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The Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) cuts funding for several critically important national laboratories and observatories. On the chopping block is Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawai‘i, which has been recording atmospheric carbon data every day for nearly 70 years. Mauna Loa Observatory sits atop a volcano on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. At an elevation of 3,397 meters (11,135 feet), it rises above more polluted air near the ground to collect atmospheric data with minimal influence from human activity and vegetation. Mauna Loa has been collecting atmospheric carbon dioxide data since 1958, the longest continuous record of atmospheric CO2 levels in the world. Famously, the observatory provided data for the Keeling Curve, a graph that shows annual CO2 levels for the past seven decades. The graph starts in 1958, when the observatory recorded atmospheric CO2 concentrations of 315 parts per million (ppm). By 2024, that number had steadily climbed to nearly 427 ppm. The last time Earth experienced that much CO2 was roughly 3 million years ago, when sea levels were more than 24 m (80 ft) higher than today. NOAA operates three other observatories that collect CO2 data to create a global picture of atmospheric CO2 trends. All four observatories will be closed if President Trump’s budget is adopted. In all, more than a dozen observatories, national labs and institutes are on the chopping block in the budget. The facilities monitor extreme weather events and air pollution, information that can…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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A new study finds that Afro-descendant communities in four Amazonian countries are linked to lands with high biodiversity and 29-55% less deforestation compared with protected and unprotected areas. More than 130 million people in Latin America identify as Afro-descendant peoples (ADP), descendants of those forcibly brought to the Americas during the slave trade. “What we try to do here is shed light on [communities] that have been cultural and environmental stewards of their lands for hundreds of years,” Sushma Shrestha, lead author of the study and a social scientist at Conservation International’s Moore Center for Science, told Mongabay in a press conference. The study combined spatial analysis of forests, wildlife and ADP communities with historical land management data to examine the conservation impacts of ADP in Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Suriname. In these regions, ADP communities have recognized management rights to nearly 10 million hectares (24 million acres) of land. Although legally recognized ADP lands in the study area cover just 1% of the total region, researchers found they disproportionately support high levels of biodiversity compared with protected areas and unprotected control sites. More than half these lands fall within the top 5% of the most biodiverse regions globally, overlapping with habitat for more than 4,000 species of terrestrial vertebrates, 9% of which are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List, the researchers note. These lands also contain significantly higher rates of irrecoverable carbon — carbon that if released by land use change will take decades to recover. More…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Mongabay reporter Karla Mendes has won the 2025 John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, announced on July 23. Her investigation in the Brazilian Amazon uncovered a direct connection between the expansion of the cattle industry in Maranhão state and an increase in violent crime against the inhabitants of the state’s Arariboia Indigenous Territory. Established in 1994, the Oakes Award is considered one of the top prizes in journalism, recognizing exceptional contributions to the public’s understanding of environmental issues. Mendes’s win marks a first for both Mongabay and a Brazilian journalist. “Mendes’s reporting is an extraordinary achievement of documentation, multimedia and data reporting, mapping, and analyses,” the judges wrote of the award, announced at Colombia University in the U.S. “Mendes risked her life multiple times to report from the ground, moving through areas dominated by the cattle ranchers to reach the Arariboia people in one of the most dangerous areas in the world.” Mendes’s investigation showed how criminal networks tied to the cattle industry drove a wave of violence and deaths against the Arariboia territory’s Indigenous Guajajara people, particularly those defending their land as forest guardians in the absence of support from the state. Her reporting revealed that between 1991 and 2023, 38 Guajajara individuals were killed, though no one has been convicted for any of the killings to date and most suspects have never stood trial.   Following Mongabay’s publication of the investigation in a three-part series, federal prosecutors said they used Mendes’s reporting and video footage as…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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In 1967, on the spring-fed waters of Florida’s Crystal River, a teenager named James “Buddy” Powell encountered a stranger in a rowboat. The man, a Cornell University graduate student, was looking for manatees — a species so obscure then that few had studied it in the wild. Powell, who knew the local springs better than most, offered to help. What began as a chance meeting became the start of a singular career in marine conservation, one that would span continents and redefine how the world saw a slow-moving, herbivorous mammal long mistaken for myth. Powell, who died on July 19 aged 70, devoted more than five decades of his life to understanding and protecting the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) and its relatives. His research, from Florida to West Africa to Central America, led to the establishment of protected areas, reforms in coastal policy, and the training of a generation of local scientists. We can do the science, he once said, but if you don’t use that information to make change, then what’s the point? His fieldwork — practical, data-driven, and nearly always collaborative — pushed the boundaries of what was known about manatee behavior, distribution and threats. In the 1970s, as a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist, he helped lay the groundwork for federal protections. In the 1980s, he became the first to study West African manatees (Trichechus senegalensis) in the wild, producing a 21-country review that remains a foundational text. Later, in Belize, he created the country’s…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Singapore has come a long way since the 1880s, when only roughly 7% of its native forests remained. Since the 1960s, when the city-state gained independence, it has implemented a number of urban regreening initiatives, and today, nearly 47% of the city is considered green space, providing numerous benefits to human residents and wildlife, like heat mitigation, freshwater conservation and cleanliness, carbon sequestration, coastal climate adaptation, biodiversity protection, and public enjoyment. To discuss his city’s regreening efforts — from the philosophical to the practical applications of methods and mindset shifts that have allowed the city to revitalize its urban wildlife interface — Anuj Jain, director and principal ecologist at the biomimicry consultancy bioSEA and an adviser to BirdLife International, joins Mongabay’s latest podcast. “ Through the greening initiatives in Singapore, it’s attracted a lot of species, many of which actually had declined before, some even had gone extinct, or locally extinct,” Jain says. Government initiatives such as the Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises (LUSH) have contributed, he says, mandating “100% replacement of greenery for buildings in some districts in Singapore.” There’s also the Landscape Excellence Assessment Framework (LEAF), a certification that “incentivizes spontaneous vegetation and biodiversity in landscape design.” While Singapore’s efforts are by no means perfect, the results are hard to ignore, and provide a workable concept that cities across the globe can learn from — especially those currently struggling with climate impacts, air pollution, stressed residents, or housing affordability. Still, even in Singapore, work remains to be done…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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JAKARTA — Kasman Amir grew up in a fishing family in a small coastal village on Kabaena Island in eastern Indonesia. The family home sat on stilts above the water, and he recalled waking up to the sound of the boat engine. The village, home to the nomadic Bajau sea tribe — whose culture inspired the Hollywood movie Avatar: The Way of Water — was once surrounded by clear waters that allowed children to play freely. “As kids, we loved playing in the water—swimming, paddling canoes. That was our fun,” Kasman told reporters at a recent press conference in Jakarta. But since 2010, the sea has turned red, allegedly due to runoff from nickel mining, which has expanded across the island. “Now, I never see children swim in the sea. They’re afraid of contamination,” Kasman said. “After school, we’d go fishing right in front of our homes. We’d catch ikan baronang [rabbitfish, genus Siganus], and sell them for pocket money. Children today no longer experience that freedom.” Waters off Baliara Village, Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, polluted by nickel mining. Image courtesy of Satya Bumi. Kasman’s village is one of the many on the tiny island of Kabaena, at the southeastern tip of the larger island of Sulawesi, that have been severely impacted by nickel mining, according to a new report by environmental local NGOs Satya Bumi, Walhi and Sagori. The report follows a 2024 investigation that focused on the environmental and social impact of nickel mining in the northern part…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Six blue-and-yellow macaws are gracing the skies of São Simão, in Brazil’s southeastern São Paulo state, after more than five decades of local extinction, Mongabay contributor Suzana Camargo reported. Conservationists used a new technique to train captive-born macaw chicks (Ara ararauna), encouraging them to fly in the wild as early as 3 months of age. The method, called free flight, is commonly used to train pet birds, but had never been used for conservation before. More than two years later, all six birds are still alive and well-adapted to the wild, even surviving adverse events such as a 2024 wildfire that swept through the region. Conservationists reported a 100% success rate in the scientific journal Birds. “In most cases, when you open the cage, the release is final,” Donald Brightsmith, one of the world’s leading experts on parrots, told Camargo. “Often they fly for miles and end up getting lost, there are problems with predators or a whole host of other issues with traditional methods.” The macaws, two males and four females, were bought as chicks from licensed breeders. They began flight training with a mobile cage when they were around 90 days old, roughly the time when macaw chicks normally start exploring beyond the nest in their natural habitat. “As soon as the chicks have the slightest ability to fly, we encourage them to jump between two points to be fed,” Chris Biro told Camargo. Biro is a leading expert in free-flight training for pet birds and helped lead…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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In Sri Lanka, the fate of an aging, injured leopard, well-loved by tourists, has triggered a debate. Wildlife enthusiasts are urging authorities to help the leopard, named Neluma, in Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka’s largest protected area. However, wildlife officials and conservationists are against intervening and providing veterinary support, Mongabay contributor Malaka Rodrigo reported in June. Neluma has long been a favorite of visitors and photographers at Wilpattu. Over the years, he’s become known for his tolerance for vehicles, which means he was often spotted during safari tours. Now more than 10 years old, Neluma has shown not just signs of aging but also injuries. Besides a large bump on his belly, believed to be a hernia, Rodrigo reports that Neluma was injured during a buffalo herd’s counterattack after a failed attempt to hunt a buffalo calf. He was recently spotted limping. Another video showed a domestic dog fighting back and escaping from Neluma — something that would have been unlikely in the leopard’s prime. “Neluma is more than a wild animal as he is an icon of Wilpattu and a symbol of Sri Lanka’s natural heritage. He deserves care in his time of need,” Wasiri Rasu Gajaman, a medical professional and wildlife photographer, told Rodrigo. But conservationists and wildlife officials disagree. Namal Kamalgoda, an independent environmental activist, said that if Neluma is taken away for temporary treatment, younger male leopards may take over his territory. “At his age, he won’t be able to reclaim it, which would make his survival…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Ecuador recently passed a landmark protected areas law aimed at restoring security in the country’s national parks and reserves. The law establishes new government agencies and funding mechanisms, and tries to close legal loopholes that used to leave rainforests vulnerable to development. Reactions to the legislation have been mixed. Some environmental groups call it a turning point for protected areas, while others say it will militarize conservation efforts and ignore ancestral land rights. “The objective is to recover and sustainably utilize these areas, diversify the local economy, create dignified employment, reactivate tourism, and ensure the presence of the state in strategic areas for security and development,” the office of President Daniel Noboa said in a statement when he presented the legislation to the National Assembly in June. Ecuador has 78 protected areas that cover a combined area of more than 26.2 million hectares (64.7 million acres), or nearly a fifth of the country. But the government has recently struggled to provide adequate funding for many of them, and bureaucratic obstacles have made it harder to respond quickly to new threats. The new law, which entered into force on July 14, creates a National Protected Areas Service meant to centralize funding and management decisions, while monitoring compliance with environmental laws and international treaties. A new public trust will help scale up funding within the new service. It can accept donations and loans for conservation, and will manage the revenue from conservation projects and tourism. “[The trust] allows for the channeling of…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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The Amur leopard lives in isolation in the freezing forests of southeast Russia and northeast China. It’s one of the most endangered of eight leopard subspecies in the world. Today, its population is on the upswing. In the 20th century, poaching for its spotted fur, forest fires and conversion of land for farming caused the wildcat’s population to plummet to roughly 25 individuals in the wild. Today, there are approximately 130 in Russia alone, according to a recent Wildlife Conservation Society report. Since 2016, the Wildlife Conservation Society in Russia (ANO WCS) has partnered with Land of the Leopard National Park in monitoring and conservation efforts. In 2014-15, researchers estimated a global population of 84 Amur leopards (Panthera pardus orientalis), increasing recently to 130, the highest density of leopards recorded in 10 years of rigorous monitoring, according to the report. Efforts to save the species date back decades. Collaboration between conservationists and Russian government agencies helped establish protected areas in the Primorsky Krai region since 1979, which halted the leopard’s rapid decline, according to WWF. In 2012, the Russian government created Land of the Leopard National Park, which included all of the leopard’s breeding areas and about 72% of suitable habitat in Russian territory. “It was only the creation of the national park that set the conditions for these cats to recover,” Aleksandr Rybin, large carnivore specialist for ANO WCS, told Mongabay. Simultaneous recovery of prey, the Sika deer (Cervus nippon), fire management, strong law enforcement and population monitoring gradually…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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In an era where the stakes for biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development are rising across the African continent, David Akana is advancing a model of environmental journalism rooted in rigor, inclusion, and long-term impact. As Director of Programs at Mongabay Africa, Akana oversees everything from editorial strategy and partnerships to resource mobilization and newsroom operations. But his role is more than administrative; it’s deeply personal, shaped by a career that has spanned sports reporting, international development communications, and frontline environmental storytelling. Akana’s journey into environmental journalism began over two decades ago in Cameroon. A former sports journalist with a deep love for football, he shifted tracks in 2002 when he joined the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Central Africa. At the time, the move was driven by pragmatic considerations—financial stability and a chance to take on editorial leadership—but it marked a turning point. Grappling with topics like biodiversity loss and climate change wasn’t easy, but the complexity of the issues ultimately became part of the draw. “Once I was out in the field,” he says, “I realized how high the stakes truly were.” In June 2025, Mongabay Africa carried out its first reporting trip to Lobéké National Park, deep in the heart of the Congo Basin. In this photo, David Akana is seen en route to the park. Photo: David Akana That sense of purpose has only grown. For Akana, journalism is not just about reporting facts—it’s about helping people make sense of the systems that shape…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Once widespread throughout much of Asia, the wild dog known as the dhole has disappeared from more than 75% of its historical range, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. In Nepal, there are an estimated 500 dholes (Cuon alpinus) remaining, but recent sightings suggest they may be making a comeback. This has prompted the government to launch a 10-year plan to improve understanding and awareness about the endangered species and initiate conservation actions, Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi reported in June. The action plan has an estimated budget of 262.9 million rupees ($1.9 million). Around 36% of it is planned to be shared from funding allocated to conservation plans for species, such as tigers (Panthera tigris) and snow leopards (Panther uncia), said Ambika Khatiwada, a researcher with the National Trust for Nature Conservation. Dholes are severely threatened in Nepal, where they have to compete with other apex predators like tigers and leopards, forcing them to the margins of protected areas, researchers say. Other threats include habitat fragmentation, conflict with humans, and a shrinking prey population. However, a 2024 study shows a possibly rebounding dhole population based on camera-trap images, documentation of fresh droppings and tracks, as well as reports from herders and forest rangers. The findings suggest that a small population of dholes is returning to the Annapurna Conservation Area and the Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale corridor in eastern Nepal. The new action plan cites other studies suggesting that dholes have returned to several national parks in the plains and the mountains…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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A wildfire burning in a sparsely populated region of central Oregon has become the largest fire this year and is on the verge of surpassing 100,000 acres to become a megafire. The blaze dubbed the Cram Fire is burning about 100 miles southeast of Portland. Nearly 900 personnel have been deployed, and officials say it’s 73% contained. The fire has burned more than 95,000 acres so far. A National Interagency Coordination Center report says at least 14 wildfires burned more than 100,000 acres in the U.S. last year. A 2022 Interior Department report found that the number of megafires increased in the preceding decade. By Isabella O’Malley and Sarah Brumfield, Associated Press   Banner image: In this photo taken with a drone provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, a pyrocumulus cloud, also known as a fire cloud, is seen over the Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon on July 14, 2021. (Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP)This article was originally published on Mongabay

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The IUCN Red List has long been the globally recognized gauge for assessing how close to extinction a given species is. An improvement in the species’ conservation status from a higher to a lower threat category, known as downlisting, can signal conservation success. But a recent study says this must be done cautiously to avoid prematurely cutting off needed conservation efforts and funding. It cites the case of the woylie (Bettongia penicillata), a small Australian marsupial, which was downlisted from endangered to lower risk in 1996. Soon after, its population fell by 90%, prompting a reclassification to critically endangered in 2008, suggesting conservation efforts had ended too soon. After conservationists intervened again, its status improved in 2024 to near threatened. The study trawled through the 163,040 assessed species on the IUCN Red List for cases of downlisting. It found that about 1,500 species saw their conservation status change between 2007 and 2024: about 85% had been uplisted (they’d moved closer to the extinction end of the scale), while 222 species (15%) were downlisted. One positive trend, the researchers observed, is that more critically endangered species were downlisted to endangered, than being uplisted to extinct. This highlights the effectiveness of the red list in helping drive conservation, they write. To understand the effects that downlisting can have, especially for species that attract public interest and funding, the researchers looked at controversies around four well-known species: saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) and black-faced spoonbill (Platalea…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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A recent study has identified how cattle pasture and agricultural expansion, driven by global demand for beef and soy, is causing biodiversity loss in the Gran Chaco region of Argentina and Paraguay. The Gran Chaco, the second-largest forested region in South America, after the Amazon, is spread across Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil. Over the past 30 years, more than 19 million hectares (47 million acres) of the Chaco were lost to pasture and agricultural expansion, mainly for beef and soy. To find out how this forest conversion has affected biodiversity in the Argentinian and Paraguayan Chaco, researchers created maps of where 47 key mammal species had declined from 2008-2018. They overlaid these on maps of agriculture and pasture expansion during the same period. The analysis showed that conversion of forest into pasture was associated with greater biodiversity loss than cropland expansion. The researchers also found that 15 soy- and beef-producing Argentinian and Paraguayan provinces in the Chaco were associated with biodiversity declines. Upon tracing the supply chains of the commodities as of 2018, they found that the domestic consumption of both commodities was a key driver of biodiversity loss. The European Union, Vietnam and China were among Argentinian soy importers driving the greatest biodiversity decline in the Chaco. Among importers of Paraguayan beef, Chile, Russia and Israel were the top nations contributing to biodiversity loss. The EU had a disproportionately high impact on biodiversity decline associated with Argentinian soy. The authors write this was not surprising as the EU…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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While AI has faced a lot of rightful flak for its environmental impacts, it has also become a tool for wildlife conservation around the world. From monitoring deforestation, impacts of climate change and enhancing wildlife population counts to combating poaching and illegal wildlife trade, AI is revolutionising conservation worldwide.This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Our vibrant nation of the Philippines is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. Subject to tropical cyclones, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, it ranks number one globally on the World Risk Index. It is also one of the 17 mega-biodiverse countries, and it’s easy to see how nature and climate go hand in hand in this archipelagic nation. Working for the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), together we have seen how mangrove rehabilitation projects hold the power to inspire hope and bring security back to local communities following the typhoons that ravage our coastlines. Although we are accustomed to the threat of natural disasters, the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones is leaving communities reeling, with thousands of local people without homes, work, or access to sanitation. Typhoon Man-Yi (known locally as Pepito), was the sixth super typhoon to make landfall here between October and November in 2024, and worryingly, last November the Japan Meteorological Agency reported that it was the first time since records began in 1951 that four storms coexisted in the Pacific basin. Mangrove forests provide key marine habitats for many creatures, while also protecting coastlines from storms. Image by Maxwell Ridgeway via Unsplash. Living in the shadow of these typhoons, we are proud that the Philippines was selected to host the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Loss and Damage Fund board last year. Former Philippine secretary of environment and natural resources Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga shared at the 4th meeting of the board…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Amid the calls of gibbons and the whir of drones scanning forest canopies, a quieter crisis is unfolding within the ranks of those trying to save nature. Conservationists, often seen as tireless stewards of the planet’s dwindling biodiversity, are burning out. In some cases, they are breaking down. And with disturbing regularity, social media feeds are peppered with tragic news of conservation professionals who have taken their own lives. Yet data on suicide within the field is scarce, both due to stigma and the sector’s fragmented structure. A study published in Conservation Biology in 2023 surveyed more than 2,300 conservation professionals across 122 countries, offering one of the first comprehensive glimpses into the sector’s mental health. More than a quarter of respondents scored in the moderate-to-severe range for psychological distress. Women, early-career professionals, those with poor physical health, and those lacking social support were particularly at risk. The study’s authors, led by Thomas Pienkowski of Imperial College London and the University of Oxford in the U.K., emphasize that psychological distress does not equate to mental illness, but high levels can signal serious well-being concerns. Conservation work blends passion with precarity. Many are drawn to the field by a sense of duty or love of nature, but are often greeted by underfunding, job insecurity and poor institutional support. The vocational allure of saving the planet is sometimes exploited through long hours, unpaid labor or…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Mangroves, the amphibious forests that fringe tropical and subtropical coastlines, are ecological powerhouses. They buffer communities against storm surges, support fisheries, and sequester carbon at rates that rival their terrestrial counterparts. Yet despite growing recognition of their value, mangroves remain imperiled. About 35% of global cover was lost in the late 20th century, largely to aquaculture and coastal development. New research offers the most comprehensive look yet at the cost of reversing that damage. Drawing on nearly 250 projects and dozens of data sources, researchers have created the first global model of site-specific mangrove restoration costs. They find a median implementation cost of $8,143 per hectare ($3,297 per acre), with wide variability: From just $9 to more than $700,000. Site conditions matter. Rehabilitating abandoned shrimp ponds tends to be cheap; replanting eroded or hydrologically disrupted coastlines is far pricier. Indonesia, with its vast archipelago and degraded deltas, holds the greatest potential. At least 204,000 hectares (504,100 acres) could be restored at less than $10,000 per hectare ($4,049 per acre) — making it a focal point for meeting national and international targets. Globally, 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres) of mangroves could be restored for $10.73 billion, or roughly what Americans spend on pet food every three months. That could remove up to 0.93 gigatons of CO₂ from the atmosphere, at an average cost of $11.49 per metric ton. Such figures are competitive in…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Researchers have recently found that sacred waters protected by Indigenous traditions are key to fish conservation in Indonesia, yet they remain largely unrecognized and excluded from national frameworks for biodiversity and cultural heritage preservation. In Indonesia’s vast archipelagic region, where traditional practices often intersect with biodiversity conservation efforts, many bodies of water have been highly revered as inhabited by sacred spirits or deities, making them de facto protected areas for native fish species, according to a peer-reviewed study published in June in the journal Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. However, the paper’s researchers said the relevance of sacred natural sites for fish conservation has been overlooked by conservation authorities even though many customary practices were still being observed across the country. “Our motivation for addressing this topic in a scientific article stems from the widespread lack of public awareness about aquatic environmental conservation,” Darmawan Setia Budi, aquaculture lecturer at Airlangga University who is the lead author of the paper, told Mongabay in an email. “We observed that many people still pollute rivers and other water bodies, and engage in overfishing using environmentally harmful methods,” he added. A sacred river in the forest. Image by Aseanty Pahlevi/Mongabay Indonesia. The study used a qualitative, ethnobiological review to examine the cultural role of sacred waters in Indonesian freshwater fish conservation, drawing on literature, community narratives, and case studies. The authors highlighted in the paper traditional practices’ relevance to modern ecological and community resilience efforts, grounding them in both academic and cultural perspectives.…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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Haryanto surveys a sandy patch the size of roughly half a soccer field. Overlooked by a 40-meter (130-foot) lighthouse, the clearing is a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean, where the surf pummels Pandansari Beach — a pristine stretch lined with casuarina trees about an hour’s drive south of the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. But here, directly under the 66-year-old’s feet: 1,800 cubic meters of garbage — nearly 200 dump truck loads — of household, industrial and even hospital waste, Haryanto says. According to Haryanto, a one-time manager with the state electricity monopoly PLN, the garbage appeared unannounced last December. Some 18 months prior to that, 10 times that amount landed on a second, bigger site about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away in a similar manner. “This is a tourist area. There was no warning. It just appeared,” Haryanto tells Mongabay. Haryanto now heads a local group called Forum Peduli Gadingsari, named after his village in the district of Bantul and intended to “watch out for government mismanagement,” as he puts it. “There was no environmental review. There were no permits. What if there was a tsunami? How do they manage the leachate? This is an environmental crime,” he says. For at least two decades, Indonesian governments have struggled to come to grips with their growing mountains of waste, with much of it dumped illegally. More than 35% of all of Indonesia’s garbage — some 11 million metric tons last year — was deemed unmanaged, finding its way into rivers,…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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LUANG PRABANG, Laos — “No coffee, no coffee,” repeated the security guard. His smile stood in stark contrast to his faded camouflage fatigues and the machine gun slung over his shoulder. Few cafés in the sleepy Laotian tourist town of Luang Prabang boast armed guards, but Kin Liao Coffee is not the average café. While it’s unclear if Kin Liao Coffee actually serves coffee, the café situated on the side of the road near the Kuang Si waterfall has been found to illegally sell a wide array of ivory, rhino horn and bear bile products, as well as Angong Niuhuang Wan — a traditional Chinese medicine that is often manufactured in North Korea using powdered rhino horn. Kin Liao Coffee is just one of more than 20 locations across Luang Prabang and the Laotian capital of Vientiane identified in a joint investigation between Mongabay and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) as selling illegal wildlife products at scale. These shops appear to exclusively cater to Chinese tourists, specifically those visiting Laos on pre-arranged low-budget package tours. The tours target elderly Chinese nationals, promising them all-inclusive trips to explore the historic ties between the two countries, often via the China-Laos railway. Upon arrival, tour groups are ferried from one shop to another, where sellers — mostly Chinese nationals themselves — use coercive and manipulative sales tactics to pressure tourists into buying illegal wildlife products, most of which are sold at inflated prices, the investigation found. Large ivory carvings, some…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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NEW YORK (AP) — The United Nations reports a global shift toward renewable energy, calling it a “positive tipping point.” Tuesday’s U.N. reports reveal that 92.5% of new electricity capacity in 2022 came from renewables, with wind and solar leading the way. Renewables like solar and wind are now significantly cheaper than fossil fuels, driving investment to $2 trillion last year. However, officials warn the transition is not happening fast enough, especially in regions like Africa. Despite booming renewables, fossil fuel production continues to rise due to increasing energy demands. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls on tech firms to power data centers completely with renewables by 2030. By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press This article was originally published on Mongabay

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For more than 10 years, a funding model has quietly done what many others have struggled to do: Funnel nature and climate finance directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities. The Dedicated Grant Mechanism (DGM) was created by the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) in 2010 to support Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ involvement in forest conservation and community-led nature-based solutions. This came after Indigenous beneficiaries of CIF programs demanded that a portion of the funds be granted directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities for projects they design and manage. Since the start of this program, $70 million has been allocated to communities through CIF’s Forest Investment Program (FIP) and $40 million has been approved for its Nature, People and Climate (NPC) program. The model doesn’t only direct funding, say project managers, but also addresses key obstacles — like donor mistrust in giving money directly to communities and the lack of local capacity to manage funding portfolios effectively. “It’s not traditionally the direction that [the multilateral development banks] go,” said Paul Hartman, the lead for CIF’s NPC Program, explaining why their direct funding model, as part of a multilateral climate financing mechanism, is so little known and passes under the radar. We’re also rarely in the spaces and meetings on territorial governance and community finance, so the news doesn’t spread, he told Mongabay. For years, communities have been underrepresented when it comes to decision-making and the governance of funds, say researchers. Little funding reaches communities directly and instead passes through…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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The skies overhead are already teeming with satellites. But their orbiting numbers will skyrocket in the near future as the commercial and international space race takes off. Three projects alone — SpaceX’s Starlink, China’s Guowang megaconstellation, and Donald Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile defense system — will launch tens of thousands of new satellites. Today’s 12,000 satellites could, according to some estimates, grow to 60,000, or even 100,000 total satellites by 2030, as a space industry already worth hundreds of billions of dollars sees rapid growth. This 21st-century space race, while a boon for communications and Earth monitoring, is sending up a red flag with experts, who warn that the tech advances satellite may bring are linked to a growing number of Earth environmental impacts stretching from the industry’s supply chain here on Earth, into the upper atmosphere and out into space itself. With countries initiating or expanding their space programs (including the U.S., EU, India, Japan, China, Russia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates), and commercial efforts all in full swing, “we’re moving towards an industry that could cause a lot of damage to the environment if we don’t regulate it or understand it,” now, says Eloise Marais, an atmospheric chemist at University College London, U.K. The industry’s toll stretches from its ground-based, energy-guzzling data centers, to metal-shedding rocket launches, to tons of orbiting space junk and debris regularly plummeting back to Earth. Among the risks are poorly understood space age atmospheric pollutants that could harm the ozone…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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