About Mongabay

Mongabay is a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform that produces original reporting in English, IndonesianSpanish, French, Hindi, and Brazilian Portuguese by leveraging over 800 correspondents in some 70 countries. We are dedicated to evidence-driven objective journalism.

Our main beats are forests, wildlife, oceans, and the conservation sector. We also undertake special reporting projects, which are deep dives on specific topics and geographies. We offer a variety of newsletters and RSS / XML feeds and have a presence on various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

Mongabay’s readership includes officials in development agencies, natural resources management ministries, scientists, business leaders, and civil society, among others.

Our articles are republished by dozens of local, national, regional, and international outlets ranging from National Geographic Indonesia to Smithsonian Magazine, extending our reach beyond our 5 million monthly web site visitors.

Mission Statement

Mongabay improves understanding of the concurrent global scale forces undermining the health of Earth’s systems. Mongabay makes science accessible and elevates the voices and knowledge of people directly impacted by environmental change.

Mongabay is an independent, nonprofit media organization reporting on nature and planetary challenges with a global network of local journalists. Mongabay serves a diverse audience by providing free access to news and information in numerous languages and formats to address knowledge gaps and improve transparency. By revealing the evidence of ecosystem destruction and its consequences for people worldwide, Mongabay creates opportunities to hold those responsible accountable.

More information about Mongabay

Please see Mongabay.org for more information about the organization itself, including annual reports and financial filings, like the 990 and IRS Determination Letter.

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Mongabay’s origins

Rhett A. Butler founded Mongabay.com in 1999 out of his passion for tropical forests. He called the site Mongabay after an island in Madagascar.

Since then, Mongabay has grown into the world’s most popular rainforest information site and a well-known source of environmental news reporting and analysis. Today Mongabay draws five million visitors per month on average and publishes stories in six languages daily. Its reporting is commonly cited by mainstream media in their own reporting, including The New York Times, The Economist, Bloomberg, National Geographic, and Associated Press. Mongabay is also widely recognized as an accurate and trust-worthy source by civil society organizations as well as development agencies.

Over the years Mongabay’s impact has been substantial. Articles on the site have sparked protests in Madagascar against a French shipping company transporting timber logged illegally from rainforest reserves and helped block destructive projects like a plan to log 70 percent of Woodlark Island off New Guinea for a giant oil palm plantation. Mongabay stories have influenced investment flows and policy decisions, prompted official investigations, and inspired art.

In 2012 Mongabay.org was formed to facilitate the development of new education and journalism initiatives and leverage its existing network, traffic, and reputation. Mongabay.org aims to raise awareness about social and environmental issues relating to forests and other ecosystems.

The first project under Mongabay.org was the launch of Mongabay.co.id, an Indonesian environmental news service run by a team of Indonesians. Mongabay launched the Spanish-language Mongabay-Latam in 2016, Mongabay-India in 2018, the Portuguese-language Mongabay-Brasil in 2019, and Mongabay-Hindi in 2020. A new Mongabay-Africa bureau is in development for 2023.

Mongabay News was moved to the non-profit in 2015 and all the news content produced to that point was donated to the organization.

Mongabay Staff

Meet the whole global team at Mongabay.org

The Mongabay Board

Meet Mongabay’s board and advisory panel at Mongabay.org