USAID funding freeze throws international conservation into disarray (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/02/usaid-funding-freeze-throws-international-conservation-into-disarray/
U.S President Donald Trump and his senior adviser, tech billionaire Elon Musk, recently imposed a 90-day freeze on nearly all USAID projects. USAID is known for funding health and humanitarian projects globally. And as Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo reports, the agency also provides significant support for conservation projects, which are now reeling with uncertainty after some […] 
Lula pushes oil drilling at mouth of Amazon despite climate risks (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/lula-pushes-oil-drilling-at-mouth-of-amazon-despite-climate-risks/
- Despite his climate leadership stance ahead of COP30, Brazilian President Lula da Silva is pushing to approve oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon.
- Lula argues that oil revenues will fund Brazil’s energy transition. Critics say this is a flawed justification for expanding oil extraction under the guise of financing climate solutions.
- If projects get the green light, activists highlight the potential for significant environmental damage, including threats to biodiversity and Indigenous communities.
- Critics fear that approving this project will set a precedent for further oil exploration in the Amazon region, worsening environmental risks. In June, Brazil’s petroleum agency will auction more than 300 oil blocks across the country, including 47 at the mouth of the Amazon and 21 onshore in central Brazil.
Chanel wanted ‘responsible’ gold. It turned to a protected area in Madagascar (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/chanel-wanted-responsible-gold-so-it-turned-to-a-protected-area-in-madagascar/
- In 2019, French fashion house Chanel sought to obtain responsibly sourced gold from artisanal miners in Madagascar — who happened to operate inside a protected area that’s home to critically endangered lemurs and other wildlife.
- Under the initiative, which eventually fell through, Chanel partnered with Fanamby, the local NGO managing Loky Manambato Protected Area in northern Madagascar, to formalize the operations of some 1,000 miners.
- Fanamby has acknowledged that its tolerance for mining in the reserve’s buffer zone “is contrary to conservation,” but added “there is an arrangement” allowing this as long as the core area is left protected.
- Conservation experts say Chanel’s approach — exploiting the fact that many supposedly protected areas aren’t very strictly protected at all — highlights weaknesses in the current conservation paradigm that will only grow more apparent as governments seek to designate more protected areas.
UN biodiversity decision 16/2 is ‘unencumbered by economic thinking’ (analysis) (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/un-biodiversity-decision-16-2-is-unencumbered-by-economic-thinking-analysis/
- This analysis by Joseph Henry Vogel at the Department of Economics, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, was written in the wake of Decision 16/2 of the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which would govern corporate payment for use of genetic information that has been sequenced from the natural world (DSI).
- It explains how “bounded openness over natural information” is the most efficient and equitable way to ensure access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge, and for the sharing of resulting economic benefits of DSI with local and Indigenous communities.
- The author, who also served as advisor to the Ecuadorian delegation at CBD COP2 and COP9, argues that 16/2 is “unencumbered by economic thinking” but hopes that an ‘additional modality’ proposed to modify it will be vetted in preparation for COP17, which is scheduled for 2026 in Armenia.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
DRC government directive triggers panic in ape sanctuaries amid ongoing conflict (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/drc-government-directive-triggers-panic-in-ape-sanctuaries-amid-ongoing-conflict/
- In January, the Congolese national authority in charge of the country’s protected areas issued a controversial directive asking its partner primate sanctuary to send juvenile chimpanzees to the Kinshasa zoo for a breeding program.
- Critics say the five-year program planned at the Kinshasa and Kisangani zoos, lacks the necessary infrastructure and a concrete plan, raising suspicions about the true intent of the chimpanzee transfers.
- The ongoing conflict in the country adds further uncertainty to the future of sanctuaries and the already threatened apes in the country.
Study links African lion survival to prey availability (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/study-links-african-lion-survival-to-prey-availability/
- A recent study finds that African lion populations are declining as their herbivore prey are as well, prompting a need to protect these prey species to reverse the trend.
- Preventing prey depletion can help improve lion reproduction and population growth in areas prone to poaching for bushmeat, a leading cause of the species’ decline, the study notes.
- “In areas with high protection, the annual probability of [lion] population growth was 89.3%, but in areas with low protection the probability of growth was only 30.2%,” the study reads.
- The study underscores the importance of conservation programs that consider surrounding communities as crucial allies in species protection, says an expert.
Conservation in wealthy nations may worsen global biodiversity loss, study finds (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/02/conservation-in-wealthy-nations-may-worsen-global-biodiversity-loss-study-finds/
Efforts to rewild landscapes across Europe and North America could be making global biodiversity loss worse by shifting environmental destruction to poorer, more biodiverse regions, a new study warns. Scientists from the University of Cambridge, U.K., found that when farming and resource extraction move abroad to accommodate conservation in wealthy countries, it can result in […] 
16 new-to-science grasshopper species found in US, Mexico deserts (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/02/16-new-to-science-grasshopper-species-found-in-us-mexico-deserts/
What’s new: A recent study has identified 16 new-to-science species of grasshoppers living in the deserts of the U.S. and Mexico. One of the grasshoppers was named after the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, while others reference actors from shows like Star Trek. What the study says: The grasshopper genus Agroecotettix, known to live in very […] 
Wisdom, the world’s oldest known bird at 74, has a new chick (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/02/wisdom-the-worlds-oldest-known-bird-at-74-has-a-new-chick/
Wisdom, the world’s oldest known wild bird, made headlines recently for laying an egg with a new partner, her first egg in four years. The egg has now hatched, and Wisdom, a Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), or mōlī in Hawaiian, was spotted caring for her chick, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Pacific region […] 
India’s Adani withdraws from controversial Sri Lanka wind power project (February 21, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/indias-adani-withdraws-from-controversial-sri-lanka-wind-power-project/
- A proposed wind power project by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani in the north of Sri Lanka, which ran into strong opposition from environmentalists due to multiple potential ecological impacts, particularly on migratory bird species, has come to halt.
- Five lawsuits were filed against the company by local environmental organizations due to the project’s alleged environmental consequences as well as the contract being awarded without competitive bidding.
- Amid growing controversy, Adani Green Energy Ltd. withdrew from the proposed project on Feb. 12 claiming “financial nonviability” weeks after the new Sri Lankan government sought to renegotiate the agreement and formed a committee to review and renegotiate the power purchase rate.
- Mannar, a district rich in wildlife and known for its picturesque quality, is currently experiencing a surge in nature-based tourism, particularly due to its rich birdlife.
Documents, satellite data expose ongoing pollution near TotalEnergies’ Republic of Congo oil terminal (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/documents-satellite-data-expose-ongoing-pollution-near-totalenergies-republic-of-congo-oil-terminal/
- For years, residents of the coastal village of Djeno in the Republic of Congo have complained of hydrocarbon pollution and the effects of gas flaring on their health.
- TotalEnergies EP Congo (TEPC), a subsidiary of the French oil giant, has had its contract to manage the Djeno terminal renewed, despite evidence of remaining pollution from half a century of operations.
- The environment ministry has prohibited toxic gas emissions, as well as the discharge of polluting substances, into marine and continental waters.
- In a statement, TEPC said it had taken steps to mitigate pollution in the area, adding that industrial activities by other companies had also contributed to the situation.
‘Silent killing machines’: How water canals threaten wildlife across the globe (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/silent-killing-machines-how-water-canals-threaten-wildlife-across-the-globe/
- Water canals worldwide are causing widespread wildlife drownings, with significant losses recorded in Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Portugal and the U.S., particularly impacting threatened species.
- Scientists emphasize the lack of awareness and research on this issue, warning that canals act as “wildlife traps,” exacerbating biodiversity loss and habitat fragmentation.
- Proposed solutions include covering canals, installing escape ramps, redesigning structures, and implementing country-specific mitigation strategies to balance irrigation needs with wildlife conservation.
Timber trade watchdog urges Poland to halt imports of Myanmar ‘blood timber’ (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/timber-trade-watchdog-urges-poland-to-halt-imports-of-myanmar-blood-timber/
- Environmental law watchdog ClientEarth is demanding immediate action from authorities in Poland to crack down on imports of sanctioned Myanmar teak into the country.
- Imports of the highly coveted timber into Poland persist, the group says, despite EU sanctions imposed on Myanmar’s state-controlled timber monopoly following the 2021 military coup and brutal crackdown on citizens.
- The imports also flout EU Timber Regulations, as well as risk exacerbating high rates of deforestation in the conflict-torn country.
- The continued imports come as Poland assumes a new leadership role on the European Council and delays to the implementation of the EU’s new antideforestation regulations.
Illegal seabed dredging surges as Indonesia resumes sand exports (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/sea-sand-dredging-indonesia-fisheries-export-marine-ecosystem-singapore/
- Reports of unauthorized seabed dredging have surged following Indonesia’s decision to resume sea sand exports in 2023, raising environmental concerns and exposing weak marine law enforcement.
- Officials argue that removing sediment helps ocean health and prevents land buildup, but experts and activists warn the policy contradicts marine conservation efforts and lacks transparency.
- Dredging threatens mangroves, coral reefs, and fish populations, with projected losses to fishing communities far outweighing state revenue and corporate profits.
- Experts urge the government to reinstate the export ban, conduct thorough environmental impact assessments, and allocate funds for ecological restoration and affected communities.
Thermal drones detect rare tree kangaroos in Australia (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/02/thermal-drones-detect-rare-tree-kangaroos-in-australia/
Tree kangaroos, which live high up in the tall rainforest trees of New Guinea and Australia, are usually very hard to spot from the ground. But thermal drones, which detect animals from their body heat, can help find these animals quickly, a new study has found. In November 2024, Emmeline Norris, a Ph.D. student at […] 
Pangolin burrows are biodiversity magnets in burnt forests, study shows (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/pangolin-burrows-are-biodiversity-magnets-in-burnt-forests-study-shows/
- As insectivorous, burrowing mammals, pangolins play a key role in our ecosystem by controlling insect populations, recycling soil nutrients and sheltering other animals in their abandoned burrows.
- A recent study provides the first evidence of Chinese pangolins’ role as ecosystem engineers, whose burrows help restore biodiversity in forest patches gutted by fires.
- Over a two-year period, the study found that areas with pangolin burrows had more plant and animal species richness and diversity compared to sites without burrows, proving that pangolins accelerate ecosystem recovery.
- Experts say the study’s findings serve as another reason to conserve the scaly mammals and reintroduce them back into the wild.
Vicuña poop creates biodiversity hotspots as glaciers retreat rapidly (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/vicuna-poop-creates-biodiversity-hotspots-as-glaciers-retreat-rapidly/
- The vicuña, a wild relative of the llama, could help reestablish plants in barren areas where glaciers have melted, according to a recent study in the high Andes of Peru.
- As vicuñas tend to poop in the same places, they establish communal latrines where soils have much higher moisture, organic matter, nutrients and microorganisms than surrounding areas formerly covered by ice.
- Researchers say they believe these more nutrient-rich soil patches can speed up plant colonization by as much as a century and provide refuge for plant species moving uphill as temperatures increase.
- Peru is losing its glaciers at a worrying speed, with research pointing out that in the Central Andes, between 84% and 98% of their glaciers might disappear by 2050.
Bangladeshi researchers pin hopes on irrigation method with real-time methane monitoring (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/bangladeshi-researchers-pin-hopes-on-irrigation-method-with-real-time-methane-monitoring/
- Bangladeshi rice researchers’ concern over a Bloomberg report about methane emission resulted in the installation of a real-time data-providing GHG emission measurement laboratory.
- The new lab aims to refine Bangladesh’s piloting of the Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) method, which reduces methane emissions from rice fields.
- Researchers expect the precise data to improve AWD adoption to help meet Bangladesh’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments.
Taranaki Maunga, New Zealand mountain, declared a ‘legal person’ (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/02/taranaki-maunga-new-zealand-mountain-declared-a-legal-person/
New Zealand has formally granted a mountain legal personhood for the first time, recognizing not only its importance to Māori tribes but also paving the way for its future environmental protection. The law, passed in January, notes that the mountain, located in Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island, will be called by its Māori name […] 
As Indonesia, US back away from climate goals, hopes fade to retire coal plants early (February 20, 2025)
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/as-indonesia-us-back-away-from-climate-goals-hopes-fade-to-retire-coal-plants-early/
- Despite commitments to transition away from coal, Indonesia faces major hurdles in closing coal-fired power plants due to economic concerns, legal risks, and political resistance.
- Indonesia’s climate envoy has cast doubt on the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, calling coal plant closures “economic suicide,” threatening the $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
- High-ranking government officials and investors with coal assets, along with concerns over legal repercussions for state losses, hinder efforts to retire coal plants early.
- While some renewable projects are progressing, restrictive policies and funding shortfalls limit expansion, though debt swaps for clean energy investment offer a potential solution.