[FOUNDER'S BRIEF - @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social]
Journalist Lucía Torres argues stories rooted in people’s lived experiences help audiences grasp climate impacts without losing scientific accuracy. Collaboration and experimentation, she says, are key.
About a quarter of Colombia’s coffee exports go to Europe, meaning producers must meet the EU’s new deforestation rules.
A national georeferenced database could help prove compliance, but many smallholder and Indigenous farmers still lack information to prepare.
Does too high a % of ecological restoration & rewilding focus on large ground mammals? 🌰
Evidence shows how canopy bridges reconnect forest trees divided by roads, reducing #roadkill & forest fragmentation effects for arboreal species across South America
From @mongabay.com
#GenerationRestoration
For many in Java, bird keeping is identity. Competitions bring prestige, community and income.
But the same system fuels demand for wild murai batu. Poachers say populations have sharply declined.
Episode 2 of Wild Targets explores the tension between conservation and tradition.
Watch 👀
Plans to install shark nets at Tinley Manor Beach in South Africa have sparked debate.
Authorities say they’ll protect swimmers near a new resort, but scientists warn the gear kills sharks and other wildlife indiscriminately. Regulators are reviewing whether an impact assessment is required.
Climate change could cut Amazon hydropower generation by up to 40%, studies warn, leaving dams like Belo Monte especially exposed.
Scientists say planning based on historic river flows no longer works as droughts intensify, though operators still call the plant strategic.
Farmers in central Java say prized Kromo durian trees are failing to bear fruit, raising fears about climate change.
Research and Indonesia’s meteorology agency warn increasingly erratic weather could reduce fruit yields across Java in the coming years.
Paul Brainerd, co-founder of Aldus and creator of PageMaker, later devoted his wealth to conservation in the Pacific Northwest.
Through the Brainerd Foundation and other initiatives, he backed hands-on environmental philanthropy. He died Feb. 15, 2026, at 78.
[PODCAST]
Indigenous scholar Tyson Yunkaporta says the stories societies tell shape how people treat land and each other.
On the Mongabay Newscast, he explains how “wrong stories” fuel exploitation, and how Indigenous knowledge and “right story” thinking could guide a more sustainable future.
Armed conflict in Cameroon’s anglophone regions has engulfed protected forests home to great apes.
Violence blocks conservation work as displaced people and militias move into forests to survive. Scientists are turning to local citizen scientists to keep monitoring wildlife.
Near Brazil’s Belo Monte dam, many households still face high power bills and outages.
In remote Amazon villages, residents are building their own systems using solar panels and river turbines, bringing reliable electricity, internet access and local technical skills.
Brazil’s 20-year Amazon Soy Moratorium is under pressure. Many Indigenous leaders warn weakening it could bring more deforestation and land invasions, while some see economic opportunity.
Officials say protections still stand as debate grows over the pact’s future.
Researchers developed a new habitat-mapping framework that combines remote sensing, field data and expert input to visualize where species live and predict future habitats.
The project maps habitat availability for four species, helping identify areas for protection, restoration and rewilding.
A new report by the Environmental Justice Foundation alleges forced labor, shark finning and illegal fishing on Chinese vessels targeting jumbo flying squid in the Southeast Pacific.
The findings draw on interviews with 81 fishers, mainly Indonesians who worked on 60 vessels between 2021 and 2025.
[FOUNDER'S BRIEF - @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social]
A global study using Indigenous and local knowledge across three continents finds bird communities shifting toward smaller species over the past 80 years — suggesting widespread loss of larger birds.
Brazilian authorities seized 1.5 tons of shark fins in Bahia and arrested seven suspects, alleging a Chinese-run trafficking network.
Finning is illegal in Brazil, but experts warn a bycatch export loophole may still enable large-scale smuggling.
🐳 Equity is often overlooked because it's seen as too complex to engage with – the Ocean Equity Index seeks to address that.
Thank you @mongabay.com for the thoughtful coverage of our new paper: news.mongabay.com/2026/02/ocea...
[COMMENTARY]
At the Business of Conservation Congress in Nairobi, one key message is clear: conservation finance must flow to local communities.
A new op-ed argues community-led approaches are more effective and without shifting funding, biodiversity losses will continue.
** Views are authors'.
Evidence suggests the world’s smallest possum may live far beyond its known range in South Australia.
Researchers reexamining old survey photos say two animals were likely little pygmy possums — a finding that could extend the threatened species’ range.
A dumpsite collapse in Rizal, Philippines, buried scavengers on Feb. 20, weeks after a similar Cebu disaster killed 36 people.
One death is confirmed and two people are missing, though witnesses fear dozens were trapped. Authorities cited “operational lapses” and ordered the site shut.
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Most U.S. national parks face high climate vulnerability, with risks of irreversible ecological change.
As threats intensify, managers are shifting from preserving historical conditions to managing ongoing transformation.
More than 27% of conservationists report moderate to severe distress, with many calling it a mental health “crisis.”
Experts cite the toll of witnessing ecological loss and an industry marked by low pay, insecurity and unrealistic workloads.
Mongabay has launched an Indigenous Desk to center Indigenous perspectives in environmental journalism worldwide.
The initiative addresses long-standing coverage gaps and has already helped expose exploitation, support community action, and inform official investigations.
A French court is hearing a lawsuit against TotalEnergies over its global fossil fuel expansion.
Fourteen French cities and five NGOs argue the company must align with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal, citing its links to dozens of new “carbon bomb” projects.
A ruling is expected June 25.
[COMMENTARY]
Medicinal and aromatic plants take center stage for World Wildlife Day — vital to people and ecosystems, yet often overlooked.
A new op-ed urges more “biodiversity-smart” policies on the conservation and sustainable use of wild plants.
** Views are author’s.
A new operator’s purchase of Kenya’s Turkana oil field has revived boom talk.
Gulf Energy pledges up to $6B and 50,000 barrels/day by 2032.
But critics cite limited experience, favorable revised terms and incomplete impact assessments, while Turkana communities demand a defining role.
As neighbors tightened controls, Guinea-Bissau emerged as a regional fish meal hub. Chinese-owned factory vessels began arriving in 2019, and new onshore plants soon followed.
But on Jan. 29, the govt abruptly banned fish meal production, citing threats to marine ecosystems and food security.
A Thonga community in South Africa is striving to preserve a centuries-old, low-impact fishing tradition despite losing access to ancestral waters to a new park.
Park officials say communities are included in planning, claiming tourism to be the most viable development boost for the area.
In Madagascar, guide Justin Claude Rakotoarisoa helped safeguard the island’s unique frogs through Mitsinjo’s captive-breeding work.
Largely self-taught, he bridged scientists and communities, showing how persistent local effort often underpins effective conservation.
