William Bond, grasslands researcher who reminded conservation that context matters, has died (December 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/william-bond-grasslands-researcher-who-reminded-conservation-that-context-matters-has-died/
- William Bond spent his career challenging the assumption that forests are nature’s default state, arguing that grasslands and savannas are ancient ecosystems shaped by fire, grazing, and long evolutionary history.
- As enthusiasm for mass tree planting grew, he became a leading critic of blanket afforestation, warning that well-intentioned climate policies could damage biodiversity, water systems, and carbon stores when applied without context.
- His research emphasized scale and evidence, showing that trees do not universally increase rainfall, replenish rivers, or solve climate change, and that soils and open landscapes often matter more than slogans suggest.
- By insisting that conservation begin with understanding how landscapes actually function, he forced policymakers and scientists alike to slow down, look closer, and accept that complexity is not an obstacle but a necessity.
Cape Town’s new plan for baboons: Fence, capture and possibly euthanize (December 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/12/cape-towns-new-plan-for-baboons-fence-capture-and-possibly-euthanize/
Authorities in Cape Town, South Africa, have released an updated baboon action plan aimed at reducing conflict between people and baboons, which regularly enter urban areas in search of food. The plan, which includes euthanasia of some baboons, has drawn criticism from animal welfare groups. The plan says the population of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) […]
2025: A year of consequence for Mongabay’s journalism (December 24, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/2025-a-year-of-consequence-for-mongabays-journalism/
- In a year marked by public fatigue, political polarization, and pressure on democratic institutions and press freedom, Mongabay operated in an information environment where attention was scarce but decisions with lasting consequences were still being made, often quietly and locally.
- 2025 also brought significant loss, including the deaths of East Africa editor Ochieng Ogodo and Advisory Council member Jane Goodall, alongside many other environmental defenders; Mongabay honored these lives through dozens of tributes aimed at making their work visible and carrying it forward through solutions-focused reporting.
- Mongabay published more than 7,300 stories across eight languages, expanded into Swahili and Bengali, reached an expected 110 million unique visitors, grew its team to 130 people, and earned international recognition that reinforced the credibility and practical value of its journalism.
- Across regions, Mongabay’s reporting directly shaped policy, enforcement, markets, and science—from hunting bans and mining reforms to financial blacklisting and new conservation priorities—and the organization enters 2026 focused on deepening impact through fellowships, expanded coverage, multilingual short news, and the launch of its Story Transformer tool.
The top 10 most listened-to podcasts of 2025 from Mongabay (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-top-10-most-listened-to-podcasts-of-2025-from-mongabay/
- Another year has come and gone on Mongabay’s flagship podcast with over 40 episodes added to the catalogue.
- The following are the top 10 interviews people listened to the most.
- This chronological list includes professors, authors, Mongabay staffers, conservationists, and advocates detailing investigations, research, advocacy philosophy, examining the existential and environmental threats humanity faces.
- The editorial team agrees with the audience: if you want to hear some of the best conversations from 2025, start here.
How ‘Adventure Scientists’ provide pioneering data for conservation (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025/12/how-adventure-scientists-provide-pioneering-data-for-conservation/
Gregg Treinish didn’t start out as an outdoor enthusiast, but found solace and purpose in nature during his youth. After years of enjoying the outdoors, he was left feeling a need to give something back to the world. He found fulfillment by using his passion for outdoor adventures to gather critical data that researchers need […]
Huge ‘blue carbon’ offsetting project takes root in the mangroves of Sierra Leone (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/huge-blue-carbon-offsetting-project-takes-root-in-the-mangroves-of-sierra-leone/
- In October, a wholly owned subsidiary of West Africa Blue, a Mauritius-based company, signed a “blue carbon” offsetting deal with the 124 communities on the island of Sherbro in Sierre Leone.
- The agreement will reward the communities financially for conserving and restoring their mangroves, which act as a carbon sink.
- The funds will be generated by selling offsets on the voluntary carbon credit market, with revenues shared between West Africa Blue, the communities and the government of Sierra Leone.
- Though carbon offsetting projects have been subject to criticism in the past, community members on Sherbro say they’re optimistic about the improvements to their livelihoods that the project could bring.
Joanna Macy, author and teacher who turned despair into connection and agency (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/joanna-macy-author-and-teacher-who-turned-despair-into-connection-and-agency/
- Joanna Macy — who died on July 19, 2025 at the age of 96 — argued that despair in the face of ecological and nuclear threat was not a weakness but a sign of care, and that refusing to feel it led to paralysis rather than protection. She encouraged people to stay present to what was being lost instead of numbing themselves.
- Drawing on Buddhism, systems theory, and deep ecology, Joanna Macy helped people see themselves not as observers of crisis but as participants within a larger living system. This shift in perspective was central to how she understood responsibility and action.
- Through what became known as the Work That Reconnects, Joanna Macy developed group practices that allowed grief, fear, and anger to be named collectively and transformed into resolve. The emphasis was less on solutions than on restoring a sense of connection and agency.
- As climate change replaced nuclear war as the dominant existential threat, Joanna Macy’s work remained focused on attention rather than reassurance. She insisted that hope was a practice grounded in relationship, not optimism about outcomes.
Agroforestry grows in popularity among central Colombia’s coffee farmers (analysis) (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/agroforestry-grows-in-popularity-among-central-colombias-coffee-farmers-analysis/
- As the world’s third-largest coffee producer and a nation that has been growing the popular Arabica variety since 1870, there’s not much that Colombia doesn’t know about growing the crop.
- In some areas of the country, though, growing coffee via diverse agroforestry systems is now gaining popularity, thanks to its sustainability and benefits for local biodiversity.
- However, a new analysis also shares that in some areas, there still exists a low level of technical understanding among small-scale growers as to how to grow coffee well while reducing pests and diseases with agroecological methods.
- This post is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
As Cyclone Ditwah battered land, Sri Lanka’s oceans absorbed a silent shock (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/as-cyclone-ditwah-battered-land-sri-lankas-oceans-absorbed-a-silent-shock/
- Following the tropical Cyclone Ditwah, unusual sea-foam appeared along parts of Sri Lanka’s northern coast, a natural phenomenon caused by storm-driven turbulence and organic compounds released by plankton, not marine pollution, scientists say.
- Extreme rainfall from Ditwah released an extraordinary volume of freshwater into the ocean, and researchers estimate that nearly 10% of Sri Lanka’s average annual rainfall was received in a single day and rapidly drained to sea through the island’s river network.
- Flood-driven sediments and sudden changes in salinity may stress coral reefs and coastal ecosystems, but Sri Lanka lacks systematic sediment monitoring at river mouths, leaving scientists with limited data on downstream impacts.
- The floods also swept plastics, debris and nutrients into coastal waters, potentially intensifying plankton blooms and fish aggregations while increasing the risk of algal blooms, oxygen depletion and long-term marine pollution.
Tropical forests in Australia are emitting more carbon than they capture: Study (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/tropical-forests-in-australia-are-emitting-more-carbon-than-they-capture-study/
- A newly published study reveals that moist tropical forests in Australia are now a net carbon emitter, making this the first documented case of tropical forest woody biomass making the flip from sink to source.
- Researchers analyzed nearly five decades of data and found that around the year 2000, these forests stopped absorbing more carbon than they emitted and went into a reversal.
- They identified tree deaths as the core problem, showing that these doubled compared to earlier decades, with new growth unable to keep pace.
- Climate change and cyclones are to blame, as rainforest species evolved for warm, wet conditions, but are now facing temperature extremes and extended droughts that damage their tissues and stunt growth.
Photos: Tourism ambitions clash with local livelihoods on Indonesia’s Lombok Island (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/photos-tourism-ambitions-clash-with-local-livelihoods-on-indonesias-lombok-island/
- Residents of Tanjung Aan Beach on the Indonesian island of Lombok say they were evicted with little notice or compensation as the Mandalika tourism project advances, leaving many without livelihoods or alternatives.
- The government-controlled developer has defended its process, citing compensation paid in a different land zone, but locals say support didn’t reach the coastal community now being cleared.
- Perspectives diverge sharply: locals describe loss, fear and declining income, while some foreigners and investors argue the development is legal, overdue and ultimately beneficial.
- Younger Lombok residents highlight deeper systemic issues — weak regulation, rising costs and limited opportunities — saying tourism growth increasingly serves visitors, not locals.
Mongabay shark meat investigation wins national journalism award in Brazil (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mongabay-shark-meat-investigation-wins-national-journalism-award-in-brazil/
- A Mongabay investigation that revealed Brazilian state-run institutions bulk-buying shark meat for public schools, hospitals and prisons won second place in the ARI/Banrisul Journalism Award, one of Brazil’s most prestigious journalism prizes.
- In collaboration with the Pulitzer Center, Mongabay revealed how authorities had issued 1,012 public tenders since 2004 for the procurement of more than 5,400 metric tons of shark meat, raising environmental and public health concerns.
- In a statement, the Rio Grande do Sul Press Association (ARI) said the award “recognized the talents” in professional and university categories amid a record number of entries, up 40% from the 2024 edition.
- Following the revelations, the investigation sparked several impacts, from a call for a public hearing in Brazil’s lower house of Congress, a citation in a lawsuit to ban shark meat from federal procurements, to an industry debate questioning the harms of shark meat consumption.
Mekong sand mining risks collapse of SE Asia’s largest freshwater lake, study finds (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mekong-sand-mining-risks-collapse-of-se-asias-largest-freshwater-lake-study-finds/
- Surging demand for sand used in construction projects poses an existential threat to Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, new research indicates.
- The seasonal expansion and contraction of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake is often referred to as the Mekong River’s “heartbeat” due to its fundamental role in sustaining ecosystems and human lives across the region.
- Sand mining in the Mekong River, particularly in Cambodia and Vietnam, has deepened the river channel, effectively halving wet season flows into Tonle Sap Lake between 1998 and 2018, the study found.
- The stark findings underscore the severity of sand mining impacts, adding urgency to calls for improved and coordinated river governance throughout the Mekong Basin.
New miniature bright-orange toadlet found in southern Brazil and named after Lula (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/12/new-miniature-bright-orange-toadlet-found-in-southern-brazil-and-named-after-lula/
In a small stretch of the Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil lives a bright-orange species of frog that’s new to science, researchers report in a recent study. The miniature amphibian measures just over a centimeter long, less than half an inch, or the length of an average fingernail. The team has named the toadlet Brachycephalus […]
Neddy Mulimo treated ranger welfare as conservation (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/neddy-mulimo-treated-ranger-welfare-as-conservation/
- Neddy Mulimo argued that ranger welfare was not charity but strategy, insisting that effective conservation depends on whether rangers have water, shelter, training, and institutional backing to make sound decisions under pressure.
- His own path into conservation began far from the bush, shaped by education, mentorship, and early encounters with risk, including a near-fatal buffalo attack that nearly drove him out of the profession.
- Over four decades, he rose from driver and educator to anti-poaching leader and mentor, helping build specialist units while remaining focused on the people doing the work, until his death in April 2025 after a battle with cancer.
Grassroots forest protection succeeds where planting drives fail in Nepal (December 23, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/grassroots-forest-protection-succeeds-where-planting-drives-fail-in-nepal/
- Cases from Nepal suggest that degraded land can regenerate naturally when locals enforce rules such as banning open livestock grazing, restricting access, fining illegal logging and organizing patrols, without the need for costly tree-planting drives.
- Native species return within a few years after the land is protected, showing that fertile soil, existing seed banks and wildlife presence can restore forests naturally.
- Researchers and community leaders say Nepal should prioritize long-term, community-led forest protection and natural regeneration, which are more effective, sustainable and lower-cost than coordinated tree planting.
Will Australia’s main environment law continue marginalizing Indigenous authority, despite overhaul? (commentary) (December 22, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/will-australias-main-environment-law-continue-marginalizing-indigenous-authority-despite-overhaul-commentary/
- Australia’s main environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), was recently updated.
- The EPBC overhaul is a major shift in environmental standards, which also appoints a new independent environment watchdog and other changes, but one of the most urgent failures of the old policy remains unresolved: the marginalization of Indigenous input and authority.
- The real test in the updated EPBC lies in how it’s implemented, a new op-ed argues: “If governments continue treating First Nations as consultees rather than partners, the new laws will inherit the same weaknesses that allowed deforestation, cultural loss and biodiversity decline under the old regime.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Taboo against harming strangler fig spirits protects forests in Indonesian Borneo (December 22, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/taboo-against-harming-strangler-fig-spirits-protects-forests-in-indonesian-borneo/
- The Iban community in West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, says it believes large strangler fig trees are inhabited by dangerous spirits, leading community members to protect these trees from harm wherever they occur.
- When clearing land for farming, the community protects the fig tree as well as islands of vegetation around the tree, which together account for 1-2% of their farmland dedicated to protecting the strangler figs.
- Research published in Biotropica found that strangler figs are equally or more abundant in the community’s farmland compared with old-growth, with 25 species identified across the landscape.
- These protected fig trees and surrounding vegetation serve as crucial refuges and stepping stones for wildlife, demonstrating how traditional spiritual beliefs can have measurable biodiversity benefits that could be replicated elsewhere.
Carbon and charisma: How climate network CC35 tricked its way to the limelight (December 22, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/carbon-and-charisma-how-climate-network-cc35-tricked-its-way-to-the-limelight/
- The executive secretary of CC35, a climate network of capital cities in the Americas, used annual climate summits and other events to advance private interests in carbon credit businesses, a Mongabay investigation has found.
- His plan included persuading a provincial government in Argentina to sign a multimillion-dollar carbon contract with an associate facing fraud allegations in a parallel carbon business. According to a recent Mongabay investigation, the associate had pressured Indigenous communities in Brazil and Bolivia to sign abusive carbon deals, conceding rights for an area larger than Ireland.
- The head of CC35, Argentinian Sebastián Navarro, also failed to fulfill CC35’s commitment to cover all costs associated with Ecuador’s pavilion at COP28, after making false claims to the government and creating debts for the country.
Daniel Ole Sambu, who helped lions and people coexist, died at age 51 (December 22, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/12/daniel-ole-sambu-who-helped-lions-and-people-coexist-died-at-age-51/
In the rangelands beneath Kilimanjaro, coexistence between people and wildlife has never been a simple matter. Livestock wander into the paths of lions. Farmers lose cattle they can scarcely afford to lose. Retaliation follows, and with it the slow unraveling of ecosystems that depend on predators to stay whole. Local conservation groups have long understood […]