Mongabay
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Award-winning nonprofit media outlet publishing global environmental science & news in 6 languages via bureaus in India, Brazil, Africa, Latin America, Indonesia & US: https://mongabay.com
Countries with significant amounts of tropical forest cover can receive up to $4 per hectare ($1.62 per acre) of standing forest per year through the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, or TFFF.
But with penalties of up to $800 per hectare ($324 per acre) of deforestation, payments shrink fast.
But with penalties of up to $800 per hectare ($324 per acre) of deforestation, payments shrink fast.
Brazil launches fund tying forest cash to steep deforestation penalties
Brazil officially launched a new financial market fund, called the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, or TFFF, at a Nov. 6 event ahead of the COP30 climate summit it will host in Belém. Countries…
news.mongabay.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Countries with significant amounts of tropical forest cover can receive up to $4 per hectare ($1.62 per acre) of standing forest per year through the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, or TFFF.
But with penalties of up to $800 per hectare ($324 per acre) of deforestation, payments shrink fast.
But with penalties of up to $800 per hectare ($324 per acre) of deforestation, payments shrink fast.
Researchers have captured video of an unexpected predator at two bat hibernation sites in northern Germany: invasive brown rats that lie in wait to intercept the bats mid-flight.
This is likely the first time invasive brown rats have been recorded eating bats in urban hibernation sites in Europe.
This is likely the first time invasive brown rats have been recorded eating bats in urban hibernation sites in Europe.
Europe’s under-pressure bats face ‘astonishing’ threat: Ambush by rats
Researchers have captured video of an unexpected predator at two bat hibernation sites in northern Germany: invasive brown rats that lie in wait to intercept the bats mid-flight. Invasive rodents are…
news.mongabay.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Researchers have captured video of an unexpected predator at two bat hibernation sites in northern Germany: invasive brown rats that lie in wait to intercept the bats mid-flight.
This is likely the first time invasive brown rats have been recorded eating bats in urban hibernation sites in Europe.
This is likely the first time invasive brown rats have been recorded eating bats in urban hibernation sites in Europe.
Special protocols for the prosecution of elected officials are used to protect them from trivial or politically motivated proceedings, but they can help them avoid accountability for illegal actions.
Often, their trials are delayed until the charges are dismissed due to various factors.
Often, their trials are delayed until the charges are dismissed due to various factors.
Across the Amazon, impunity among politicians remains chronic
Brazil and the Andean Republics all have constitutional provisions establishing special protocols for the prosecution of elected officials. These supposedly were conceived to ensure public servants…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Special protocols for the prosecution of elected officials are used to protect them from trivial or politically motivated proceedings, but they can help them avoid accountability for illegal actions.
Often, their trials are delayed until the charges are dismissed due to various factors.
Often, their trials are delayed until the charges are dismissed due to various factors.
The 2025 U.N. climate conference, COP30, will run from Nov. 10-21 in Belém, Brazil, and is expected to host the largest participation of Indigenous peoples in the conference series’ history, with more than 3,000 Indigenous delegates registered.
Mongabay spoke with some about their objectives.
Mongabay spoke with some about their objectives.
Indigenous delegates prepare for COP30 with focus on justice, land and finance
As the Brazilian city of Belém prepares for this year’s U.N. climate conference, COP30, Indigenous leaders worldwide say they’re getting ready to have their demands addressed. Dubbed the “nature COP”…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:03 PM
The 2025 U.N. climate conference, COP30, will run from Nov. 10-21 in Belém, Brazil, and is expected to host the largest participation of Indigenous peoples in the conference series’ history, with more than 3,000 Indigenous delegates registered.
Mongabay spoke with some about their objectives.
Mongabay spoke with some about their objectives.
UNESCO has declared the floodplain around Malaysian Borneo’s Kinabatangan River a biosphere reserve, linking the Heart of Borneo to the Lower Kinabatangan–Segama Wetlands.
Conservationists warn that the landscape remains heavily fragmented by oil palm plantations and faces persistent threats.
Conservationists warn that the landscape remains heavily fragmented by oil palm plantations and faces persistent threats.
UNESCO biosphere listing raises hope, questions for Malaysia’s Kinabatangan floodplain
Malaysia’s Kinabatangan floodplain, home to orangutans, pygmy elephants and proboscis monkeys, has officially joined UNESCO’s global network of biosphere reserves, protected areas of high biological…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:18 PM
UNESCO has declared the floodplain around Malaysian Borneo’s Kinabatangan River a biosphere reserve, linking the Heart of Borneo to the Lower Kinabatangan–Segama Wetlands.
Conservationists warn that the landscape remains heavily fragmented by oil palm plantations and faces persistent threats.
Conservationists warn that the landscape remains heavily fragmented by oil palm plantations and faces persistent threats.
On an expedition, the E/V Nautilus, a U.S government-funded vessel, mapped more than 14,000 square kilometers (5,400 square miles) of the Cook Islands’ seafloor and documented deep-sea biodiversity.
Environmental activists protested the expedition, arguing it would help accelerate deep-sea mining.
Environmental activists protested the expedition, arguing it would help accelerate deep-sea mining.
Expedition charts Cook Islands seafloor, amid scrutiny over mining motives
Thousands of meters below the ocean’s surface, a camera attached to a remotely operated vehicle captured a ghostly white creature gliding above a plain of polymetallic nodules — mineral-rich rocks…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:14 PM
On an expedition, the E/V Nautilus, a U.S government-funded vessel, mapped more than 14,000 square kilometers (5,400 square miles) of the Cook Islands’ seafloor and documented deep-sea biodiversity.
Environmental activists protested the expedition, arguing it would help accelerate deep-sea mining.
Environmental activists protested the expedition, arguing it would help accelerate deep-sea mining.
South Asia’s warming oceans are transforming coastal life and livelihoods.
Join our webinar exploring how journalists can communicate the evolving climate impacts on lives and livelihoods.
📅 November 27, 2025 | 🕓 4:30 a.m. UTC
On our YouTube channel: buff.ly/4OrAGP5
Register: buff.ly/dfHNs8C.
Join our webinar exploring how journalists can communicate the evolving climate impacts on lives and livelihoods.
📅 November 27, 2025 | 🕓 4:30 a.m. UTC
On our YouTube channel: buff.ly/4OrAGP5
Register: buff.ly/dfHNs8C.
November 10, 2025 at 4:35 PM
South Asia’s warming oceans are transforming coastal life and livelihoods.
Join our webinar exploring how journalists can communicate the evolving climate impacts on lives and livelihoods.
📅 November 27, 2025 | 🕓 4:30 a.m. UTC
On our YouTube channel: buff.ly/4OrAGP5
Register: buff.ly/dfHNs8C.
Join our webinar exploring how journalists can communicate the evolving climate impacts on lives and livelihoods.
📅 November 27, 2025 | 🕓 4:30 a.m. UTC
On our YouTube channel: buff.ly/4OrAGP5
Register: buff.ly/dfHNs8C.
Although seabirds spend most of their lives at sea, they return to land to breed, often forming colonies of thousands of individuals. This influx of birds — bringing their guano, or droppings, feathers and eggshells to land — constitutes a transfer of ocean-derived nutrients, helping to feed soil.
Researchers define the importance of the ‘circular seabird economy’
In a review article published in Nature, researchers have introduced a new term to describe the importance of seabirds across land and marine ecosystems: the circular seabird economy. Although…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Although seabirds spend most of their lives at sea, they return to land to breed, often forming colonies of thousands of individuals. This influx of birds — bringing their guano, or droppings, feathers and eggshells to land — constitutes a transfer of ocean-derived nutrients, helping to feed soil.
A night fishing trip 30 years ago showed Brazilian public health doctor Apolo Heringer the meaning of health: a clean river full of fish. This idea inspired the Manuelzão Project to restore Brazil's Velhas River Basin.
After sewage treatment plants began operating in the area, fish began to return.
After sewage treatment plants began operating in the area, fish began to return.
Healthy rivers, healthy people: A Brazil project links human & ecosystem well-being
Some 30 years ago, Apolo Heringer, a Brazilian public health doctor, was participating in a night fishing trip with residents of the community Raiz, in southeastern Brazil. That night, the fish were…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:17 PM
A night fishing trip 30 years ago showed Brazilian public health doctor Apolo Heringer the meaning of health: a clean river full of fish. This idea inspired the Manuelzão Project to restore Brazil's Velhas River Basin.
After sewage treatment plants began operating in the area, fish began to return.
After sewage treatment plants began operating in the area, fish began to return.
[COMMENTARY]
Congolese traditional medicine, rooted in cultural heritage, is disappearing due to the dominance of modern medicine. In rural areas, traditional healers remain essential, yet their knowledge is largely undocumented and often undervalued.
** The views expressed are the author's.
Congolese traditional medicine, rooted in cultural heritage, is disappearing due to the dominance of modern medicine. In rural areas, traditional healers remain essential, yet their knowledge is largely undocumented and often undervalued.
** The views expressed are the author's.
The uncertain future of DRC’s traditional medicine, a heritage to save (commentary)
Congolese traditional medicine is disappearing. Not due to a lack of usefulness, but due to a lack of space in an increasingly standardized medical world. Faced with the rise of modern medicine,…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:53 AM
[COMMENTARY]
Congolese traditional medicine, rooted in cultural heritage, is disappearing due to the dominance of modern medicine. In rural areas, traditional healers remain essential, yet their knowledge is largely undocumented and often undervalued.
** The views expressed are the author's.
Congolese traditional medicine, rooted in cultural heritage, is disappearing due to the dominance of modern medicine. In rural areas, traditional healers remain essential, yet their knowledge is largely undocumented and often undervalued.
** The views expressed are the author's.
[COMMENTARY]
A new op-ed warns that Bill Gates’ new essay, “Three Tough Truths About Climate,” risks undermining progress by framing development and climate action as a trade-off.
“The challenge is to ensure everyone thrives on a healthy planet,” she writes.
** Views are the author’s.
A new op-ed warns that Bill Gates’ new essay, “Three Tough Truths About Climate,” risks undermining progress by framing development and climate action as a trade-off.
“The challenge is to ensure everyone thrives on a healthy planet,” she writes.
** Views are the author’s.
No, Bill Gates, we don’t have to choose between people & planet (commentary)
Bill Gates has long been a leading voice in the global response to human health and climate change. His climate investments and advocacy have helped drive innovation, expand access to clean energy…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:10 AM
[COMMENTARY]
A new op-ed warns that Bill Gates’ new essay, “Three Tough Truths About Climate,” risks undermining progress by framing development and climate action as a trade-off.
“The challenge is to ensure everyone thrives on a healthy planet,” she writes.
** Views are the author’s.
A new op-ed warns that Bill Gates’ new essay, “Three Tough Truths About Climate,” risks undermining progress by framing development and climate action as a trade-off.
“The challenge is to ensure everyone thrives on a healthy planet,” she writes.
** Views are the author’s.
Kenya’s Environment and Land Court has upheld a 2019 ruling that revoked the environmental license for the proposed 1,050-megawatt Lamu coal-fired power plant, effectively halting the controversial project.
Kenya court upholds cancellation of 1,050 MW coal plant license
Kenya’s Environment and Land Court has upheld a 2019 ruling that revoked the environmental license for the proposed 1,050-megawatt Lamu coal-fired power plant, effectively halting the controversial…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Kenya’s Environment and Land Court has upheld a 2019 ruling that revoked the environmental license for the proposed 1,050-megawatt Lamu coal-fired power plant, effectively halting the controversial project.
Bats play crucial roles in biodiverse ecosystems the world over, yet they’re often overlooked in conservation planning.
New research from Vietnam indicates the existing network of protected areas fails to adequately safeguard the small flying mammals, risking continued population declines.
New research from Vietnam indicates the existing network of protected areas fails to adequately safeguard the small flying mammals, risking continued population declines.
Vietnam’s protected areas fall short of safeguarding most bats, study finds
Furry, feisty, and often on the wing, bats are tricky to observe, let alone to protect. Some species hibernate deep in caves or tree cavities for months at a time; many migrate long distances in…
news.mongabay.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Bats play crucial roles in biodiverse ecosystems the world over, yet they’re often overlooked in conservation planning.
New research from Vietnam indicates the existing network of protected areas fails to adequately safeguard the small flying mammals, risking continued population declines.
New research from Vietnam indicates the existing network of protected areas fails to adequately safeguard the small flying mammals, risking continued population declines.
About 1.4M Hondurans still lack electricity. In the south, big renewable projects bring heat, water scarcity & deforestation — but few benefits.
Locals face threats for speaking out, calling instead for a just, affordable energy transition.
Locals face threats for speaking out, calling instead for a just, affordable energy transition.
In Honduras, local communities miss out on benefits of large-scale renewables
CHOLUTECA, Honduras — Under the slogan “Without human rights, there is no energy sovereignty,” more than 100 community members and activists gathered in mid-July at the Casa Real Hotel in Choluteca,…
news.mongabay.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:15 PM
About 1.4M Hondurans still lack electricity. In the south, big renewable projects bring heat, water scarcity & deforestation — but few benefits.
Locals face threats for speaking out, calling instead for a just, affordable energy transition.
Locals face threats for speaking out, calling instead for a just, affordable energy transition.
[COMMENTARY]
🐾 In Kenya, Samburu women of the Mama Simba program lead lion conservation — restoring harmony between people and wildlife.
This commentary reminds us: “When women lead, everything changes.”
** Views are author’s. #VoicesFromTheLand
🐾 In Kenya, Samburu women of the Mama Simba program lead lion conservation — restoring harmony between people and wildlife.
This commentary reminds us: “When women lead, everything changes.”
** Views are author’s. #VoicesFromTheLand
Women can help rebuild our relationship with lions: Voices from the land (commentary)
This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections…
news.mongabay.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:21 PM
[COMMENTARY]
🐾 In Kenya, Samburu women of the Mama Simba program lead lion conservation — restoring harmony between people and wildlife.
This commentary reminds us: “When women lead, everything changes.”
** Views are author’s. #VoicesFromTheLand
🐾 In Kenya, Samburu women of the Mama Simba program lead lion conservation — restoring harmony between people and wildlife.
This commentary reminds us: “When women lead, everything changes.”
** Views are author’s. #VoicesFromTheLand
Northern Thailand faces yearly haze as maize fields are burned for animal feed production.
Crackdowns haven’t worked — struggling farmers keep burning as yields fall and debts grow.
Crackdowns haven’t worked — struggling farmers keep burning as yields fall and debts grow.
Karen community fighting corn and coal for clean air in northern Thailand
MAE CHAM/OMKOI, Thailand — Rain lashed down in the northern Thai village of Nong Krating as Sawattiphon Wongkasettakon described the worsening air pollution that sweeps in through the mountains here…
news.mongabay.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Northern Thailand faces yearly haze as maize fields are burned for animal feed production.
Crackdowns haven’t worked — struggling farmers keep burning as yields fall and debts grow.
Crackdowns haven’t worked — struggling farmers keep burning as yields fall and debts grow.
A deep-sea expedition has recorded 30 previously unknown species from one of the planet’s most inaccessible regions, 700 meters into the depths of the Southern Ocean.
The astonishing array included a carnivorous “death-ball” sponge, unknown sea stars spanning multiple families, and new crustaceans.
The astonishing array included a carnivorous “death-ball” sponge, unknown sea stars spanning multiple families, and new crustaceans.
Armored worms and death-ball sponges among array of life newly documented from the deep sea
In the darkness of the deep ocean, where pressure crushes and light fails, an expedition has found an astonishing array of life, including a carnivorous “death-ball” sponge (from the genus…
news.mongabay.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:25 PM
A deep-sea expedition has recorded 30 previously unknown species from one of the planet’s most inaccessible regions, 700 meters into the depths of the Southern Ocean.
The astonishing array included a carnivorous “death-ball” sponge, unknown sea stars spanning multiple families, and new crustaceans.
The astonishing array included a carnivorous “death-ball” sponge, unknown sea stars spanning multiple families, and new crustaceans.
[COMMENTARY]
Environmental leaders in Latin America are facing out-of-control violence and deaths, with little accountability and journalism is failing environmental leaders by focusing on statistics instead of their stories, says one of our Y. Eva Tan fellows.
** Views are author's.
Environmental leaders in Latin America are facing out-of-control violence and deaths, with little accountability and journalism is failing environmental leaders by focusing on statistics instead of their stories, says one of our Y. Eva Tan fellows.
** Views are author's.
Journalism is failing to report on environmental leaders’ fights (commentary)
Protecting the jungle “justifies all the struggles. … what’s the value of your life if you have nothing to die for?” Ángela Maldonado, Whitley Award winner and director of the NGO Fundación…
news.mongabay.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:32 PM
[COMMENTARY]
Environmental leaders in Latin America are facing out-of-control violence and deaths, with little accountability and journalism is failing environmental leaders by focusing on statistics instead of their stories, says one of our Y. Eva Tan fellows.
** Views are author's.
Environmental leaders in Latin America are facing out-of-control violence and deaths, with little accountability and journalism is failing environmental leaders by focusing on statistics instead of their stories, says one of our Y. Eva Tan fellows.
** Views are author's.
Governments and investors are seeking minerals, timber and oil in the Congo Basin to fuel the global economy & the green transition.
However, communities that have lived in the world’s second-largest rainforest for generations are paying the highest price for extraction, according to a new report.
However, communities that have lived in the world’s second-largest rainforest for generations are paying the highest price for extraction, according to a new report.
Congo Basin communities bear the costs of industrial expansion
Governments and investors are seeking minerals, timber and oil in the Congo Basin to fuel the global economy and the green transition. However, communities that have lived in the world’s…
news.mongabay.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Governments and investors are seeking minerals, timber and oil in the Congo Basin to fuel the global economy & the green transition.
However, communities that have lived in the world’s second-largest rainforest for generations are paying the highest price for extraction, according to a new report.
However, communities that have lived in the world’s second-largest rainforest for generations are paying the highest price for extraction, according to a new report.
[COMMENTAY]
"As billions of dollars in climate finance will be discussed or even decided upon at COP30 in Brazil, the priority must be to get resources directly to Indigenous & local communities who have safeguarded forests for generations,” a new op-ed argues.
** Views expressed are authors'.
"As billions of dollars in climate finance will be discussed or even decided upon at COP30 in Brazil, the priority must be to get resources directly to Indigenous & local communities who have safeguarded forests for generations,” a new op-ed argues.
** Views expressed are authors'.
Climate finance must reach Indigenous communities at COP30 & beyond (commentary)
As the COP30 climate summit in the Amazon draws near, pressure is mounting to get funding directly into the hands of Indigenous and local community organizations who are the frontline defenders of…
news.mongabay.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:10 AM
[COMMENTAY]
"As billions of dollars in climate finance will be discussed or even decided upon at COP30 in Brazil, the priority must be to get resources directly to Indigenous & local communities who have safeguarded forests for generations,” a new op-ed argues.
** Views expressed are authors'.
"As billions of dollars in climate finance will be discussed or even decided upon at COP30 in Brazil, the priority must be to get resources directly to Indigenous & local communities who have safeguarded forests for generations,” a new op-ed argues.
** Views expressed are authors'.
Witches’ Broom, a devastating fungal disease, has spread for the first time from Southeast Asia to Latin America, arriving in French Guiana in 2023 and has now infiltrated northern Brazil.
Witch Hunt: Virulent fungal disease attacks South America’s cassava crop
As smallholder farmers in French Guiana walked their fields in 2023, they noted a disturbing pattern. Their healthy cassava plants, once green and thriving, had begun to turn yellow. Leaves wilted,…
news.mongabay.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Witches’ Broom, a devastating fungal disease, has spread for the first time from Southeast Asia to Latin America, arriving in French Guiana in 2023 and has now infiltrated northern Brazil.
Renata Piazzon, CEO of the Instituto Arapyaú, is one of Brazil’s leading voices for aligning conservation with economic development, argues that protecting forests and improving livelihoods must go hand in hand.
Brazil can protect its forests while growing its economy, says Arapyaú’s Renata Piazzon
Brazil’s climate conversation has a habit of returning to the same question: how can a country that depends so much on its natural riches also protect them? Renata Piazzon, who leads the São…
news.mongabay.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Renata Piazzon, CEO of the Instituto Arapyaú, is one of Brazil’s leading voices for aligning conservation with economic development, argues that protecting forests and improving livelihoods must go hand in hand.
Northern Kenya’s “Samburu Special Five” — reticulated giraffe, Grévy’s zebra, beisa oryx, gerenuk & Somali ostrich — are evolving under pressure.
But droughts now strike twice as often as 20 years ago, shrinking food & water sources and intensifying clashes between wildlife, livestock & people.
But droughts now strike twice as often as 20 years ago, shrinking food & water sources and intensifying clashes between wildlife, livestock & people.
Climate change threatens unique ‘Samburu Special 5’ wildlife in arid East Africa
In the dry regions of East Africa lives a group of animals unlike any others. Known as the Samburu Special Five to safari operators in Kenya, they are the dry-adapted reticulated giraffe (Giraffa…
news.mongabay.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Northern Kenya’s “Samburu Special Five” — reticulated giraffe, Grévy’s zebra, beisa oryx, gerenuk & Somali ostrich — are evolving under pressure.
But droughts now strike twice as often as 20 years ago, shrinking food & water sources and intensifying clashes between wildlife, livestock & people.
But droughts now strike twice as often as 20 years ago, shrinking food & water sources and intensifying clashes between wildlife, livestock & people.
Marine experts at the Indonesian Seagrass Symposium in Bali warned that seagrass ecosystems — vital for carbon storage, biodiversity and coastal protection — remain largely overlooked in national policy and conservation efforts.
Scientists call for stronger action to save Indonesia’s vanishing seagrass meadows
SANUR, Indonesia — Indonesia’s seagrass ecosystems are crucial for climate action, biodiversity and coastal livelihoods, yet remain a largely neglected asset, marine scientists and conservation…
news.mongabay.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Marine experts at the Indonesian Seagrass Symposium in Bali warned that seagrass ecosystems — vital for carbon storage, biodiversity and coastal protection — remain largely overlooked in national policy and conservation efforts.
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Join a global newsroom covering oceans, data strategy & climate storytelling.
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November 7, 2025 at 4:35 PM
🌍 Mongabay is hiring!
Join a global newsroom covering oceans, data strategy & climate storytelling.
Now recruiting:
🗞️ Contributing Editor (Oceans) - buff.ly/HsXXLKW
📊 Engagement Editor - buff.ly/94vR1n9
✍️ Wire Reporter (Asia) - buff.ly/uSx1FiK
Apply now!
Join a global newsroom covering oceans, data strategy & climate storytelling.
Now recruiting:
🗞️ Contributing Editor (Oceans) - buff.ly/HsXXLKW
📊 Engagement Editor - buff.ly/94vR1n9
✍️ Wire Reporter (Asia) - buff.ly/uSx1FiK
Apply now!