Organized crime & gold trade are increasingly connected, report shows
- Latin American cartels once were masters of the drug trade, but spikes in prices led them into controlling a new venture.- Criminals also took advantage of poor control over the mining sector and used it to launder money, a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has found.- Drug trafficking groups may control the logistics and the equipment supply in gold mining sites or charge miners for the right to use a specific area.- In the Tapajós River Basin, in the Brazilian Amazo...
Vanishing giants: The Indian Ocean’s biggest fish need saving (commentary)
- New research confirms the decline of predatory and large-bodied fishes in the western Indian Ocean due to overfishing, unregulated fishing practices and climate change.- The lead author of a new paper published in the journal Conservation Biology argues that these fish must be protected to ensure healthier reefs, marine ecosystems and adjacent human communities.- “This issue isn’t just about protecting fish, but also maintaining a healthy ecosystem, supporting a crucial food source for mill...
Plastic bag bans linked to sharp decline in coastal litter, study finds
A new study finds that regional plastic bag bans in the U.S. significantly reduce coastal plastic bag litter compared with areas without such policies. Single-use plastic bags are one of the most ubiquitous forms of plastic litter. They are rarely recycled and degrade quickly into microplastics that are often ingested by wildlife, leading to injury, […]
Nigeria’s proposed ban on solar panel imports raises concerns
Nigeria recently proposed a ban on importing solar panels to boost local manufacturing, but some climate and renewable energy experts worry this move may impede the country’s transition to cleaner energy sources. In announcing the proposed ban on March 26, Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology Uche Nnaji said the country has sufficient capacity to […]
‘Forgotten’ leopards being driven to silent extinction by poaching and trade
- Leopards are the second-most traded wildcat in the world, despite their international commercial trade being prohibited under CITES, the international wildlife trade agreement.- Trophies and body parts — primarily skins, claws, bones and teeth — are the most traded, according to CITES data. However, other data indicate that illegal trade in skins and body parts is widespread in Asia and Africa.- Southern African countries, particularly South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, are major exporters...
In Ecuador’s Amazon, Big Oil exploits Indigenous communities in the absence of the state
- Over the last 30 years, the three companies that have operated Block 10, an oil concession in the central Ecuadorian Amazon, have sought to divide local communities.- They’ve also promoted practices intended to undermine residents’ autonomy, substituting for the state in providing basic services such as health care and education and creating disputes over job opportunities.- An investigation by the cross-border project Every Last Drop reveals how Indigenous leaders and organizations are res...
Cacao agroforestry in Belize hits the sweet spot for people and nature
- In Belize’s Maya Golden Landscape, small farmers have partnered with conservation groups to establish the country’s first forest reserve agroforestry concession, growing shade-tolerant cacao while protecting forest cover and biodiversity.- The agroforestry system has helped restore degraded habitats, reduce illegal activities, and support the return of wildlife like jaguars, pumas and scarlet macaws, while keeping forest loss significantly lower than in nearby unprotected areas.- Farmers ar...
As iconic wild leopard ages in Sri Lanka, debate about human intervention ensues
- For more than a decade, a male leopard named Neluma has maintained dominance over Sri Lanka’s Wilpattu National Park, his majestic demeaner and tolerance for human presence making him a firm favorite among wildlife enthusiasts.- With a hernia and recent injuries caused during hunting, the ageing cat makes calls for help, but naturalists say that nature should take its course while veterinarians record difficulties in treating him.- In a recent incident, a tiger killed a wildlife ranger at t...
Balancing wildlife and human needs at Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth park
To the outside world, Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park is a model of successful conservation of wildlife amid declining populations in other parts of Africa. But while elephant, giraffe and buffalo populations have grown as much as sixfold, the people inside the park live with a colonial legacy that restricts both their livelihoods and their access […]
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Colombian waste pickers inundate iconic Bogota square with plastic bottles to protest falling wages
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Dozens of Colombian waste pickers inundated Bogota’s iconic Bolivar Square with about 15 tons of recyclable goods Tuesday to protest decreasing income and tougher conditions for scavengers. They collect trash from homes, factories and office buildings and sell it to local recycling plants. The demonstration was organized by 14 waste picker […]
Nicaragua government tied to illegal land invasions in wildlife refuge, documents suggest
- Río San Juan Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Nicaragua has suffered a wave of deforestation in recent years, fueled by land deals that allow settlers to clear the rainforest for farming, mining and cattle ranching.- Without government support, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities have patrolled the forests on their own but are overwhelmed by the number of people settling in the area.- Some residents have crossed the border into Costa Rica due to security concerns.- Recently, the gover...
GOP plan to sell more than 3,200 square miles of federal lands is found to violate Senate rules
WASHINGTON (AP) — A plan to sell more than 3,200 square miles of federal lands has been ruled out of Republicans’ big tax and spending cut bill after the Senate parliamentarian determined the proposal by Senate Energy Chairman Mike Lee would violate the chamber’s rules. The Utah Republican has proposed selling public lands in the […]
Some rivers have rights, but author Robert Macfarlane argues they’re also alive
This week on Mongabay’s podcast, celebrated author and repeat Nobel Prize in Literature candidate Robert Macfarlane discusses his fascinating new book, Is a River Alive?, which both asks and provides answers to this compelling question, in his signature flowing prose. Its absorbing narrative takes the reader to the frontlines of some of Earth’s most embattled […]
Protecting the Darién Gap: Interview with Panama national parks director Luis Carles Rudy
- Mongabay spoke with Panama’s national director of protected areas, Luis Carles Rudy, about the ongoing environmental challenges in Darién National Park.- The park covers around 575,000 hectares (1.42 million acres) of rainforest at the southern border, but has been a popular spot for criminal groups for the last several decades, and more recently illegal mining operations and migrants coming from South America.- Carles Rudy told Mongabay about new rangers and technology that will help prote...