Coal gasification, an old technology, is quietly expanding across Asia (January 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/coal-gasification-an-old-technology-is-quietly-expanding-across-asia/
- Several of Asia’s biggest economies are promoting coal gasification as a viable part of their clean energy transition, arguing that turning coal into synthetic gas yields a cleaner fuel and reduces dependence on imports of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas.
- But activists and experts point out that gasified coal is still a highly polluting fossil fuel, and that relying on it prolongs coal mining, which has long been linked to environmental and human rights violations.
- In China, coal gasification to replace industrial petrochemicals usually produced from oil and natural gas grew by 18% in 2023, consuming more than 340 million metric tons of coal a year.
- However, cost concerns may slow the push elsewhere: investors have jumped ship from Indonesia’s inaugural gasification project, while the tab for a gas refit of a coal-fired power plant in Japan has grown so big that experts question its feasibility.
Traditional ecological knowledge isn’t dying — it’s adapting and transforming (Commentary) (January 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/traditional-ecological-knowledge-isnt-dying-its-adapting-and-transforming-commentary/
- Traditional ecological knowledge in the central Peruvian Amazon is not simply being lost to time, but is rather adapting and evolving to a new modern context.
- Ecotourism is providing important job opportunities for Peruvian Amazonian young adults.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, and not necessarily Mongabay.
Brazil’s ‘innovative’ reforestation agenda discussed in Davos (commentary) (January 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/brazils-innovative-reforestation-agenda-discussed-in-davos-commentary/
- At the World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos this week, a coalition of leaders from across Brazilian sectors will discuss the integrated, pre-competitive agenda needed to scale forest restoration.
- Forest restoration is a key part of successful climate action, providing carbon removal, biodiversity protection and sustainable economic growth, but it requires immediate investment and action, the authors of a new op-ed write.
- Brazil’s coordinated approach across business, finance, and conservation sectors has resulted in approximately $528 million in restoration investments in the past 18 months, setting a global example for impactful forest restoration and climate action.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
New study assesses threat to wildlife from cacao expansion in Congo Basin (January 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/new-study-assesses-threat-to-wildlife-from-cacao-expansion-in-congo-basin/
- Wildlife in the heart of the Congo Basin, an area that stretches from western and southern Cameroon to northeastern and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are most at risk from the expansion of cacao cultivation, a recent study found.
- Cameroon, the world’s fourth-largest cacao producer, wants to double its output by 2030 — an ambition at odds with the country’s stubbornly low yields, changing climatic conditions, and the demand for “deforestation-free” cocoa from consumer nations.
- “Cameroon has little area available for agricultural expansion outside forests,” Marieke Sassen, a co-author of the new study, told Mongabay.
- Three-quarters of Cameroon’s cocoa is destined for the European Union, which passed a regulation in 2023 to ban imports of cocoa produced on recently deforested or degraded forestland.
Fishing boats spotted competing with whales in Antarctica for krill (January 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/01/fishing-boats-spotted-competing-with-whales-in-antarctica-for-krill/
Nearly all of Antarctica’s iconic wildlife, from penguins to seals and whales, depend on krill, tiny crustaceans that make up the base of the food chain. Krill are also sought after by humans, who scoop them up using massive fishing boats, potentially putting whales in danger, scientists warn. The fishing boats and whales are “going […] 
Helicopters slash the trek to Earth’s highest peak, but leave Sherpas grounded (January 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/helicopter-controversy-everest-sherpas-nepal/
- “Helicopter tourism” that brings trekkers to Base Camp of Sagarmatha (Everest) in Nepal and bypasses the long trek there is taking a toll on local Sherpa communities.
- By cutting short visitors’ time in the region, it reduces the earnings of porters, lodge owners and other small local businesses, as well as diminishes bonds with the community, according to residents living in the lap of Earth’s tallest mountain.
- Increasingly frequent helicopter flights have also brought noise pollution that impacts both wildlife and domestic livestock, while potentially exacerbating environmental risks like avalanches, landslides and glacial floods in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
- Local leaders and youth groups are advocating for stricter regulations to limit helicopter flights, reroute them from sensitive areas, and promote ecotourism practices that balance development with conservation.
In Uganda, local communities bear the brunt of militarized conservation (January 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/01/in-uganda-local-communities-bear-the-brunt-of-militarized-conservation/
At Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, violent enforcement of wildlife laws leaves broken families behind and damages the relationship between conservation authorities and local communities, reports Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo. In October 2023, Mukpo visited the massive park, home to various wildlife including elephants, lions, hippos and leopards, to investigate human-wildlife conflicts and heard of accounts […] 
‘An oval with legs’: In search of Tanzania’s tiny island antelope (January 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/an-oval-with-legs-in-search-of-tanzanias-tiny-island-antelope/
- On Zanzibar’s second-largest island, Pemba, lives a diminutive antelope that hasn’t been officially recorded in at least 20 years.
- Its long absence has fueled fears the animal may have been exterminated from Ngezi Forest Reserve by hunters.
- In early December, a group of scientists and conservationists set up camera traps to try to find signs that this subspecies of the tiny blue duiker is still alive.
Growing conservation and community: Interview with Ngezi reserve chief (January 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/growing-a-conservation-minded-community-interview-with-ngezi-reserve-chief/
- Khamis Ali Khamis has a long career in community-led conservation in Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago, the last six years of them in charge of Ngezi Forest Reserve on the island of Pemba.
- He says the main challenge facing the 2,900-hectare (7,200-acre) reserve is maintaining a balance between nature conservation and resource extraction by the growing human population living around it.
- “The use of natural resources is always increasing, so we need to find an alternative way” to provide local livelihoods, Khamis tells Mongabay in an interview.
- He emphasizes the importance of planting the message of conservation in youths to help build a community that ultimately supports conservation.
Probe details the playbook of one of Amazon’s top land grabbers (January 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/probe-details-the-playbook-of-one-of-amazons-top-land-grabbers/
- Professional land grabbers operating in the Brazilian Amazon have sophisticated strategies to steal and deforest public lands and get away with it.
- According to the Federal Police, Bruno Heller is one of Amazon’s largest deforesters and relied on legal and technical advice, including a fake contract, bribing police officers, and near-real-time monitoring of deforestation work through satellite imagery, investigators said.
- Low penalties and hurdles faced by federal bodies in seizing back stolen lands from criminals have spurred the land-grabbing industry in Brazil.
The force is strong with new giant ‘Darth Vader’ sea bug found off Vietnam (January 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/01/the-force-is-strong-with-new-giant-darth-vader-sea-bug-found-off-vietnam/
What’s new: From the seafood markets of Vietnam, researchers have identified a species of giant crustacean or “sea bug” that’s new to science. They’ve named it Bathynomus vaderi, for its distinctly shaped head reminiscent of the helmet of Star Wars villain Darth Vader, according to a recently published study. What the study says: Bọ biển […] 
‘Unusual’ and weak La Niña confirmed, offers cooling respite after record El Niño (January 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/01/unusual-and-weak-la-nina/
It’s official: a weak La Niña came into fruition in late December and is expected, with significant uncertainty, to last until sometime between February and April, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced. La Niña often brings wetter conditions to Southeast Asia and the Brazilian Amazon, while cooling global temperatures overall, potentially easing recent […] 
Philippine Indigenous communities restore a mountain forest to prevent urban flooding (January 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/philippine-indigenous-communities-restore-a-mountain-forest-to-prevent-urban-flooding/
- Indigenous communities in the Philippines’ Mt. Kalatungan protected area have since 2015 carried out a tree-planting campaign to restore native vegetation lost to decades of commercial logging and agriculture.
- Known as rainforestation, it aims to rejuvenate vital ecosystem services like flood mitigation, which benefits urban areas downstream, while also providing incentives for the communities driving the restoration.
- The rainforestation program is led by community groups, making use of their knowledge of native plants, and marks a shift from the government’s decades-long, centrally managed reforestation efforts that relied on planting nonnative species.
- Communities are already benefiting from exports of the coffee that they grow in the shade of larger trees, but proponents of the scheme say there needs to be more interest and funding from outside to ensure long-term success.
River culture is the rhythmic pulse of the Bengal Delta (commentary) (January 17, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/riverine-culture-is-the-rhythmic-pulse-of-the-bengal-delta-commentary/
- Reviving rivers in Bangladesh is not simply an ecological issue, but also a socio-cultural one, and an economic imperative.
- The government and the people must come together to protect and restore the rivers, not just for environmental sustainability and justice, but also to preserve the rich heritage and cultural identity associated with these waterways, a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Bangladesh sees first ever rewilding of captive-bred elongated tortoises (January 17, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/01/bangladesh-sees-first-ever-rewilding-of-captive-bred-elongated-tortoises/
Two species of critically endangered tortoises were reintroduced to Bangladesh’s forests last December. Six captive-bred elongated tortoises (Indotestudo elongata) were first released in Lawachara National Park in northeastern Bangladesh on Dec. 18. This was followed by the release of 10 Asian giant tortoises (Manouria emys phayrei) in Matamuhuri Reserve Forest in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of […] 
Firefighters in LA blaze face same toxic exposure as 9/11 responders (January 17, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/01/firefighters-in-la-blaze-face-same-toxic-exposure-as-9-11-responders/
Smoke from wildfire poses a host of health concerns, but when fires burn through urban areas, like the ongoing inferno in Los Angeles, U.S., the health risks increase dramatically. “This is an entirely different situation because the wildfire smoke is bad enough, but when synthetic materials burn, they’re going to give off more toxics, not only in […] 
In Bangladesh, a botanist brings quick, fun lessons to social media (January 17, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/in-bangladesh-a-botanist-brings-quick-fun-lessons-to-social-media/
- A botany expert turned online educator in Bangladesh is proving that anyone can become a plant enthusiast, no educational degree required.
- With his short, snappy videos, Azharul Islam Khan has captivated around a million followers on social media, teaching them about the diversity of Bangladeshi plants and trees.
- His engaging content isn’t just for plant lovers; it’s building a diverse community of students, eco-conscious families and nature enthusiasts.
- Azharul is on a mission to protect the environment, advocating sustainable tree planting and educating the public about the importance of balanced ecosystems.
A venomous Australian spider turns out to be 3 species, not 1 (January 17, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/01/a-venomous-australian-spider-turns-out-to-be-3-species-not-1/
The Sydney funnel-web spider, a highly venomous arachnid found crawling in and around Australia’s most populous city, was long thought to be a single species. But it’s actually three different species, a new study has found. One of these, called “Big Boy” for its unusually large size, is new to science. “You would think we […] 
Sustaining a 400-year-old Ethiopian farming tradition: Interview with elder Gehano Guchoir (January 17, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/the-elder-sustaining-a-400-year-old-ethiopian-farming-tradition-interview-with-gehano-nekayto/
- In southern Ethiopia, the Konso people have maintained a 400-year-old stone terracing system, essential for farming in the region’s semiarid environment.
- This UNESCO-listed practice helps prevent soil erosion, conserve water and enhance agricultural productivity, and at the heart of it are the Konso elders who play a crucial role in passing down the knowledge of terracing to younger generations.
- However, population growth and climate change threaten the survival of the terracing system, and with land becoming scarce, many young Konso people are migrating to cities, leaving behind traditional farming.
- Combined with the unpredictable impacts of climate change, this exodus risks severing the transmission of critical knowledge and weakening the community’s agricultural practices and cultural identity.
Plans for bauxite mine in Suriname reignite Indigenous land rights debate (January 16, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/plans-for-bauxite-mine-in-suriname-reignite-indigenous-land-rights-debate/
- A bauxite mine run by Chinese corporation Chinalco could begin operating next year, endangering a 280,000-hectare (about 692,000 acres) area of western Suriname inhabited by Indigenous communities.
- The mine will require refurbishing and expanding infrastructure for a harbor and railroad built in the 1970s, and gives the company “priority right” to use the Corantijn river for dredging.
- Indigenous groups said they weren’t properly consulted about the project and that the government is unfairly labeling their territory as public domain.