Targeted conservation in Brazil could help protect the Amazon’s flying rivers (July 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/targeted-conservation-in-brazil-could-help-protect-the-amazons-flying-rivers/
- The Amazon’s atmospheric moisture flows known as “flying rivers” provide over 70% of rainfall in parts of southern Peru and northern Bolivia, but they are threatened by deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
- According to a new report by the NGO Amazon Conservation, the lack of protections for areas known as undesignated public forests and road development projects pose a deforestation risk that would disrupt the flying rivers during dry and transition seasons.
- Research shows that the Amazon is already experiencing longer dry seasons, which in turn affects the forest’s capacity to recycle moisture for the flying rivers.
- Conservation targeting the forests that are most important for recycling atmospheric moisture could help maintain the flying rivers, the report proposes.
A possible strong El Niño fuels fears for fires across Indonesian tropical peatlands (July 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-possible-strong-el-nino-fuels-fears-for-fires-across-indonesian-tropical-peatlands/
- Meteorologists say emergence of a strong El Niño climate phenomenon is increasingly likely this year, as ocean temperatures in June reached a record high.
- Indonesian environmental groups fear the drier El Niño conditions could trigger renewed peatland fires in Borneo and Sumatra, particularly on land converted for rice cultivation under the government food estate projects announced in 2020.
- In the 1990s, President Suharto launched an ambitious scheme to convert vast areas of Borneo’s peatlands into rice fields. The project failed, and much of the drained landscape burned during the strong 1997–98 El Niño.
Sri Lanka intensifies fight against dengue and the mosquitos that cause the infection (July 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-intensifies-fight-against-dengue-and-the-mosquitos-that-cause-the-infection/
- Sri Lanka has recorded more than 56,422 dengue cases from January to July 1, adding pressure to the country’s healthcare system as the caseload continues to increase.
- DENV-2 is the dominant dengue serotype causing a higher number of infections at present, health officials say.
- According to academics, unplanned urbanization and climate change are factors contributing to the spike in dengue cases in South Asia and many other regions.
- Meanwhile, the Aedes vector is evolving and adapting, increasing the mosquito’s ability to survive in constantly changing environmental conditions, researchers say.
New Indonesia roadmap aims to protect Indigenous knowledge for biodiversity (July 2, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-indonesia-roadmap-aims-to-protect-indigenous-knowledge-for-biodiversity/
- Indonesia is developing a roadmap to recognize and protect Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ (IPLCs) traditional knowledge in biodiversity conservation, aligning with its commitments to international frameworks.
- Indigenous communities in Indonesia already safeguard vast biodiverse areas — an estimated 29 million hectares (71.6 million acres) — through customary practices, though only a small portion has been formally documented or recognized.
- The lack of legal recognition of Indigenous territories and rights leave many communities vulnerable to having their conservation efforts overlooked or criminalized despite their role in protecting ecosystems.
- Experts and advocates argue the roadmap must be backed by stronger policy recognition and broad collaboration among government, Indigenous groups, experts and civil society.
Updated standards make the case for restoration: ‘We have to create uplift’ (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/updated-standards-make-the-case-for-restoration-we-have-to-create-uplift/
- The Society for Ecological Restoration released the third edition of its global restoration standards on June 23, shifting the emphasis from doing no harm to actively driving ecological “uplift” and recovery in line with the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s goal of restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030.
- A central feature is the refined “Five-star System,” complemented by the “Restorative Continuum,” tools that measure restoration progress both ecologically and socially.
- The standards make an explicit “business case” for restoration, framing it as a way to redirect environmentally harmful subsidies toward investments that benefit both biodiversity and economic livelihoods, giving companies and funders a trusted roadmap for action.
- Experts emphasized that integrating local and Indigenous ecological knowledge alongside science is essential to credible restoration, with one researcher calling for greater involvement from Global South practitioners in shaping future iterations of the standards.
Can coastal infrastructure be engineered to harbor marine life instead of harming it? (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-coastal-infrastructure-be-engineered-to-harbor-marine-life-instead-of-harming-it/
- Living Seawalls is a global initiative that aims to make seawalls, marinas and other hard coastal structures more hospitable to marine wildlife by installing biodiversity-friendly panels, boulders and pilings.
- In 2025, Ireland’s first Living Seawalls installation was established at Kennedy Pier in the port town of Cobh, and marine life is already starting to colonize the panels.
- While researchers say the panels can help marine life colonize hardened coastlines, and stayed cooler than standard flat seawall surfaces, questions remain about their effect on seawalls’ main function of keeping waves at bay, leading scientists to suggest that design modifications may be needed.
Youth biodiversity conservation efforts face serious funding challenges, report finds (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/youth-biodiversity-conservation-efforts-face-serious-funding-challenges-report-finds/
A new report finds that a chronic lack of funding is undermining youth-led environmental work worldwide. The report, titled “Ecologies of Empowerment: Why and how to fund youth-led biodiversity action,” argues that a current lack of adequate funding for youth biodiversity conservation initiatives threatens development of future generations of conservation leadership and action. “Youth are […]
Sea level rise is ruining coastal Bangladesh with salty water (commentary) (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sea-level-rise-is-ruining-coastal-bangladesh-with-salty-water-commentary/
- Projections indicate that Bangladesh faces an amount of sea level rise that will bring major saltwater intrusion into precious freshwater supplies, plus human health impacts, flooding and rampant erosion across coastal areas.
- Though Bangladesh did very little to cause climate change, the nation is not without answers, including the government’s Delta Plan 2100, but it is not moving quickly enough to act on them in time to avoid the worst impacts, the author writes.
- “What has been missing is not knowledge or technology, but the institutional will to treat this like the emergency that it is,” the writer argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
A marine heat wave caused seabird deaths off California. El Nino could worsen the die-off (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/a-marine-heat-wave-caused-seabird-deaths-off-california-el-nino-could-worsen-the-die-off/
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Many seabirds are starving to death as a marine heat wave lingers off California and fish seek deeper, cooler waters. That’s according to scientists who say a persistent marine heat wave has shrunk the band of cold, nutrient-rich surface water where krill, anchovies and sardines thrive near the shore. Scientists fear […]
Leaked document shows EU closer to dropping leather from anti-deforestation law (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/leaked-document-shows-eu-closer-to-dropping-leather-from-anti-deforestation-law/
- A leaked draft document suggests the European Commission will remove leather from the EU Deforestation Regulation, despite internal findings linking it to deforestation.
- The commission cites “supply chain considerations and load on the information system” as justifications for exempting leather from the list of deforestation-risk commodities.
- The adoption of a proposed delegated act is expected in the “next weeks,” according to the European Commission; it’s still subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and Council of the European Union, which would have two months to object or change the proposal.
- Environmental groups believe the move reflects strong industry lobbying and contradicts evidence linking cattle and leather supply chains to forest loss.
Nepal’s new government bets on tax revenue over clean energy push (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-new-government-bets-on-tax-revenue-over-clean-energy-push/
- Nepal has the world’s second-highest rate of electric vehicle adoption, but a newly proposed government tax hike on EV imports and electricity consumption could undermine this transition.
- The government argues the previous decade of EV tax breaks was fiscally unsustainable and primarily benefited wealthy buyers in a country where most people can’t afford a car of any kind.
- The new tax could also slow households’ switch from gas cooking stoves to electric ones, with critics pointing out that electricity costs are the single strongest predictor for this transition; they also argue the government would save far more by accelerating that switch — and cutting gas subsidies — than it would collect from the new tax.
- The policy has also exposed divisions within the government itself: the energy minister backed a pro-consumption strategy just days before the tax landed; engineers have publicly disputed the prime minister’s warnings about grid overload; and officials are already signaling they may raise the rates from 5% to up to 13%.
Wildlife’s unpredictable movements make climate-change planning difficult (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wildlifes-unpredictable-movements-make-climate-change-planning-difficult/
- Ecologists expected many species to shift northward or upslope in response to warming temperatures, but only about half of observed range shifts so far align with their projections.
- Species responses are likely shaped by multiple factors — changing habitat, rainfall and food availability — not just temperature. Some species may be unable to move, trapped within a fragmented habitat.
- Research shows animals that move toward higher latitudes don’t necessarily fare better.
- These mismatches between predictions and reality create more uncertainty for conservation planning and how best to support species adaptation through corridors.
Indonesia’s blackouts reignite debate over coal-dependent energy transition (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesias-blackouts-reignite-debate-over-coal-dependent-energy-transition/
- Recent blackouts in Sumatra and Java exposed vulnerabilities in Indonesia’s electricity system, with PLN saying constrained coal supplies contributed to the Java outage.
- Energy analysts say the outages exposed the risks of Indonesia’s centralized, coal-dependent electricity system and strengthened the case for distributed renewable energy such as rooftop solar.
- A recent study identified six coal plants on Java as priority candidates for early retirement, estimating their closure would eliminate 93.5 million metric tons of annual CO₂ emissions.
- Environmental groups say biomass co-firing allows aging coal plants to keep operating while creating new pressures on forests and rural communities supplying wood fuel.
Recent discoveries of ‘lost’ Mekong giant salmon carp renews hope for the fish (July 1, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/recent-discoveries-of-lost-mekong-giant-salmon-carp-renews-hope-for-the-fish/
A large fish once feared extinct in Cambodia has been recorded in the country’s waters for the fourth time since 2020, renewing hope for the species. The Mekong giant salmon carp (Aaptosyax grypus), a critically endangered large-sized freshwater fish, was formally described from the Mekong River in 1991. Over the next 14 years, there had […]
The blueprint for building a fairer world without breaking the planet (June 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/06/the-blueprint-for-building-a-fairer-world-without-breaking-the-planet/
A group of more than 40 researchers spent 20 months devising a plan for the world to achieve ecological sustainability within planetary boundaries, all while seeing incomes rise for 98% of the global population and reducing working hours for everybody by half to two and a half days a week. The plan to achieve this […]
Fossils reveal a prehistoric crocodile relative that walked on two legs (June 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/fossils-reveal-a-prehistoric-crocodile-relative-that-walked-on-two-legs/
Dinosaurs like tyrannosaurs and velociraptors famously walked on two legs. But they weren’t the only bipedal prehistoric creatures to exist. In a study published in June, paleontologists shared the discovery of a new bipedal shuvosaurid, an ancient, distant relative of crocodiles, that lived 212 million years ago in what is now the U.S. state of […]
Gelada monkeys huddle in the cold: Photo of the week (June 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/gelada-monkeys-huddle-in-the-cold-photo-of-the-week/
A group of geladas monkeys (Theropithecus gelada), pictured above, huddle to keep warm on a cold day in the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. Endemic to Ethiopia’s cold Afroalpine and sub-Afroalpine grasslands, the species is the only primate, apart from humans, that primarily lives on land rather than trees. They spend most of their time […]
Cypriot natural gas could start flowing from ExxonMobil’s discoveries by 2033 (June 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/cypriot-natural-gas-could-start-flowing-from-exxonmobils-discoveries-by-2033/
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Natural gas could start flowing by 2033 out of two undersea deposits discovered by ExxonMobil off Cyprus, a senior executive with the company said Tuesday, helping to turn the east Mediterranean island nation into a new European energy hub. The largest U.S. oil company and its consortium partner, QatarEnergy, consider the most likely option for […]
Secret Amazon species may be new source of ibogaine for addiction treatment (June 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/secret-amazon-species-may-be-new-source-of-ibogaine-for-addiction-treatment/
- A new harvesting method allows an undisclosed Amazon plant to provide production of ibogaine, a psychedelic compound known for its largely unregulated and understudied properties in helping chemical addiction.
- Regarded as sacred in Gabon, the iboga plant that’s the primary source of ibogaine has been subject to poaching and smuggling, leading to the decline of its natural reserves and encouraging researchers to seek out alternatives.
- The substance is at the center of a new political and scientific movement to advance medicinal studies of natural compounds labelled today as illegal drugs.
Foreign nationals attempt to fly to Europe with rare cacti from southern Brazil (June 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/foreign-nationals-attempt-to-fly-to-europe-with-rare-cacti-from-southern-brazil/
- Brazilian authorities detained Czech, German and Russian nationals carrying hundreds of cacti and their seeds, all native to Southern Brazil.
- The species targeted are critically endangered and highly prized by collectors worldwide.
- The foreigners caught by police include amateur botanists who are renowned among the international cactus-loving community.
- Illegal removal from nature harms the preservation of species that can take up to 10 years to become productive.