PODCAST

Conservation news

Environmental science and conservation news

All Episodes

Batang coal plant’s seawater permit imperils marine...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/26

Indonesia’s marine ministry has approved one of Java’s largest coal plants to use vast amounts of seawater for cooling, prompting concerns from marine experts over the impact of heated discharge on coastal ecosystems and fisheries. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries on July 22 issued a permit for the utilization of seawater for non-energy […]

en-US

Two rangers killed in a plane crash in DRC’s Virunga...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/26

Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of Congo are no strangers to tragedy. Yet the loss of two Virunga National Park rangers in a surveillance plane crash near Ishango on July 23 underscores once again the mortal […]

en-US

Across Southeast Asia, Indigenous women challenge...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/25

A few years ago, Maria Suryanti Jun had idea little idea of what an environmental defender was. Nor did she have any intention of becoming one. But since December 2022, when a geothermal project was approved for her community in Poco Leok — which sits on an active volcano in the Indonesian province of East […]

en-US

Reversing damage to the world’s mangrove forests

Conservation news ·

2025/07/25

Mangroves are an important lifeline for biodiversity, climate and coastal communities. Yet they are disappearing 3-5 times faster than total global forest losses, according to UNESCO. On July 26, celebrated as the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, we present recent stories by Mongabay’s journalists on emerging threats to these critical ecosystems […]

en-US

Peru seizes record 4-ton mercury shipment in fight...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/25

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Peruvian customs officials have seized a record-breaking shipment of illegal mercury, exposing a cross-border smuggling network fueling illicit gold mining in the Amazon. The 4-ton haul, discovered in June at the port of Callao, was hidden in gravel bags and bound for Bolivia, officials said on Thursday. Experts say it could […]

en-US

The sacred humans-bird connection in Ethiopia’s...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/25

When Abebayehu Aticho first visited the flat terrains and floodplains in the Gambella region for his Ph.D. research in 2014, he was captivated by the rich biodiversity and bird varieties that inhabited the region. Tucked in western Ethiopia, bordering South Sudan, the Gambella region is home to various bird species like the colorful kingfisher that […]

en-US

2,000 species at high risk of extinction from natural...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/25

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria’s assault on the Caribbean island of Dominica in 2017, researchers made a heartbreaking discovery: dead and dying hummingbirds scattered across the forest floor. Among them were purple-throated caribs (Eulampis jugularis), the specialized pollinators of the island’s Heliconia plants. This single storm threatened an evolutionary partnership millions of years in […]

en-US

Scientists find millions of tons of nanoplastics in...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/25

Scientists have measured the amount of nanoplastics in the open ocean for the first time and found they make up the vast majority of marine plastic pollution. Plastic debris in the ocean can be of varying sizes. Nanoplastics are the tiniest, about 1,000 times smaller than the smallest microplastics — small enough to go through […]

en-US

Illegal roads expand in Colombia’s deforestation...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/25

MOCOA, Colombia — From the air, the forests in Putumayo, Colombia’s southwestern Amazonian department, look scarred. Light brown lines snake through the canopy. In the eastern part of Putumayo’s Puerto Guzmán municipality, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) of irregular roads, mostly dirt tracks, cut through the forests, according to the report. Many of them are […]

en-US

US NGO signs deal to manage huge nature reserve in Chad

Conservation news ·

2025/07/25

The government of Chad has signed a 10-year deal with the U.S.-based NGO Sahara Conservation to manage the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve (OROAFR), the group announced July 11. The OROAFR is the largest protected area in Chad, at nearly 80,000 square kilometers (almost 31,000 square miles), around three times the size of Rwanda. “It’s […]

en-US

Oil ‘does not guarantee stability’: Colombia’s...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

The energy landscape is a shifting terrain, full of twists and turns, according to statistics in the latest report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). While some countries are backtracking on phasing out fossil fuels, others are leaning in. While investment in renewables is surging beyond investment in fossil fuels, companies are repeatedly pulling out […]

en-US

‘Insignificant risk’ EUDR proposal threatens fight...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

A last-minute proposal to revise the European Union’s sweeping antideforestation law has conservationists worried about yet another delay to the law’s implementation and weaker oversight of supply chains. The EU deforestation-free products regulation, or EUDR, is scheduled to go into effect at the end of this year, imposing new restrictions on imports linked to forest […]

en-US

Where there’s political will, there’s a way to stop...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

Political will is among the most important factors in preventing tropical deforestation, according to a group of experts surveyed for a new study — with strong political commitment often arising out of long-term “public pressure” and civil society advocacy for forest protection. The research, published July 22 in the journal Conservation Letters, turns the question […]

en-US

Uruguay confronts a powerful new threat to its palm...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay’s iconic palm trees are under attack by the invasive red palm weevil, a pest from Southeast Asia. First detected in 2022, the insect has already destroyed thousands of trees, including half of the 19,000 palms in the capital Montevideo. Authorities are waking up to the threat of the voracious insect […]

en-US

Mounting corporate pressure on Honduras threatens...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

Honduras is currently facing a total of $19.4 billion in lawsuits from corporations, an amount equivalent to roughly 53% of the country’s GDP in 2024, according to new data by the Institute for Policy Studies, Transnational Institute, Honduras Solidarity Network and TerraJusta. More than $1.6 billion of the claims are from the energy sector alone, […]

en-US

Sri Lanka hit by plastic pollution after cargo ship...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

Sri Lankan authorities, locals and environmentalists say they’re deeply concerned about the possible impacts on the country’s marine ecosystem and coastal communities from the sinking of a container ship off the southern coast of India in May, Mongabay contributor Malaka Rodrigo reported in June. The Liberia-flagged ship MSC Elsa 3 sank on May 25 about […]

en-US

Historic court ruling says countries legally bound to...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

The world’s top court has issued a landmark advisory opinion saying that countries are legally obligated to protect the environment and present and future generations from the impacts of climate change. This obligation, the U.N.’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on July 23, is grounded in existing environmental and human rights treaties. It also […]

en-US

Saving polar bears and beluga whales: Interview with...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

Before pivoting her focus to the Arctic, Alysa McCall worked extensively in the grassland ecosystem. There, the interventions required for ecosystem restoration and wildlife protection were much less complicated. You could introduce more water in case of a scarcity. Or put up a fence to protect animals. The Arctic, however, was a whole other ballgame. […]

en-US

Indonesian palm oil company sues experts who helped...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

JAKARTA — Two of Indonesia’s most prominent environmental experts are facing a lawsuit that activists say is part of a wider trend of silencing scientists who testify against environmental violators. Bambang Hero Saharjo and Basuki Wasis, both veteran forensics experts whose testimonies have helped convict major polluters, are being sued by PT Kalimantan Lestari Mandiri […]

en-US

Sharon Haussmann, guardian of rhinos, died on May 31,...

Conservation news ·

2025/07/24

Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the final months of her life, Sharon Haussmann could still be found walking fence lines, coordinating antipoaching patrols, and debating the finer points of dehorning protocol with field rangers and policymakers alike. The work was unrelenting, the […]

en-US

1,285 results