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Brazil suspends Amazon Soy Moratorium, raising fears...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

Brazil’s antitrust regulator suspended a key mechanism for rainforest protection, the Amazon Soy Moratorium, on Aug. 18, less than three months before the nation hosts the COP30 climate summit. The Amazon Soy Moratorium is a 19-year-old voluntary private-sector agreement to not source soybeans from areas deforested after 2008 in the Brazilian Amazon. It is estimated […]

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China races to build world’s largest solar farm to...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

TALATAN, China (AP) — Chinese officials have showcased what they claim will be the world’s largest solar farm on the Tibetan plateau. It covers 610 square kilometers, or about 235 square miles, and is part of China’s rapid solar expansion. A study published Thursday said China’s carbon emissions fell 1% in the first half of […]

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Ghana passes landmark legislation to protect...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

Ghana has adopted a new fisheries act that introduces a series of regulations aimed at restoring severely depleted pelagic fish stocks and tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. “The new Fisheries and Aquaculture Act introduces bold reforms aimed at ensuring sustainability, compliance, and improved livelihood, especially among small-scale fishers,” Eric Baah, the spokesperson for […]

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Escalation in tourism, climate change leaves Nepal’s...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

MUSTANG, Nepal — On a crisp morning after a night of rain, the breeze diffuses the smell of wet earth in the village of Kagbeni in Mustang, Nepal’s trans-Himalayan frontier. The perennial Kali Gandaki River, rejuvenated by the rain, roars with its silt-laden water as scores of pilgrims carry packages of grain, flowers, saffron powder […]

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Waste-to-energy project could boost Brazil’s...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

Manaus, in the state of Amazonas, is one of the top generators of solid waste among Brazil’s state capitals, with an average of 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of garbage per resident every day. According to the Brazilian Association for Waste and the Environment (ABREMA in Portuguese), the waste problem is not exclusive to Amazonas’ most […]

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Global brands join drive for deforestation-free palm...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

JAKARTA — Some of the world’s biggest consumer brands are banding together to tackle deforestation in one of Earth’s richest biodiversity hotspots in Indonesia. The companies, including Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever, on Aug. 13 launched the Aceh Sustainable Palm Oil Working Group, which brings together major palm oil buyers, producers and refineries to align with […]

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To save a rare South African ecosystem,...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

Three conservation trusts have together purchased an area of a severely threatened vegetation type found in the Overberg region of South Africa’s Western Cape province. Known as the renosterveld, this unique habitat characterized by shrubs and grasses is also a breeding ground for endangered black harriers, the three groups announced in a joint press release. […]

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Rare Javan leopard sighting renews focus on...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

A camera trap in an Indonesian mountain forest has recorded a rare Javan leopard, sparking renewed conservation monitoring efforts in the area. The Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) was captured on a camera installed in the Mount Lawu forest area of Central Java province, according to a July 29 post by the KGPAA Mangkunagoro I […]

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Suspected rise in targeted leopard killings worries...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

After a series of alleged leopard poaching incidents in Sri Lanka, conservationists warn that the big cats are likely being deliberately targeted for their skin, teeth, claws and meat at a higher rate than previously believed, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. “Sri Lanka may not be part of an international trafficking chain for leopard […]

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The clothes that never die: How fast fashion is...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Mountains of smoking waste sprawl across the Dandora dump in Nairobi, Kenya. The acrid stench clings to the air; marabou storks pick over scraps alongside people searching for plastic bottles or bones. Interspersed among the refuse are scraps […]

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Development banks under fire for backing disputed...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/22

Nepal has long relied on hydropower projects to meet most of its energy needs, but recent complaints from Indigenous and local communities have cast a shadow over the development of some projects — particularly the Tanahu project. The project is being developed by Tanahu Hydropower Limited (THL), a subsidiary of the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority […]

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Indonesia’s Bajau fishers lament nickel mining’s...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/21

For many members of the nomadic Bajau sea tribe on Indonesia’s Kabaena Island, growing up meant swimming and fishing in clear waters, just outside their homes built on stilts. However, in 2010, the water turned red, which the villagers blame on runoff from nearby nickel mining, Mongabay’s Hans Nicholas Jong reported in July. “Now, I […]

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How Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize plan to protect 14...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/21

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Mexico, Guatemala and Belize have announced plans to create a huge reserve of tropical forest spanning across the three countries. Protecting it from ranchers, miners and loggers, and pushing out criminal gangs, won’t be easy. Environment ministers from Mexico and Guatemala have emphasized the need for security to combat organized crime […]

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Brazil cities vow to stop buying threatened shark...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/21

Several government agencies in southern Brazil have said they will stop ordering angelshark meat for public meal programs, in response to a Mongabay investigation that highlighted the widespread consumption of the threatened species. Shark meat is often served in public schools, hospitals and other institutions due to its low cost and lack of bones. The […]

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Rhino breeder John Hume accused of horn trafficking,...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/21

John Hume, a controversial rhino breeder and former owner of the world’s largest rhino breeding farm, was arrested in South Africa on Aug. 19 for alleged involvement in a rhino horn trafficking syndicate. The arrest follows a seven-year-long investigation by South African authorities. Hume, along with five others, faces 55 charges on multiple counts of […]

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Killings on Kenya’s Lake Naivasha raise questions...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/21

NAIVASHA, Kenya — It was still dark when the call came. Grace Nyambura, known to her neighbors in Karagita as Mama Chuma, was asleep when she got a call from her daughter. It was around 5 a.m. She told Nyambura something had happened to Chuma, Nyambura’s fifth-born son. She asked her mother to get to […]

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Brazil’s land registry holds farmers accountable, but...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/21

The CAR is an obligatory land registry for all rural properties in Brazil. The CAR was created because the national rural land registry (Sistema Nacional de Cadastro Rural (SNCR) developed by INCRA, was (and remains) incomplete. Consequently, the government created the CAR as a parallel (ad hoc) mechanism to force landholders to comply with the […]

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Sustainable biomass certification scheme is flawed,...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/21

The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) is a leading global biomass certification scheme offering assurances to end users (especially nations in the EU and Asia) that biomass (especially wood pellets for energy) is “sourced both legally and sustainably.” But a recent report by a group of environmental NGOs alleges SBP is approving biomass fuel projects linked […]

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Climate change tests the resilience of people and...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/21

SESFONTEIN, Namibia — “I want my children to see a rhino with their own eyes — not only in Etosha [National Park],” says Sofia /Nuas, a member of the Sesfontein Conservancy Committee, located in Namibia’s arid northwest. She’s sitting in the shade of a large sausage tree, yet even on this winter morning temperatures have quickly […]

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New coalition focuses on ‘reuse’ to tackle top...

Conservation news ·

2025/08/21

JAKARTA — Thirteen organizations and businesses have launched the Indonesian Reuse Association, or AGUNI, a coalition dedicated to building a sustainable reuse system to curb the country’s worsening waste crisis. AGUNI serves as a collective hub for pioneering businesses offering reuse-based solutions for everyday needs, ranging from micro-enterprises to tech-based startups. Collectively, its members already […]

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