Mongabay Newscast

After many delays due to the pandemic, final negotiations on the UN Convention on Biological Diversity are happening this year in Kunming, China, and preparations for it just ended in Geneva, so we are pleased to speak with Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations & Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Mrema , about the outcomes in Switzerland, why the...

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. The Tanah Merah project sits in the heart of New Guinea covering 2,800 square kilometers (1,100 square miles). Roughly twice the size of Greater London, it threatens not only dense, primary, tropical rainforest and Indigenous land, but also could release as much carbon as the U.S. state...

It's the start of field research season in many regions--and some scientists haven't gotten afield since the pandemic started--so we're checking in with a couple researchers to hear what they're planning to work on, out there in the bush. Our first guest is Meredith Palmer , a post-doctoral researcher at Princeton University whose field work this season is testing new conservation technologies lik...

A recent study conducted in Malaysian Borneo shows that degraded forests can still provide immense value. The study details five key ecological services provided by degraded forests to Indigenous communities.  Yet a government effort aims to convert degraded forests in Malaysian Borneo into timber plantations, despite the fact that researchers say these ecological services cannot be replaced with...

There's growing recognition of how vital Indigenous-led conservation practices are to protecting the planet. Because of this, there's a growing global movement to secure Indigenous land rights, toward safeguarding the Earth's future. And there's plenty of science to support it, such as a World Bank study which found that although Indigenous lands account for less than 22% of the world's land area,...

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. New Guinea's dense tropical montane forests are home to 12 of 14 tree kangaroo species. Over the past couple of decades, conservationists have leveraged these charismatic, intelligent marsupials to spearhead community development, conservation efforts, and the establishment of protected...

On this episode we discuss mangrove restoration and other "nature based solutions" (NBS) to climate change. Now promoted as the best strategy to slow climate change--and encompassing an array of solutions from reforestation to ecosystem restoration--critics point out that they also have numerous pitfalls that must be guarded against. Mangrove restoration and other 'blue carbon' projects are a comm...

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. Subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts and stay tuned for subsequent episodes in this season. Spanning over 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) and being built over the course of decades, the Trans-Papua Highway cuts across the entire length of Indonesian New Guinea's two provinces,...

A new study reveals that bioacoustics is an underutilized wildlife study tool on one of the world's most biodiverse continents: Africa. On this episode we discuss this gap by highlighting two new bioacoustics studies of hippos and African manatees - and we of course play recordings of their squeals, squeaks and ' wheeze honks ' which can now aid their conservation. Dr. Nicolas Mathevon joins the s...

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. Subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts and stay tuned for subsequent episodes in this season. New Guinea is home to the third-largest tropical rainforest in the world—of which 80% is still intact. The two-nation island also contains 44 species of unique birds-of-paradise and de...

Join us for a dive into two ambitious Indigenous-led conservation initiatives on the U.S. West Coast on this episode.  Host Mike G. speaks with Dune Lankard , founder and president of The Native Conservancy , who discusses their work to create a regenerative economy for Alaska's Prince William Sound--based on conservation and restoration-- via projects like kelp farming. We also speak with Tiana W...

Since 2014, Papua New Guinea has been the world's largest tropical timber exporter: more than 70% of that is considered illegal. Timber companies continue to possess land originally owned by local Indigenous communities through legal loopholes: while the carbon market has gained popularity as an alternative source of revenue for Indigenous communities, it suffers from some of the same land rights...

What are the main global forest conservation trends for 2022? Though deforestation is declining, how much forest is the world still losing? Host Mike G. speaks with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Butler about the year in forests, forest-related storylines to watch, and Mongabay's expanding coverage of topics like these all around the world. He also speaks with Swati Hingorani , a senior program of...

With the huge Mt. Tonga volcanic eruption in the news, here's a reminder of the resilience of life: 20 years after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 that leveled natural old-growth forests, scientists have discovered one endemic mouse has become the dominant rodent species. First discovered in 1956, it wasn't seen again until 2011 when scientists returned to Pinatubo to survey the area.  Whil...

Both E.O. Wilson and Tom Lovejoy were major figures in the conservation field and passed away in late 2021 -- both also appeared on this show, so we play some clips of those conversations and talk with two guests about their legacies, but also where to look for new conservation leadership. Do we need new figures like them, or is this conservation's post-icon era? What about the great diversity of...

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. Subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts and stay tuned for subsequent episodes in this season. New Guinea is one of the most most biodiverse regions on the planet and also the world's largest tropical island. It makes up less than 0.5% of the world's landmass, but is estimated t...

It's a perfect time to pick up a great book, and this episode's got recommendations for you! We welcome to the show Janisse Ray, award-winning author of " Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonders in a World Beyond Humans ," detailing her search for "heart-pounding flashes of wild spectacle." Ray shares stories of the places she's traveled and explains why she did all that travel without getting on a plane...

We discuss two big stories from Southeast Asia that Mongabay's been covering which highlight the importance of land rights and also Free, Prior, and Informed Consent for Indigenous and local communities. Cynthia Ong is our first guest, she's founder of LEAP, an NGO based in the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, who shares the fallout from a story broken by Mongabay about a giant carbon deal sign...

GIFs (animated images) can be a simple and fun way to communicate via text and are increasingly popular. Yet, while a GIF of an ape wearing overalls may seem cute, the animal pictured is often subjected to abuse in the process. All species and subspecies of great apes are endangered or critically endangered. Experts say that GIFs depicting these apes in unnatural situations can also perpetuate the...

Most observers declared the recent climate summit a failure, as world leaders largely delayed action on climate change. Still there was some progress so we discuss those here plus proactive ways we can all stay engaged with this debate over the planet's future atmosphere, with two guests.  Bill McKibben is a noted activist, author, and founder of 350.org as well as the newly created Third Act init...

The Earth Defenders Toolkit is a collection of apps that support local autonomy of Indigenous lands, giving communities ownership of critical data and reducing the need for outside support.  The toolkit, which includes mapping apps like 'Mapeo,' keep the needs of Indigenous communities at the forefront, overcoming barriers inherent to technology, like participation and security.  This episode feat...

Initiatives to plant billions and even trillions of trees have been popping up like seedlings after a rainstorm. These are important in tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, but what about using natural regeneration, where one allows a forest to regrow using its native seedstock, in such efforts?   On this episode we discuss the amazing power of letting forests regrow, and when tree-plant...

The rare Champman's pygmy chameleon has been missing in the wild for over two decades. First described in 1992, it was finally seen in a dwindling patch of rainforest in the Malawi Hills in 2016. Researchers say there are likely more. However, they are unable to travel the long distances between the shrinking patches of their forest home.  Scientists' findings of the rare chameleon call for conser...

Indigenous-led conservation initiatives are being aided by the growing field of bioacoustics, with many communities around the world creating listening networks that monitor their lands and help them advocate for their conservation. We speak with two Indigenous leaders and scientists on this episode -- Stephanie Thorassie of the Seal River Watershed Alliance in Manitoba, and Angela Waupochick , a...

Researchers analyzed spotted skunk DNA and found that rather than the four skunk species previously recognized by science, there are actually seven. Referred to as the "acrobats of the skunk world" these small carnivores use impressive handstands to warn predators that a noxious spray is coming their way. The plains spotted skunk (included among them) is in significant decline, but figuring out th...