When environmental reporting has to outlast the news cycle (February 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/when-environmental-reporting-has-to-outlast-the-news-cycle/
In parts of Africa most affected by biodiversity loss and climate stress, the problem is not an absence of events worth reporting. It is the difficulty of translating slow-moving ecological change, fragmented governance and contested evidence into journalism that travels beyond borders. The signals are often local, technical and politically inconvenient. Yet they shape global […]
Storm aftermath leaves 2 dead in France; flood alerts to remain Saturday (February 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/storm-aftermath-leaves-2-dead-in-france-flood-alerts-to-remain-saturday/
PARIS (AP) — The aftermath of a deadly storm continued to disrupt parts of France on Friday, with flooding concerns persisting in the southwest even as wind alerts were lifted, according to weather service Météo-France. Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said on TF1 that France had recorded two deaths linked to Storm Nils: one on Thursday […]
Forests don’t just store carbon. They keep people alive, scientists say (February 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/forests-dont-just-store-carbon-they-keep-people-alive-scientists-say/
- Forests influence climate not only by storing carbon but by cooling the air, moderating extreme temperatures, and regulating water flows in ways that directly affect human well-being, concludes an academic review published this week in the journal Science.
- These effects are strongest at the local level: intact forests can make surrounding areas markedly cooler, stabilize rainfall, and create microclimates that support agriculture, health, and daily life.
- When forests are cleared, those protections can disappear quickly, often producing hotter, drier conditions and exposing large populations to increased heat stress and associated health risks.
- The greatest climate benefits occur where forests are native, underscoring that protecting and restoring natural ecosystems can be as important for adaptation to climate change as for reducing emissions, argues the paper.
Insects are moving pharmaceutical pollutants from rivers to land; risks unknown (February 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/insects-are-moving-pharmaceutical-pollutants-from-rivers-to-land-risks-unknown/
- Pharmaceuticals have a wide range of detrimental side effects on people. Scientists also know that pharmaceutical pollution is widespread in aquatic ecosystems, largely due to wastewater outflows and runoff.
- Studies now show pharmaceutical waterway contaminants can accumulate in aquatic insects at various life-cycle stages. These pollutants can then be transferred to terrestrial ecosystems as the insects are consumed by other species, including birds and bats.
- Research also shows that pharmaceuticals can cause changes in the physiology and behavior of insects, with potential knock-on effects for populations and wider ecosystems.
- But the full consequences of the transfer of a wide range of pharmaceutical contaminants to aquatic insects, and then via their predators to terrestrial environments and food webs, is largely unknown.
Baby gorilla seized from traffickers languishes in Turkish zoo (February 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/baby-gorilla-seized-from-traffickers-languishes-in-turkish-zoo/
- Türkiye has refused to return a western lowland gorilla named Zeytin, who was smuggled out of Africa a year ago; Turkish authorities seized him as an infant from the cargo hold of an airplane headed to Bangkok.
- The decision marks an about-turn in Türkiye’s plans to return him to Africa, where he’d be in a Nigerian sanctuary with other gorillas, after a DNA test ruled out Nigeria as his country of origin. Turkish authorities announced he will remain in the country permanently.
- Gorillas are social animals that live in family groups, and with no other gorillas in the country, conservationists worry Zeytin will be doomed to a life of isolation in a zoo.
- Conservationists urge Turkish officials to reconsider their decision and send the baby gorilla to a sanctuary in Africa as soon as possible so he has a better chance of possible release into the wild.
From land acquisitions to local ownership: Alternatives for carbon offsetting (commentary) (February 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/from-land-acquisitions-to-local-ownership-alternatives-for-carbon-offsetting-commentary/
- Land-based carbon offsetting poses serious risks, including inflated climate benefits and harmful livelihood impacts. A recent Land Matrix Initiative report argues that large-scale land acquisitions in the Global South under the auspices of carbon markets are adding substantial risks to global climate policies.
- Given these developments, the Land Matrix provides critical, evidence-based scrutiny by documenting the scale and diversity of carbon-related land deals and advancing harm-reduction measures such as transparency, land governance, and accountability.
- Among the recommendations, prioritizing community-based projects — while not risk-free — may offer a conditional alternative, provided there is genuine ownership, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and strong safeguards, with communities ultimately deciding whether and how to engage.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
The bug that makes bubbles with its butt: Froghopper (February 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/the-bug-that-makes-bubbles-with-its-butt-froghopper/
Meet the froghopper: a tiny insect that builds a bubble fortress out of sap, pee and air to protect itself from predators. Fully grown, it’s one of the best jumpers on Earth, leaping to heights nearly 100 times its body length. This is Episode 6 of Stranger Creatures, a series where biologist Romi Castagnino ventures […]
Thousands of peat fires flare across Indonesia despite rainy season (February 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/thousands-of-peat-fires-flare-across-indonesia-despite-rainy-season/
- More than 5,000 fire hotspots were detected across Indonesia’s peatlands in January, according to an independent watchdog — an alarming spike despite peak rainy season conditions and recent severe flooding in parts of Sumatra and Borneo.
- About a third of the hotspots were inside company concessions, mostly oil palm, reinforcing long-standing evidence that drained and degraded peatlands are highly flammable even after short dry spells, with fire risk now shaped more by hydrology than by calendar seasons.
- Provinces such as West Kalimantan and Aceh were hardest hit, with fires producing thick haze in cities like Pontianak and contributing to respiratory illness, underscoring how degraded peat amplifies both flood and fire risks.
- After a presidentially appointed peat restoration agency was allowed to lapse in 2024, watchdogs say fragmented oversight, weak monitoring and uncertainty over responsibility have created setbacks in peat protection, raising concerns ahead of potential future El Niño conditions.
US cuts legal foundation for federal climate regulation (February 13, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/us-cuts-legal-foundation-for-federal-climate-regulation/
On Feb. 12, the United States repealed the so-called endangerment finding, a 2009 cornerstone rule that enabled the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as a pollutant. Established under former President Barack Obama, the rule codified the long-held scientific consensus that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions “threaten the public health and welfare of current and […]
The business case for biodiversity (February 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/the-business-case-for-biodiversity/
- Biodiversity loss is emerging as a systemic economic risk, affecting supply chains, financial stability and long-term growth across sectors, argues a new assessment from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
- Despite widespread dependence on nature, an estimated $7.3 trillion in annual finance still flows to activities that harm biodiversity, far outweighing conservation spending, says the report.
- Few companies currently disclose biodiversity impacts, and measurement remains uneven, though existing tools can already inform operational and portfolio decisions.
- Without changes in incentives, policy and financial systems, what is profitable will often remain misaligned with what sustains the natural systems on which the economy depends, says IPBES.
Fishers denounce plummeting fish stocks following Amazon hydroelectric dam (February 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/fishers-denounce-plummeting-fish-stocks-following-amazon-hydroelectric-dam/
A hydroelectric dam impacting Brazil’s Amazonas and Rondônia states have slashed fished populations by as much as 90% in some locations, according to a new a study based on on-the-ground research in partnership with riverine communities. The 2008 construction of the Santo Antônio hydroelectric dam dramatically reduced the natural flow of the Madeira River, which […]
A 410-pound manatee rescued from a Florida storm drain is recovering at SeaWorld Orlando (February 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/a-410-pound-manatee-rescued-from-a-florida-storm-drain-is-recovering-at-seaworld-orlando/
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A manatee that got stuck in a Florida storm drain while seeking warmer waters is on the mend at SeaWorld Orlando after a coordinated rescue effort. Multiple fire rescue units and officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the University of Florida and even Jack’s Wrecker Service were brought in […]
Guanacos’ return to Gran Chaco restirs debate around wildlife translocations (February 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/guanacos-return-to-gran-chaco-restirs-debate-around-wildlife-translocations/
- Five guanacos have been translocated from Patagonia to Argentina’s Dry Chaco as part of a reintroduction program.
- Rewilding supporters say the animals will help bring the local population back from the brink of extinction as well as help recover a threatened ecosystem.
- However, some scientists in Argentina argue that moving animals like this is unethical, can spread disease and lead to genome extinction.
- But as conservation budgets are slashed in Argentina, others argue that preserving biodiversity requires more collaboration between the public and private sectors.
Brazil gov’t builds map to help exporters comply with EU anti-deforestation rule (February 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/brazil-govt-builds-map-to-help-exporters-comply-with-eu-anti-deforestation-rule/
- Brazil’s National Space Research Institute, INPE, created a new technology to generate deforestation data in polygons of a half-hectare threshold for the first time, following the European Union’s new regulation on deforestation-free products, or EUDR.
- When it comes into effect at the end of 2026 (delayed for the second year in a row), the EUDR will require suppliers to provide geolocalized data and other documentation to prove that their products exported to the EU aren’t sourced from areas illegally deforested after Dec. 31, 2020.
- December is the start of the Amazon rainy season, which poses challenges to track deforestation due to the high incidence of clouds; to tackle this, INPE created the Brazil Data Cube, which captures all remote sensing images of a period and radar to get cloud-free images for that month.
- The map was built per request of the agriculture ministry, which made it available for rural producers in late December 2025 through a platform aimed at integrating information from public and private databases to generate compliance reports to be used by exporters.
Pilot projects aim to break Indonesia’s habit of burning household waste (February 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/pilot-projects-aim-to-break-indonesias-habit-of-burning-household-waste/
- More than half of Indonesian households still burn their trash, often because bulky or inorganic waste isn’t collected and dumping it creates safety risks in dense neighborhoods.
- Burning waste releases fine particles and black carbon that penetrate deep into the body, contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular disease, organ damage and conditions such as anemia.
- Black carbon is also a potent climate pollutant, meaning cutting household waste burning could deliver fast benefits for both air quality and global warming if addressed at the source, experts say.
- Cultural norms, lack of infrastructure, limited enforcement and financial constraints drive waste burning, prompting pilot projects that combine community engagement, better waste systems and real-time pollution monitoring.
Farmers fear displacement, drought, flooding tied to Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal (February 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/farmers-fear-displacement-drought-flooding-tied-to-cambodias-funan-techo-canal/
- The Cambodian government is set to begin construction of the Funan Techo Canal, a nearly $1.2 billion, 180-kilometer (112-mile) waterway navigation project that will cut across four provinces to connect the Mekong River to the sea.
- The primary rationale for building the canal is to reduce Cambodia’s shipping costs, as well as to generate jobs and economic development.
- Mongabay has followed this mega-project’s development for more than a year, speaking with more than 50 people living along the canal’s proposed route. Virtually everyone we spoke with noted that the government has provided very little information about the project, and amid the uncertainty, fear has taken root.
- In inland communities in the rich floodplains of the Mekong River, farmers we spoke with said they worried they’d lose their homes or land, and that construction would disrupt the annual months-long inundation of the wetlands they rely on for planting rice as well as for fishing, crabbing and raising livestock.
Scrutiny grows over DRC-US minerals deal, even as other African nations sign up (February 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/scrutiny-grows-over-drc-us-minerals-deal-even-as-other-african-nations-sign-up/
- A minerals summit hosted by the U.S. this month marks an acceleration of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce its dependence on China for critical minerals, including by sealing deals with mineral-rich African countries.
- Guinea and Morocco signed separate agreements with the U.S. during the summit in Washington, even as an earlier deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo, signed in December, came under greater scrutiny at home.
- The DRC, which holds more than 70% of global cobalt reserves, has emerged as a key strategic partner for the U.S., but civil society group warns that the new mineral deal prioritizes geopolitics over human rights, environmental protection and transparency.
- Ongoing insecurity in the eastern DRC raises questions about whether Trump’s approach linking U.S. peace-building efforts to economic gains will bring stability to the region.
Brazil mining boss sentenced for illegal gold operation on Indigenous land (February 12, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/brazil-mining-boss-sentenced-for-illegal-gold-operation-on-indigenous-land/
A Brazilian federal court has sentenced a key financier to more than 22 years in prison. He was found guilty of leading an illegal mining operation in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, a huge protected area in the Amazon Rainforest that has been devastated by pollution, disease and deforestation. Rodrigo Martins de Mello, known as Rodrigo […]
Banks decline to finance LNG project in Papua New Guinea (February 11, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/02/banks-decline-to-finance-lng-project-in-papua-new-guinea/
A total of Twenty-nine international banks and export credit agencies have ruled out financing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea, citing climate, environmental and human rights concerns. The project is led by French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies, which says the project will go on as planned, nonetheless. Twelve financial institutions […]
Sustainable fisheries can’t be built on exploited labor (commentary) (February 11, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/sustainable-fisheries-cant-be-built-on-exploited-labor-commentary/
- The connection between human welfare and ocean conservation is direct and unavoidable, a new op-ed argues, because lawlessness toward people often goes hand in hand with lawlessness toward the ocean.
- Although there is an international legal framework governing crew welfare on fishing vessels at sea, these protections remain uneven, weakly enforced, or entirely absent for too many fishing crews, particularly migrant workers deployed on distant-water fleets.
- “We cannot reasonably expect crews to comply with complex fisheries regulations including logbooks, bycatch mitigation, finning bans, spatial closures and other requirements when they are overworked, underpaid, isolated and afraid,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.