Cambodian environmental journalist Ouk Mao arrested (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/cambodian-environmental-journalist-ouk-mao-arrested/
- Cambodian journalist Ouk Mao was arrested May 16 by plainclothes military officers, according to his wife and colleagues.
- Mao had previously faced legal charges and physical attacks as a result of his environmental reporting.
- It is not yet clear what charges, in any, Mao currently faces. As of 10:30 p.m., Mao’s wife said he remained in temporary detention at the Stung Treng provincial prison.
Bolivia expels members of fake nation Kailasa over Indigenous land lease scandal (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/bolivia-expels-members-of-fake-nation-kailasa-over-indigenous-land-lease-scandal/
- A Hindu religious sect tried to enter Ecuador, Paraguay and Bolivia by lying to authorities and Indigenous leaders.
- The self-proclaimed nation, the United States of Kailasa, operates from different parts of the world and offered high sums of money to Indigenous leaders in exchange for lands to exploit or conserve for carbon credit projects, say legal experts.
- One contract was a lease for 1,000 years, to be renewed perpetually, allowing the self-proclaimed nation to exploit the natural resources in the leased territory.
- Authorities announced the beginning of an investigation into land trafficking and criminal organization against the people involved in the contracts of the perpetual leasing of Bolivian land in favor of the self-proclaimed nation of Kailasa.
In Nepal, centuries-old Buddhist incense tradition faces overharvesting, climate threats (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/in-nepal-centuries-old-buddhist-incense-tradition-faces-overharvesting-climate-threats/
- Lighting sang, a traditional incense made from juniper and other local plants, is a sacred daily ritual among Buddhist communities in Nepal’s Trans-Himalayan regions like Manang, symbolizing purification and peace.
- Though classified as “least concern” globally by the IUCN, black juniper faces pressure due to habitat fragmentation, overharvesting for incense and increasing commercial demand.
- Climate change, especially prolonged winter droughts and delayed snowfall, is impairing the regeneration of juniper shrubs, making them more vulnerable despite their natural resilience in harsh alpine conditions.
Scientists underestimate frequency of South Atlantic heating events: Study (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/05/scientists-underestimate-frequency-of-south-atlantic-heating-events-study/
A new study finds that scientists have likely underestimated heat stress on coral reefs in the South Atlantic Ocean, further raising concerns for coral bleaching amid climate change. The study notes that while the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific have well-established long-term ocean temperature and coral monitoring programs, the South Atlantic Ocean has lagged behind, causing gaps […] 
Countries failing to stop illegal bird killings despite 2030 commitment: Report (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/05/countries-failing-to-stop-illegal-bird-killings-despite-2030-commitment-report/
Most countries that pledged to reduce the number of birds being illegally killed along an important migratory route in Europe and the Mediterranean region are failing to do so, a new report shows. For the report, conservation organizations BirdLife International and EuroNatur tracked the progress of 46 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, […] Study unveils mystery of monkey yodeling — and why humans can’t compete (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/study-unveils-mystery-of-monkey-yodeling-and-why-humans-cant-compete/
- Researchers found that New World monkeys can produce extreme yodeling-like sounds by rapidly switching between their vocal folds (for low tones) and specialized vocal membranes (for high tones), achieving frequency jumps up to 12 times greater than humans can manage.
- Scientists conducted their research at Bolivia’s La Senda Verde animal refuge, using recordings and electroglottographs on live monkeys.
- Humans lost these vocal membranes during evolution, trading vocal gymnastics for more stable speech that’s easier to understand.
- The complex vocalizations likely help monkeys manage social relationships and grab attention in the rainforest.
Republic of Congo’s gold mining boom undermines conservation efforts (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/05/republic-of-congos-gold-mining-boom-undermines-conservation-efforts/
The Republic of Congo has one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world, but “uncontrolled gold mining” in recent years could harm the country’s biodiversity, especially in the Sangha region, Mongabay’s Elodie Toto reported in a video published in February. Sangha, located in the country’s north, on the border with Cameroon and the Central […] 
Vortex predator: Study reveals the fluid dynamics of flamingo feeding (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/05/vortex-predator-study-reveals-the-fluid-dynamics-of-flamingo-feeding/
Flamingos, often pictured standing still with their heads submerged in water, make for a pretty picture. But peep underwater, and you’ll find the tall, elegant pink birds bobbing their heads, chattering their beaks, and creating mini tornados to efficiently guide microscopic prey into their mouths, according to a new study. “Think of spiders, which produce […] 
China drops pangolin formulas from approved TCM list, but concerns remain (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/china-drops-pangolin-formulas-from-approved-tcm-list-but-concerns-remain/
- China has updated its pharmacopeia, its list of approved traditional and Western drugs, to remove traditional formulas with pangolin scales, offering hope for pangolin conservation — but also leaving some concerns about continued production.
- The new edition, effective Oct. 1, 2025, removes both raw pangolin scales and all formulas known to contain them, marking a significant step forward in conservation efforts, though conservationists caution that a few untracked formulas may still remain.
- The change reflects both international pressure, such as a 2022 resolution by the global wildlife trade convention, and growing internal advocacy within the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) community for more sustainable practices.
- Despite the positive development, conservationists remain cautious, as changes to the pharmacopeia don’t amount to a full market ban, and China’s domestic market for pangolin scales is still open under an annual 1-metric-ton quota, allowing continued production.
Radio tags help reveal the secret lives of tiger salamanders (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/radio-tags-help-reveal-the-secret-lives-of-tiger-salamanders/
- Scientists are using radio telemetry to map out the home range and habitats of tiger salamanders in the Hamptons in New York.
- Tiger salamanders spend most of their time in burrows underground; they emerge during breeding season and lay eggs in seasonal pools.
- Studying their movements and how far they move from the pools is challenging because of their underground lifestyle.
- With the help of radio transmitters, scientists have found that the salamanders move greater distances than previously thought; they were also found to burrow under fields.
Endangered Species Day: Three animals on the path to recovery (May 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/05/endangered-species-day-three-animals-on-the-path-to-recovery/
Every third Friday of May is Endangered Species Day. More than 900 known species are already extinct to date, while at least 28,500 others are listed as endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. As the world’s natural biomes get chipped away by aggressive resource extraction, mammals, fungi, corals and […] 
Indigenous conservationists lead the fight to save Mentawai’s endangered primates (May 15, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/indigenous-conservationists-lead-the-fight-to-save-mentawais-endangered-primates/
- Five of the six nonhuman primate species found in the Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands have traditionally been hunted; traditional beliefs forbid killing the sixth, Kloss’s gibbon, or bilou.
- With widespread deforestation and the erosion of traditional practices that governed hunting behavior, all of the islands’ primates are now endangered or critically endangered.
- Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai, a grassroots, Indigenous-led organization, is working with communities to protect primates within the framework of Indigenous Mentawai customs.
New study maps the fishmeal factories that supply the world’s fish farms (May 15, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-study-maps-the-fishmeal-factories-that-supply-the-worlds-fish-farms/
- In April, scientists published the first-ever open-source map of fishmeal and fish oil factories around the world.
- The scientists found 506 factories across some 60 countries, and in most cases were able to identify the companies that own them.
- Fishmeal and fish oil production is controversial because it can incentivize the overexploitation of ocean ecosystems, depleting marine food webs, and negatively impact coastal communities that rely on fish for nutrition and livelihoods.
- In addition to location data, the scientists collected data on the types of fish many of the factories use and whether the raw material they process is fish byproduct or whole fish, which critics view as more problematic.
World’s oldest ant fossil found in Brazil, dating back 113 million years (May 15, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/05/worlds-oldest-ant-fossil-found-in-brazil-dating-back-113-million-years/
A “remarkably well-preserved” fossil discovered in Brazil, dating back 113 million years, is now the oldest ant to have ever been found by scientists, a new study has revealed. The ancient fossil was found preserved in a limestone and “represents the earliest undisputed ant known to science,” the authors write in the study. The limestone, […] 
In India, folklore is a tool that helps women save the greater adjutant stork (May 15, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/in-india-folklore-is-a-tool-that-helps-women-save-the-greater-adjutant-stork/
- In Northeastern India’s Assam, women have joined forces to save the resident greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubius), known locally as the hargila, which was long considered a “dirty, smelly bird” that villagers would attack.
- The women, who call themselves the Hargila Army, incorporate the birds into their songs, prayers and weavings in order to help protect the species and spark appreciation for them.
- Since starting these efforts, the IUCN has reclassified the greater adjutant from endangered to near threatened, as the birds’ population numbers have risen.
- A new paper explores the effectiveness of incorporating the hargila into local folklore as a conservation strategy.
Profit imbalance in palm oil industry risks environmental compliance, report says (May 15, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/profit-imbalance-in-palm-oil-industry-risks-environmental-compliance-report-says/
- A new report calls on palm oil-buying firms to take serious steps to address systemic imbalances in the distribution of profits across the supply chain.
- Smallholder farmers produce nearly one-third of raw palm oil globally, yet they receive a disproportionately small share of industry profits compared to large corporations, the report says.
- Small-scale producers are often locked out of high-value markets due to a lack of technical capacity and financial capital to meet increasingly hefty due diligence requirements driven by consumer demand for less environmentally destructive goods.
- The authors urge industry buyers to adjust their purchasing policies to be more inclusive of smallholder farmers, helping to create an industry that is more socially responsible and less environmentally destructive.
Brazil’s offshore wind farms could sacrifice small-scale fishing in Ceará (May 15, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/brazils-offshore-wind-farms-could-sacrifice-small-scale-fishing-in-ceara/
- In Brazil, the expansion of coastal wind energy has already disrupted traditional communities’ way of life; now, the concern is that these impacts will be repeated at sea, after a bill regulating offshore wind energy was signed into law in January.
- In the state of Ceará, 26 projects overlap with small fishing zones used by hundreds of traditional communities, including maroon, Indigenous, fisher and extractivist groups that have had a direct relationship with the sea for generations.
- The northeast region seeks to expand offshore wind energy, as it is vital to the production of green hydrogen aimed for European markets.
The world needs a new UN protocol to fight environmental crime (commentary) (May 15, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/the-world-needs-a-new-un-protocol-to-fight-environmental-crime-commentary/
- As environmental crime goes global and awareness of its massive scope rises, finding agreement between governments on which illegal trades to target, and how, is not simple and leads to a piecemeal approach, a new op-ed argues.
- The case for international law enforcement cooperation is growing stronger, though, with the U.N. recently launching an intergovernmental process to explore new protocols targeting environmental crime under its existing convention against transnational organized crime, UNTOC.
- “A dedicated UNTOC protocol won’t solve everything, but it would mark a critical step toward harmonizing laws, closing enforcement gaps, and raising the cost for environmental offenders,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Kenyan soil carbon project suspended for a second time (May 15, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/05/kenyan-soil-carbon-project-suspended-for-a-second-time/
The carbon credit certifier Verra has placed the Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project under review for a second time, it confirmed to Mongabay in an emailed statement. Until the review is completed, the project will not be permitted to sell any credits it generates through its model of managing livestock grazing routes. The decision is […] 
Brazil antideforestation operation blacklists more than 500 farms in the Amazon (May 15, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/05/brazil-antideforestation-operation-blacklists-more-than-500-farms-in-the-amazon/
The Brazilian government blocked 545 rural properties in the Amazonian state of Pará from selling crops and livestock both domestically and internationally, citing illegal deforestation, according to a May 6 announcement by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. The announcement marks one of Brazil’s largest uses of remote sensing to sanction agriculture activity associated […]