‘My Wild City’ reminds us why cities need nature (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/08/my-wild-city-reminds-us-why-cities-need-nature/
In her upcoming book, My Wild City: Finding Nature, Meaning, and Hope in India’s Capital, conservation biologist Neha Sinha takes readers to the hidden and not-so-hidden ecosystems of India’s largest city. And while the book expertly details the biodiversity, I believe its greatest strength lies in connecting with the reader emotionally through powerful stories from […]
Scientists discover that giant octopuses were top predators of ancient oceans (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/scientists-discover-that-giant-octopuses-were-top-predators-of-ancient-oceans/
Finned octopus species alive today are all small, deep-sea animals that mostly live in pitch-black darkness thousands of meters beneath the surface of the sea. But a new discovery by a team of researchers in Japan, published in April 2026, found that the ancient octopus relatives were likely gigantic predators that roamed the late Cretaceous […]
Mining threat persists in Raja Ampat, Indonesia’s ‘Amazon of the Seas’ (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/mining-threat-persists-in-raja-ampat-indonesias-amazon-of-the-seas/
- The Indonesian archipelago of Raja Ampat is home to some of the world’s richest marine biodiversity.
- A year ago, the Indonesian government suspended mining activities for review and later revoked the permits of four of the five nickel companies operating in Raja Ampat following a public backlash.
- According to a new Greenpeace report, Raja Ampat remains vulnerable to nickel mining, with three companies still pursuing mining rights on its largest island and state-owned PT Gag Nikel continuing to operate.
Global hunger levels fall but Africa still lags behind, UN report finds (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/global-hunger-levels-fall-but-africa-still-lags-behind-un-report-finds/
- The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says the number of people facing hunger globally fell by around 43 million people between 2022 and 2025 — 20% of Africans were food insecure in 2025, compared to just 6% in Asia.
- FAO’s director of agrifood economics, David Laborde, said severe cuts to development aid, armed conflict, and climate shocks have held back food production in Africa over the past decade.
- Analysts told Mongabay that African governments need to stop promoting agriculture approaches that rely on imported synthetic fertilizer and pesticides, and instead support more effective practices that strengthen soil fertility, diversify crops and diets for farmers, and are more resilient to external shocks.
A shy bird found only in Nepal is waiting for the world to notice (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-shy-bird-found-only-in-nepal-is-waiting-for-the-world-to-notice/
- First scientifically described in 1836, the spiny babbler has only ever been found in Nepal.
- Despite its uniqueness, the species remains poorly understood.
- The bird has typically been spotted in and around Kathmandu and Pokhara, but sightings have now been recorded in shrublands across all seven of Nepal’s provinces.
- Ornithologists have been unable to determine why the bird does not exist outside Nepal or document more information on its habitat and behavior owing to limited research and researchers are calling for more attention for the bird.
Australia confirms first mass bird flu mortality in wildlife (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/australia-confirms-first-mass-bird-flu-mortality-in-wildlife/
Australia has confirmed the country’s first mass mortality of native seabirds from the deadly strain of avian influenza, H5N1. On Aug. 1, authorities confirmed the positive cases among 49 dead and 35 sick greater crested terns (Thalasseus bergii) at Baudin Rocks, an island roughly 5 kilometers (3 miles) off South Australia’s southeast coast near Cape […]
Doña Oscarina, master ceramicist, documented Indigenous knowledge along the Tiquié River (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/dona-oscarina-master-ceramicist-documented-the-knowledge-of-the-tiquie/
- Doña Oscarina Caldas Azevedo was a Desana master ceramicist, farmer, teacher, and Indigenous environmental researcher from Brazil’s upper Rio Negro region.
- As the first woman to serve as an Indigenous Environmental Management Agent on the Tiquié River, she helped bring women’s agricultural knowledge into environmental monitoring.
- She documented crop cycles, rainfall, river levels, and community life, while cultivating 18 varieties of cassava and preserving knowledge of ceramics, medicinal plants, and ritual practice.
- Through teaching, research, publications, and international forums, she worked to ensure that younger generations could continue applying and expanding this knowledge.
Brazil’s mining agency under fire over corruption and omission probes (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-mining-agency-under-fire-over-corruption-and-omission-probes/
- Federal prosecutors are suing the Brazilian mining agency for failing to monitor wildcat gold mines in the Brazilian Amazon.
- Illegal miners take advantage of the agency’s lack of oversight and name small areas as the origins of tons of gold that have actually been taken from protected areas.
- Measures implemented in the past few years have contributed to a sharp decrease in gold laundering in Brazil, but illegal metal is now being smuggled out of the country.
- ANM’s top officials are also under investigation for receiving bribes to favor mining companies.
In coastal Japan, one project is planting forests to stand against tsunamis (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-coastal-japan-one-project-is-planting-forests-to-stand-against-tsunamis/
- The Chinju no Mori Project has planted more than 680,000 trees along Japan’s coastline to mitigate the impact of tsunamis.
- The project took its inspiration from the “guardian forests” that often surround Shinto shrines.
- These forest groves helped protect several shrines from destruction during the massive earthquake and tsunami of 2011.
- Despite the project’s popularity, most towns continue to turn to concrete seawalls to guard against the next disaster.
How Borneo’s giant trees defy gravity and old scientific theories (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/how-borneos-giant-trees-defy-gravity-and-old-scientific-theories/
Giant tropical trees in Malaysian Borneo pump water to their highest branches just as easily as to their lower-most branches, a new study says. Researchers say this suggests tall trees are not more vulnerable to drought than shorter trees, as was previously believed. For decades, scientists have hypothesized that as trees become taller, the effects […]
Kenyans protesting nuclear facility face terrorism investigation (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/kenyans-protesting-nuclear-facility-face-terrorism-investigation/
Following protests at a public meeting about a proposed nuclear power plant in Kenya, one person was shot and several residents were arrested. The Kenyan government plans to build a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant near Bondo, a town in Siaya County near Lake Victoria. Officials, including representatives from the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), […]
New ‘conservation deed’ aims to protect tree kangaroos, forests, people in Papua New Guinea (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-conservation-deed-aims-to-protect-tree-kangaroos-forests-people-in-papua-new-guinea/
- On June 30, 266 clan leaders across 41 villages in Papua New Guinea’s Torricelli Mountains signed a legally binding “conservation deed” that protects rainforest and its inhabitants and is the result of decades of work by the Tenkile Conservation Alliance.
- The deed shields the range’s exceptional biodiversity, including the critically endangered tenkile and weimang tree kangaroos, after a long-stalled effort to secure formal government protected-area status has left communities exposed to logging pressure.
- Conservation deeds have held up in court, with a 2025 National Court ruling citing one to restrict logging on clan lands in East New Britain.
- Built over two years through a free, prior and informed consent process, the Torricelli deed bans commercial logging and mining, as well as the hunting of threatened species, renews every five years and gives the alliance a model it now plans to extend to nearby areas under similar threat.
Four Pacific nations are planning one of the world’s largest ocean corridors (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/four-pacific-nations-are-planning-one-of-the-worlds-largest-ocean-corridors/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Four Melanesian countries are planning a network of marine reserves across one of the world’s richest stretches of ocean. Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji announced the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves in May. Solomon Islands joined in […]
Carbon markets alone won’t keep Southeast Asia’s forests standing, study says (August 4, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/carbon-markets-alone-wont-keep-southeast-asias-forests-standing-study-says/
- A new study has identified “massive and untapped” conservation potential within forestry and plantation concessions in Southeast Asia.
- Roughly 42 million hectares of forests remain standing inside logging, oil palm, timber and rubber plantation concessions across the region, the study says.
- The researchers examined what it would take to financially incentivize forest conservation inside these concessions, finding that using carbon markets alone would require carbon prices many times higher than current values.
- They point to the need for diversified sources of conservation funding to complement carbon markets, such as blended finance, green bonds and payment for ecosystems services, as well as more supportive governance frameworks that elevate the viability of conservation over development.
Cheap coffee is killing Vietnam’s priceless tropical forests (commentary) (August 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/
- Vietnam’s coffee industry has a problem it can no longer sweep under the rug: its global success is built on a foundation of deforestation, biodiversity collapse, and human suffering, a new op-ed argues.
- Robusta coffee used in instant and supermarket blends has replaced an area of Vietnamese forest the size of Luxembourg, a new report finds, and wildlife like tigers, elephants, civets, sun bears, and saola have been squeezed into ever‑smaller fragments of habitat.
- But once consumers know the truth, they can demand better, the author writes: “They can choose brands that commit to traceability, agroforestry, and deforestation‑free supply chains. They can pressure problem companies that abuse people and planet.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Deep-sea snails and mussels in Indian and Pacific Oceans contain microplastics, study finds (August 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/deep-sea-snails-and-mussels-in-indian-and-pacific-oceans-contain-microplastics-study-finds/
- A new study has found microplastic particles in almost all sampled mussels and snails inhabiting deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean and southwestern Pacific Ocean.
- By comparing snails and mussels from hydrothermal vents in two oceans, researchers found stark differences in levels of microplastic contamination between the two.
- The new study suggests the animals’ different feeding mechanisms might influence the amount of plastic pollution in their bodies.
Ebola responders persevere in the DRC as Uganda nears end of outbreak (August 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/ebola-responders-persevere-in-the-drc-as-uganda-nears-end-of-outbreak/
- Community leaders and local radio stations are fighting widespread misinformation, while resistance to safe burials has fueled attacks on Ebola treatment facilities.
- The current Ebola outbreak has become the fastest-growing outbreak recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 3,360 reported cases and nearly 1,487 deaths in about two and a half months.
- Aid workers say funding cuts have weakened disease surveillance, community outreach and logistics at a time when the response is already constrained by armed conflict.
- According to WHO, in Uganda, the last confirmed patient was discharged from care on July 16, and the 42-day with no new Ebola cases countdown necessary to declare the end of that country’s outbreak has started.
Nicaragua’s gold boom is now encroaching on protected areas and Indigenous land (August 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nicaraguas-gold-boom-is-now-encroaching-on-protected-areas-and-indigenous-land/
- Mining concessions have begun to encroach on protected areas and Indigenous and Afro-descendant territory, the result of a mining boom that began in 2022, according to a new investigation from community-based Indigenous group Wangki.
- Since 1994, Nicaragua has granted 213 mining concessions covering more than 2.4 million hectares (5.9 million acres), representing approximately 20% of the country’s total land area. A significant portion of that — 113 of the concessions — has only been granted in the last three years.
- The Nicaraguan government has signed trade agreements, passed new laws, and revised environmental regulations to help accelerate the expansion of the mining sector, especially by Chinese companies.
- Pollution and deforestation from mining threaten ancestral traditions, and make it harder to practice subsistence farming and find clean drinking water, the investigation said.
Documentary captures impacts of diamond mining along South Africa’s West Coast (August 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/
- A documentary explores the legacy of mining along South Africa West Coast and its impacts on coastal ecosystems and the local population.
- The West Coast, an area stretching 450 kilometers up to the Namibian border, has historically been a hotspot for diamond mining.
- Out of Mined features the voices of the Indigenous Nama peoples, fishing communities and conservationists who live with the long-term impacts of the extractive industries.
- The region is now facing a new wave of mining applications, mostly targeting heavy minerals.
Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees. Keeping them alive will be harder (August 3, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/bangladesh-plans-to-plant-250-million-trees-keeping-them-alive-will-be-harder/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees over the next five years to expand green cover, restore damaged ecosystems, and support its climate and biodiversity commitments, reports Mongabay’s Abu Siddique. The government expects ministries, the army, local authorities, […]