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Conservation news

Environmental science and conservation news

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What might lie ahead for tropical forests (commentary)

Conservation news ·

2025/11/02

Heading into COP30, where tropical forests are set to be a central theme, it seemed worth attempting a thought experiment: to trace today’s trajectories a little further forward and imagine where they might lead. What follows are a series of scenarios—some improbable, others already taking shape. In 2024, the tropics lost 6.7 million hectares of […]

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Nigeria passes tough new wildlife law; enforcement...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/31

The Nigerian Parliament recently passed sweeping legislation to protect endangered wildlife from illegal trafficking. Once the president signs it into law, offenders could face fines of up to 12 million naira ($8,300) and up to 10 years in prison for trafficking elephant ivory, pangolin scales, and other products from threatened species. The bill, hailed as […]

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The price of a monkey

Conservation news ·

2025/10/31

The long-tailed macaque has lost a battle for its survival — but won one for scientific integrity, reports Mongabay’s Gerald Flynn. In early October, the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, reaffirmed the species’ endangered status, rejecting an appeal by the U.S. National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR). The lobby group had argued that the […]

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Belize’s blue reputation vs. reef reality: Marine...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/31

Belize sells itself as a small-country answer to a big problem: how to keep the sea alive and the people who depend on it working. The pitch is strong. A debt-for-nature “blue bond” shaved public debt and created a 20-year conservation finance stream. Targets for 30% ocean protection by 2026 are now embedded in policy. […]

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Night dives reveal hidden alliances between young...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/31

Since 2016, Rich Collins has been plunging into the pitch-black waters off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida, at night, camera in hand, in pursuit of blackwater photography. These nighttime dives have given him a unique window into the lives of sea creatures, including many that usually stay hidden in deeper waters, but come up […]

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Floods kill 13 in Central Vietnam as rescue...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/31

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Rescue operations intensified Friday across central Vietnam as floodwaters receded after days of record rain and deadly landslides that left at least 13 people dead, 11 missing and tens of thousands displaced. The receding waters allowed rescue teams to reach previously cut-off communities and nearly 26,000 residents have been evacuated from flooded or […]

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Six new tube-nosed bats described from the Philippines

Conservation news ·

2025/10/31

Researchers have recently described six new-to-science species of tube-nosed bats from the Philippines, named after their unique nostrils that protrude from the snout. All the specimens were collected from either primary or secondary forests, currently threatened by mining and shifting agriculture, the authors write in a new study. “These bats are notoriously elusive, so the […]

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Scientists map Italy’s entire coast to guide seagrass...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/31

ROME and GENOA, Italy — In the urban waters off Naples, shoals of bream, wrasses, as well as crustaceans, mollusks and bryozoans are returning after decades of absence to Gaiola Submerged Park Marine Protected Area. “This MPA has turned into a significant repopulation zone for the surrounding coast of Posillipo,” Maurizio Simeone, a marine biologist […]

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A fisheries observer disappeared at sea. His family...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/31

He was sent to sea to watch others. To count the fish, record their fate, and make sure no one took more than they should. The job was meant to be routine: clipboard, samples, and a small bunk on a ship. Instead, it was perilous. Two years ago, somewhere off Ghana’s coast, the watcher disappeared. […]

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Amid systemic corruption, Amazon countries struggle...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/31

The most powerful individuals in courtrooms are the judges. Their leadership is essential for bringing any type of reform to fruition, be it an anti-corruption campaign or an ‘all-of-government’ drive to fight environmental crime. In the Andean Republics, their involvement in crimes of commission via bribery and extortion is a major source of judicial corruption. […]

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Brazil’s Amazon deforestation falls 11% even as fires...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest fell by 11% from August 2024 to July this year, the government said Thursday, even as wildfires tracked by Brazil’s space agency surged to record levels amid a severe drought. According to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), 5,796 square kilometers (2,238 square miles) of forest were […]

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Stronger arctic cyclones speed up polar melting,...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

Powerful winds are ripping through the Arctic, breaking up critical sea ice that once acted as a shield against disturbance from wind and waves. Scientists warn the loss of sea ice is speeding up the region’s ecological collapse and could disrupt weather patterns far beyond the Arctic, contributor Sean Mowbray reported for Mongabay. In the […]

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Heading into COP, Brazil’s Amazon deforestation rate...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

As the world’s attention turns toward COP30 in Belém next month, the story of Brazil’s Amazon is shifting—though not quite in a straightforward way. According to the government’s satellite-based monitoring system, INPE’s PRODES, deforestation in the region known as the “Legal Amazon” totaled 5,796 square kilometers for the 12 months ending July 31st, 2025. That’s […]

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First documented case of plant smelling like an ant...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

In a greenhouse in Tokyo, researcher Ko Mochizuki noticed something unusual. Flies were swarming around the delicate flowers of an obscure plant species. The blooms, however, weren’t offering nectar or bright colors to attract these insects. Instead, they were releasing a chemical signal that smelled like something the flies craved: the scent of an injured […]

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Norway’s proposal to double krill harvests raises...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

Norway proposed almost doubling the catch limit for krill in the Southern Ocean during the annual conference of the intergovernmental body that manages Antarctic fisheries taking place Oct. 20-31, according to confidential documents seen by Mongabay. The proposal heightened diplomatic tensions at the meeting, which had already been overshadowed by the arrest of a Ukrainian […]

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In Malawi, a rural community shines bright with 100%...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

LILONGWE — Four years ago, a U.K.-based charity, SolarAid, set out to provide solar-powered electricity to every home in Kasakula, a village around 90 kilometers, or 56 miles, from Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe. The project was aimed at demonstrating the potential for distributing and maintaining renewable energy in rural Africa. Today, SolarAid says it has installed […]

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In Rio’s largest favela, used oil becomes soap and...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

Rocinha, in the south of Rio de Janeiro, is, according to official data, the largest of Brazil’s more than 12,000 favelas, or inner-city communities. It has a population of just over 72,000, and the most occupied homes of any favela — more than 30,000. Rocinha sprang up in the early 20th century, but its population […]

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On first International Day of the Deep Seabed, we...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

Beneath the waves of the high seas, beyond the national borders of any country, lies the deep seabed. Known in international law as the “Area,” it covers 54% of the global ocean and lies at depths from 200 to 10,000 meters (from 660 to almost 33,000 feet) below the ocean’s surface. It is home to […]

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In Mauritius, an NGO is tracking the sex life of...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

BLUE BAY, Mauritius — Every October, Blue Bay in southeastern Mauritius, named for its enticing waters, takes on a pinkish hue. The cause: corals releasing millions of eggs and sperm. This type of annual synchronized spawning is crucial to the survival of these corals. Now, scientists are pinning their hopes of saving corals battered by […]

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Mauritius rethinks coral restoration as reefs suffer...

Conservation news ·

2025/10/30

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius — Seeing coral reefs can color one’s monochrome view of the ocean forever. In the pink of health — and red, blue, green and purple — corals resemble underwater fireworks, forming glorious landscapes pulsating with marine life. But the latest episode of mass coral bleaching, starting in 2023 and stretching into 2025, […]

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