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Conservation news

Environmental science and conservation news

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Rising seas won’t reduce ocean borders of small...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/19

A landmark opinion from the United Nations International Court of Justice has ruled that rising sea levels caused by climate change do not require countries to redraw their maritime borders. Small island nations, among the most vulnerable to sea level rise, are hailing the decision as a victory against a threat to their sovereignty. In […]

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São Tomé and Príncipe commits to creating a marine...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/19

The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe has taken a significant step in marine conservation, announcing that it will establish eight marine protected areas in its coastal waters. The declaration is the country’s first formal commitment to marine protection. The law designating the MPAs has been approved by the Council of Ministers and is […]

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Most Caribbean coral reefs to stop growing by 2040,...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/19

Most coral reefs in the Caribbean could stop growing, and even start eroding away, by 2040 if global warming continues unchecked, a new study finds. Coral reefs, especially those near shores, protect valuable coastlines from flooding during cyclones and storm surges by breaking up wave energy. For the reefs to continue to act as natural […]

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South African Wild Coast communities challenge Shell...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/18

A South African court heard arguments Tuesday from coastal communities, NGOs and British oil and gas giant Shell on whether the multinational should be allowed to proceed with offshore exploration on the country’s Wild Coast. The hearing was accompanied by protests against marine oil and gas exploration across the country. The case goes back to […]

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Australia targets at least 62% emissions cut in the...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/18

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia on Thursday set a new target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by between 62% and 70% below 2005 levels by 2035. The new target adds to Australia’s ambition of a 43% cut by the end of this decade and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, leader of the center-left […]

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Landmines and violence in Colombian Amazon confine...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/18

Siona Indigenous guards in southern Colombia are raising alarm that landmines and armed groups are cutting off their families from natural resources and trapping them in small portions of their territory. It’s been an ongoing problem for decades, Mongabay contributor Jose Guarnizo reported. In August 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expanded its […]

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Pet sharks have become cool, but is owning them ethical?

Conservation news ·

2025/09/18

When Laurie was a kid, she had recurrent nightmares that featured her getting eaten by a shark. Decades later, Laurie goes to sleep next to them (or at least in the same house). She’s the proud owner of two epaulette sharks (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) in her 1,135-liter (300-gallon) tank: bottom-dwelling spotted sharks up to 0.6 meters […]

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Funding is needed to save Samoa’s ‘little dodo’ from...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/18

It’s early August 2025. Deep in the rainforests of Upolu, on the island of Samoa, Moeumu “Moe” Uili and I have paused our hike, counting the seconds between coo calls from an unseen pigeon hidden in the dense canopy. Moe mutters, “Nah, the intervals between the calls are too irregular. That’s got to be a […]

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Mass vulture poisonings expose need for cross-border...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/18

A cluster of mass vulture poisonings earlier this year has drawn attention to an alarming, ongoing problem in the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area that straddles South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. According to the African Wildlife Poisoning Database, more than 2,400 vultures have died from poisoning in the GLTFCA, including in South Africa’s famed Kruger […]

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New conservation area protects 53% of carbon in...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/18

A new regional conservation area has been created in Loreto, the largest region in Peru’s Amazon. The Medio Putumayo Algodón Regional Conservation Area is the fourth protected natural area in the Putumayo region, an area connected by the Putumayo River, which flows into Colombia. The Ministry of the Environment established the area on June 6 […]

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In Guatemala, young Kaqchikel Maya protect their...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/18

SAN JOSÉ POAQUIL, Guatemala — The last rays of daylight filter through the trees as Andres “Tata” López, 56, the local Maya mayor, greets his neighbors coming to source water in the communal forest of San José Poaquil, a municipality in the department of Chimaltenango, a two-hour drive west of Guatemala City. The forest, a […]

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Mozambican reserve harbors largest documented...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/18

A new study reports that the Niassa Special Reserve, a 4-million-hectare (10-million-acre) wilderness in northern Mozambique, harbors the largest documented breeding population of Taita falcons. A survey that focused on 35 of the reserve’s towering granite inselbergs found 14 pairs of the birds. The study authors estimate the entire reserve could harbor up to 76 […]

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24 years on, part one of WTO treaty curbing fisheries...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/17

Part one of the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s treaty to ban harmful fisheries subsidies finally came into force Sept. 15. WTO member states adopted the treaty in June 2022 following a grueling 21-year negotiation. The agreement, dubbed “Fish One,” aims to improve ocean sustainability by banning government subsidies that support the fishing of already-overfished stocks […]

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With global rules pending, can the shipping industry...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/17

This is Part 2 of a short series on efforts to decarbonize the global shipping industry. Part 1 discussed international policy and politics. This part looks at efficiency measures. Those in the shipping business have long had some incentive to make their vessels travel more efficiently: saving money on fuel. But the heavy fuel oil […]

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Experts flag unintended harms from EU deforestation law

Conservation news ·

2025/09/17

The European Union’s anti-deforestation law (EUDR) will come into effect on Dec. 30, 2025, after a one-year postponement. It requires producers of soy, cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber and timber to prove that their products are not sourced from land deforested after December 2020. The law has been praised as a landmark tool for […]

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What Republic of Congo’s gold rush is leaving behind

Conservation news ·

2025/09/17

Gold mining by the Chinese company City SARL inside the Dimonika Biosphere Reserve in the Republic of Congo has devastated 5 hectares (12 acres) of forest. Artisanal gold miners and some local community members have had to leave the area, depriving them of food and drinking water. Water samples taken in the area and analyzed […]

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146 environmental defenders were killed or...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/17

The latest tally from Global Witness is a grim ledger. In 2024, at least 146 people were killed or disappeared while defending land, water and forests. That brings the total to at least 2,253 deaths and disappearances since 2012, a steady toll that turns local acts of stewardship into mortal hazards. The organization’s report reads less […]

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Satellite images reveal oil project surge in Ugandan...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/17

New satellite analysis shows that wells and roads for a project in Uganda feeding Africa’s longest heated oil pipeline have progressed significantly within a protected area and near a critical wetland. The Tilenga oil field marks the starting point of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, currently under construction by the French multinational […]

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Nepal’s Himalayan biodiversity struggles with new...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/17

A journey into Nepal’s Limi Valley is always profound. We at the Himalayan Wolves Project first visited the area more than a decade ago and were immediately struck by its high-altitude, wind-sculpted landscapes, and the extraordinary diversity of wildlife inhabiting them: Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), wild yak (Bos mutus), kiang […]

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Growing trees on farms boosts nutrition in rural Malawi

Conservation news ·

2025/09/17

Planting fruit trees on farms improves dietary quality, according to new research from Malawi that tracked nearly 1,000 households over 10 years. The study, published in Conservation Letters, found that families who had trees on their farms ate more fruits and vegetables than those without trees. The research examined data from 936 households across Malawi […]

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