Global trade in sea cucumbers ‘alarming’ with many species at risk: Study (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/global-trade-in-sea-cucumbers-alarming-with-many-species-at-risk-study/
- The global trade in sea cucumbers has grown since 2013 and continues to decimate the populations of many species, according to a recent study that cites “escalating impacts” and calls for stronger conservation measures.
- The study found that global capture of sea cucumbers increased from 2013 to the late 2010s and dipped slightly during the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the last years in the study period.
- China and it’s special administrative region of Hong Kong, where sea cucumbers are used in traditional medicine and consumed as a delicacy on special occasions, are the main importers as measured by dollar value, the study found.
New report reveals how environmental crime threatens Amazonian communities (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/new-report-reveals-how-environmental-crime-threatens-amazonian-communities/
Crime and militarization pose an existential threat to Indigenous territories across the Amazon Basin, a new report warns. Published ahead of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) taking place this week in New York, the report finds Indigenous groups are being harmed by restricted access to crucial natural resources, and are suffering […]
Brazil bill aims to ban satellite tool used to slow Amazon deforestation (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/brazil-bill-aims-to-ban-satellite-tool-used-to-slow-amazon-deforestation/
- The Brazilian agribusiness caucus is accelerating a bill to ban remote embargoes, a tool that allows environmental agents to block deforested land using satellite data.
- The measure impacts IBAMA’s raids and risks reversing the system that halved Amazon deforestation under the Lula administration.
- IBAMA officials warn that banning the technology is equivalent to “going back to the fax machine,” as it makes enforcement in remote areas significantly slower and more expensive.
- The proposal is part of a broader “Destruction Package” gaining momentum in Congress ahead of October’s general elections.
Brazil prosecutors launch suit against meatpacking giant JBS over beef tied to slavery-like labor (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/brazil-prosecutors-launch-suit-against-meatpacking-giant-jbs-over-beef-tied-to-slavery-like-labor/
SAO PAULO (AP) — Labor prosecutors in Brazil filed a lawsuit Wednesday against meatpacking giant JBS, accusing the company of buying cattle from farms where workers were held in slavery-like conditions. The civil action suit before a labor court in the northern Brazilian state of Para seeks nearly 119 million reais (about $24 million) in compensation, an […]
Bangladesh struggles to choose between food security & stable groundwater table (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/bangladesh-struggles-to-choose-between-food-security-stable-groundwater-table/
- With an aim to stabilize the groundwater table, Bangladesh declared 25 subdistricts of its northwestern part as water crisis zones in late 2025.
- Identifying irrigation as the major factor of the crisis, a government notice asked farmers to immediately halt the cultivation of high irrigation-fed boro paddy.
- Since the zone is also considered a rice-producing hub, the government later changed the direction for a limited time, considering the immediate impacts of hampering staple food production in the country.
- However, development professionals suggested shifts in agriculture practices from high irrigation-fed rice production to alternative crops to ensure a stabilized water table and livelihood for the people living in the region.
Experts caution Nepal’s plan to open doors to private zoos (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/experts-caution-nepals-plan-to-open-doors-to-private-zoos/
- Nepal’s draft guidelines to allow private zoos, wildlife hospitals and rescue centers marks a shift toward private participation in conservation, aimed at improving infrastructure and awareness.
- Experts say vague definitions, weak oversight and limited technical capacity could enable wildlife capture under the guise of rescue and lead to poor animal welfare.
- Drawing on India’s model, they say time-bound licensing and periodic compliance reviews — with the power to shut non-compliant zoos — will be crucial.
In Indonesia, a schoolboy moves mountains on waste as government targets reform (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-indonesia-a-schoolboy-moves-mountains-on-waste-as-government-targets-reform/
- At just 12 years old, Syazwan Luftan Riady started a grassroots nonprofit of young people in East Java province focused on environmental protection.
- Now a second-year student at a prominent university in Indonesia, Luftan is also the protagonist of a children’s book and has received recognition from a U.S. organization for his campaigning work.
- The United Nations Environment Programme notes that Indonesia generates 3.2 million metric tons of plastic waste every year, the second most in the world after China.
- Indonesia’s president, Prabowo Subianto, announced in February a “war on waste” and is overseeing construction of 33 new electricity generation projects fueled by household waste. The president has also called for a volunteer army of schoolchildren to help clean up the country’s beaches and rivers.
Inside the fight to save the little-known Galápagos petrel (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/inside-the-fight-to-save-the-little-known-galapagos-petrel/
- Galápagos petrels are rarely seen, yet critically endangered. These large seabirds endemic to five islands in the Galápagos archipelago face significant threats from numerous invasive species.
- In the 1980s, their population plummeted to crisis levels, but sustained conservation efforts have since slowed their decline.
- Conservationists are tackling invasive species and efforts are expanding to privately held farms that host important petrel breeding sites.
- Experts point out that the various organizations working on petrel conservation need to coordinate their efforts so that they can plan effective interventions where most needed.
The value of South Africa’s wildlife shouldn’t be in the hands of wealthy foreign hunters (commentary) (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-value-of-south-africas-wildlife-shouldnt-be-in-the-hands-of-wealthy-foreign-hunters-commentary/
- The latest statistics on South Africa’s professional (“trophy”) hunting industry reveal a large increase in animals hunted, with numbers set to rise in coming years, under the logic that the revenue generated is necessary for managing wildlife.
- But should the conservation of the nation’s wildlife, which have their own roles in natural ecosystems, depend on their ability to generate an enormous income for a select group of wealthy farmers and professional hunters, a new op-ed asks.
- “When conservation is built on the premise that wildlife must pay its way to exist, we should ask not only who benefits, but what is being lost, and at whose expense,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
From protecting salamanders to seabirds, here are the 2026 Whitley Awards winners (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/from-protecting-salamanders-to-seabirds-here-are-the-2026-whitley-awards-winners/
This year’s Whitley Awards honor six grassroots conservationists from South Asia, South America, and Africa protecting a range of wildlife and habitats, from threatened amphibians to marine and freshwater fish and lions. Dubbed the “Green Oscars,” the awards are presented annually by U.K. charity the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), and honor grassroots leaders from […]
Cocaine exposure drives salmon to alter movements (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/cocaine-exposure-drives-salmon-to-alter-movements/
Young Atlantic salmon exposed to cocaine and its breakdown product, benzoylecgonine, swim farther and more widely in the wild, a new study shows. This behavioral change can put them in risky situations, researchers say. “[T]he effects of illicit drug pollution on aquatic wildlife is not just a laboratory finding — it can measurably alter wildlife […]
‘Creamy, nutty’ spiders are protein source for Indigenous Indian tribe (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/creamy-nutty-spiders-are-protein-source-for-indigenous-indian-tribe/
In India’s northeastern Nagaland state, orb-weaver spiders are a sought-after source of protein, according to a new study in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. Here, “edible spiders hold a significant place in the local diet and have been consumed for generations,” study lead author Lobeno Mozhui, from Nagaland University, told Mongabay by email. The researchers […]
Borneo’s GIGANTIC bat caves (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/borneos-gigantic-bat-caves/
Borneo is home to some of the largest cave systems in the world… and they’re filled with bats. But HOW did these caves get so massive? They were first mapped by Western scientists in the 1970s, during a Royal Geographical Society and Sarawak Forestry Mulu Expedition. But they’ve long been known about by local Indigenous […]
Endangered Javan gibbon baby born in UK rare species sanctuary (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/endangered-javan-gibbon-baby-born-in-uk-rare-species-sanctuary/
A rare Javan gibbon was born at a wildlife park in the U.K., one of the world’s main centers for the species’ captive breeding. Lima, now just over 2 months old, is a potential candidate for returning to the species’ native habitat on the Indonesian island of Java. The Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), known locally […]
UN report flags disproportionate costs of clean energy transition (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/un-report-flags-disproportionate-costs-of-clean-energy-transition/
A new report published by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) warns that wealthy nations’ push toward cleaner energy comes with high environmental and social costs in mineral-producing countries. The investigation links the extraction of transition minerals used in green energy technologies like solar panels and rechargeable batteries to acute […]
Conservationist wins top award to protect lions and people in Zimbabwe (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/conservationist-wins-top-award-to-protect-lions-and-people-in-zimbabwe/
- A Zimbabwean conservationist working to reduce conflict between lions and livestock farmers is a winner of one of this year’s Whitley Awards, better known as the “Green Oscars.”
- The prize money will fund the expansion of the work led by Moreangels Mbizah and her NGO, Wildlife Conservation Action, in a region that is a hotspot for human-carnivore conflict.
- Community guardians employed by WCA warn farmers when lions enter their farming areas; promote the use of secure animal enclosures for cattle, goats and sheep, and oversee the installation of solar-powered flashing lights to deter nocturnal raids by lions.
- These interventions have reduced conflict by up to 98% in at least two rural wards, but habitat loss through the expansion of farms into wildlife migration corridors worries Mbizah and her team.
Laos can do more to mitigate chemical pollution of rivers flowing into Vietnam (analysis) (April 30, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/laos-can-do-more-to-mitigate-chemical-pollution-of-rivers-flowing-into-vietnam-analysis/
- Rapid expansion of rare earth and gold mining in Laos is contaminating river systems that flow into Vietnam, putting millions of downstream users at risk.
- Toxic runoff, particularly arsenic, poses a “silent” threat as it bioaccumulates over time, with serious long-term impacts on human health, fisheries and food security.
- Weak enforcement and the lack of a dedicated Laos-Vietnam monitoring framework leave these shared rivers vulnerable, highlighting the urgent need for stronger cross-border cooperation and safeguards.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Florida ‘Sloth World’ shuts down amid dozens of captive sloth deaths (April 29, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/florida-sloth-world-shuts-down-amid-dozens-of-captive-sloth-deaths/
A startup known as “Sloth World” brought some 69 sloths to Orlando, Florida, with plans to charge $49 to let visitors see them up close. However, 52 sloths are believed to have died in conditions a former employee described to Mongabay as “heartbreaking,” ultimately forcing Sloth World to shut down, with plans to file for […]
A “good year” for forests changes less than it seems (April 29, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-good-year-for-forests-changes-less-than-it-seems/
- Tropical primary forest loss saw a significant drop in 2025, but the decline likely represents a temporary reprieve driven by favorable weather rather than a fundamental shift in the root causes of deforestation.
- The reduction was largely due to a decrease in fire-related losses following the extreme droughts of 2024, highlighting how forest health is increasingly dictated by climate variability and rainfall extremes.
- While policy-driven successes in Brazil and Indonesia offer a blueprint for enforcement, these gains remain fragile and vulnerable to shifting political dynamics and weakening governance.
- The resilience of recent progress faces an imminent test in 2026, as forecasts for a returning El Niño threaten to bring back the dry conditions that historically trigger catastrophic forest loss.
Marine resource conflicts in Africa revolve mostly around access: Study (April 29, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/marine-resource-conflicts-in-africa-revolve-mostly-around-access-study/
- A new study identified more than 1,000 conflicts in Africa over an 11-year period and found that nearly 75% were disputes over access to spaces and resources.
- The study calls for more participatory and transparent governance to reduce conflicts, warning that without such reforms, conflicts could derail African policymakers’ sustainability and equity goals.
- The analysis, based on media reports and academic articles, found that the underlying drivers of the conflicts, some more direct than others, included illegal fishing, changes in distribution of benefits, weak governance and resource degradation caused by human activity.