Water returns to Amazon rivers amid historic drought

The Amazon River and its tributaries, which make up the largest freshwater basin in the world, are showing signs of recovery after dropping to record-low levels between September and November 2024. Abnormally low rainfall and high temperatures across the Amazon caused water levels to plummet, shutting down river transport, isolating communities and leaving industries without […]

Philippines’ ‘extraordinary’ typhoon season was climate-fueled: Scientists

From late October to November this year, six consecutive tropical cyclones battered the Philippines, affecting 30 million people. Data analyses from two separate organizations now show they were intensified by human-induced climate change. International scientific collective World Weather Attribution (WWA) released a study on Dec. 12 showing that climate change has made conditions conducive to […]

Indonesian forests put at risk by South Korean and Japanese biomass subsidies

Biomass energy subsidies in South Korea and Japan are threatening Southeast Asia’s tropical forests, warns a new report by environmental NGOs. Of particular concern is the nascent but rapidly growing woody biomass industry in Indonesia, where rainforests are already being cleared to make wood pellets to be burned for electricity. The report, published in October […]

Peru’s modern history of migration and settlement

Policies designed to occupy and populate the Peruvian Amazon began about seventy years ago with the construction of a trunk highway connecting Pucallpa on the Ucayali River with Lima. Named after a Peruvian historian, the construction of the Carretera Federico Basadre is a landmark event in the nation’s history, because it provided the first reliable […]

Communities warn of threat to ecosystems from Brazil bridge project

“It seems like they intentionally neglected the ferry system just to create enough discontent so that people would accept construction of this bridge,” says Maria José Pacheco, executive secretary of the Bahia Fishermen’s Protection Council. Passengers making the crossing between the Brazilian city of Salvador and the island of Itaparica in Todos os Santos Bay […]

Kenya embraces electric buses to combat climate change, but rollout is bumpy

NAIROBI — There are 22,000 buses on Nairobi’s crowded streets, the backbone of commuter transit for the Kenyan capital’s population of 5.3 million. The city’s matatus, privately owned public transport, are famously airbrushed with slogans and portraits of rap stars and English football clubs. Among these garish, growling, diesel-fueled hordes, there are now 35 quiet […]

In 2024, Nepal’s elusive snow leopards pounce into spotlight

KATHMANDU — The elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia), often described as the “ghost of the mountains,” has captivated the imagination of researchers, the general public and mountain communities for centuries. Fables related to this enigmatic big cat have been handed down from generation to generation, weaving a sense of mystery and reverence for the cat […]

Research vessel E/V Nautilus spots multiple nautiluses for the first time

The crew of the research vessel E/V Nautilus erupted in excited chatter as they watched live video from a remotely operated vehicle traversing the German Channel in the Pacific island state of Palau. “It’s finally happened!” someone could be heard saying as the camera on board the ROV Hercules zoomed in to reveal a lone […]

Wildlife conservation is a key climate change solution

When most people think about climate change, images of melting ice caps or rising sea levels come to mind. However, the reality is far more intricate and urgent. The effects of climate change, such as fires, droughts, and extreme weather events are not just environmental threats, but crises that directly impact human well-being and wildlife […]

Brazil natural landscape degradation drives toxic metal buildup in bats

Bats play a key role in maintaining the health of forest ecosystems as pollinators, seed dispersers and insect pest controllers. But according to new research, bats and the ecosystem services they offer are under threat in Brazil’s heavily fragmented Atlantic Forest biome, where natural lands have been largely converted for agriculture and mining, degradation that […]

UN sets guidelines for conservation groups to safeguard human

The United Nations Environment Programme recently released a report detailing 10 existing human rights standards and how they should be applied to conservation organizations and funders (COFs). In an effort to address the dramatic loss of global biodiversity and the climate crisis, private conservation organizations, many from the Global North, have stepped in to establish […]

Regifting and thrifting for sustainable holiday gift ideas

A few years ago, while having lunch with colleagues in my previous newsroom, we started talking about thrift stores. One of my co-workers said, “I get all of my clothes from thrift stores,” and quickly added, “I’m not trying to brag though.” And I thought: How great that she sees thrifting as something to brag […]

Andes glacier melt threatens Amazon’s rivers & intensifies droughts

The ice loss in the Andes could reduce the water flow to the Amazon rivers by up to 20%.

Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger

SIEM REAP, Cambodia — Chhoeung Chheng, a journalist covering environmental issues for local online news outlet Kampuchea Aphiwat News, has died of his injuries after being shot in Siem Reap province on Dec. 4 by a suspected illegal logger. Chheng was rushed to a commune health clinic with a gunshot wound to the abdomen before being […]

Water returns to Amazon rivers amid historic drought

The Amazon River and its tributaries, which make up the largest freshwater basin in the world, are showing signs of recovery after dropping to record-low levels between September and November 2024. Abnormally low rainfall and high temperatures across the Amazon caused water levels to plummet, shutting down river transport, isolating communities and leaving industries without […]

Philippines’ ‘extraordinary’ typhoon season was climate-fueled: Scientists

From late October to November this year, six consecutive tropical cyclones battered the Philippines, affecting 30 million people. Data analyses from two separate organizations now show they were intensified by human-induced climate change. International scientific collective World Weather Attribution (WWA) released a study on Dec. 12 showing that climate change has made conditions conducive to […]

Indonesian forests put at risk by South Korean and Japanese biomass subsidies

Biomass energy subsidies in South Korea and Japan are threatening Southeast Asia’s tropical forests, warns a new report by environmental NGOs. Of particular concern is the nascent but rapidly growing woody biomass industry in Indonesia, where rainforests are already being cleared to make wood pellets to be burned for electricity. The report, published in October […]

Peru’s modern history of migration and settlement

Policies designed to occupy and populate the Peruvian Amazon began about seventy years ago with the construction of a trunk highway connecting Pucallpa on the Ucayali River with Lima. Named after a Peruvian historian, the construction of the Carretera Federico Basadre is a landmark event in the nation’s history, because it provided the first reliable […]

Communities warn of threat to ecosystems from Brazil bridge project

“It seems like they intentionally neglected the ferry system just to create enough discontent so that people would accept construction of this bridge,” says Maria José Pacheco, executive secretary of the Bahia Fishermen’s Protection Council. Passengers making the crossing between the Brazilian city of Salvador and the island of Itaparica in Todos os Santos Bay […]

Kenya embraces electric buses to combat climate change, but rollout is bumpy

NAIROBI — There are 22,000 buses on Nairobi’s crowded streets, the backbone of commuter transit for the Kenyan capital’s population of 5.3 million. The city’s matatus, privately owned public transport, are famously airbrushed with slogans and portraits of rap stars and English football clubs. Among these garish, growling, diesel-fueled hordes, there are now 35 quiet […]

In 2024, Nepal’s elusive snow leopards pounce into spotlight

KATHMANDU — The elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia), often described as the “ghost of the mountains,” has captivated the imagination of researchers, the general public and mountain communities for centuries. Fables related to this enigmatic big cat have been handed down from generation to generation, weaving a sense of mystery and reverence for the cat […]

Research vessel E/V Nautilus spots multiple nautiluses for the first time

The crew of the research vessel E/V Nautilus erupted in excited chatter as they watched live video from a remotely operated vehicle traversing the German Channel in the Pacific island state of Palau. “It’s finally happened!” someone could be heard saying as the camera on board the ROV Hercules zoomed in to reveal a lone […]

Wildlife conservation is a key climate change solution

When most people think about climate change, images of melting ice caps or rising sea levels come to mind. However, the reality is far more intricate and urgent. The effects of climate change, such as fires, droughts, and extreme weather events are not just environmental threats, but crises that directly impact human well-being and wildlife […]

Brazil natural landscape degradation drives toxic metal buildup in bats

Bats play a key role in maintaining the health of forest ecosystems as pollinators, seed dispersers and insect pest controllers. But according to new research, bats and the ecosystem services they offer are under threat in Brazil’s heavily fragmented Atlantic Forest biome, where natural lands have been largely converted for agriculture and mining, degradation that […]

UN sets guidelines for conservation groups to safeguard human

The United Nations Environment Programme recently released a report detailing 10 existing human rights standards and how they should be applied to conservation organizations and funders (COFs). In an effort to address the dramatic loss of global biodiversity and the climate crisis, private conservation organizations, many from the Global North, have stepped in to establish […]

Regifting and thrifting for sustainable holiday gift ideas

A few years ago, while having lunch with colleagues in my previous newsroom, we started talking about thrift stores. One of my co-workers said, “I get all of my clothes from thrift stores,” and quickly added, “I’m not trying to brag though.” And I thought: How great that she sees thrifting as something to brag […]

Andes glacier melt threatens Amazon’s rivers & intensifies droughts

The ice loss in the Andes could reduce the water flow to the Amazon rivers by up to 20%.

Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger

SIEM REAP, Cambodia — Chhoeung Chheng, a journalist covering environmental issues for local online news outlet Kampuchea Aphiwat News, has died of his injuries after being shot in Siem Reap province on Dec. 4 by a suspected illegal logger. Chheng was rushed to a commune health clinic with a gunshot wound to the abdomen before being […]