CALABRIA, Italy — “On our coasts there is … a massive presence, that everyone can see, of poachers and illegal fishermen,” a fisher in Calabria, in southwestern Italy, told Mongabay. He said he decided to speak with this team of journalists because increased fishing of declining stocks meant “we are heading toward a point of no return.” But it was not an easy decision: He asked to remain anonymous due to fears of retaliation from other fishers and the local ‘ndrangheta or Calabrian mafia. A dozen other sources would also speak about illegal fishing in the area only off the record. “The situati ..read more

Orchids (members of the family Orchidaceae) are diverse flowering plants with colorful and fragrant blooms and are often described as neglected plants in Nepal, where an estimated 500 or so of the roughly 30,000 species known to science are found. Most orchid plants require tree limbs for support and don’t need soil to grow — hence the garland-like appearance. Also referred to as the “tigers of the plant world,” orchids have been found to be at the receiving end of unsustainable harvesting and international trade for use in Ayurvedic as well as traditional Chinese medicine. One of the orchid s ..read more

Companies implicated in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing can have a serious impact on the economies, job opportunities and overall welfare of the developing countries in whose waters they operate, according to a recent report from London-based global affairs think tank the Overseas Development Institute. The report, released Feb. 16, used consolidated fisheries and satellite data to gauge the economic damage done by fishing fleets with shady track records in five vulnerable countries: Ecuador, Ghana, Peru, the Philippines, and Senegal. It found that these companies’ fishing ac ..read more

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Every weekend between January 2022 and December 2023, members of the nongovernmental organization Ferme Don de Dieu (FDD) planted trees on farmland in Yolo and Kinzono, on the outskirts of Mbankana, more than 140 km (87 miles) from Kinshasa. With the help of technicians from the Congolese environment ministry’s reforestation department, they planted eucalyptus and acacia trees over an area of 33 hectares (81.5 acres). Eucalyptus was chosen for at least 22 hectares (54 acres), due to its ability to tolerate difficult soil and climatic conditions. The tre ..read more

The Airbus Foundation and the Connected Conservation Foundation have announced the winners of the second edition of their Satellites for Biodiversity Award. The four winners of the award are international conservation NGO Fauna & Flora International, Peruvian nonprofit Conservación Amazónica–ACCA, Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, and conservation charity the Zoological Society of London. The winners, selected for successfully deploying satellites and other cutting-edge technology for critical conservation work, will be granted access to Airbus’s Pléiades and Pléiades Neo satellite syst ..read more

It was news that rhino conservationists had long feared. Indonesian media are reporting that a poaching ring allegedly killed seven Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus), and possibly more, from 2019-2023, potentially wiping out 10% of the entire global population of the critically endangered species. Ardi Andono, the head of the government agency that runs Ujung Kulon National Park, told local media his office had not yet confirmed how many rhinos were killed, pending ongoing investigation of body parts seized from the sole suspect arrested to date. The information came to light as the suspect ..read more

INTAG VALLEY, Ecuador — In Ecuador’s lush tropical Andes, Silvia Vetancourt multitasks, her hands maneuvering crochet needles with swift precision as she navigates the rocky path to the old town of Plaza Gutierrez. “We like this craft because it’s mobile,” she says, holding out a piece of a small coin purse she’s been working on on the trail. “It makes us free.” Vetancourt is the secretary of Mujer y Medio Ambiente (Women and the Environment), or MYMA, the oldest women’s group in Intag Valley, Ecuador. Founded in 1995, the artisan collective developed an innovative way to dye and stitch fibers ..read more

As dawn began to break in the Peruvian Amazon on March 5, an oil slick spread across the Puinahua River in the district of the same name, engulfing clumps of palms and reeds in a thick, black layer as it streamed down the current. The sight of the spill prompted a desperate rush among the riverside Manco Cápac community to prevent the oil from contaminating the river they depend on for their survival. “I woke up to chaos,” Kara Fikrig, a biologist with Cornell University who studies dengue in the region, told Mongabay. “People were out on their canoes, using their bare hands, using buckets to ..read more

We are now in a make-or break-moment for the landmark law to halt imported global deforestation into the European Union. Global forest defenders watch with bated breath as in the next few days, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will either decide to support the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), or to hollow out this vital law. This is happening while recent developments in Brussels threaten the EU Green Deal at its core. Brussels’ current political climate is taking an unprecedented turn against EU environmental policies, including first to withdraw ..read more

In a quiet village called Charghikamala in Rajbari district, a sad story unfolded one night. Helal, a villager, heard his goat crying out in fear. When he went to check, he found a beautiful creature lying still under the moonlight — a fishing cat, with fur like twilight and eyes shining like emeralds. Helal says he felt sad seeing the cat. This wasn’t just any cat; it was a guardian of the wetlands. Unfortunately, its life ended in the blink of an eye. News of the killed cat spread fast, turning villagers both curious and fearful. Helal told everyone what had happened. He had heard his goat c ..read more