In 2016, Barack Obama, the U.S. president at the time, made a proclamation: he would expand the protection of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a stretch of ocean fringing the islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that native Hawaiians consider to be sacred. Ten years earlier, his predecessor, George W. Bush had protected […]
Tag: Mongabay.com
Element Africa: Mines take their toll on nature and communities
ITURI PROVINCE, Democratic Republic of Congo — Civil society groups have condemned what they say is illegal gold mining in Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For several years, a Chinese-owned company, Kimia Mining, has been operating a concession inside the reserve, irregularly granted by the DRC government. The groups are calling […]
Fish-feed industry turns to krill, with unknown effects on the Antarctic ecosystem
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay/PUNTA ARENAS, Chile/PORDENONE, Italy — A mountain of krill meal has been packed inside a huge warehouse: divided into bags and stacked in hundreds of piles that stretch almost to the ceiling. The warehouse is near the port of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, inside the main logistics center of Aker BioMarine, a Norwegian […]
Expedition reveals the amazing nocturnal fauna in the Amazon Rainforest
The sun has set, and darkness takes over the world’s largest rainforest. Little by little, our senses become more acute. Moisture sticks to the skin and animal sounds become more distinct to the ears. Our eyes adjust to the dim light and our feet tread carefully over the uneven terrain. But when the camera’s flash […]
Technology makes studying wildlife easier, but access isn’t equal
Studying primates in the wild has historically been a tough task. Alexander Piel knows the challenges too well. Since 2005, the biological anthropologist has been studying primates in countries like Tanzania, Madagascar, Kenya and Senegal. For one, the vastly diverse habitats made it difficult to track them: while some live in dense tropical forests, many […]
Poaching surges in the birthplace of white rhino conservation
In the first nine months of this year, poachers have killed 190 rhinos in state-run protected areas in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. That’s one rhino killed every 35 hours. Most of this surge in poaching has taken place in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, better known as HIP. HIP is one of Africa’s earliest proclaimed conservation areas, established […]
Wild cats threatened by ‘underrecognized’ risk of spillover disease
Starting in 2020, the global coronavirus pandemic brought the threat posed by zoonotic diseases into sharp focus in the public mind. But across the tropics and beyond, scientists had long warned that shrinking habitats and the narrowing distance between human populations, livestock, domestic animals and wildlife was increasing possible points of contact, risking the spillover […]
Indonesia foresters hope Garuda poachers turn gamekeepers
BANYUMAS, Indonesia — When community foresters ascended one of Java’s most sacred mountains to survey the symbolic Javan hawk-eagle, partnering up with poachers appeared to kill two birds with one stone. “The bird hunters know the locations — and hopefully in this way they will have awareness,” said Sisworo, who heads the community forestry agency […]