MONGABAY

APRIL 2. 2025

Longer periods of drought threaten Brazilian amphibians

Brazil is home to the world’s greatest diversity of amphibians: Of the more than 8,000 species known worldwide, some 1,200 are found in the country, mainly in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes. But their future is at risk due to longer dry periods in their habitats.

Rare polar bear cub footage offers crucial conservation insights

To a layperson, it’s footage of adorable polar bear cubs with their moms against the backdrop of endless Arctic snow. For researchers who study the animals, however, it’s a rare and incredibly important observation that could potentially inform conservation strategies.

New strategy launched to protect Tanzanian biodiversity hotspot

Conservationists have launched a 20-year-long project to protect what is arguably Tanzania’s most biologically rich landscape: the Udzungwa Mountains. The strategy places notable emphasis on communities living here, with more than half of its budget allocated to social and economic projects and managing human-wildlife conflict.

The vast venomous world of plants, fungi, bacteria: Study

Venom isn’t just a feature of some animals; it’s found across the living world, from plants and fungi to bacteria and viruses, says a new study. Lead author William Hayes, an ecologist at Loma Linda University, U. S. , has long studied venomous rattlesnakes.

Brazilian rescue center returns trafficked animals to the wild

A wildlife rescue center in Rio de Janeiro is giving animals a second chance after they’ve been torn from the Atlantic Forest by poachers, a Mongabay short documentary showed.

APRIL 1. 2025

Colombia’s coffee farmers try to balance innovation and tradition to adapt to climate change

CHINCHINA, Colombia — “Before, the seasons seemed etched into the calendar, with well-defined periods of drought and rain. Today, the climate has gone completely mad! ” says coffee grower Oscar Gomez from his farm nestled in the mountains of Colombia’s Eje Cafetero, or the Coffee Axis.

Rethinking carbon: The climate movement needs to be a human one, says Paul Hawken

Celebrated author, thinker and entrepreneur Paul Hawken joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss his new book, Carbon: The Book of Life, and argues that the jargon and fear-based terms broadly used by the climate movement alienate the broader public and fail to communicate the nuance and complexity of the larger ecological crises that humans are causing.

As US agroforestry grows, federal funding freeze leaves farmers in the lurch

Agroforestry, the ancient agricultural system of integrating trees and shrubs with crops and livestock, has seen a revival in recent decades in the U. S. Around the country, agroforestry projects have sprung up, bolstered by federal grants like the Department of Agriculture’s Climate-Smart Commodities program.

Mongabay investigation finds gorilla trade more widespread than previously thought

A Mongabay investigation has uncovered exclusive details about the clandestine market for gorilla and chimpanzee body parts in northeastern Nigeria, revealing that the trade works in a larger area than previously believed and kills more critically endangered gorillas than previously acknowledged.

Wildfires in South Korea kill at least 30 people

At least 30 people were killed and more than 48,000 hectares, or 119,000 acres, of land was burned in fires that raged over the last week of March in South Korea, media reported. According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, the fires started on March 21 and were accompanied by strong winds and dry weather.

Bangladesh continues promotion of biodegradable bags amid battle against polythene

On a busy morning in November 2024, a dramatic scene unfolded in a supermarket in Banani, Dhaka. Government officials, armed with security personnel, launched a joint operation to crack down on the widespread use of plastic bags.

Key transit province in DRC bans gray parrot capture and trade

African gray parrots, one of the world’s most trafficked birds, can no longer be captured or traded across the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Tshopo province, a key transit route for traffickers, according to a recent decree passed by the provincial government.

A Kichwa women collective uses ecotourism to safeguard Ecuador’s Amazon

For members of the Sani Warmi collective in Amazonian Ecuador, the day begins before sunrise. They tend to the chacra — their agroforestry garden — and harvest plantain, yuca, palm heart and bijao leaves. They feed the cachama fish in the tanks and catch some of them.

Colombia’s women clam collectors protect Pacific mangroves and mollusks

In the green-fringed inlet of Bahía Málaga, tucked along Colombia’s Pacific coast in the department of Valle del Cauca, Marlin Valencia’s melodic voice drifts among the tangled roots of the mangrove trees.