Why Sweden’s forest policy matters to the world (commentary) (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/why-swedens-forest-policy-matters-to-the-world-commentary/
- Sweden is one of the world’s largest exporters of forest-based products: paper, timber, cardboard and biofuels travel across the globe, ending up in your packaging, your books, in your home.
- A recent government proposal encourages fertilization with nitrogen to speed up tree growth, which may work in the short term but eventually fails and is leached into waterways, altering ecosystems and being released back into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.
- “If a country with some of the world’s largest intact boreal forests chooses to double down on short-term extraction, it will not only undermine the EU’s climate goals — it will send a dangerous signal to other forest nations, from Canada to Brazil, that soil and biodiversity can be sacrificed in the name of so-called green growth,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Cautious optimism greets new global forest fund at COP30 (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/11/cautious-optimism-greets-new-global-forest-fund-at-cop30/
At the COP30 Leaders’ Summit in Belém, host country Brazil formally introduced the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). It’s an endowment-style mechanism designed to pay countries and forest stewards to keep tropical forests standing. TFFF has drawn goodwill and cautious optimism from leaders and NGOs. TFFF has received more than $5.5 billion in initial pledges; architects of […]
After 6 years, trial in Indigenous forest guardian killing pushed to 2026 (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/after-6-years-trial-in-indigenous-forest-guardian-killing-pushed-to-2026/
- The trial of the two suspects charged in the killing of Indigenous forest guardian Paulo Paulino Guajajara and attempted killing of fellow guardian Laércio Guajajara in the Brazilian Amazon in 2019 was pushed to 2026, triggering outrage among the Guajajara people and Indigenous rights advocates.
- The trial over the crimes will be a legal landmark as the first Indigenous cases to go before a federal jury in Maranhão; usually, killings are considered crimes against individuals and are tried by a state jury, but these crimes were escalated to the federal level because prosecutors made the case that they represented an aggression against the entire Guajajara community and Indigenous culture.
- A long-awaited anthropological report on the collective damages to the Indigenous community as a result of the crimes was concluded and attached to the court case in August, but the trial is very likely to only happen in early 2026, “given that there is not enough time for it to be held by the end of this year,” the judge’s advisory staff in the case said.
- Paulo’s father, José Maria Paulino Guajajara, said he is “really angry” at white people for killing his son for no reason — and inside the Arariboia territory, where their entrance is forbidden. “We Indians are dying, and the white man won’t stop killing us.”
Early-career journalists join the next wave of environmental reporting (commentary) (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/early-career-journalists-join-the-next-wave-of-environmental-reporting-commentary/
- Journalism as a practice is on the cusp of a major shift; engagement with traditional media such as TV, print and news websites continues to fall, while dependence on social media, video and online platforms is rising.
- This is happening amid shrinking press freedoms worldwide and the growing climate crisis, which, unlike with the previous generation of reporters, is the lived reality of young journalists today who confront climate change directly, rather than as a potential hazard in some distant future.
- To navigate these shifts and to rebuild public trust in news media, we need training programs tailored to equip local reporters with skills in new forms of storytelling and the tools needed to cover the systemic crises taking place across the Global South.
- This commentary is part of Our Letters to the Future, a series produced by the Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellows as their final fellowship project. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Asian golden cat range expands, but declines continue amid rising threats (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/asian-golden-cat-range-expands-but-declines-continue-amid-rising-threats/
- The Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) is a medium-sized cat species that was once abundant across Asia, ranging from India to China. Today its population is undergoing a significant decline.
- That’s resulted in it now being declared a threatened species as its habitat is lost or fragmented, and indiscriminate snaring removes it from forests, particularly in Southeast Asia.
- Targeted research, conservation and funding are rare for this species, resulting in significant knowledge gaps about its basic ecology and threats. That uncertainty is causing some conservationists to say it could warrant endangered status.
- It’s hoped that increasing threat levels imperiling the Asian golden cat will spur donor funding, giving researchers the tools to shine a light on the needs of this lesser-known felid. Nepal has so far led the way in conservation efforts.
Study finds deforestation fuels West Africa’s water crisis (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/11/study-finds-deforestation-fuels-west-africas-water-crisis/
A new study warns that deforestation across Ghana, Niger and Nigeria is intensifying West Africa’s water crisis, threatening the health and livelihoods of more than 122 million people. Drawing on 12 years of satellite data from 2013-2025, the joint report by WaterAid and Tree Aid finds a direct correlation between forest loss and the decline […]
COP30 tropical forest fund may drive debt and deforestation, groups warn (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/11/cop30-tropical-forest-fund-may-drive-debt-and-deforestation-groups-warn/
A new global fund meant to reward tropical countries for protecting forests could instead drive deforestation and deepen debt in the developing world, civil society groups warn. The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), launched Nov. 6 in Belém, Brazil, ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, aims to raise $125 billion and promises to pay […]
New pledge, old problems as Indonesia’s latest Indigenous forest promise draws skepticism (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/new-pledge-old-problems-as-indonesias-latest-indigenous-forest-promise-draws-skepticism/
- Indonesia has pledged to recognize 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) of Indigenous and customary forests by 2029, a move the government says will curb deforestation and advance Indigenous rights.
- Advocates call the pledge another empty promise, citing years of stalled reforms, including a long-delayed Indigenous Rights Bill and a slow, bureaucratic process that has recognized less than 2% of mapped customary forests.
- Rights groups say state-backed development continues to drive land grabs and forest loss, with a quarter of Indigenous territories overlapping extractive concessions and widespread conflicts linked to the government’s strategic national projects (PSN).
- Critics urge the government to enact legal reforms and recognize Indigenous land beyond the 1.4-million-hectare target, warning that without real action, the pledge will be symbolic rather than transformative.
Brazil launches fund tying forest cash to steep deforestation penalties (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/11/brazil-launches-fund-tying-forest-cash-to-steep-deforestation-penalties/
Brazil officially launched a new financial market fund, called the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, or TFFF, at a Nov. 6 event ahead of the COP30 climate summit it will host in Belém. Countries with significant amounts of tropical forest cover can receive up to $4 per hectare ($1.62 per acre) of standing forest per year […]
Europe’s under-pressure bats face ‘astonishing’ threat: Ambush by rats (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/11/europes-under-pressure-bats-face-astonishing-threat-ambush-by-rats/
Researchers have captured video of an unexpected predator at two bat hibernation sites in northern Germany: invasive brown rats that lie in wait to intercept the bats mid-flight. Invasive rodents are known predators of native animals on islands, including bats. However, this is likely the first time invasive brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) have been recorded […]
Across the Amazon, impunity among politicians remains chronic (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/across-the-amazon-impunity-among-politicians-remains-chronic/
- Special protocols for the prosecution of elected officials are used to protect them from trivial or politically motivated proceedings, but they can help them avoid accountability for illegal actions.
- Often, their trials are delayed until the charges are dismissed due to technicalities, to the statute of limitations, or because they have been acquitted by politically influenced judges.
- This type of constitutional impunity has been common in Brazil, Bolivia, and Venezuela, from the Lava Jato case to Hugo Chavez’s legal warfare on his political opponents.
Indigenous delegates prepare for COP30 with focus on justice, land and finance (November 7, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/indigenous-delegates-prepare-for-cop30-with-focus-on-justice-land-and-finance/
- The 2025 U.N. climate conference, COP30, will run from Nov. 10-21 in Belém, Brazil, and is expected to host the largest participation of Indigenous peoples in the conference series’ history, with more than 3,000 Indigenous delegates registered.
- Mongabay spoke with some of the delegates from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific about their expectations for the conference and their objectives.
- They’re calling for recognition of Indigenous lands as a climate solution, a just energy transition, protection for forest defenders, and financial pledges that ensure at least 20% of forest conservation funds be directed to Indigenous and local communities.
- COP30 is expected to launch initiatives such as the Belém Action Mechanism for a just transition and the Tropical Forest Forever Facility. In the lead up to the conference, governments and donors also announced major commitments to recognize customary lands and provide funding support land rights.
UNESCO biosphere listing raises hope, questions for Malaysia’s Kinabatangan floodplain (November 6, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/unesco-biosphere-listing-raises-hope-questions-for-malaysias-kinabatangan-floodplain/
- UNESCO has declared the floodplain around Malaysian Borneo’s Kinabatangan River a biosphere reserve, linking the Heart of Borneo to the Lower Kinabatangan–Segama Wetlands.
- Conservationists warn that the landscape remains heavily fragmented by oil palm plantations and faces persistent threats from pollution and weak land governance.
- They argue that lasting change will require land reform, corporate accountability and stronger coordination between Sabah’s forestry and wildlife authorities.
Expedition charts Cook Islands seafloor, amid scrutiny over mining motives (November 6, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/expedition-charts-cook-islands-seafloor-amid-scrutiny-over-mining-motives/
- Between Oct. 1 and 21, a U.S government-funded vessel, the E/V Nautilus, conducted an expedition in the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), following an agreement between the U.S. and the Cook Islands to “advance scientific research and the responsible development of seabed mineral resources.”
- During the 21-day expedition, the E/V Nautilus mapped more than 14,000 square kilometers (5,400 square miles) of the Cook Islands’ seafloor while also documenting deep-sea biodiversity.
- Environmental activists protested the expedition, arguing it would help accelerate deep-sea mining in the Cook Islands. The crew of the E/V Nautilus, however, rejects the accusation.
- The Cook Islands government has issued three deep-sea mining exploration licenses, which will expire in 2027. One company operating in the Cook Islands has said it hopes to apply for an exploitation license in 2027.
Researchers define the importance of the ‘circular seabird economy’ (November 6, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/11/researchers-define-the-importance-of-the-circular-seabird-economy/
In a review article published in Nature, researchers have introduced a new term to describe the importance of seabirds across land and marine ecosystems: the circular seabird economy. Although seabirds spend most of their lives at sea, they return to land to breed, often forming colonies of thousands of individuals. This influx of birds, bringing […]
Leaders of world’s biggest polluters skip UN climate summit (November 6, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/11/leaders-of-worlds-biggest-polluters-skip-un-climate-summit/
BELEM, Brazil (AP) — World leaders gathering in a coastal city in the Brazilian Amazon for the U.N.‘s annual climate summit hope it’s a rare opportunity to turn previous commitments into practical steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, preserve rainforests and make good on pledges to finance clean energy. But the heads of the world’s […]
Healthy rivers, healthy people: A Brazil project links human & ecosystem well-being (November 6, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/healthy-rivers-healthy-people-a-brazil-project-links-human-ecosystem-well-being/
- A night fishing trip 30 years ago showed Brazilian public health doctor Apolo Heringer the meaning of health: a clean river full of fish — a notion that inspired the Manuelzão Project to restore the Velhas River Basin in southeastern Brazil.
- The basin includes Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region (BHMR), capital of Minas Gerais, the third-largest metropolitan region in Brazil and home to approximately 5.7 million people in 34 cities; here, the combination of high population density, inadequate urban planning and lack of infrastructure has damaged the rivers that cross the region.
- After sewage treatment plants began operating in the area, fish started returning to the waters; the dorado (Salminus franciscanus) was chosen as an indicator of good water quality since it needs a lot of oxygen to survive and polluted waters have low oxygen levels.
- Connections between the river, its health and people’s understanding are crucial to the Manuelzão Project and its goals for collective health.
The uncertain future of DRC’s traditional medicine, a heritage to save (commentary) (November 6, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-uncertain-future-of-drcs-traditional-medicine-a-heritage-to-save-commentary/
- Congolese traditional medicine, rooted in cultural heritage, is disappearing due to the dominance of modern medicine; in rural areas, traditional healers remain essential, yet their knowledge is largely undocumented and often undervalued.
- Conflicts, climate change and loss of biodiversity further threaten medicinal plants and cultural transmission.
- There is an urgent need to recognize, protect and preserve this heritage through ethnobotany and inclusive health policies.
- This commentary is part of Our Letters to the Future, a series produced by the Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellows as their final fellowship project. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
No, Bill Gates, we don’t have to choose between people & planet (commentary) (November 6, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/no-bill-gates-we-dont-have-to-choose-between-people-planet-commentary/
- A new essay by billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, “Three Tough Truths About Climate,” marks a dangerous shift that could undermine his notable contributions to solving the climate crisis, the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, argues in a new op-ed.
- His suggestion that the world must choose between financing development or climate action falsely presents a zero-sum situation, she says, adding that Gates must publicly set the record straight before this idea is further used as a justification for backsliding on climate action.
- “The great challenge of our time is to build a future where every person can thrive on a healthy planet. That means rejecting the idea that we must choose between human progress and environmental protection,” Robinson writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Kenya court upholds cancellation of 1,050 MW coal plant license (November 6, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/11/kenya-court-upholds-cancellation-of-1050-mw-coal-plant-license/
Kenya’s Environment and Land Court has upheld a 2019 ruling that revoked the environmental license for the proposed 1,050-megawatt Lamu coal-fired power plant, effectively halting the controversial project. Justice Francis Njoroge dismissed an appeal from the Amu Power Company, finding the project’s environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) was inadequate and public participation deficient. The […]