Secret Amazon species may be new source of ibogaine for addiction treatment
A dismissed pasture weed may be key to easing drug addictions, but a researcher is keeping it a closely guarded secret for now.
Foreign nationals attempt to fly to Europe with rare cacti from southern Brazil
Agents from the Brazilian Federal Police found an unusual cargo with four Czech nationals stopped in February at São Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport: 214 cactus specimens and envelopes containing cactus…
What’s jimbu? The herb that bolsters an iconic Nepali dish could also help save snow leopards
KATHMANDU — In Nepal, there's a popular saying: “dal bhat power, 24 hour.” It refers to a humble plateful of rice and soupy lentils that Nepalis swear by, both at…
Bangladesh unveils sweeping EV incentives to cut emissions and pollution
In an unprecedented move, Bangladesh has upended its previous policy of heavily taxing electric vehicles (EVs) and promoting fossil-fuel-run transport. While placing the tax and tariff proposals for the next…
A coastal Philippine farm offers a blueprint for farming with wetlands
PITOGO, Philippines — The Glinoga Integrated Farm in Quezon province sits among brackish fishponds, some active, others long abandoned and slowly reclaimed by the landscape. About a four-hour drive from…
Aquatic animal and terrestrial meat trades now almost on par, FAO report finds
Rapid aquaculture growth has pushed farmed aquatic animal production to more than 100 million metric tons per year for the first time ever, boosting the trade value of all aquatic…
Human rights abuse allegations continue to rise in the mining sector, report finds
Over the last several years, the United States and European Union have intensified efforts to secure the minerals needed for a clean energy transition. Officials have fast-tracked new projects and…
One mountain lion changed the food web in a California suburb, study finds
When a mountain lion moved into a small suburban preserve near California’s Stanford University in the U.S. around 2012, its presence transformed the local food web, suggesting that apex predators…
As Amazon oil drilling begins, scientists warn of risks to a little-known reef
The Amazon region always invites superlatives: the world’s largest tropical forest, the planet’s largest continuous mangrove belt, the river with the largest water volume and length on Earth. That makes…
Telling one guiña from another: It’s all about the angle
Guiña are small-forest-dwelling felids found in Chile and Argentina that are distinguished only by small, subtle black dots, making it difficult to tell one cat from another. A change in camera…
Thai farmers fear water woes from planned LNG plant
PHANOM SARAKHAM, Thailand — On a December afternoon, Suphut Hom Chunthit and his wife were tending to their 12 durian trees. Suphut showed reporters his homemade irrigation system, a series…
Mel Sunquist, field biologist and mentor to generations of conservationists
In the 1970s, studying wild tigers still involved more nerve than equipment. A biologist could not rely on camera traps, GPS collars, or satellite-linked data. To understand where a tiger…
Women patrol Tanzania’s Pemba waters in a community-led push to protect the sea
PEMBA, Tanzania — Patrolling the sea is not the kind of work many women on Tanzania’s Pemba Island are traditionally expected to do. Yet, for Amina Gharib Issa, it has…
How snow leopards, wolves and leopards share the same Himalayan valley, study
Three of Asia’s most formidable predators share territory in a remote Nepal valley by eating different prey, according to a new study. Researchers found that diet, not time or space,…
India’s fishers confront homegrown ‘ghost gear’ problem
KOCHI, India — In the early light at Thoppumpady fishing harbor in the city of Kochi, coils of blue and green nylon nets lay heaped on the concrete docks, stiff…
Laser scanning forests may boost carbon estimates, but credibility questions linger
Forests are natural carbon sinks. But as reforestation of degraded land is becoming a global climate solution, a persistent question lingers: How do we know how much carbon a forest…
A trailblazing Ugandan championing women in African fisheries: Q&A with Lovin Kobusingye
Speaking at a gathering of ocean conservation groups and development practitioners in Watamu, Kenya, Lovin Kobusingye had a simple message: The women who catch, process and sell fish are still…
Three years after Cyclone Freddy, farms remain under water in Malawi’s Elephant Marsh
NSANJE DISTRICT, Malawi — From his canoe, floating in a shallow channel in a corner of southern Malawi’s Elephant Marsh, Fred Nsema points at two palm trees standing knee-deep in…
Our Ocean Conference in Kenya ends with $6.4 billion in pledges, review of past promises
MOMBASA — Africa was front and center at the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya, the first time the annual gathering was held on the continent. The conference is built around…
Bangladesh tests a return to the wild for extinct peafowl populations
Conservation authorities in Bangladesh say they’re still on track to fully release peafowl back into the wild, under a program that began with a “soft” release of the birds last…
Asia’s shark and ray hotspots remain poorly protected, study finds
COLOMBO — The majority of 122 marine areas identified across Asia as critical for the survival of sharks, rays and chimaeras remain largely unprotected despite supporting some of the world’s…
Chewing sounds can help decode an animal’s diet using AI, new study finds
What does an eagle ray’s menu look like? An artificial intelligence model can now answer that question by listening to sounds of the animal chewing on food. Scientists developed the…
Seizures reveal macabre grey parrot blood trade in Cameroon
The blood of African grey parrots is emerging as a new, macabre illegal wildlife product traded in Cameroon, analysts from TRAFFIC, a nonprofit that monitors wildlife trafficking, reported. This grim…
Amazon floodplains cocoa offers a climate-resilient and sustainable chocolate
A river community in Pará uses ancestral secrets to beat the climate crisis one chocolate bean at a time.
Nepal’s Central Zoo faces questions over its bird flu response
KATHMANDU — A dead crow was found inside Nepal’s Central Zoo around “mid-June,” the exact date remains unknown. Then birds including a barn owl (Tyto alba) tested positive for avian…
Crackdown on snares in Sumatra as elephant, sun bear and tiger rescued
PADANG, Indonesia — Authorities in a stronghold for Sumatran tigers have warned the public against using snares to trap wild boar following the dramatic rescue of an 11-month old female…
In Kenya’s Mida Creek, fishers confront a changing ocean with hope
WATAMU, Kenya — By midday, the fish still hadn’t arrived. Since 8 a.m., Alice Kazungu had been sitting at the Mida Creek landing site on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast, waiting…
On the brink of extinction, the Javan green magpie gets a conservation lifeline
Teetering on the brink of extinction, Indonesia’s Javan green magpie may have a conservation lifeline after national and international conservation NGOs launched an action plan to preserve it in the…
Rewilding Rio: Conservationists restock an ‘empty forest,’ one species at a time
In 2008, biologist Alexandra Pires had just completed her doctoral thesis, which described how agoutis, a large guinea pig-like rodent, were important for the regeneration of plant species in Brazil’s Atlantic…
New analysis breaks down 2025 Amazon deforestation, with good news and bad news
Each year, researchers at the University of Maryland’s GLAD Lab in the U.S. develop one of the most important data sets on global forest loss. The data is derived from…
Six marine sanctuaries recognized as Blue Parks, four of them in Africa
MOMBASA — At the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya, a message echoed across sessions: Effective marine protected areas (MPAs) are critical to safeguarding oceans. The Blue Park Awards, instituted…
Wildlife helps regulate the climate & this belongs in policy discussions (commentary)
When we talk about climate change and wildlife, most people think about the impact of climate change on animals. We see individual organisms struggling to find food and being pushed…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Satellite data show burst of deforestation in Myanmar rare earth mining hotspots
- Narco airstrips beset Indigenous communities in Peruvian Amazon
- 15 illegal narco-trafficking airstrips found near Peru Indigenous communities
- Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
Oceans
- Tropics take the brunt as hotter oceans drive large-scale humid heat waves: Study
- Talks to reduce funding for overfishing remain stalled at WTO meeting
- New strategy to reverse Kenya’s shark decline tries to bring fishers on board
- Mongabay shark meat exposé wins national journalism education award in Brazil
Amazon Conservation
- Researchers eye jaguar conservation wins under Brazil Indigenous stewardship project
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal in the Amazon faces bumpy road ahead
- New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches
- Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns
Land rights and extractives
- Illegal miners adapt their strategies in Yanomami Amazon territory
- As traditional forest governance erodes in Peru, ‘ghost permits’ fill the vacuum
- What’s happening with the global treaty to trace critical minerals?
- In the race for DRC’s critical minerals, community forests are on the frontline
Endangered Environmentalists
- José Albino Cañas Ramírez, a defender of Indigenous territories, aged 44
- A killing with precedent: Kaiowá man’s murder fits a pattern in Brazil
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
Conservation Effectiveness
- How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Flores’ geothermal ambitions collide with justice, culture & local resistance
- An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
