PNG’s New Ireland coastal waters causing fish deaths, human sickness (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/pngs-new-ireland-coastal-waters-causing-fish-deaths-human-sickness/
- Communities on the east coast of Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland province report that contact with the seawater there has made people sick since December 2025; residents have also reported spikes in the number of dead fish and other marine life along the shoreline.
- A group of local and international NGOs has responded, providing help with sampling to determine the cause and raising money for the affected villages.
- New Ireland’s coastal communities depend on the sea for food, but government officials have warned against eating fish until the cause of the problems has been identified.
- Government ministries have been aware of the situation for at least two months, and while leaders say that tissue, water and soil samples have been collected, no results have been released yet.
Captive-bred Panamanian golden frogs released to the wild (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/captive-bred-panamanian-golden-frogs-released-to-the-wild/
Since 2009, no one has seen a Panamanian golden frog in the wild. These bright yellow frogs disappeared completely when an amphibian fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, swept through Panama reaching El Valle de Anton, the last stronghold of golden frogs. Researchers at the Smithsonian Institution predicted these declines based on the pattern of disease spread, but […]
Vatican launches campaign to encourage divestment from mining industries (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/vatican-launches-campaign-to-encourage-divestment-from-mining-industries/
ROME (AP) — The Vatican on Friday launched a campaign to encourage divestment from mining industries, saying the Catholic Church should invest its money in ways that are consistent with its ecological teachings. The effort, which also involves other Christian organizations, takes as its inspiration Pope Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical “Praised Be.” The document, and the ecological movement it […]
Proboscis monkey found in Thailand adds to evidence of cross-border illegal trade (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/proboscis-monkey-found-in-thailand-adds-to-evidence-of-cross-border-illegal-trade/
- In January, an injured proboscis monkey was found near a railway track in Thailand’s Samut Sakhon province and brought to a nearby clinic.
- Proboscis monkeys are an endangered species endemic to Borneo, and international trade is banned except for research or conservation purposes — no permits that would allow such trade exist for the species in Thailand.
- Historically, trafficking for pets or zoos has not been a major threat to proboscis monkeys because it is very difficult to keep them alive in captivity, but recent research has found an uptick in live trade of the species.
- The monkey is currently recovering from its injuries at a government-run rehabilitation center, and while he will never be able to live in the wild again, officers there say he may be transferred back to his native range once his health is stable.
Deep-sea mining rules face delays despite urgent push (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/deep-sea-mining-rules-face-delays-despite-urgent-push/
Commercial deep-sea mining hasn’t yet begun, but it soon could — with the potential to reshape vast stretches of the ocean as companies move to extract minerals from the seafloor. However, this nascent industry lacks a set of international rules to govern it, and a recent meeting of the regulatory body charged with drafting one […]
Many Indigenous peoples in Asia feel excluded from nat’l biodiversity planning: Report (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/many-indigenous-peoples-in-asia-feel-excluded-from-natl-biodiversity-planning-report/
- Many Indigenous peoples in Asia say they have little sway on their nation’s biodiversity goals, despite calls in the global U.N. biodiversity agreement for their full and effective participation in decision-making, according to recent reports.
- The research found 13% of survey respondents participated in state-led consultations with Indigenous peoples while almost 60% reported that participation was not meaningful.
- However, the research also found that Indigenous peoples increasingly participated in the NBSAP revision processes compared with a previous global biodiversity agreement for the 2011-20 period.
- Some Indigenous sources said they felt like their participation was tokenistic and recommend the creation of an Indigenous-led version of the national biodiversity targets to help influence policy.
World Rewilding Day: Hope for species and ecosystems (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/world-rewilding-day-hope-for-species-and-ecosystems/
World Rewilding Day on March 20 celebrates human efforts to rewild and restore degraded areas. Rewilding can focus on a single species, a city park, or even an entire island, and Mongabay has reported on such efforts from around the word. Rewilding in France’s Dauphiné Alps France’s largest rewilding project is underway in the Dauphiné […]
Deadly Indonesia landfill collapse a ‘serious warning’ of systemic failure (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/deadly-indonesia-landfill-collapse-a-serious-warning-of-systemic-failure/
A mountain of waste at Indonesia’s largest landfill recently collapsed following days of extreme rainfall that destabilized the massive pile. The tragedy resulted in seven confirmed deaths.
Shipping’s biofuel gamble could deepen Africa’s land squeeze and food insecurity (commentary) (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/shippings-biofuel-gamble-could-deepen-africas-land-squeeze-and-food-insecurity-commentary/
- Using crops as fuel to cut emissions from the shipping sector could cause more harm than good, the authors of a new op-ed argue.
- Next month, leaders will gather at the UN’s International Maritime Organization meeting to lay down the rules for decarbonizing shipping, and African governments must ensure that crop-based biofuels are not a part of the solution, they say.
- “African states should demand that food-based biofuels are excluded from shipping’s decarbonization targets, and insist on robust sustainability criteria to prevent the conversion of forests, peatlands, and other high-biodiversity or community-managed areas into fuel plantations,” the authors say.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
California condors nesting in Pacific Northwest for first time in a century, on Yurok territory (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/california-condors-nesting-in-pacific-northwest-for-first-time-in-a-century-on-yurok-territory/
- A pair of California condors reintroduced by the Yurok Tribe to Northern California appear to be incubating the first egg in the Pacific Northwest in more than a century, nesting in a remote old-growth redwood.
- The birds, both nearly 7 years old and among the first cohort released in 2022, are being monitored via satellite transmitters; direct confirmation of the egg is not yet possible.
- The discovery is a milestone for a species whose global population dropped to 22 individuals in 1982 and has since recovered to 607 — though threats still including lead poisoning and avian influenza persist.
- The Northern California Condor Restoration Program, a partnership between the Yurok Tribe and Redwood National and State Parks, plans to continue annual releases for at least 20 years, with the goal of establishing a self-sustaining Pacific Northwest flock.
Jakarta port authorities seize 3 tons of pangolin scales in Cambodia-bound container (March 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/jakarta-port-authorities-seize-3-tons-of-pangolin-scales-in-cambodia-bound-container/
- A spot inspection of a 20-foot container by customs authorities at Indonesia’s largest port in late February uncovered more than $10 million in pangolin scales.
- There are eight species of the herbivorous pangolin, all categorized as threatened due to habitat loss and poaching, which is largely to supply raw material for Chinese traditional medicine, despite the total absence of any scientific proof of medicinal benefit.
- Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry and the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Indonesia’s premier forestry faculty, estimate that every kilogram of pangolin scales requires the death of up to five pangolins.
- Separately, a police officer convicted last year over a scheme to trade 1.2 metric tons of pangolin scales stolen from a police evidence room had his nine-year sentence reduced to seven on appeal.
Should potentially harmful chemicals be appraised by class, not one at a time? (March 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/should-potentially-harmful-chemicals-be-appraised-by-class-not-one-at-a-time/
- Everyday household items very likely contain synthetic chemicals that were never tested for long-term safety. And even when one chemical is proven harmful, manufacturers often quickly replace it with a similar substitute that in time is often found to be equally dangerous, a cycle scientists call “regrettable substitution” or the “toxic treadmill.”
- In response, some scientists and health advocates are pushing for a “Six Classes” framework that evaluates entire groups of chemicals, or chemically related subgroups, together, flagging them for scrutiny before harm is documented rather than after.
- The framework targets six broad categories of chemicals that share many common traits: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), flame retardants, phthalates and bisphenols, antimicrobials, certain solvents, and certain metals.
- The chemical industry argues that grouping diverse chemicals oversimplifies the science and isn’t a workable system, but proponents say the framework is not meant to result in blanket bans but to create a more effective screening tool that better protects consumers.
Juliette Chapalain on building networks and nurturing talent to tell Africa’s environmental stories (March 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/juliette-chapalain-on-building-networks-and-nurturing-talent-to-tell-africas-environmental-stories/
- Juliette Chapalain is Mongabay Africa’s multimedia and fellowship editor, leading the bureau’s video, podcast and fellowship initiatives.
- She has more than a decade of experience across French and international media, including TV5 Monde, Arte and BBC News.
- Through Mongabay’s fellowship program, she mentors and trains African environmental journalists, helping build a diverse network of storytellers driving impact across the continent.
- This interview is part of Inside Mongabay, a series that spotlights the people who bring environmental and conservation stories to life across our global newsroom.
New mapping data show where oil blocks threaten Venezuela’s protected areas (March 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-mapping-data-show-where-oil-blocks-threaten-venezuelas-protected-areas/
- New mapping analysis by Mongabay reveals the potential threat from oil extraction to numerous ecosystems in Venezuela, including mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, coral reefs and Amazon rainforest, among others.
- Venezuela has 538,883 km2 (208,064 mi2) of protected areas and 177,843 km2 (68,666 mi2) of oil blocks, some of them already in production and others in the pre-exploration or exploration phases.
- An estimated 70,785 km2 (27,330 mi2)— or around 13% — of those oil blocks overlap with protected areas.
- If oil production ramps up to the 60-year historical average by 2036 — around 2.5 million barrels — the country would extract around 70 billion barrels and release an estimated 33.1 gigatons of CO2 by 2100, according to Climate Interactive’s calculator for fossil fuel extraction from biomass-rich areas.
Contested Amazon dam called to review water flow as river ecosystem fails (March 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/contested-amazon-dam-called-to-review-water-flow-as-river-ecosystem-fails/
- A federal court and Brazil’s environmental agency ordered the Belo Monte hydropower plant to revise the Xingu River’s water-sharing plan, a decade after its debut, but a legal stay blocks enforcement of the ruling.
- The plant’s water flow has been subject to several complaints, as low water levels in the Volta Grande do Xingu have dried flooded forests and rock habitats, disrupting fish and turtle reproduction and threatening endemic species.
- “Increasing the amount of water is the only solution to restore this ecosystem,” says Josiel Juruna, coordinator of an Indigenous-led monitoring program documenting the impacts.
Investigation links DRC air pollution concerns to major copper-cobalt plant (March 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/investigation-links-drc-air-pollution-concerns-to-major-copper-cobalt-plant/
In 2024, the mother of a 6-month-old baby described to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) what happened to her son after one of Africa’s largest copper and cobalt processing complexes was built just a few hundred meters from their home. “One evening, he started vomiting blood. He vomited more than three times, and then he […]
Eight arrested as Europe cracks down on lucrative eel smuggling syndicates (March 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/eight-arrested-as-europe-cracks-down-on-lucrative-eel-smuggling-syndicates/
- Authorities in France and Spain have arrested eight suspects tied to a cross-border syndicate, accused of trafficking critically endangered European eels.
- Investigators say more than 7 million juvenile glass eels, worth nearly 600,000 euros (690,000 dollars), were smuggled over two years’ time.
- The arrests follow a year-long joint probe by investigators from the two countries into illegal fishing and laundering of eel catches.
- The case highlights the scale of an illicit trade that persists despite bans and trade protections for the species.
Indonesia court orders release of withheld impact studies on new capital (March 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesia-court-orders-release-of-withheld-impact-studies-on-new-capital/
- Indonesia mining industry watchdog Jatam has won a case at the country’s Supreme Court requiring the government to disclose environmental impact assessments pertaining to two utility water projects at the country’s new capital city site.
- In 2019, then-president Joko Widodo announced he would move the capital of the world’s fourth-most-populous country from Jakarta to Nusantara, a new site surrounded by forests and Indigenous communities on the east coast of Borneo.
- At issue are the Sepaku Semoi Dam and Sepaku River intake, two infrastructure projects at Nusantara that have impacted local Indigenous populations, Jatam said.
- The NGO called the ruling a victory for transparency, but criticized efforts to withhold documents and pointed to a 2008 law as well as Indonesia’s Constitution requiring public access to information.
An ‘ethereal’ new-to-science poison dart frog from the Amazon: Photo of the week (March 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/an-ethereal-new-to-science-poison-dart-frog-from-the-amazon-photo-of-the-week/
Scientists in Brazil described a new-to-science species of poison dart frog last year. It was first found among the leaves of wild banana plants on a research expedition to the Juruá River Basin in the western Amazon in 2023. The frog, around the length of a paperclip (14–17 millimeters, or 0.5-0.7 inches), is reddish-brown and blue […]
How foreign investor lawsuits stymie environmental protection (March 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-foreign-investor-lawsuits-stymie-environmental-protection/
- New data reveal that lawsuits filed by corporations against Latin American and Caribbean countries are increasing, undermining government efforts to implement policies that could benefit the energy transition, human rights and the environment.
- Between 2014 and 2024, 212 lawsuits were registered, a 133% increase from previous decades.
- Across 419 known cases filed by mid-October 2025, countries in the region are facing a total of $36.6 billion in lawsuits from corporations, with 23% of claims coming from the mining, oil and gas sector, making it the second-most sued region globally by foreign investors.