Agribusiness bill moves to block grassland protections in Brazilian biomes
Mongabay
by Fernanda Wenzel
2h ago
A bill framed to benefit a particular group of rural producers was morphed into a drastic change to the Brazilian Forest Code with the potential of destroying 48 million hectares (118.6 million acres) — an area twice the size of the United Kingdom — of native vegetation all over the country. If approved, the legislation (called PL 364/2019) will allow the conversion of all non-forestry areas for activities such as agriculture, cattle ranching and tree plantations. The bill, approved March 20 by a lower house commission, was initially proposed in 2019 by the ruralist federal deputy Alceu Moreir ..read more
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Beneath the surface, a toxic tide threatens Bangladesh’s water lifeline
Mongabay
by Mahadi Al Hasnat
4h ago
Imagine a mother in a rural village drawing water from a well with her pitcher. This seemingly ordinary water holds her family’s future — for drinking, cooking and bathing. But beneath the surface lurks a hidden threat: contamination by arsenic, salinity and heavy metals, silently poisoning the lifeline for millions in Bangladesh. Despite 98% of people having water access, only 59% enjoy safe drinking water that meets quality standards. This leaves 68.3 million people vulnerable to illnesses and developmental issues. Moreover, just 15% of the population has piped water, with the poorest hit ha ..read more
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In Liberia, a former mining activist gets the bully pulpit
Mongabay
by Ashoka Mukpo
4h ago
It’s been about a decade since Foday Fahnbulleh was arrested. Along with other students and workers from his home in Bong Mines about an hour’s drive north of Monrovia, he’d been staging protests at the gates of a Chinese mining company. China Union, they said, wasn’t living up to the promises it had made in its contract with the Liberian state. The campaign was making headlines in Liberia, and it had angered politicians from Fahnbulleh’s district. One called him and his co-organizers “thugs” and urged the police to detain them. Now, they’ll have to call him by a new title: “Honorable Represen ..read more
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Nepali experts question rhino relocation within park for population balance
Mongabay
by Abhaya Raj Joshi
7h ago
KATHMANDU — On March 21, Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation completed the relocation of six vulnerable one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) from the western part of Chitwan National Park to the eastern side. Department officials initiated the move to rectify the skewed distribution of the animal’s population the skewed distribution of the animal’s population, which was dominant in and around the western part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. While researchers and conservationists agree with officials that this imbalance could increase competition over limited r ..read more
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Study identifies species with a long history but short future amid threats
Mongabay
by Carolyn Cowan
9h ago
Over the past 4 billion years, lifeforms have evolved into the spectacular array of species that now inhabit the planet. While many species radiated into extensive families of closely related species, others are so unique that they alone embody millions of years of evolutionary history — sole representatives of entire lineages of the tree of life. Weird and wonderful species, such as the finger-probing aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) of Madagascar; the bulbous-snouted gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) of South Asia; and the prehistoric-looking shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) of Africa, fall into ..read more
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Previously logged forests struggle to thrive, even with restoration, study finds
Mongabay
by Liz Kimbrough
22h ago
Young trees face significant challenges surviving in previously logged forests compared to intact forests, even in areas with active restoration efforts, according to a recent study. The findings, published in the journal Global Change Biology, raise concerns about the long-term recovery of biodiversity in logged forests. This concern is growing as human-modified forests now exceed primary forests by area in the tropics. An unlogged tropical forest in Danum Valley, Malaysian Borneo. Image courtesy of David Bartholomew. The research team, led by Robin Hayward at the University of Stirling in Sc ..read more
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Report links pulpwood estate clearing Bornean orangutan habitat to RGE Group
Mongabay
by Hans Nicholas Jong
22h ago
JAKARTA — Indonesia is experiencing a resurgence in forest clearance due to the expansion of pulpwood and oil palm plantations, reversing years of declining deforestation associated with these two industries. And at the forefront of this new wave of deforestation is a single company identified in a report by a coalition of environmental NGOs that include the Environmental Paper Network, Woods & Wayside International and Rainforest Action Network. Since 2021, according to the report, pulpwood producer PT Mayawana Persada has converted 33,070 hectares (81,718 acres) of rainforest to monocult ..read more
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We need rapid response support for Indigenous peoples in the face of growing extreme weather events (commentary)
Mongabay
by Joe Eisen
22h ago
In recent weeks, Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) has seen Indigenous peoples and local communities we work with in the Peruvian Amazon and the Congo Basin devastated by unprecedented rains. In Peru, the Ene River recently burst its banks, leaving hundreds of Asháninka families in desperate need of food, drinking water and shelter. In a cruel irony, their ancestral lands that were saved a decade ago following a powerful campaign against large-scale dam construction were submerged, destroying the very crops these families rely on. Hundreds of hectares of cocoa, painstakingly nurtured as part of ..read more
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Lebanese youths take up rods and reels to learn sustainable fishing
Mongabay
by Amélie David
1d ago
AMCHIT, Lebanon — Amchit’s harbor bustles with activity on a sunny January morning, one of the first in more than three weeks. A group of 16 youths from the coastal village of Bnine, in Akkar district, one of Lebanon’s poorest regions, gathers at the docks, where a long wooden boat is tied up. Divided into two groups, one prepares to set sail, the other to learn the art of knot-tying. The first group, smiling and singing, rushes to the boat, unable to hide their excitement. Captain Jeannot, otherwise known as Jean Saad, welcomes the youths, led by fisher Solange Sfeir, on board the Coco. Greet ..read more
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Smaller population estimate underscores urgency of saving Cao-vit gibbon
Mongabay
by Carly Nairn
1d ago
The Cao-vit gibbon is one of the most critically endangered apes in the world, with its entire population living in a single patch of protected forest on the border between northern Vietnam and southern China. Until recently, population estimates for the species stood at 120. Now, a new study published in the journal Nature, calculates that just 74 Cao-vit gibbons (Nomascus nasutus), also known as eastern black-crested gibbons, remain. Researchers say it’s unlikely there was a dramatic population drop; instead, they say they’ve been able to come up with a more accurate estimate by mapping the ..read more
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