Australia’s biodiversity is under pressure. 🇦🇺🌿 Land clearing, fragmentation, climate change & offshore extraction are reshaping ecosystems on land and at sea. That's why Mongabay is launching the Australia Biodiversity Special Reporting Project. Send your pitches: www.jotform.com/260274347580...

Seven years after the Brumadinho dam collapse killed 272 people, Vale and Itaminas are restarting operations at the same complex. Residents warn the Jangada site could threaten local water sources in a region still scarred by disaster, citing unresolved risks and limited transparency.

In biodiversity hotspots across Africa, the challenge isn’t a lack of stories — it’s making complex, slow-moving change resonate beyond borders. Journalist Aimable Twahirwa focuses on forest governance, wildlife trade and renewable energy, emphasizing accuracy in fragile information environments.

A new Science review finds forests do more than store carbon — they cool air, stabilize rainfall & buffer extreme heat. Clearing forests can quickly create hotter, drier conditions & raise heat-related health risks. Protecting forests is vital not just for emissions cuts, but climate adaptation.

Pharmaceutical pollution is accumulating in aquatic insects — and moving up the food chain when birds and bats eat them. Scientists warn of behavioral and ecosystem impacts, but the full consequences remain unknown.

Türkiye says Zeytin, a baby gorilla seized from traffickers, will remain in the country after DNA ruled out Nigeria as his origin. Conservationists warn the highly social ape could face lifelong isolation without transfer to an African sanctuary.

[COMMENTARY] A Land Matrix report warns land-based carbon offsets risk inflated climate claims and harm to communities in the Global South. It calls for transparency, stronger land governance and FPIC — with communities deciding whether to engage. ** Views are author's.

More than 5,000 fire hotspots hit Indonesia’s peatlands in January — even during peak rainy season. Many were inside oil palm concessions. Experts warn degraded peat now burns based on hydrology, not season. With oversight weakened, risks are rising.

The U.S. has repealed the 2009 “endangerment finding,” removing the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases. The decision could dismantle federal emissions limits for vehicles and industry, even as recent years rank the hottest on record. California and EDF plan to sue.

[FOUNDER'S BRIEF - @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social] IPBES warns biodiversity loss is a systemic economic risk. Yet $7.3T a year still funds nature-harming activities — far more than conservation. Without reform, profit stays misaligned with the ecosystems the economy depends on.

Brazil’s Santo Antônio dam on the Madeira River has cut fish populations by up to 90% in parts of Amazonas and Rondônia, a new community-led study finds. Species like pirarucu and tambaqui have largely vanished. “The Madeira River stopped flowing,” one fisher said.

Five guanacos have been moved from Patagonia to Argentina’s Dry Chaco in a bid to restore the species and revive a threatened ecosystem. Supporters call it rewilding; critics warn of disease risks and genetic impacts — amid shrinking conservation budgets.

Brazil’s National Space Research Institute has unveiled new mapping tech to detect deforestation in half-hectare polygons, helping producers comply with the EU’s deforestation-free rule.

More than half of households in Indonesia still burn trash, driven by weak waste collection and safety concerns. The practice releases toxic particles and black carbon, harming health and warming the climate — prompting pilot projects focused on better waste systems and community action.

Cambodia is set to build the $1.2B Funan Techo Canal linking the Mekong to the sea. Residents along the route say they’ve received little information and fear land loss and disruption to floodplain farms and fisheries.

A U.S.-hosted minerals summit signals a push to cut reliance on China by striking deals with African nations. Guinea and Morocco signed agreements, while a prior deal with the DRC, home to 70% of global cobalt reserves, faces scrutiny over human rights and instability concerns.

A Brazilian court sentenced a key illegal mining financier to 22+ years for crimes in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory. The ruling follows years of gold mining that brought mercury contamination, disease and child deaths to Yanomami communities.

Twenty-nine banks have ruled out financing the Papua LNG project in Papua New Guinea over climate and human rights concerns. Project lead TotalEnergies says it will proceed anyway.

[COMMENTARY] A new op-ed argues ocean conservation and crew welfare are inseparable. With weak protections for migrant fishers, the author says expecting compliance with fisheries laws is unrealistic. ** Views are author's.

[FOUNDER'S BRIEF - @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social] A Biotropica study suggests king cobras may be hitching rides on trains in Goa. Several were found near rail hubs in unsuitable habitat — raising the possibility that freight trains are unintentionally moving the world’s longest venomous snake.

Near Mombasa, women in Jomvu Creek are transforming livelihoods through mud crab farming. A blue economy grant supports crab fattening, ecotourism and mangrove restoration — with nearly 1 million seedlings planted to protect the shoreline and sustain fish nurseries.

Critics in Suriname oppose plans to clear 113,465 hectares of rainforest in Nickerie for industrial agriculture. The project, tied to a 2024 public-private deal, allegedly advanced without permits. Experts warn large-scale clearing could cost Suriname its carbon-negative status.

A study in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest finds Indigenous lands and agrarian-reform settlements restore more forest than private properties — but also face higher reversals. Researchers cite governance, farming pressures and the need for stronger land rights.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is moving toward leasing 45.7 million hectares off Alaska for seabed mining. The plan has sparked cultural and environmental concerns, as deep-sea mining faces global scrutiny over weak regulations and ecological risks.

The Dominican Republic has withdrawn a proposal to regulate American eel trade under CITES. With soaring demand and illegal trafficking, freshwater eels are in steep decline — and conservationists warn this setback leaves them more vulnerable.

An emerald-green moth missing for nearly 150 years has been rediscovered in South Africa. Photos posted online confirmed the survival of Drepanogynis insciata, once known only from 1870s specimens — highlighting the power of citizen science platforms like iNaturalist.

Beneath our feet, mycorrhizal fungi trade nutrients for carbon with plant roots — forming one of Earth’s largest carbon networks. Now SPUN is using remote sensing and imaging robots to map this hidden underground system.

Who gets to tell the world’s most urgent environmental stories? Mongabay’s Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship is expanding in 2026. 🌍 ✨ Deadline extended to Feb 14. Paid, remote. 11 fellows. Six published stories. Apply NOW: buff.ly/pTCVXXB Learn more: buff.ly/ZZCG7M2.

Bangladesh’s first election since the 2024 uprising is nearing — but experts say major parties’ environmental plans are “inadequate” and “unrealistic.” Manifestos overlook biodiversity, climate-driven migration, fund oversight and even recent environmental law reforms.

Indonesia’s steel sector — already a major emitter — could grow far more polluting as global demand rises, a nonprofit report warns. Coal-based production drives both climate emissions and local health risks, while current policies lack binding targets and enforcement.

Trump has moved to reopen the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to commercial fishing, saying it will aid the industry without harming marine life. Conservationists warn the protected area is a vital sanctuary — and fear broader marine monument rollbacks.

[PODCAST] Before USAID’s vast development database went offline, an AI scientist used an LLM to preserve decades of lessons. Many failures, she says, traced back not to technology — but to weak local engagement.

Mexico is considering shrinking a protected area in the Gulf of California — home to the critically endangered vaquita, with an estimated 10 individuals left. A draft proposal would reduce the gillnet ban zone and allow vessel traffic in a zero-tolerance area now fully closed to boats.

Researchers have proposed the PEPP Framework — Prepare, Engage, Prevent, Protect — to guide the ethical use of AI in decoding animal communication. Scientists warn poorly regulated research could stress or manipulate animals, even as the technology holds conservation promise.

[COMMENTARY] As aid falls and debt rises, conservation risks being sidelined in many megadiverse countries. In a new commentary, the author argues biodiversity bonds offer clearer accountability — but warns they could also financialize nature if misused. ** Views are the author’s.

[FOUNDER'S BRIEF - @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social] Change is often credited to visible actors. But it begins with shared facts and traceable responsibility. Journalism puts verifiable information on the public record — creating the conditions for accountability and action.

Brazil has suspended a decree to dredge & privatize the Tapajós River after Indigenous protests blockaded a Cargill grain terminal — but communities are demanding a full revocation. They warn the project threatens 14 territories & hundreds of riverine communities, & say they were never consulted.

Oil of unknown origin is washing up along 1,200 km of South Africa’s coast, closing beaches and alarming conservationists. Tar balls and oil-filled barrels have been reported on 20+ beaches, with no confirmed source — raising fears for wildlife, including critically endangered African penguins.

High taxes and costs are leaving timber unsold in Nepal’s community forests, undercutting conservation funding and local livelihoods. Officials warn the surplus may also fuel illegal logging — even as forest cover reaches 44%.

After eight years, Socfin has cut ties with the Earthworm Foundation, hired amid allegations of rights abuses at its plantations in Africa and Southeast Asia. Advocates in Liberia say Earthworm's suggested reforms were never fully implemented.

The state of Rio de Janeiro has banned shark meat in about 95% of public schools, citing environmental and health risks — including mercury exposure. Still, most schools nationwide can continue serving it, as Brazil lacks a federal ban.

Cambodia is moving ahead with the $1.2B Funan Techo Canal to link the Mekong River to the sea. But along the route, many residents say scarce information has fueled fear — with fishers in Kep Province worried about displacement and damaged fishing grounds.

Lost fish aggregating devices threaten the Galápagos Marine Reserve, where drifting plastic can damage reefs and entangle wildlife. In Ecuador, agencies are working to keep FADs out — and remove those that slip in.

Indigenous-led funds are reshaping climate finance by directing support to frontline communities. Valéria Paye of the Podáali Fund says backing Indigenous territories is itself climate policy — and that trust, reciprocity and Indigenous governance set their model apart from mainstream philanthropy.

Female black-footed cat depend on abandoned springhare burrows to raise kittens, rotating dens to avoid predators. With only ~10,000 left, protecting these burrows — and the livestock landscapes where they occur — is key to the species’ survival.

More than 200 people have died in landslides at an artisanal coltan mine in Democratic Republic of Congo, in the eastern town of Rubaya. Heavy rains and unsafe practices on unstable terrain highlight the chronic lack of safety in artisanal mining, experts say.

Gerard C. Boere helped turn the flyway approach — protecting migratory birds across borders — into global practice, playing a key role in the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds. His career showed that conservation succeeds only when countries cooperate.

From zoology to tech to conservation finance, Lisa Miller founded the Wedgetail Foundation to channel philanthropy, investment and land stewardship into biodiversity protection. In a conversation with Mongabay CEO Rhett Ayers Butler, she reflects on what it takes to make conservation endure.

[COMMENTARY] Climate tipping points and biodiversity loss now threaten global security more than many traditional risks, argues Robert Muggah of the Igarapé Institute — warning that protecting nature is a core security and economic strategy, not a side issue. ** Views are author's.

Flooding forced Kruger National Park to briefly close, damaging roads and camps. While some access has reopened, a 41% drop in visitors highlights how vulnerable conservation funding is when parks rely heavily on tourism.