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Conservation news

Environmental science and conservation news

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Protecting Indigenous Amazon lands may also protect...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/19

Indigenous territories are widely recognized as vital for conserving the environment and biodiversity, but far less is known about their role in protecting human health. Only recently have researchers begun to fill in this knowledge gap and investigate how the protection of these areas can provide health benefits as well as ecosystem services. Now, a […]

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Iberian orcas sink sailboat in latest ramming ‘game’...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/19

Five people were rescued after a pod of critically endangered Iberian orcas rammed into a sailboat several times, causing it to sink off Portugal’s Costa do Caparica, near the nation’s capital, Lisbon, on Sept. 13. None of the people on board suffered any injuries, according to the Portuguese maritime authority. The boat, owned by yacht […]

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Animals that spread seeds are critical for climate...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/19

When a toucan plucks fruit from a tree in the Amazon Rainforest, it’s doing more than just finding lunch. Moving to a new location and depositing seeds via its droppings could be crucial in addressing climate change. New research shows that when animals that spread seeds disappear, forests lose much of their ability to capture […]

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100,000 Ecuadorians protest Canadian mining project...

Conservation news ·

2025/09/19

More than 100,000 people marched through Cuenca, a city in southern Ecuador, on Sept. 16, demanding that federal authorities revoke an environmental license for a gold mining project that may impact an important freshwater source. The Loma Larga mining project, run by Canadian mining company Dundee Precious Metals, borders the 3,200-hectare (7,900-acre) Quimsacocha National Recreation […]

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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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1,285 results