Mikayla Raines died on June 20th, aged 30
(June 29, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/mikayla-raines-died-on-june-20th-aged-30/
In a world that treats foxes as either fur or folly, Mikayla Raines saw something else entirely: Sentience. Not the cartoonish cleverness of folklore, nor the soft luxury of fashion, but the quiet, confused lives of animals bred to die or discarded as inconvenient pets. From the age of 15, when she bottle-fed her first […] Predatory snakehead fish poses invasive threat after sighting in Sri Lanka reservoir
(June 28, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/predatory-snakehead-fish-poses-invasive-threat-after-sighting-in-sri-lanka-reservoir/
- The giant snakehead (Channa micropeltes), a predatory fish native to Southeast Asia, has been found in Sri Lanka’s Deduru Oya reservoir, raising concerns over the invasive species’ potential impact on native freshwater biodiversity and inland fisheries.
- With the ability to grow up to a meter (3 feet) in length, the giant snakehead is larger and more aggressive than Sri Lanka’s largest native snakehead species, posing a threat of outcompeting them and disrupting local aquatic ecosystems.
- Introduced through the aquarium trade, these snakeheads have already become invasive in countries such as the United States and Malaysia, triggering ecological crises that have led to bans, public awareness campaigns, and targeted removal programs.
- With more than 30 invasive fish species now established in Sri Lanka’s waterways, experts warn that weak enforcement and poor regulation over exotic fish imports and aquaculture practices are increasing the risk of further biological invasions.
Commuter traffic stops for whales on Australia’s humpback highway
(June 27, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/commuter-traffic-stops-for-whales-on-australias-humpback-highway/
PORT STEPHENS, Australia (AP) — Sydney’s harbor becomes a humpback highway in winter as the whales migrate from feeding grounds in Antarctica to breeding areas off Australia’s coast. Whale watchers are spoiled for sightings during peak traffic weeks in June and July, when 40,000 creatures the size of buses will navigate the waters of New […] After USAID cut, Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area aims for self-sufficiency
(June 27, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/after-usaid-cut-ethiopias-largest-community-conservation-area-aims-for-self-sufficiency/
- The abrupt end of USAID funding has disrupted conservation progress in Ethiopia’s Tama Community Conservation Area (TCCA), where community-led efforts had curbed illegal hunting and led to an increase in elephant and giraffe populations.
- In response, local leaders and communities are working to become financially self-sufficient by establishing income-generating initiatives.
- But progress is hindered by the lack of a functioning office, expert staff, and basic operational resources.
- While experts recognize the area’s strong potential for ecotourism and community benefit, they warn that poverty, conflict and climate challenges, combined with weak infrastructure, make external technical and financial support critical for a successful transition to self-reliance.
Peter Seligmann steps down from Conservation International board after nearly four decades
(June 27, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/peter-seligmann-steps-down-from-conservation-international-board-after-nearly-four-decades/
Peter Seligmann, the founder of Conservation International (CI) and longtime Chair of its Board of Directors, has stepped down from the Board effective June 22, 2025, the organization announced. He will continue to support the organization in the role of Chairman Emeritus. Seligmann co-founded Conservation International in 1987 after a decade at The Nature Conservancy, […] Friendship benefits male and female mountain gorillas differently, study shows
(June 27, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/friendship-benefits-male-and-female-mountain-gorillas-differently-study-shows/
- A 21-year study of 164 wild mountain gorillas found that strong social bonds produce different health effects for males and females, with males experiencing more illness but fewer injuries when they have close friendships.
- Female gorillas with strong social bonds generally had better health outcomes, experiencing 19% fewer injuries and 14% less illness compared to those with weaker social bonds.
- The benefits and costs of friendship varied based on group size, with females in small groups having fewer offspring despite better health, while those in large groups had more babies but higher rates of illness.
- The research helps explain why animals exhibit such diverse social behaviors and may inform conservation efforts for this endangered species, which numbers just over 1,000 individuals.
Bangladesh plans new reserve for trapped elephants
(June 27, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/bangladesh-plans-new-reserve-for-trapped-elephants/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Bangladesh is preparing to add to its tally of 56 protected areas by declaring a new sanctuary in its northeast — not for forests or tigers, but for a group of elephants trapped by geopolitics, reports Mongabay’s Abu […] Fire is both destruction and rebirth for Maya communities of Belize
(June 27, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/fire-is-both-destruction-and-rebirth-for-maya-communities-of-belize/
- Wildfires in 2024 heavily impacted the Maya communities of southern Belize, burning 43,987 hectares (108,695 acres), a staggering 10.2% of the region’s forest and farmland.
- Fire has always been a sacred element to the Maya people, central in ancestral Mother Earth celebrations and in the traditional practice of slash-and-burn. But it has now become a debated topic, after the 2024 wildfires, exacerbated by the climate crisis.
- The Julian Cho Society, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to the conservation of the Indigenous lands of southern Belize, is working for a rebirth: distributing 30,000 seedlings of ancestral trees to restore fire-scarred farms and implement agroforestry.
Flash floods in Pakistan kill 8 and 58 are rescued after deluge swept away dozens
(June 27, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/flash-floods-in-pakistan-kill-8-and-58-are-rescued-after-deluge-swept-away-dozens/
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Flash floods triggered by pre-monsoon rains swept away dozens of tourists in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least eight people. The nationwide death toll from rain-related incidents rose to 18 over the past 24 hours, officials said. Nearly 100 rescuers in various groups rescued a total of 58 people and […] WWF’s top leader acknowledges reforms in wake of abuse allegations
(June 27, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/wwfs-top-leader-acknowledges-reforms-in-wake-of-abuse-allegations/
- Six years after facing widespread allegations of human rights abuses linked to conservation enforcement, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says it has overhauled how it operates in some of the world’s most sensitive ecosystems.
- The global conservation NGO commissioned an independent panel in 2020 to investigate the allegations, which Mongabay and other media outlets reported extensively. The resulting 160-page report outlined more than 170 recommendations, calling for reforms in WWF’s policies, project oversight, risk management practices, etc.
- Today, WWF claims it has implemented close to 98% of those recommendations. In an interview with Mongabay on the sidelines of the Villars Institute Symposium in Switzerland, director-general Kirsten Schuijt detailed some of the organization’s reforms: the rollout of grievance mechanisms, the creation of an ombuds office and the appointment of WWF’s first Indigenous board member. While some have dismissed the appointment as tokenism or mere box-ticking, Schuijt contends that true success lies in ensuring WWF’s decision-making reflects a diversity of voices.
- WWF is looking to reposition itself with a renewed focus on people-centered conservation. Its new global strategy, Roadmap 2030, places locally led conservation at the heart of its work — marking a decisive shift from fortress-style models to approaches that empower Indigenous peoples and local communities in shaping and delivering conservation on their terms.
What happens to artisanal fishers when a deep-sea fishing port comes to town?
(June 27, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/what-happens-to-artisanal-fishers-when-a-deep-sea-fishing-port-comes-to-town/
- A new fishing port slated for completion in June will bring huge commercial vessels into the artisanal fishing community of Shimoni, Kenya.
- Local fishers fear that once the new port comes online, their fishing will become impossible in the near-shore waters they have fished for ages, and the huge vessels will disrupt local seafood markets.
- In 2023, President William Ruto promised to equip the local fishers with boats capable of fishing in the deep sea, but more than a year later, this promise has yet to be fulfilled, and local fishers say that boats the county delivered aren’t up to the task.
- Moreover, they say training will be essential to operate any deep-sea fishing vessels, along with mechanical support, and they worry they won’t be able to afford the upkeep costs.
Author Kim Stanley Robinson on climate fiction & navigating the climate crisis
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/author-kim-stanley-robinson-on-climate-fiction-navigating-the-climate-crisis/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Five years on from the publication of the climate fiction book, The Ministry for the Future, author Kim Stanley Robinson finds little he would change in his sweeping speculative novel —aside from a regrettable mention of blockchain. “What I […] Sweden needs a rights of nature legal framework (commentary)
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/sweden-needs-a-rights-of-nature-legal-framework-commentary/
- On July 1, the reassessment of Sweden’s hydropower plants will resume under the framework of its national plan.
- This is necessary, a new op-ed argues, because the expansion of hydropower has led to sharply reduced salmon populations, and eels are on the verge of extinction. These species are without rights, yet they have a natural right to exist.
- “Some might object that a river or an eel cannot speak in a courtroom. But there are also humans who lack that ability. In such cases, a legal guardian is appointed. In the same way, nature can be given representatives to act on its behalf in court,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
As ocean acidification ramps up, experts call for speedy ocean protection
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/as-ocean-acidification-ramps-up-experts-call-for-speedy-ocean-protection/
- Scientists have known for decades that soaring atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions are causing changes in ocean chemistry, threatening marine life and ecosystems.
- In June 2025, a study found that ocean acidification has passed a safe threshold across large swathes of the world’s marine environment, not only near the sea surface, but also up to 200 meters (656 feet) deep. The effect is especially severe in polar regions.
- Ocean acidification is an added stressor to marine life already facing pressure from multiple threats connected to climate change (including marine heatwaves and reduced oxygen levels in seawater), along with other direct human impacts including pollution, overfishing and deep-sea mining.
- Carbon emissions need to be deeply slashed and ocean protections greatly enhanced to allow ecosystems time to adapt and one day recover, say experts.
Indigenous guards: The shield of Colombia’s Amazon
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/the-indigenous-guardians-shielding-colombias-amazon/
- For years, using organization and collaboration, unarmed guards in Colombia have acted as protective barriers of territories, the environment and communities.
- These days, the guards combine their traditional knowledge with monitoring technology, such as GPS and satellite imagery, so the data can be used by government entities.
- Working to protect their territory has put them in danger: Between 2014 and 2024, at least 70 Indigenous guardians have been killed in Colombia.
- A team of journalists tracked five cases in the Colombian departments of Amazonas, Putumayo and Guainía to get a firsthand look at these defense processes and the risks Indigenous guardians face.
Regulation on oil palm expansion in Peru’s Amazon could endanger forests, say critics
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/regulation-on-oil-palm-expansion-in-perus-amazon-could-endanger-forests-say-critics/
- A resolution issued by Peru’s Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI) aims to boost the sustainable development of palm oil production in the country.
- Critics argue that it will lead to increased deforestation and that Indigenous organizations were excluded from the regulation’s drafting process.
- Oil palm is cultivated to obtain palm oil, which is used as a raw material in beauty products, toiletries, food and biodiesel.
- The regulation adds to at least two other recent measures by the Peruvian government with potential environmental impacts.
Why is star anise disappearing from northeastern India?
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/video/2025/06/why-is-star-anise-disappearing-from-northeastern-india/
ARUNACHAL PRADESH — India. Over 60% of star anise trees have vanished from the region in just 84 years, pushing this valuable spice toward endangerment and leaving the Indigenous Monpa community struggling to sustain it. Now, conservation efforts are stepping in. The World Wide Fund for Nature-India is helping to form village committees that support […] Nicaragua government tied to illegal land invasions in wildlife refuge, documents suggest
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/nicaragua-government-tied-to-illegal-land-invasions-in-wildlife-refuge-documents-suggest/
- Río San Juan Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Nicaragua has suffered a wave of deforestation in recent years, fueled by land deals that allow settlers to clear the rainforest for farming, mining and cattle ranching.
- Without government support, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities have patrolled the forests on their own but are overwhelmed by the number of people settling in the area.
- Some residents have crossed the border into Costa Rica due to security concerns.
- Recently, the government also authorized more dredging on the San Juan River, despite losing a previous case about dredging at the International Court of Justice.
Colombian waste pickers inundate iconic Bogota square with plastic bottles to protest falling wages
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/colombian-waste-pickers-inundate-iconic-bogota-square-with-plastic-bottles-to-protest-falling-wages/
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Dozens of Colombian waste pickers inundated Bogota’s iconic Bolivar Square with about 15 tons of recyclable goods Tuesday to protest decreasing income and tougher conditions for scavengers. They collect trash from homes, factories and office buildings and sell it to local recycling plants. The demonstration was organized by 14 waste picker […] Balancing wildlife and human needs at Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth park
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/balancing-wildlife-and-human-needs-at-ugandas-queen-elizabeth-park/
To the outside world, Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park is a model of successful conservation of wildlife amid declining populations in other parts of Africa. But while elephant, giraffe and buffalo populations have grown as much as sixfold, the people inside the park live with a colonial legacy that restricts both their livelihoods and their access […] As iconic wild leopard ages in Sri Lanka, debate about human intervention ensues
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/as-iconic-wild-leopard-ages-in-sri-lanka-debate-about-human-intervention-ensues/
- For more than a decade, a male leopard named Neluma has maintained dominance over Sri Lanka’s Wilpattu National Park, his majestic demeaner and tolerance for human presence making him a firm favorite among wildlife enthusiasts.
- With a hernia and recent injuries caused during hunting, the ageing cat makes calls for help, but naturalists say that nature should take its course while veterinarians record difficulties in treating him.
- In a recent incident, a tiger killed a wildlife ranger at the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. This tiger’s famous mother, Arrowhead, was fed by forest officials during her final days, which naturalists caution against as such interventions could teach young cubs to associate people with food.
- Sri Lanka’s Yala National Park has adopted a practice of providing water to animals during intense periods of drought, but conservationists say that such interventions, too, may have long-term repercussions despite the act being well-intended.
Cacao agroforestry in Belize hits the sweet spot for people and nature
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/cacao-agroforestry-in-belize-hits-the-sweet-spot-for-people-and-nature/
- In Belize’s Maya Golden Landscape, small farmers have partnered with conservation groups to establish the country’s first forest reserve agroforestry concession, growing shade-tolerant cacao while protecting forest cover and biodiversity.
- The agroforestry system has helped restore degraded habitats, reduce illegal activities, and support the return of wildlife like jaguars, pumas and scarlet macaws, while keeping forest loss significantly lower than in nearby unprotected areas.
- Farmers are now major cacao producers, selling to local and international markets at premium prices, with the crop’s distinctive flavor attributed to being grown among native trees in organic, diversified agroforestry systems.
- Artisanal chocolate makers and farm tours promote traditional practices, attract visitors, and support smallholder incomes, while agroforestry systems also contribute to jaguar-friendly landscapes and wildlife corridors.
In Ecuador’s Amazon, Big Oil exploits Indigenous communities in the absence of the state
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/in-ecuadors-amazon-big-oil-exploits-indigenous-communities-in-the-absence-of-the-state/
- Over the last 30 years, the three companies that have operated Block 10, an oil concession in the central Ecuadorian Amazon, have sought to divide local communities.
- They’ve also promoted practices intended to undermine residents’ autonomy, substituting for the state in providing basic services such as health care and education and creating disputes over job opportunities.
- An investigation by the cross-border project Every Last Drop reveals how Indigenous leaders and organizations are resisting these efforts.
‘Forgotten’ leopards being driven to silent extinction by poaching and trade
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/forgotten-leopards-being-driven-to-silent-extinction-by-poaching-and-trade/
- Leopards are the second-most traded wildcat in the world, despite their international commercial trade being prohibited under CITES, the international wildlife trade agreement.
- Trophies and body parts — primarily skins, claws, bones and teeth — are the most traded, according to CITES data. However, other data indicate that illegal trade in skins and body parts is widespread in Asia and Africa.
- Southern African countries, particularly South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, are major exporters of leopard parts, while the U.S. is the largest importer, according to data from CITES. But China remains a hotspot for trafficked leopard parts, including skin and claws.
- The legal and illegal trade, coupled with losses to habitat and prey, has caused widespread declines in leopard populations across their ranges in Asia and Africa.
The illegal trade in ivory and pangolin scales has fallen sharply since COVID-19. But for how long?
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/the-illegal-trade-in-ivory-and-pangolin-scales-has-fallen-sharply-since-covid-19-but-for-how-long/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Between 2015 and 2024, global authorities seized 370 metric tons of pangolin scales and 193 metric tons of elephant ivory. The latest report from the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted trafficking networks, and […] Nigeria’s proposed ban on solar panel imports raises concerns
(June 26, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/nigerias-proposed-ban-on-solar-panel-imports-raises-concerns/
Nigeria recently proposed a ban on importing solar panels to boost local manufacturing, but some climate and renewable energy experts worry this move may impede the country’s transition to cleaner energy sources. In announcing the proposed ban on March 26, Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology Uche Nnaji said the country has sufficient capacity to […] Plastic bag bans linked to sharp decline in coastal litter, study finds
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/plastic-bag-bans-linked-to-sharp-decline-in-coastal-litter-study-finds/
A new study finds that regional plastic bag bans in the U.S. significantly reduce coastal plastic bag litter compared with areas without such policies. Single-use plastic bags are one of the most ubiquitous forms of plastic litter. They are rarely recycled and degrade quickly into microplastics that are often ingested by wildlife, leading to injury, […] Vanishing giants: The Indian Ocean’s biggest fish need saving (commentary)
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/vanishing-giants-the-indian-oceans-biggest-fish-need-saving-commentary/
- New research confirms the decline of predatory and large-bodied fishes in the western Indian Ocean due to overfishing, unregulated fishing practices and climate change.
- The lead author of a new paper published in the journal Conservation Biology argues that these fish must be protected to ensure healthier reefs, marine ecosystems and adjacent human communities.
- “This issue isn’t just about protecting fish, but also maintaining a healthy ecosystem, supporting a crucial food source for millions and sustaining the livelihoods of many coastal communities. If we act now, we can still turn the tide,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Organized crime & gold trade are increasingly connected, report shows
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/organized-crime-gold-trade-are-increasingly-connected-report-shows/
- Latin American cartels once were masters of the drug trade, but spikes in prices led them into controlling a new venture.
- Criminals also took advantage of poor control over the mining sector and used it to launder money, a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has found.
- Drug trafficking groups may control the logistics and the equipment supply in gold mining sites or charge miners for the right to use a specific area.
- In the Tapajós River Basin, in the Brazilian Amazon, gold mining is also closely connected with crimes like sexual abuse and human trafficking.
Bitcoin boom comes with huge intensifying environmental footprint
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/bitcoin-boom-comes-with-huge-intensifying-environmental-footprint/
- Bitcoin is often portrayed by promoters as existing in a separate cyber universe, distinct from the biological world. This view is far from reality, say critics, who point to bitcoin’s serious and escalating environmental impacts, with its global spread also raising environmental justice concerns.
- Bitcoin mining demands huge amounts of computing power and is an energy hog. It monopolizes entire data centers that are currently multiplying globally. Most of the energy needed to mint bitcoin comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which produces significant carbon emissions, worsening climate destabilization.
- Bitcoin data centers need huge amounts of water for cooling. The semiconductors required for mining are made in a process using toxic PFAS (forever chemicals). The lifespan of bitcoin processing chips is a mere 18 months, after which they add to global e-waste. Despite these harms, bitcoin is poised for explosive growth
- Prominent influencers, including U.S. President Donald Trump, cheerlead loudly for bitcoin. Trump has said that “America will become the world’s undisputed bitcoin mining powerhouse.” His son, Eric Trump, has debuted American Bitcoin, a bitcoin mining firm. Neither Trump has addressed bitcoin’s global environmental costs.
Signs of hope for rescued gorillas rewilded in DRC, but security concerns linger
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/signs-of-hope-for-rescued-gorillas-rewilded-in-drc-but-security-concerns-linger/
- In October 2024, conservationists released four gorillas from the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE) in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo back into the wild.
- The release took place in Virunga National Park — raising some concerns about their safety, as the park has been largely controlled by the armed rebel group M23 since January 2025.
- To reduce poaching in the area, GRACE says it focuses on working closely with local communities and integrating them into the organization.
- As for the released gorillas, GRACE reports that they joined a wild gorilla family and were even observed mating with the dominant male, raising hopes of a successful rewilding.
Switzerland’s ebbing glaciers show a new, strange phenomenon: holes reminiscent of Swiss cheese
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/switzerlands-ebbing-glaciers-show-a-new-strange-phenomenon-holes-reminiscent-of-swiss-cheese/
RHONE GLACIER, Switzerland (AP) — One of Switzerland’s glaciologists says his teams are noticing a strange phenomenon in the Alpine country’s glaciers. Holes are emerging inside — a bit like Swiss cheese — seemingly caused by turbulence as water passes through the bottom of the glacier or air flows through the gaps that appear inside. […] Orcas discovered making tools from seaweed to ‘massage’ each other
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/orcas-discovered-making-tools-from-seaweed-to-massage-each-other/
- Southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea off the U.S. state of Washington have been observed making tools from bull kelp stalks, biting off pieces and using them to massage each other in a behavior scientists call “allokelping.”
- This represents the first documented evidence of toolmaking by marine mammals, with whales of all ages participating in coordinated grooming sessions that likely serve both hygiene and social bonding purposes.
- The behavior helps whales exfoliate dead skin and may provide antibacterial benefits, though the endangered population of only 73 individuals faces multiple threats including declining food sources and habitat destruction.
- The bull kelp forests where whales source their grooming tools are also threatened by warming oceans, making conservation of both the whale population and their kelp habitat crucial for preserving this unique cultural behavior.
Meatpacking giant JBS debuts on NYSE six months after $5m Trump donation
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/meatpacking-giant-jbs-debuts-on-nyse-six-months-after-5m-trump-donation/
JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 13, just six months after its U.S. subsidiary, Pilgrim’s Pride, made a $5 million donation to Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, the single largest contribution to the event. The Brazil-founded company has sought a U.S. listing for more than a […] Brazil’s Indigenous Akroá Gamella reclaim and restore their land, one patch at a time
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/brazils-indigenous-akroa-gamella-reclaim-and-restore-their-land-one-patch-at-a-time/
- After decades of invasions, pollution and state neglect, the Akroá Gamella Indigenous people have reclaimed part of their ancestral land in the Taquaritiua Indigenous Territory, in Brazil’s Maranhão state, and shut down illegal landfills maintained by local governments.
- For more than 12 years, hospital and urban waste has been illegally dumped in springs at the Tabarelzinho Indigenous village, in a region that’s also supposed to be an environmental protection area of internationally recognized ecological importance.
- The Akroá Gamella’s so-called retomadas (recapturing) of land aims to restore the territory through agroecological practices, reforesting it with native species and recovering its springs; meanwhile, they continue to face ongoing violence by invaders.
With key court verdicts delayed, Nepal pushes infrastructure in protected areas
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/with-key-court-verdicts-delayed-nepal-pushes-infrastructure-in-protected-areas/
- Nepal’s Supreme Court struck down a 2024 law permitting infrastructure in protected areas in January 2025, but the government continues to approve such projects as the full ruling remains unpublished.
- Despite the ruling, the government approved the 57.6 billion rupee ($416 million), 81-kilometer (50.3-mile) Muktinath cable car touted as the world’s longest line, which will pass through the Annapurna Conservation Area, raising concerns about environmental and cultural impacts.
- The government has also signaled interest in opening up protected areas to private investment, including commercial extraction of timber, gravel and stones.
In Cameroon, forest mapping app helps Baka protect biodiversity and way of life
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/in-cameroon-forest-mapping-app-helps-baka-protect-biodiversity-and-way-of-life/
- In southeastern Cameroon, the Indigenous Baka people are helping protecting their forests with the Sapelli app.
- They spearheaded the design of this tool as part of a 2021 project launched in six villages around Lobéké National Park.
- The app allows the Baka to map nontimber forest products (NTFPs), flag human-wildlife conflict, and combat poaching.
- According to a recent report co-authored by WWF and the park’s conservation service, no elephants, gorillas or chimpanzees were killed in this protected area between 2022 and 2024, thanks to the park management’s adoption of technology.
What sharks are worth—and why that matters
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/what-sharks-are-worth-and-why-that-matters/
- Stefanie Brendl, founder of Shark Allies, transitioned from shark tourism to advocacy after a pivotal free-diving encounter with a tiger shark, leading her to champion the world’s first shark fin trade ban in Hawaii.
- Her legislative work has since expanded across U.S. states and Pacific island nations, focusing on pragmatic, economically grounded arguments for shark protection over purely emotional appeals.
- Brendl is now developing valuation models that frame sharks as renewable assets, arguing that live sharks provide far greater long-term value through ecosystem services and tourism than the short-term gains from finning.
- She spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in June 2025 during an interview conducted aboard a boat in the Pacific Ocean.
DNA sequencing to meet global biodiversity goals: Interview with Tyler Kartzinel
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/dna-sequencing-to-meet-global-biodiversity-goals-interview-with-tyler-kartzinel/
- A new study has highlighted gaps in reference databases that are required by scientists for DNA sequencing, especially in tropical biodiversity hotspots around the world.
- DNA technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, but the lack of extensive reference databases makes species identification a challenge, especially in remote areas.
- The lead author of the study emphasizes the need to ramp up work to create these databases, especially as the world works toward critical goals to protect ecosystems and the biodiversity that lives in them.
Firefighters battle a wildfire burning out of control on the Greek island of Chios
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/firefighters-battle-a-wildfire-burning-out-of-control-on-the-greek-island-of-chios/
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters backed up by aircraft were battling a wildfire burning out of control for the third day on the eastern Aegean island of Chios Tuesday, with authorities issuing multiple evacuation orders. Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island, where authorities have declared a state of […] From catching fish to picking trash, Thailand’s sea nomads are forced off the water
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/from-catching-fish-to-picking-trash-thailands-sea-nomads-are-forced-off-the-water/
The Moken, a nomadic seafaring people in Thailand, have for generations lived most of their days at sea, moving from one place to another, fishing and foraging. However, with protected areas and increasing tourism restricting their access to fishing, and fish populations declining, the Moken are no longer able to follow their traditional way of […] Mongabay India on making environmental stories accessible in Hindi
(June 25, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/mongabay-india-on-making-environmental-stories-accessible-in-hindi/
When Mongabay India first launched in 2018, the bureau initially reported exclusively in English. In late 2020, Mongabay began reporting in Hindi, one of India’s most widely spoken languages, particularly in the northern part of the country. Reflecting on the five years that have since passed, editors of Mongabay Hindi say in a recent article […] Longhorn crazy ants use ‘swarm intelligence’ to clear path obstacles
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/longhorn-crazy-ants-use-swarm-intelligence-to-clear-path-obstacles/
Longhorn crazy ants, named for their jerky and erratic movements, may seem chaotic, but they are actually very cooperative and efficient at retrieving food. A new study shows that through intelligence of the swarm, worker ants are able to anticipate obstacles and clear them from a path so other ants can more easily move bulky […] Panama boosts protections in the Darién Gap, but deforestation threats still loom
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/panama-boosts-protections-in-the-darien-gap-but-deforestation-threats-still-loom/
- Panama is pouring new resources into protecting Darién, a remote province where the rugged, nearly impenetrable jungle provides cover for migrants, drug traffickers, illegal loggers, miners and cattle ranchers.
- Dozens of park guards have been hired and trained with new technology, and officials are working on implementing stricter regulations for logging and agribusiness.
- New roads and bridges will bring investment, access to education and health care to hard-to-reach communities, but they could also attract an influx of people ready to cut down the forest.
- As more people arrive to the region, the agricultural frontier pushes closer to the limits of the park, raising concerns among rangers about how they will defend it in years to come.
Protecting the Darién Gap: Interview with Panama national parks director Luis Carles Rudy
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/protecting-the-darien-gap-interview-with-panama-national-parks-director-luis-carles-rudy/
- Mongabay spoke with Panama’s national director of protected areas, Luis Carles Rudy, about the ongoing environmental challenges in Darién National Park.
- The park covers around 575,000 hectares (1.42 million acres) of rainforest at the southern border, but has been a popular spot for criminal groups for the last several decades, and more recently illegal mining operations and migrants coming from South America.
- Carles Rudy told Mongabay about new rangers and technology that will help protect the park, but said there still aren’t efficient solutions to encroaching agribusiness and migrant waste.
Some rivers have rights, but author Robert Macfarlane argues they’re also alive
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025/06/some-rivers-have-rights-but-author-robert-macfarlane-argues-theyre-also-alive/
This week on Mongabay’s podcast, celebrated author and repeat Nobel Prize in Literature candidate Robert Macfarlane discusses his fascinating new book, Is a River Alive?, which both asks and provides answers to this compelling question, in his signature flowing prose. Its absorbing narrative takes the reader to the frontlines of some of Earth’s most embattled […] GOP plan to sell more than 3,200 square miles of federal lands is found to violate Senate rules
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/gop-plan-to-sell-more-than-3200-square-miles-of-federal-lands-is-found-to-violate-senate-rules/
WASHINGTON (AP) — A plan to sell more than 3,200 square miles of federal lands has been ruled out of Republicans’ big tax and spending cut bill after the Senate parliamentarian determined the proposal by Senate Energy Chairman Mike Lee would violate the chamber’s rules. The Utah Republican has proposed selling public lands in the […] The Caribbean’s hardiest corals (cartoon)
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2025/06/the-caribbeans-hardiest-corals-cartoon/
Despite the Caribbean Sea witnessing some of the worst episodes of mass coral bleaching over the last year, a reef in Honduras’ Tela Bay, nicknamed Cocalito, has withstood pressures from climate change and pollution, surprising and impressing marine biologists. A Honduran reef stumps conservationists with its unlikely resilience First congress of forest basin leaders results in call for direct financing
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/first-conference-of-forest-basin-leaders-results-in-call-for-direct-financing/
- Participants at the world’s first global congress of Indigenous and local communities from forest basins seek to increase direct financing to community forest conservation.
- Community-led organizations are scaling up and creating their own funding mechanisms to directly access financing for climate, biodiversity and environmental protection.
- Little funding goes directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities, for reasons that span lack of community capacity and donor trust to financial requirements.
- In the run-up to the U.N. climate conference, COP30, in November 2025, organizations are calling for funding pledges to include community forest conservation.
UN calls out Indonesia’s Merauke food estate for displacing Indigenous communities
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/un-calls-out-indonesias-merauke-food-estate-for-displacing-indigenous-communities/
- U.N. special rapporteurs have raised concerns that Indonesia’s food estate project in Merauke district is displacing Indigenous communities, clearing forests without consent, and using military forces to suppress dissent, threatening more than 50,000 Indigenous people.
- They point to deforestation of more than 109,000 hectares (269,000 acres), loss of biodiversity, and violations of Indigenous rights, including lack of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and intimidation by military forces.
- The Indonesian government has rejected the allegations, claiming compliance with national laws, and saying the project boosts food security and that Indigenous rights and environmental safeguards are respected — despite civil society calling these claims misleading.
- NGOs are urging stronger U.N. monitoring, a fact-finding mission, and genuine FPIC processes, warning that the project risks erasing Papuan Indigenous culture while facilitating corporate land grabs.
Indigenous divers on Chile’s island restore seabed to protect seafood sources
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/indigenous-divers-on-chiles-island-restore-seabed-to-protect-seafood-sources/
- Intensive harvesting of the mollusk known as “loco” and salmon farming are damaging the seabed and reducing the biodiversity of the Guaitecas Archipelago, in northern Chilean Patagonia.
- To restore it, divers are transporting shellfish and rocks that serve as food and shelter for the loco and other commercially valuable species.
- The Pu Wapi Indigenous community is also working to enhance marine protection by requesting a Coastal Marine Area for Indigenous peoples.
An overlooked biocultural landscape in Sri Lanka receives overdue protection
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/an-overlooked-biocultural-landscape-in-sri-lanka-receives-overdue-protection/
- Sri Lanka has declared the Nilgala wilderness, a unique landscape harboring the island’s largest savanna ecosystem interwoven with a mosaic of unique habitats, as a national forest reserve.
- Despite being home to numerous endemic and range-restricted species found nowhere else on the island, Nilgala had long been an overlooked conservation priority, facing continuous environmental threats.
- The area is also the ancestral homeland of Sri Lanka’s Indigenous Vedda community and is revered as an ancient herbal sanctuary, deeply rooted in cultural and historical traditions.
- As a defiant act of opposition to various past attempts to open Nilgala for large-scale agricultural development, environmentalists once staged a unique ritual of ordaining 1,000 trees within the Nilgala area at a religious ceremony to protect the forest from destruction.
Half a million hectares of rainforest were saved — in part thanks to journalism
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/half-a-million-hectares-of-rainforest-were-saved-in-part-thanks-to-journalism/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a packed event held in Palo Alto, California, at the end of SF Climate Week in April, Willie Shubert, the vice president of programs and executive editor at Mongabay, shared a compelling example of how Mongabay’s journalism […] Of mushrooms and mycelium: How fungi are powering eco-friendly solutions
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/of-mushrooms-and-mycelium-how-fungi-are-powering-eco-friendly-solutions/
Often hidden from view, fungi are a critical part of our ecosystems. Some can be eaten as mushrooms; others help trees and forests thrive. But that’s not all: they’re also helping us create low-cost, sustainable housing materials and additional income for farmers, says Gabriela D’Elia, director of the Fungal Diversity Survey and a fungi enthusiast, […] Trump administration plans to rescind rule blocking logging on national forest lands
(June 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/trump-administration-plans-to-rescind-rule-blocking-logging-on-national-forest-lands/
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Trump administration plans to rescind a nearly quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging on national forest lands. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Monday that the 2001 roadless rule from the last days of the Clinton administration impeded road construction and timber production that would have reduced the risk of major […] Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli, sage of the forest, died on June 18th, aged 93
(June 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/maruti-bhujangrao-chitampalli-sage-of-the-forest-died-on-june-18th-aged-93/
In the forests of Vidarbha, where he spent most of his adult life, Maruti Chitampalli did not walk so much as listen. While others mapped territory, he absorbed language—of birds, of trees, of the people who lived among them. Over four decades as a forest officer in Maharashtra, he moved not as a bureaucrat but […] Nine takeaways on Brazil’s crackdown on illegal mining in Munduruku lands
(June 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/nine-takeaways-on-brazils-crackdown-on-illegal-mining-in-munduruku-lands/
Mongabay published a five-part series delving into Brazil’s ongoing operation to evict illegal gold miners from Munduruku Indigenous territories, deep in the Amazon Rainforest. While there has been some disruption to mining in the region, Munduruku organizations told Mongabay the operation is not yet completely successful, with small groups of illegal miners, or garimpeiros, still […] Endangered humphead wrasse gets a lifeline from facial recognition tech
(June 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/endangered-humphead-wrasse-gets-a-lifeline-from-facial-recognition-tech/
- The endangered humphead wrasse, a reef fish that swims the seas from Africa to the South Pacific, is in high demand in mainland China and Hong Kong as a luxury culinary delicacy.
- Despite harvest limits, trading regulations and fishing bans, it’s overfished and illegally traded.
- Researchers in Hong Kong have developed a new AI-based photo identification smartphone app, Saving Face, to help enforcement officers identify individual fish using their unique facial patterns with just a photo.
- Researchers say they hope the app can address both illegal laundering of humphead wrasse and mislabeling of wild-caught fish as captive-bred; its developers say it can be tweaked to identify other species that have unique markings.
As a fishing port rises in Kenya, locals see threats to sea life, livelihoods
(June 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/as-a-fishing-port-rises-in-kenya-locals-see-threats-to-sea-life-livelihoods/
- In Shimoni, Kenya, a new fishing port is slated to open in June.
- While the government promises local people opportunities for jobs and businesses once operations start, some residents foresee more harm than good from the port.
- Some conservation activities — including seagrass, coral and mangrove restoration projects as well as fishing, seaweed farming and tourism operations — have already suffered during the port’s construction phase, which began in 2022, local people say. They fear it may get worse once the port opens, especially if planned dredging proceeds.
- A county government official said Kwale county is monitoring the situation and pledged to mitigate any impacts and safeguard fishing activities and conservation efforts.
Rediscovering the biodiversity of India’s Siang Valley
(June 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/06/rediscovering-the-biodiversity-of-indias-siang-valley/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. More than a century after British colonial forces marched into the Siang Valley in what is now the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, their expedition has taken on a new significance. What began in 1912 as a punitive […]