A new 100-page report raises alarm over Chevron’s impact on planet
Just a day ahead of U.S. congressional hearings on climate change with heads of the largest oil companies in the world, a scathing new report has found that Chevron oil…
Environmental headlines
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What makes a ‘refugee’? It could be a life-or-death question in the climate crisis
In late 2020, a succession of violent storms slammed into Central America during the worst Atlantic hurricane season on record. The effects were devastating. Flooding and mudslides caused billions of…
Philippine wetland oil riches untouched by war now up for grabs in peacetime
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Martin Pineda describes Liguasan Marsh on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao as a no-man’s land that “strongly reeks with gas.” Pineda is a member of…
In Zimbabwe, an irrigation project threatens a tribe’s land and trees
CHILONGA, Zimbabwe — It’s taboo for Elizabeth Munene, a 37-year-old villager from Velemu village in Chilonga, a rural outpost nestled in Zimbabwe’s Lowveld area, to cut down trees indiscriminately. “We…
Podcast: Indigenous bioacoustics listens to the land for conservation and tradition
Today we listen to some bioacoustic recordings informing Indigenous-led conservation initiatives. Listen here: The world is increasingly coming to recognize just how important Indigenous-led conservation and Indigenous land rights are…
Inga tree points to way out of slash-and-burn for Central American farmers
Like many rural families in Central America, Martín García and his sons devoted part of every growing season to slashing and burning a new strip of their land, knowing that…
Indigenous leaders to push for land tenure rights as climate solution at COP26
Indigenous leaders from around the world are heading to the COP26 United Nations climate summit this weekend, where one of the main topics on their agenda will be highlighting community…
Indigenous Papuans won their forest back from a palm oil firm, but still lack land title
SORONG, West Papua — Indigenous people in Indonesia’s West Papua province are fighting for the rights to their ancestral forests, now that the local government has rescinded licenses for oil…
Cooking with the sun: Entrepreneurs help launch Mexico’s solar revolution
Cooking with firewood, diesel and gas all add to climate change and is harmful to health. So innovators have launched solar cookery enterprises that could transform Mexico’s fossil fuel-dependent businesses.
Deprived of their forests, Uganda’s Batwa adapt their sustainable practices
KISORO, Uganda — It’s been three decades since the Ugandan government evicted the Batwa people, an Indigenous group commonly known as Pygmies, from their forest lands. The reason for their…
BR-319 highway hearings: An attack on Brazil’s interests and Amazonia’s future (commentary)
Public hearings are underway on the proposed reconstruction of BR-319, a highway which will pierce the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, despite vast potential environmental harm, and a failure to consult Indigenous groups.
NGOs say FSC label offers little protection for forests, Indigenous people
As the annual meeting of the world's most recognizable ethical wood certifier, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), kicked off on Oct. 25, environmental NGOs accused the body of failing to…
Hungry like the maned wolf pup: Clips give rare glimpse of elusive canine
A camera trap in Argentina’s Iberá National Park has revealed rare images of one of the world’s most elusive species: the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus). A series of clips shows…
Indigenous Bolivians take the defense of their land into their own hands
When the threats of potential mining activity arrived in the Bolivian community of Las Mangas, in the Indigenous Lomerío territory, the community held a meeting where they decided to put…
Poisoned city: The story of Brazil’s forgotten environmental disaster
A fading, yellow, Mexican-style gateway separates Cidade dos Meninos from the rest of the world. Built in the 1940s, the arched structure marks the boundary between the state of Rio…
Cats, charisma and climate change (commentary)
Hurricane Ida’s warpath is the latest in a litany of natural disasters, estimated to have cost the world $210 billion in damage in 2020, that is shining a spotlight on climate change.…
Bolsonaro evades genocide blame amid Indigenous deaths by invaders, COVID-19
Brazil’s Senate has opted not to call for a genocide charge against President Jair Bolsonaro, a week after the death of two Indigenous children in an Amazonian reserve being invaded…
$200 million in gold extracted in Amazon mine through illegal licenses
Gana Gold generated R$ 1.1 billion (US$ 200 million) in revenue using illegally-obtained environmental licenses in Brazil, equivalent to 3 tons of gold extracted.
Study chronicles dying of a lake in PNG with advent of oil & gas activities
JAKARTA — Years of deforestation and mining have devastated a wetland of international importance in Papua New Guinea, which, if left unchecked, could lead to the collapse of the ecosystem,…
Indigenous group faces eviction for ‘New Bali’ tourism project in Sumatra
SIGAPITON, Indonesia — In mid-August, when Mangatas Togi Butarbutar visited an ancestor’s grave in this village on the shores of Indonesia’s biggest lake, he had to tread carefully. Though the…
On Nigeria-Cameroon border, joint patrols throw a lifeline to threatened apes
CROSS RIVER STATE, Nigeria — Sampson Akoba's long career as a ranger has left him with a wealth of assorted memories: hunters’ revolts, the death of his nephew in a…
Critically endangered Sunda pangolin caught on camera trap | Candid Animal Cam
Camera traps bring you closer to the secretive natural world and are an important conservation tool to study wildlife. This month we’re meeting the world’s most trafficked mammal: the Sunda…
Plastics set to overtake coal plants on U.S. carbon emissions, new study shows
Plastics will outpace coal plants in the U.S. by 2030 in terms of their contributions to climate change, according to a new report released Oct. 21 by Beyond Plastics, a…
Deforestation from cattle ranching also hurts rivers in Nicaragua, study says
Cattle ranching has been destroying the Rama-Kriol territory in southeast Nicaragua for decades. And while many researchers have called attention to the devastating forest loss taking place there, few have…
Can we stop calling it ‘forest bathing’ now? Please, just get outside. (commentary)
Let’s get one thing straight: I love trees. I love their graceful and varied forms. I love the forest ecosystem in all its wondrous crisscrossing and complexity, its resilience and…
Mangrove conservation takes root with local communities on Kenya’s coast
MOMBASA, Kenya — The stands of mangrove on the shore are pocked with charred clearings. Along Tudor Creek, facing the southern Kenyan port city of Mombasa, producers of chang'aa, a…
‘Unequal exchange’ for Brazil community in shadow of Anglo American mine
Authors of a recent report claim financial flows are not transparent and benefits to rural communities near the giant iron ore mining site are close to none.
COVID could wreak havoc on gorillas, but they social distance better than we do
Editor's Note: The journal article discussed in this report, "Exploring the potential effect of COVID-19 on an endangered great ape," was formally retracted by its authors Jan. 25, 2022. According…
Opposition to South Africa coal mine persists a year after murder of activist
On Oct. 22, 2020, three gunmen shot 63-year-old Fikile Ntshangase dead in her house in Ophondweni, in northeastern South Africa. One year since Ntshangase’s killing, the provincial police are still…
Paraguay failed to stop soy farms from poisoning Indigenous land, UN says
The United Nations’ Human Rights Committee has found that the Paraguayan government failed to regulate the use of harmful chemicals near an Indigenous community, resulting in severe health issues and…
