extractive industries and armed conflict. - Muthambe is a co-founder of NGO Hikone Moçambique, a civil society organization that has been active in the African nation for over a decade. Since its inception, the organization has connected more than 5,000 women to socioeconomic training initiatives. - According to Muthambe — who currently serves as the NGO’s executive director — agroecology enables women to produce pesticide-free food for both family consumption and trade, thereby improving food security and generating income. | |
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Infrastructure and land use behind devastating India monsoon floods (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/infrastructure-and-land-use-behind-devastating-india-monsoon-floods/ Widespread flooding in northeastern India that affected more than 500,000 people and claimed at least 99 lives between June and August 2026 was primarily driven by human factors like rapid urbanization, deforestation, and destruction of wetlands, new research says. It also points to structural failures rather than climate change. The findings were published by World […] | |
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100 species on the brink get a $200m conservation lifeline (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/100-species-on-the-brink-get-a-200m-conservation-lifeline/ Recovery projects for 100 critically endangered and extinct-in-the-wild species across the world are set to receive new funding under a conservation initiative announced Aug. 4. Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund, both U.S.-based environmental organizations, created the Phoenix Species Project and committed $100 million each, for a total of $200 million, to the project. The […] | |
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Rescued from traffickers, reintroduced orangutan becomes mother in the wild (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/rescued-from-traffickers-reintroduced-orangutan-becomes-mother-in-the-wild/ - Fieldworkers at the Jantho orangutan release forest in Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost region, have recorded the 10th birth by orangutans successfully released back into the wild from a charity-run rehabilitation center. - Indonesia’s forestry minister named the baby Badar, which means a full moon, and highlighted the need for consistent protection of orangutan habitats in Borneo and Sumatra islands, which are home to Indonesia’s three species of orangutan. - However, a new study on Sumatran orangutan populations published in the September issue of “Global Ecology and Conservation” concluded that surviving populations likely declined by nearly 20% between 2011 and 2023. | |
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South Africa school uses cattle dung to generate biogas for cooking meals (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/south-africa-school-uses-cattle-dung-to-generate-biogas-for-cooking-meals/ Women preparing meals for more than 1,000 students at Tiyani Secondary School in South Africa’s Limpopo province no longer rely only on firewood. Instead, much of the cooking is powered by biogas generated from cattle dung collected from Tiyani village. This community-led project could reduce pressure on forests while cutting greenhouse gas emissions, experts say. […] | |
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More people, farms, and drought could mean more elephant conflict in Southern Africa (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/more-people-farms-and-drought-could-mean-more-elephant-conflict-in-southern-africa/ A growing human population, expanding croplands, and drier conditions driven by climate change within protected areas could significantly intensify human-elephant conflict in Southern Africa, a recent study finds. Southern Africa is home to almost 300,000 African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana), with many populations rebounding after decades of poaching. The region is also seeing rapidly expanding […] | |
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From one deer’s DNA, a road map emerges to save an endangered Philippine species (August 14, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/from-one-deers-dna-a-road-map-emerges-to-save-an-endangered-philippine-species/ - Scientists in the Philippines have produced a draft genome of the Visayan spotted deer, an endangered mammal endemic to the island nation. - The draft genome, the first of its kind for any of the Philippines’ endangered mammals, has already revealed information that can be used for conservation planning, including confirmation that captive populations are dangerously inbred. - While the captive population shows low genetic diversity overall, researchers are working to identify individuals that still carry unique variants, and to shape captive breeding programs around genetic findings. - Efforts in the lab are paired with efforts to confirm the locations of wild populations, plan future release sites for captive-bred animals, and build community support for conservation. | |
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UK firefighters out in force to tackle fires on hottest day of the year (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/uk-firefighters-out-in-force-to-tackle-fires-on-hottest-day-of-the-year/ LONDON (AP) — Firefighters are tackling multiple fires in central England on a day that the U.K. recorded its hottest day of the year as an intense stretch of hot weather continued to grip Europe. Thursday’s fire outbreak across the West Midlands, which saw several houses burned to the ground, have been “one of the […] | |
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Big Bear Valley’s beloved bald eagle Jackie is dead (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/big-bear-valleys-beloved-bald-eagle-jackie-is-dead/ - A popular bald eagle from California’s Big Bear Valley, watched by millions around the world through a livestream nest camera, has died. - Jackie, as the bird was known, was admitted to the Ojai Raptor Center after rescuers found her grounded and fighting with two juvenile bald eagles in the Big Bear Valley. - Dehydrated and anemic when she was found, Jackie developed blood clots in her wing and kidney, leading to her declining health and eventual death despite three weeks of intensive veterinary care. - Jackie’s and her mate Shadow’s popularity spurred a $10 million donation for a land trust to purchase parts of their habitat slated for a luxury housing development. | |
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Timor green pigeon nears extinction after decades of inaction, study warns (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/timor-green-pigeon-nears-extinction-after-decades-of-inaction-study-warns/ - A new study warns the Timor green pigeon is on the brink of extinction after decades of neglect, despite being listed as endangered since 2000. - Researchers estimate just 100-500 birds remain, with Timor-Leste now the species’ last viable stronghold after it has all but disappeared from Indonesia. - Scientists say hunting has been the biggest driver of the bird’s collapse, while the absence of a recovery program, regular monitoring and sustained funding have allowed its decline to continue. - Conservationists argue the species can still be saved, but only through urgent action that combines stronger enforcement with community-led protection rooted in Timorese customary conservation. | |
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A mine polluted a Zambian river in 2025: Residents continue to live with the impacts (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-mine-polluted-a-zambian-river-in-2025-residents-continue-to-live-with-the-impacts/ - A recent study on the ecological impacts of a tailings dam failure in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province in 2025 finds that highly toxic substances such as arsenic, lead and zinc were released into the Kafue River system. - As a result of the spill at Sino-Metals Leach Zambia’s mine, millions of liters of acidic mining waste were released into waterways connected to the river. - The assessment links the incident to the death of wildlife and the contamination of soils and water sources in the region. - Sino-Metals Leach Zambia says it has initiated cleanup measures, but communities still reside on contaminated land, according to civil society organizations. | |
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Land rights and mangroves entwine in a Brazilian quilombo’s resistance (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/land-rights-and-mangroves-entwine-in-a-brazilian-quilombos-resistance/ - Officially recognized as a collection of quilombos, or traditional Afro Brazilian communities, by the government in 2023, Brejão dos Negros is still awaiting the land titles it has been demanding for 20 years. - The federal land reform agency has demarcated more than 8,000 hectares (19,800 acres) of the territory, but the communities have been authorized to use less than a tenth of this area. - This delay has left them vulnerable to land disputes; the encroachment of shrimp farms into mangrove areas, which harms fishing and shellfish gathering; and increased salinization of the São Francisco River, which affects their crops and hinders their access to potable water. - Seeking new income sources, the community members are turning to pesticide-free farming; one of the communities has become the largest producer of agroecological rice in Sergipe state. | |
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Indonesia’s wildfire season surges as haze spreads into Malaysia (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesias-wildfire-season-surges-as-haze-spreads-into-malaysia/ - Fires in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province have sent haze across the border into Malaysia, where worsening air pollution has forced six schools in Sarawak state to switch to online classes. - Indonesia is entering the peak of its fire season, with West Kalimantan accounting for more than half of the nearly 49,000 hectares (121,000 acres) burned across six priority provinces as of Aug. 9. - The fires are also threatening biodiversity, including orangutan habitat and rehabilitation efforts in West Kalimantan, while a separate blaze has forced the closure of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park on the island of Java. - Authorities have deployed tens of thousands of personnel and dozens of aircraft to fight the fires, but environmental groups say funding cuts and the intensifying El Niño are raising concerns about Indonesia’s preparedness. | |
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Carbon accounting differences can halve a company’s reported footprint, study finds (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/carbon-accounting-differences-can-halve-a-companys-reported-footprint-study-finds/ Companies can, in theory, appear to cut the carbon footprint of their supply chains in half simply by changing how they calculate emissions, according to a new paper. Researchers found that differences in accepted accounting methods can change how companies crunch their climate numbers and make it difficult to distinguish real emissions cuts from differences […] | |
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Bat virus fragments turn up in fertilizer sold in Thai markets, study finds (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/bat-virus-fragments-turn-up-in-fertilizer-sold-in-thai-markets-study-finds/ Researchers have found the first genetic evidence of bat-borne viruses within commercially sold bat guano fertilizer in Thailand. However, the viral strains the team detected are not known to infect humans. Moreover, since the researchers only identified fragments of viral RNA and did not isolate live, intact viruses, they could not confirm if the genetic […] | |
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Siraya gain recognition as Taiwan’s 17th official Indigenous group (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-gain-recognition-as-taiwans-17th-official-indigenous-group/ - On July 30, the Siraya became the first Indigenous group from Taiwan’s lowland plains, or Pingpu, to gain official status under the Pingpu Indigenous Peoples Identity Act, which offers pathways to redress the erasure of their Indigenous identities. - The designation also encapsulates the Siraya’s decades-long fight for legal recognition after centuries of forced assimilation by various colonial powers. - The Siraya, a traditionally matrilineal people residing mainly in the southern city of Tainan and its surroundings, are considered to be the largest of the Pingpu Indigenous groups. - Seen to be “well assimilated” with the Han Chinese population, the Pingpu communities have been largely denied not only official Indigenous status but also legal protections, resources, and other benefits. | |
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How a Brazilian Indigenous ethnobotanist & elders recorded their people’s medicinal knowledge (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-the-first-published-indigenous-ethnobotanist-elders-recorded-their-peoples-medicinal-knowledge/ - In an unprecedented participatory ethnobotany approach, Hemerson Dantas dos Santos Pataxó HãHãHãi, a Brazilian Indigenous ethnobotanist, documented alongside his people their traditional medicinal practices: cataloging 175 medicinal plants, many of which had their use reaffirmed in scientific literature. - Mongabay visited Hemerson and spoke with several Indigenous elders who survived violent land conflicts about their medicinal knowledge and their efforts to protect it in the Caramuru/Paraguassu Indigenous Territory, a land illegally occupied by cattle farmers for decades in Brazil’s Bahia state. - Samples of plants collected by Hemerson are being kept at an internationally registered herbarium, and he’s finalizing a book in the hope of keeping the knowledge of the species and ancestral healing practices alive for his people’s future generations. - The work carried out with his people was essential to make “immortal” the knowledge of the elders, Hemerson said, describing them as “living libraries” and “Guardians of Memories.” | |
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Myanmar junta pushes to restart Myitsone Dam project (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/myanmar-junta-pushes-to-restart-myitsone-dam-project/ Since June, Myanmar’s military government has increased its efforts to restart a massive, controversial hydropower project backed by China that has remained suspended for 15 years. The Myitsone Dam project, launched in 2009 and estimated to cost $3.6 billion then, was to be built along the Mali River, the N’mai River, and their confluence at […] | |
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Six African countries now support precautionary pause on deep-seabed mining (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/six-african-countries-now-support-precautionary-pause-on-deep-seabed-mining/ Three more African countries have joined calls for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining until the environmental, social and economic impacts of such mining are better understood. This brings the number of African countries supporting a moratorium to six. Mauritius, Mozambique and the Republic of the Congo announced support for the precautionary pause during the […] | |
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Nepal enlists AI to help fight against crop-raiding macaques (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/nepal-enlists-ai-to-help-fight-against-crop-raiding-macaques/ In a village in central Nepal, growing conflict between farmers and rhesus macaques has prompted researchers to test artificial intelligence-based systems that can swiftly detect and deter the monkeys, reports contributor Praveen Kumar Yadav for Mongabay. A 2026 study that followed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in one central Nepal region, found that nearly half of […] | |
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Indigenous groups renew legal challenge to Indonesian conservation law (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-groups-renew-legal-challenge-to-indonesian-conservation-law/ - Indigenous groups in Indonesia are petitioning the country’s Constitutional Court to invalidate parts of a 2024 conservation law, arguing it could allow the government to designate ancestral lands as conservation areas without communities’ consent and threaten their customary land rights. - The court case comes a year after the court denied a judicial review of the law’s legislative process, despite dissent from two justices. - The latest legal challenge focuses on provisions allowing the creation of “preservation areas”, which the groups say could restrict communities’ access to their lands and undermine traditional forms of conservation. | |
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Urban heat islands have solutions; many tropical cities can’t afford them (August 13, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/urban-heat-islands-have-solutions-many-tropical-cities-cant-afford-them/ - In tropical cities, urban heat islands (UHIs) exacerbate an already challenging hot-humid heat burden for residents. UHIs are formed by urban artificial surfaces like concrete and asphalt that retain heat by day and slowly release it at night, never giving cities a chance to cool. - Natural and infrastructure solutions can be implemented to combat the UHI effect and cool cities. These include creating shade by planting trees or extending roofs; inducing wind to blow down urban streets; constructing green roofs and walls; painting roofs light colors; and changing social practices to avoid midday heat. - But sufficient funding is needed to implement many of these changes. Wealthy cities, like Singapore, have an advantage over cities with less funding. Many tropical mega-cities, including Lagos, Mumbai, Manila, Jakarta and São Paulo, are working to reduce UHI effects, but struggle to afford full implementation. - The 2026-2027 El Niño is now growing in strength and expected to bring record temperatures to the tropics. These extreme temperatures, combined with UHI effects and urban poverty, could prove deadly for vulnerable residents, which include the poor, young, old, those with disabilities, and those working outdoors. | |
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Brazil Supreme Court upholds laws that led to downfall of Amazon soy moratorium (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/brazil-supreme-court-upholds-laws-that-led-to-downfall-of-amazon-soy-moratorium/ RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court has upheld state laws denying tax incentives to farmers who adhered to the country’s soy moratorium. The court also affirmed the constitutionality of the voluntary agreement. For nearly 20 years, the pact barred the purchase of soy grown on deforested Amazon land. Major grain traders withdrew from […] | |
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Decades after religions shaped China’s Tianmushan, authorities tackle protecting reserve (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/decades-after-religions-shaped-chinas-tianmushan-authorities-tackle-protecting-reserve/ - For more than a millennium, Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions in China have shaped conservation practices at Tianmu mountain, with beliefs in the sacred connection between humans and nature influencing how communities protect its forests, wildlife and ecosystems. - Today, state regulations provide the legal framework for the protection of the expanded Tianmushan–Qingliangfeng UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and establish a management plan developed with local communities to tackle challenges the rich ecosystem faces and negotiate sustainable development following past land conflicts. Authorities and a study show efforts have increased plant productivity. - Authorities say religious values continue to influence conservation efforts, as monks, residents and officials work on education, ecotourism and monitoring programs to preserve the mountain’s biodiversity. - Despite progress, the reserve faces ongoing challenges including climate change and tree disease. | |
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Delays, biosecurity failures worsened flu outbreak at Nepal zoo, probe finds (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/delays-biosecurity-failures-worsened-flu-outbreak-at-nepal-zoo-probe-finds/ - The bird flu outbreak at Nepal’s only zoo killed or led to the culling of at least 63 animals, including birds, wild cats, civets, two leopards, a jackal and a bear, an inquiry has found. - The inquiry’s report says contaminated feed and water in open bird enclosures, along with failures in animal-food handling, likely helped the virus spread. - The zoo remained open for five days after a rapid test indicated bird flu, despite receiving an earlier warning about infections among crows in Kathmandu. - Less than two weeks after reopening following the bird flu outbreak, the zoo recorded another disease outbreak that killed three wild boars from African swine fever. | |
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On fragile Sumatran peatland, a farmer fights to bring back lost mangroves (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-fragile-sumatran-peatland-a-farmer-fights-to-bring-back-lost-mangroves/ - A palm oil grower in an Indonesian village on Sumatra island, around 100 miles west of Singapore, has spent 15 years studying the role of mangroves in coastal ecosystems and pushing local action to restore coastal forests. - Research shows this area of Sumatra’s northern coastline, which is separated from the Strait of Malacca by a narrow channel and the island of Bengkalis, is experiencing coastal abrasion of more than 6 meters per year, due primarily to mangrove loss. - Indonesia pledged to restore around 600,000 hectares in five years by 2024, which researchers say was likely the world’s most ambitious reforestation initiative on record. However, only a small share of the planned planted area was successfully seeded. | |
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A plastic eater in Bangkok’s canals (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/a-plastic-eater-in-bangkoks-canals/ This solar-powered barge collects plastic from Bangkok’s canals before it can wash into the ocean. It’s an innovative solution to a growing problem, but cleaning up plastic is only part of the answer. Reducing plastic use and improving waste management remain the biggest challenges | |
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As DRC confronts largest Ebola outbreak, health agencies revise strategy (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-drc-confronts-largest-ebola-outbreak-health-agencies-revise-strategy/ - The Central African country is facing its largest and also the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record. - Health agencies are seeking to revise their strategy to tackle the public health crisis but focusing on response at the village level in the affected provinces of the DRC. - Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC underscored the need to bring the outbreak response to the village level, saying that a community-centered approach helps build trust between local populations and health teams while strengthening participatory surveillance. - One of the reasons this outbreak has turned out to be more difficult to contain is because a rare strain of the Ebola virus, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, is driving the cases. | |
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Bolsonaro’s easing of gun control fueled illegal hunting, study indicates (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/bolsonaros-easing-of-gun-control-fueled-illegal-hunting-study-indicates/ - A new study points to the easing of gun restrictions during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro as a primary driver of illegal wildlife hunting in Brazil. - By mapping social media posts, researchers documented more than 4,000 animals killed from 157 native species across the country, coinciding with a surge in gun purchases by sport hunters. - The primary hotspots are concentrated in the Amazon’s Arc of Deforestation, where forest loss, environmental degradation, gun availability and agricultural expansion compound pressure on wildlife. - Researchers are calling for stricter firearm controls, stronger law enforcement and coordinated conservation policies to curb an environmental impact they describe as silent and widespread. | |
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Illegal mining threatens Ghana’s first marine protected area (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/illegal-mining-threatens-ghanas-first-marine-protected-area/ - Illegal gold mining in Ghana’s Greater Cape Three Points Forest Reserve threatens vulnerable and endangered species in the protected forest, say conservationists. - Sediment and toxic chemicals from the mining also threaten the adjacent waters of a newly declared marine protected area just offshore. - Conservation NGOs want the government to act against illegal miners, including establishing permanent camps in the forest to protect a wider area. | |
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Nickel expansion puts Indonesia’s biodiversity goals under pressure, study finds (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nickel-expansion-puts-indonesias-biodiversity-goals-under-pressure-study-finds/ - Indonesia holds the world’s largest nickel reserves and has rapidly expanded production, which a new study says has grown roughly tenfold over the past decade. - Nickel mining can fragment wildlife habitat as mines, roads and associated infrastructure expand, threatening biodiversity in areas of global conservation importance. - Researchers say protecting the most important biodiversity and carbon areas could substantially reduce environmental risks, but doing so could also constrain nickel supply. - Even with greater adoption of low- or no-nickel battery chemistries, total nickel demand could continue to grow because the metal is also used extensively in stainless steel, renewable-energy infrastructure and other applications, the study notes. | |
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Cacao plantations in Liberia encroach into proposed Kwa national park (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/cacao-plantations-in-liberia-encroach-into-proposed-kwa-national-park/ A cocoa boom in southeast Liberia is wiping out native forests and encroaching into a proposed national park. The would-be Kwa National Park, a dense tropical rainforest, is home to chimpanzees, forest elephants, pygmy hippos and pangolins. Kwa is partly located in Grand Gedeh county, one of the most densely forested regions in southeast Liberia. […] | |
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World Elephant Day: How these giants are adapting to a changing world (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/world-elephant-day-how-these-giants-are-adapting-to-a-changing-world/ August 12 is World Elephant Day. To celebrate, Mongabay looks back at recent stories about how the future success of these mammals depends on healthy, connected habitats. Asian elephants adjust what they eat A recent study from Malaysia showed that Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are adapting to rapidly changing landscapes by diversifying their diets — a […] | |
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In India, sacred groves serve as vital nurseries for future forests (August 12, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/in-india-sacred-groves-serve-as-vital-nurseries-for-future-forests/ In India’s Western Ghats, sacred groves – small, community-protected forest patches dedicated to local deities – are far more effective at regenerating native tree species than surrounding village lands, according to a recent study, reports Mongabay’s Liz Kimbrough. For the study, a research team from the Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF) mapped and measured 82 […] | |
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On ivory, follow the trafficking networks and not the headlines (commentary) (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-ivory-follow-the-trafficking-networks-and-not-the-headlines-commentary/ - An emerging narrative is that elephant poaching has declined, yet evidence shows that the illegal trade in ivory persists, and that the involvement of organized crime in it keeps growing. - Despite big and news-making seizures of illegal ivory recently, criminal networks continue operating, and southern Africa appears to be back at the illegal global trade’s center. - “The current narrative that the situation is under control should not be accepted without question,” a new op-ed for World Elephant Day 2026 argues. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. | |
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Cambodia’s banned sand trade with Singapore appears to be back (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodias-banned-sand-trade-with-singapore-appears-to-be-back/ - Cambodia appears to have resumed exporting sand to Singapore, despite a 2017 national ban, with Koh Kong provincial authorities saying a new dredging operation has been licensed. - Mongabay traced at least four bulk carriers from Koh Kong to Singapore’s Tuas Port, where the site of a massive land reclamation project. - The dredging is taking place within protected area boundaries and could affect riverbanks, fisheries and wildlife, as well as a major downstream mangrove forest. - Environmental activists say they hope to draw attention to the renewed sand trade, but Cambodia’s shrinking civic space and restrictions on civil society groups have made standing up to environmental violations increasingly difficult. | |
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Forest fires likely to continue to burn twice as much without ‘serious action’ on climate change (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/08/forest-fires-likely-to-continue-to-burn-twice-as-much-without-serious-action-on-climate-change/ Elizabeth Goldman is a co-director of Global Nature Watch, previously known as Global Forest Watch, a database measuring forest loss that’s frequently cited in Mongabay reporting. She joins this week’s podcast to detail GNW’s updated 25-year analysis of global forest fire trends. The picture is stark: Forest fires burn twice as much forest today as […] | |
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Key Amazon cases reach Brazil’s Supreme Court following Lula’s defeats in Congress (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/key-amazon-cases-reach-brazils-supreme-court-following-lulas-defeats-in-congress/ SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court is set to decide cases that could reshape protections for the Amazon rainforest and Indigenous communities. These cases involve Indigenous land rights, environmental safeguards, and infrastructure projects. Congress approved measures that environmentalists say violate constitutional rights, but President Lula vetoed some. Lawmakers overrode these objections, sending disputes to […] | |
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Meet the Indigenous women restoring Kenya’s Mau Forest — and reshaping gender roles (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/meet-the-indigenous-women-restoring-kenyas-mau-forest-and-reshaping-gender-roles/ - In Kenya, a network of Indigenous women’s groups is restoring degraded areas of the Mau Forest while also providing the women with incomes and decision-making power. - The Paran Women Group includes Maasai, Ogiek and other Indigenous community members learning to manage enterprises such as tree nurseries, kitchen gardens, savings groups, beekeeping and landscape restoration. - Research shows that restoration programs designed to transform unequal gender roles give women more prominence in the household and improve conservation outcomes. - Paran members say they previously relied on their husbands for everything, but they now have income of their own as well as a larger say in family decisions. | |
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Iceland to deport antiwhaling protest ship’s crew after they interfered with whale hunt (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/iceland-to-deport-antiwhaling-protest-ships-crew-after-they-interfered-with-whale-hunt/ - Authorities in Iceland have detained an antiwhaling protest vessel and its crew after it interfered with a hunt by Hvalur hf., the country’s last whaling company. - The M/V Bandero, operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, and its 21 crew members were being held in Reykjavík; authorities have ordered the crew’s deportation, with five Americans deported on August 6. - Iceland is one of the few countries in the world that still commercially hunts whales, with a quota this year of 150 fin whales; in 2023, Hvalur hf. killed 24 fin whales, and the year before, 148. As of Aug 7, at least 35 fin whales have been killed, according to the foundation. - The fin whale is one of the world’s largest animals and is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with about 100,000 mature individuals remaining worldwide. | |
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As Singapore culls ‘nuisance’ birds, rapid urbanization continues to fuel an avian boom (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-singapore-culls-nuisance-birds-rapid-urbanization-continues-to-fuel-an-avian-boom/ - A campaign to shoot crows has resumed in Singapore in response to a surge in public complaints about attacks, with authorities saying “pest” birds pose a public health risk and outcompete native species. - Ecologists argue Singapore’s crow problem is human-made, with poor waste management and illegal feeding fueling a population boom. - They criticize culling as ineffective over the long term and say it risks normalizing lethal wildlife control while undermining Singapore’s “City in Nature” vision. - Nature groups say ongoing and planned forest clearance for public housing could lead to further increases in urban bird populations, as more favorable habitats are created, leading to “endless culling” to control bird populations. | |
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Forest Restoration Solutions (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/08/forest-restoration-solutions/ Tree growing has become one of the most widely promoted responses to climate change and ecosystem degradation, with governments, companies and nonprofits pledging to restore hundreds of millions of hectares of forests worldwide. But restoring ecosystems is far more complex than putting seedlings in the ground. This Special examines what it takes to rebuild forest […] | |
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Brazil’s wildcats face multiple diseases due to habitat fragmentation (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-wild-cats-face-multiple-diseases-due-to-habitat-fragmentation/ - Throughout Brazil, the contact between domestic cats and wild felines has been exposing threatened, biologically vulnerable feral species to diseases, which can reduce their populations. - According to experts, habitat fragmentation is a common denominator of this crisis, from the Amazon to the Pampa, where felines are forced to leave the boundaries of their native areas and approach sites modified by human action. - From the imposing jaguar to one of the smallest and rarest, the pampas cat, no Brazilian feline escapes the risks of contracting fungi, bacteria, parasites, and known viral diseases, such as feline leukemia and others. - Studies and veterinarians warn that mass vaccination of domestic animals and the preservation of natural areas are key pieces to address this problem. | |
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What conservation looks like from the outside: A conversation with Adam Falk after his first year as CEO of WCS (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/what-conservation-looks-like-from-the-outside/ - In July 2026, WCS president and CEO Adam Falk spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler about his first year leading the organization. - Falk said conservation depends as much on relationships with Indigenous peoples, local communities, governments, and funders as it does on protecting wildlife. - He supports “30 by 30,” but argues that where areas are protected, how they are managed, and their ecological integrity matter as much as acreage. - Falk also discussed the collapse in U.S. government funding for WCS, the need for long-term philanthropy, and closer cooperation among conservation organizations. | |
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New ropeways aim to save wildlife in Bangladesh’s fragmented habitats (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-ropeways-aim-to-save-wildlife-in-bangladeshs-fragmented-habitats/ - The Forest Department of Bangladesh has recently installed five ropeway bridges at a fragmented national park, with plans to replicate the idea in other vulnerable reserved forests. - Pioneering conservationists have seen both successes and failures in previous ropeway-based projects. - Researchers appreciate the Forest Department’s move but recommend well-assessed site selection, incorporation of modern equipment for sharper surveillance and community engagement. | |
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What makes chimpanzee conservation last? Lessons from Sierra Leone (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/what-makes-chimpanzee-conservation-last-lessons-from-sierra-leone/ Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For more than three decades, Willie Tucker has helped care for Sierra Leone’s western chimpanzees and watched the pressures on them change, reports contributor Patricia Sia Ngevao for Mongabay. Tucker, widely known as “Pa Willie,” helped establish Tacugama […] | |
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Wildfire ravages Indonesia’s Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/wildfire-ravages-indonesias-bromo-tengger-semeru-national-park/ A massive wildfire within a national park in Indonesia has forced a total closure of one of the country’s best-known tourist destinations. Some 899 hectares (2,222 acres) of savanna and forest within Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) in East Java province have been destroyed by fire as of the morning of Aug. 11, the […] | |
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Uzbekistan’s houbara releases serve hunting, not conservation, expert says (August 11, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/uzbekistans-houbara-releases-serve-hunting-not-conservation-expert-says/ There’s no conservation motive or benefit behind the Uzbekistan government’s recent releases of more than 2,000 captive-bred Asian houbara bustards across its desert regions, according to an expert on the threatened species. The government has touted the releases over the past three months as a wildlife restoration effort, but Nigel Collar, a conservation biologist at […] | |
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Gabon ends fisheries partnership agreement with EU (August 10, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/gabon-ends-fisheries-partnership-agreement-with-eu/ Gabon has ended its 19-year fisheries partnership with the European Union, which allowed EU industrial vessels to target tuna in Gabonese waters in exchange for payment, arguing the agreement no longer serves the country’s economic interests. The decision follows a June 2025 Council of Ministers meeting at which the government announced it would seek to […] | |
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Can a photo save orangutans? (August 10, 2026) https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/can-a-photo-save-orangutans-2/ In Indonesian Borneo, conservation organization KehatiKu is testing a new approach: paying local people to photograph wildlife and upload the sightings through an app. In just one year, the project has collected around 175,000 records. Participants can earn about $6 for a photo of an orangutan, while smaller payments are offered for more common species. […] | |
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