Logging
Calls grow to repurpose land squandered in Cambodia’s concession policy
PHNOM PENH — “Make the bosses rich in Cambodia,” then-prime minister Hun Sen said at the 2012 inauguration of a sugar refinery in Kampong Speu province. “If a country has no millionaires, where can the poor get their money from?” This underscored the ideology at the heart of the policy of economic land concessions, or […]
Deforestation continues in Kenya’s largest water capturing forest, satellites show
New satellite data analysis reveals that Mau Forest in Kenya, the largest montane forest in East Africa, is continuing to lose tree cover, likely due to illegal logging and agricultural expansion, despite efforts at protection. The Mau Forest is vital as the country’s biggest water catchment area, covering some 2,700 square kilometers (1,042 square miles) […]
Communities track a path of destruction through a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary
PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia — Sometime after 10 a.m. on Friday, April 21, sweat poured down the face of veteran environmental activist San Mala as he crawled through the forest undergrowth, some 16 kilometers (10 miles) deep in the heart of Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Cambodia. Rangers from the Ministry of Environment were closing […]
Logging route cut into Cambodia’s Prey Lang from Think Biotech’s concession
STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — A fresh incursion into Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary has added new evidence to mounting allegations of timber laundering by Think Biotech, which exists on paper as a reforestation company producing sustainable wood. Satellite imagery showed that between April 6 and 9, a fresh path had been crudely cut into Prey Lang […]
In Panama, a tiny rainfrog named after Greta Thunberg endures
Up in the trees of a misty sky island, folded into the foliage, a tiny rainfrog bears the name of a climate giant. The new-to-science species, found on a mountain in Panama, has been named after climate activist Greta Thunberg. Greta Thunberg’s rainfrogs (Pristimantis gretathunbergae) are minuscule (about 3 to 4 centimeters or 1.1 to […]
Exports of threatened species’ timber boomed under Bolsonaro, probe finds
At least 12,500 tonnes of wood came from rainforest species considered threatened by the Brazilian Forestry Service (SFB).
Mongabay reporter sued in what appears to be a pattern of legal intimidation by Peruvian cacao company
In November 2020, Peruvian cacao company Tamshi filed a lawsuit against Mongabay Latam staff reporter Yvette Sierra Praeli for “aggravated defamation” over her reporting of a government investigation into the firm’s activities in the Peruvian Amazon. While the case was formally dismissed by a Peruvian court last month, it wasn’t the first time that Tamshi […]
The last spotted ground thrush on Malawi’s lonely mountain
Mount Mulanje’s bare granite face looms above the lush surrounding landscape. Said to be the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lonely Mountain (home to Smaug the dragon), Malawi’s highest mountain also holds a treasure: a mating pair of spotted ground thrushes, one of the rarest birds in the world. “Ground thrushes are like the holy grail […]