New Future

ARBA MINCH, Ethiopia — On a late May morning, as the chill of dawn gives way to sunlight warming the hills of Hareba village in southern Ethiopia, 56-year-old Almaz Achamo tends to her staple crop: a towering, banana-like plant that has supported her community for generations.

How rain can reveal what lives in rainforest treetops Perched high above the forest floor, the tropical canopy is a reservoir of biodiversity that has long resisted scrutiny. Its inaccessibility has left many of its inhabitants — orchids, epiphytes, ants, monkeys, frogs — poorly studied and poorly protected.

CONHUAS, Mexico — Esteban Dominguez has lived for more than 20 years close to one of the biggest conservation areas in southeastern Mexico — Calakmul Biosphere Reserve on the Yucatán Peninsula. He’s used to spotting monkeys, coatis, eagles, tapirs, deer, wild turkeys, owls, and even pumas and jaguars.

Biologist Valeria Falabella’s voice breaks as she describes the devastating scene. It was October 2023 when she and her team climbed down onto Punta Delgada Beach, in the Valdés Peninsula, a remote corner of central Argentina.

On July 15, Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and the Ministry of Transportation reached an “accord” for licensing the notorious BR-319 highway reconstruction project.

JAKARTA — Asia Pulp & Paper, one of the world’s biggest forestry groups, has effectively been given the green light to seek ethical certification from the Forest Stewardship Council — a stamp of approval that it was stripped of 18 years ago for deforestation and other violations.

The Philippines has officially designated a new marine protected area after an 18-year campaign by local communities, fisher associations, civil society organizations and government agencies, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced Aug. 13.

The tree with deep red wood and yellow flowers that gave Brazil its name is disappearing.

MANNAR, Sri Lanka — Under the blanket of darkness, giant trucks rumbled through the narrow roads of Sri Lanka’s Mannar district, their headlights cutting through the night. On their trailers lay colossal white columns and blades longer than a fishing trawler, bound for the island’s windswept northwestern coast.

KARAWANG/JAKARTA, Indonesia — At 55, Warno has spent the past quarter of a century making a living from a fish farm that he manages in Karawang district, in the Indonesian province of West Java. Here, in ponds spanning a combined 2 hectares , he raises milkfish and shrimp, and grows seaweed.

In recent years, the Norwegian Embassy in Brazil has shifted its funding strategy to channel more resources directly to Indigenous peoples in the country. By 2026, one of its programs plans to provide 91% of its annual funding directly to Indigenous-led funds and organizations, rather than through NGOs or multilateral agencies, an official told Mongabay.

BOGOTA, Colombia — Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon are urging South American presidents meeting in Bogota this week to turn promises to protect the region’s rainforest into concrete action, and to give Indigenous groups more say in the region’s future.

HOPKINS, Belize — Heaters, pumps and computerized meters rigged to an everyday picnic icebox may seem like a high school science project. But this heat stress tank may hold the key to finding the most heat-resilient corals in Belize’s waters.

Over the last few years, the Venezuelan government has taken a surprising interest in the environment. President Nicolás Maduro, usually silent on the topic, recently posted on social media about a “green Venezuela. ” He announced a “world congress of eco-socialism” for December and has called for greater support for countries impacted by climate change.