Locals fight to save ‘a piece of the sea’ in Venezuela’s Andes

lagoonWhen Nelly Flores looks out over the Urao Lagoon, she smiles and asks me: “Do you know what those dots moving in the water are?” Mosquitoes, I guess. Nelly shakes her head and her smile widens. “No. They’re not mosquitoes. They’re, they’re … baby fish. What are they called?” She picks up her cellphone to […]

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Island shopping: Cambodian officials buy up the Cardamoms’ coast

The developers on Koh Toteung smothered the island's corals in sand while creating an artificial beach in June 2022.KOH S’DACH, Cambodia — Bristling with coral reefs, marine life and palm trees, the islands dotting Cambodia’s western and southwestern coasts have long lured tourists and investors alike with white sandy beaches sloping into the azure waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Beyond the postcard views, limited regulation and the availability of 99-year leases for […]

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No justice for Indigenous community taking on a Cambodian rubber baron

Heng Saphen and her daughter, Chan Lay PhiekKAMPONG THOM, Cambodia — The mood outside the Kampong Thom Provincial Court had grown tense on the afternoon of July 26. Some 12 residents of Ngon village, an Indigenous Kuy community in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district, waited for the judge’s verdict. The group had spent roughly $200 traveling the 75 kilometers (47 miles) to […]

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With fracking promising a quick energy boost, can Colombia say no?

protest“For the first time ever, there is a government that is against fracking,” says Amarilys Llanos Navarro. An activist and lawyer with the Cesar Without Fracking and Gas Movement, an anti-extractivist movement in Colombia’s northern department of Cesar, is referring to Gustavo Petro, who took office as president in August and has vowed to ban […]

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No time to keep vultures out of danger as new Nepal airport set to open

critically endangered white-rumped vultureKATHMANDU — Conservationists in Nepal have expressed concern over the opening of a new airport in the tourist town of Pokhara, renowned as a bird paradise, at the start of next year. The opening of the $216 million facility has been delayed several times already. In the latest announcement, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, the minister for […]

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Return to agroforestry empowers women in Nepal

KAVRE, Nepal – Srijana Karki still remembers her childhood when she visited her grandfather’s farm. “The green fields were dotted with various fruit trees and we would get to eat different varieties of fruits from the farm,” Karki, South Asia director at the NGO World Neighbors, says. But these days, when she visits the farm, […]

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Threatened wetlands in Paraguay’s Lake Ypacaraí raise legal questions

Urban development projects surrounding a protected lake in Paraguay are threatening the recovery of local ecosystems and raising questions about the government’s ability to circumvent conservation mandates. Wetlands around Lake Ypacaraí are being filled in to allow for the construction of housing and tourism projects despite a series of environmental recovery measures that prohibit development […]

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