Mongabay Newscast

On Costa Rica's Carribbean coast, sloths are losing their habitat to houses and roads, forcing them to cross between forest patches on the ground, making them vulnerable to traffic incidents and dog attacks. However, the Sloth Conservation Foundation, created by British zoologist Rebecca Cliffe, is trying to change that by building rope bridges to allow these famously slow-moving animals to safely cross cleared patches of forest. Read the popular article written by Monica Pelliccia and translated by Maria Angeles Salazar here: Bridges in the sky carry sloths to safety in Costa Rica Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Baby three-toed sloth hugging a stuffed panda in a Trio Indigenous community. Suriname, 2012. Image by Rhett Butler. Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

"Ecuador had not declared community protected area management by Indigenous peoples until Tiwi Nunka Forest. This area is the first of its kind in Ecuador, and one of the few in the entire Amazon," says Felipe Serrano on this episode. His organization Nature and Culture International recently helped the Shuar Indigenous community in Ecuador win a historic victory to protect its ancestral territory from cattle ranchers, loggers and miners, and he discusses how the community succeeded on this episode. We also speak with Paul Koberstein, editor of the Cascadia Times, an environmental journal based in Portland, Oregon, who with Jessica Applegate recently published "Deep Cut," an article at Earth Island Journal that details the flawed basis for the U.S. State of Washington's new and flawed climate solution: cutting down forests. Episode artwork: Members of the El Kiim community. Photo courtesy of Nature and Culture International. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and feedback! [email protected].

Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa is a spectacular new-to-science fish species and the first that has been named by a Maldivian scientist. Ahmed Najeeb, a biologist from the Maldives Marine Research Institute, named the fish, which means "rose" in the local Dhivehi language. Fairy wrasses such as this are known for their elegant and colorful appearance with new species often being described. Read the popular article written by Liz Kimbrough, here: Spectacular new fish species is first to be named by Maldivian scientist. This species, while new-to-science is already being traded. Many aquarium-traded fish are caught unethically. Read Robert Wood's 2019 commentary on buying aquarium fish ethically. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: A male rose-veiled fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa) from the Maldives. The species name 'finifenmaa' means 'rose' in the local Dhivehi language, a nod to both its pink hues and the Maldives' national flower. Photo by Yi-Kai Tea © California Academy of Sciences Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

"It might be the highest density of trout species on Earth," our guest Ulrich Eichelmann says of a suite of European rivers slated for damming to generate electricity – rivers which also host a vast wealth of birds, bats, bugs and beauty – plus a deep cultural heritage. Rapid biological surveys are a well known way to establish the richness of an ecosystem and advocate for their conservation, and a corps of scientists have used this conservation solution to repeatedly prove that the rush to build hundreds of new hydroelectric dams threatens to drown this heritage, with impressive results: A proposal to dam the last free-flowing river in Europe (the Vjosa) was halted in part on the basis of one such survey conducted by Scientists for Balkan Rivers which Eichelmann coordinates, after the team identified species new to science, in addition to great overall biodiversity. The group has since turned its focus to other threatened rivers in the region, and he describes their activities, plus which rivers' ecologies they are investigating now. Episode Artwork: The biodiversity of Balkan rivers is now becoming more widely known, and also their beauty, such as Kravice Waterfalls on the Trebižat river in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Photo by Goran Safarek for Riverwatch/EuroNatur. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and feedback! [email protected].

Nine leading forest and climate experts defined 10 principles for equitable and transformative landscapes in a "playbook" for ecosystem restoration. The playbook authors say these steps could be game changing if followed. The plan outlines climate change and forest loss as political, economic and social problems, not just biophysical or environmental. Hear more about the playbook by listening to this reading of the original popular article by Liz Kimbrough, New restoration "Playbook" calls for political, economic, and social change. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: A toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

In a historic move, The European Commission recently announced the protection of an area half the size of Belgium in the North Atlantic from bottom trawling, a fishing practice widely known as being the most destructive, particularly for deep-sea biodiversity and delicate marine ecosystems, such as cold water corals upon which other marine life (and humans) depend. Activist and Goldman Environmental Prize winner, Claire Nouvian, joins the Mongabay Newscast to talk about this and her organization's 7-year journey that led to a French ban on bottom trawling, and a later EU-wide ban. She discusses not just the importance of deep-sea marine life but the effectiveness of grassroots activism and how consumers can avoid bottom trawling and support legislation to ban the fishing gear. Related reading: Europe moves to protect deep-sea sites in Atlantic from bottom fishing Scientists map the impact of trawling using satellite vessel tracking Episode Artwork: A deep-sea coral, Paragorgia johnsoni, with a large, brisingid sea star on its base, pictured in the New England Seamount chain. Image © The Mountains-in the Sea Research Team, IFE, URI-IAO, and NOAA. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and feedback! [email protected].

What's a climate-friendly and profitable way to farm? Some investors (and many farmers) say it's agroforestry, which combines trees & shrubs with annual crops for mutual benefits: shade-grown coffee or bird-friendly chocolate, for instance. So why have the agriculture sectors of the U.S. and E.U. largely ignored it? That's a question Ethan Steinberg and his partners at Propagate Ventures sought to answer, and then raised $1.5 million in seed funding to help farmers in eight U.S. states transition from conventional agriculture to agroforestry. Hear more about this growing trend in sustainable agriculture by listening to this audio reading of the popular article Investors say agroforestry isn't just climate friendly — it's also profitable by Stephanie Hanes on this latest episode of Mongabay Reports. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: A model rubber agroforestry forest garden, incorporating animal husbandry (silvopasture). Illustration courtesy of Kittitornkool, J. et al (2019). Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

Tropical forest news is coming fast lately, and we've got a top expert to discuss it with, beginning with the deforestation rate of the Brazilian Amazon in 2022 which is on pace to match the dismal heights of 2021; however, the upcoming Brazilian presidential election between incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and former president Luis Inacío Lula da Silva (Lula) could change forest conservation prospects. Mongabay's CEO and sought after tropical forest news commentator, Rhett Butler, joins the Mongabay Newscast to share his analysis of how former president Lula could (once again) significantly decrease deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, like he's done in the past. Rhett also shares his insight into a historic legislative move by the European Parliament to block 14 commodities linked to deforestation from entering the EU. The bill places the onus on the buyer to prove any 'dirty commodities' entering the EU are not linked to deforestation, whether legal or illegal. Rhett also discusses the renewed REDD+ agreement between Indonesia and Norway, which was canceled in 2021 when Norway failed to issue payment. Related reading from Mongabay: Brazil faces two contrasting legacies for the Amazon in October's elections Amazon deforestation on pace to roughly match last year's rate of loss Amazon deforestation in Brazil booms in August To hear our early 2022 conversation with Rhett, listen to Mongabay Newscast episode 136 here: Podcast: The 411 on forests and reforestation for 2022 Episode artwork: Amazon rainforest canopy in Brazil. Image by Rhett Butler. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and feedback! [email protected].

Can an albatross detect illegal fishing vessels? Findings from published research say yes: over the course of six-months, 169 albatrosses fitted with radar-detecting trackers covered 47 million square kilometers of the southern Indian Ocean found radar signals from 353 ships. Many of these vessels had no AIS signal, which is an indicator that a ship has switched it off in an attempt to remain hidden, but little did they know that the albatrosses revealed them. Science journalist Shreya Dasgupta reported on the study for Mongabay in 2020, here: Any illegal fishing going on around here? Ask an albatross Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode Artwork: A wandering albatross chick on its nest on Possession Island in the Crozet archipelago of the southern Indian Ocean. The species is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Image by Alain Ricci via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

There's less than 10 years remaining to save Sumatran elephants, says guest Leif Cocks, founder of the International Elephant Project, so we followed up with him to learn what is being done to save the critically endangered species' shrinking habitats, and to discuss the growing movement to recognize their 'personhood' and thereby ensure their interests are considered in development decisions. Leif also shares his thoughts on a planned hydropower dam in North Sumatra, sited in the only habitat where the last, critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans live. This project has also, tragically, claimed the lives of 16 workers in less than 2 years. Related Reading via Mongabay: 'Chased from every side': Sumatran elephants pinned down by forest loss Photos: Meet the Indonesians on the front lines of human-elephant conflict in Sumatra 'Cursed' dam project in orangutan habitat claims 16th life in less than 2 years To hear our previous conversation with Leif on Sumatran elephants, see season 2, episode 6 of the Mongabay Explores podcast, here: Podcast: With just 10 years left to save Sumatran elephants, what can be done now? Episode artwork: Sumatran elephants play in water. Image by vincentraal via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and feedback! [email protected].

Just kidding, you really shouldn't eat this. Last February, researchers described a new-to-science species of frog literally unearthed in the Peruvian Amazon during a rapid inventory of the lower Putamayo Basin. The image of the frog circulated on Twitter where it was likened to the chocolate frogs as seen in the Harry Potter film franchise. One user described the frog as a 'smooth lil fella.' The full scientific description of the tootsie-roll resembling amphibian is available here in the journal Evolutionary Systematics. This episode of Mongabay Reports, features the popular article Chocolate frog? New burrowing frog species unearthed in Amazon's rare peatlands. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Synapturanus danta by Germán Chávez. Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

Since 2020, the "Prints for WIldlife" campaign has raised over 1.75 million for conservaiton funding for NGO, African Parks through a collaborative photography based initiative selling over 15,000 unique wildlife prints. Normally in competition with each other, 100+ wildlife photographers have come together to participate in this campaign. Joining the Monagabay newscast is one such photographer, Marcus Westberg, to discuss the unique collaborative nature of this campaign, and ethical wildlife photogrpahy practices. Related Reading: African Parks secures $100M for conservation in Africa Episode artwork: Two Grauer's gorillas in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, DR Congo. Grauer's gorillas are the world's largest primates, and highly threatened, their population having declined close to 80% in just a few decades. Image by Marcus Westberg Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Cricket One is one of the world's largest cricket farms, and it's serving up an impressive palette of insect protein. Vietnam-based reporter Mike Tatarski reports on companies cashing in on the insect protein wave: coupled with the fact that insects (like crickets) use far less feed than cattle, and produce no methane, there is potential for the industry to replace animal-based protein sources. Could delicacies such as the scorpion skewers served at Bugs Cafe in Cambodia make their way to the West? This episode of Mongabay Reports features the popular 2020 story as read by Mike DiGirolamo. Find the full article here: From scorpion skewers to cricket flour, bug protein is becoming big business Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Bugs Cafe in Siem Reap aims to turn insects into artfully presented cuisine, like this scorpion skewer. Image by Rishabh Malik for Atmos/Mongabay. Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

Blockchain is an increasingly popular technology with quite a few applications and iterations, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), but can they aid conservation? The answer is complicated. Some conservation groups are trying to use them for fundraising. Other conservationists are exploring the technology for the ability to track and trace payments for ecosystem services. However, downsides abound and depending on which form of the technology you use, they can be impractical, environmentally damaging, or both. Author, Brett Scott, joins the Mongabay Newscast to discuss these complicating factors, some of which he writes about in his new book Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for our Wallets. Also joining the Newscast is journalist Judith Lewis Mernit, who reported on the Bitcoin mining surge in the US state of Texas and the rising energy prices pushed on to consumers. Related Reading: Beyond bored apes: Blockchain polarizes wildlife conservation community Episode artwork: Flowering rainforest tree in the Colombian Amazon. Photo by Rhett A. Butler for Mongabay. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Sonso Chimpanzees in Uganda began using a new method to drink water pooled in logs, 'moss-sponging.' Previously known to use balled-up leaves, the chimps began using this new technique with moss, researchers believe, because it is more effective at getting water into their mouths. But then, the technique spread to a neighboring community of chimps, leading researchers to believe that this is evidence of cultural evolution in chimpanzees, a behavior previously only thought to exist in humans. Researchers published their findings in a study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences back in 2018. This edition of Mongabay Reports is based on the popular article, Tool innovation shows cultural evolution at work among chimpanzees, by Nina Finley. To also read & share the story, go here: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/tool-innovation-shows-cultural-evolution-at-work-among-chimpanzees/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Karibu, a member of the Sonso chimpanzee community in Uganda, uses a moss-sponge she made to sip water from a small rainwater pool. Scientists say the recent emergence and spread of this socially learned behavior is evidence of cultural evolution in chimpanzees. Image by Cat Hobaiter Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

A multi-billion dollar, 958 mile-long, railway project known as the 'Maya Train' threatens to displace locals and degrade or destroy habitats across five states in the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico. Despite the many legal roadblocks the project has run into, the Mexican government is pushing it through, citing its eventual benefits for tourism and cargo transportation. This week we speak with Mongabay's Mexico City-based staff writer Max Radwin about the project and the impacts it could have on habitats and the lives of locals. We also speak about the legacy of large infrastructure projects that President Andrés López Manuel Obrador is leaving in Mexico. Related Reading: Full steam ahead for Tren Maya project as lawsuits hit judicial hurdles 'What's lacking is respect for Mayan culture': Q&A with Pedro Uc Be on Mexico's Tren Maya Episode artwork: Forest clearing in the municipality of Solidaridad in Quintana Roo for construction of the Maya Train. Image by Fernando Martínez Belmar. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

A report published in the journal Nature concludes that New Guinea is the most floristically diverse and speciose island on the planet. In addition to being the second largest island in the world, New Guinea is the world's largest tropical island. More than two-thirds of its 13,634 plant sepecies are endemic, occurring nowhere else in the world. New Guinea is not without its conservation challenges. If you are a regular listener of the Mongabay Explores Podcast you'll recall our third season, which explains the historical context, challenges, and drivers of deforestation on the island over seven episodes. Despite these challenges, New Guinea still retains 80% of its original forest cover, making it the final frontier of tropical species discovery and also the third largest rainforest on the planet, just after the Amazon and Congo basin. To also read & share the story, go here: https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/new-guinea-has-the-most-plant-species-of-any-island/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Image by Rhett Butler. Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

Human-made 'gray' infrastructure is crumbling, causing some urban areas to lose up to 40% of this precious resource: several major cities across the globe now regularly run out of water or have shortages. Yet our pervasive attempts to control water have actually made accessing it harder, especially as humanity faces the silmultaneously occurring biodiversity, climate and water crises. Author and journalist Erica Gies joins the Mongabay Newscast to discuss her new book 'Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge.' She covers non-invasive solutions ('slow water') that could help humanity not just mitigate our water problems, but also restore biodiversity that's been degraded by 'gray' infrastructure. Cities such as Chennai, India, are already embracing these slow water practices, many of which are rooted in traditional hydrological knowledge, while other areas like coastal Louisiana contemplate managed retreat from rising water. Solving water access and water infrastructure design isn't a simple one-size-fits-all solution, but there are many measures socieities could take today, and on a local level, to make things easier for us in the future. Related Reading: 'The volume of water is beyond control': Q&A with flood expert M. Monirul Qader Mirza Beyond boundaries: Earth's water cycle is being bent to breaking point Episode artwork: A person in an inflatable boat paddles down flooded Highway 610 in the Houston area as rains associated with Hurricane Harvey continue to fall in the area. Image by Mannie Garcia/Greenpeace. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

This week the world marks Save the Vaquita Day. Our featured article examines a threat to this critically endangered marine mammal (Phocoena sinus), a small porpoise that lives only in the Upper Gulf of California, and of which only 8 remain in the wild. Mongabay reports that a recent CITES decision lifting a prohibition on the export of captive-bred totaoba fish from Mexico could paradoxically spell disaster for vaquitas--which drown in nets that are set to capture the fish illegally, to feed a black market which will likely continue to thrive if a legal trade in farmed totoaba is established. To also read & share the story, go here: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/experts-fear-end-of-vaquitas-after-green-light-for-export-of-captive-bred-totoaba-fish/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: An illustration of a vaquita. Image courtesy of Greenpeace. Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

We discuss the effectiveness of combining traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge and Western science for conservation and restoration initiatives on this episode. Our first guest is Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan, an ethnobotanist at the University of Arizona, who discusses an ancestral food of the Comcaac people in the state of Sonora in Mexico: eelgrass. Nabhan explains how eelgrass is making a big comeback thanks to the people's restoration work, and is retaking its place at the table as a sustainable source of food for the Comcaac community while gaining international culinary attention in the process. Host Mike G. also speaks with Dr. Sara Iverson, a professor of biology at Canada's Dalhousie University, about a research project called Apoqnmatulti'k that aims to better understand the movements of lobster, eel, and tomcod in two important ecosystems on Canada's Atlantic coast. Iverson explains why those study species were chosen by the Mi'kmaq people and why it's so important that the project combines different ways of knowing, including Western science and traditional Indigenous knowledge, which a Mi'kmaq elder dubbed 'two-eyed seeing.' Further reading about Apoqnmatulti'k here: • "In Canada, Indigenous communities and scientists collaborate on marine research" Listen to episode #145 (June 1, 2022) of this podcast to hear about related Indigenous aquaculture traditions via your favorite podcast provider, or here: • "Podcast: Indigenous, ingenious and sustainable aquaculture from the distant past to today" Episode artwork: A conservationist working on a seagrass restoration project. Image courtesy of Seawilding. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Our featured article this week examines archaeological research revealing details of a massive, Pre-Columbian urban settlement in the Amazon, 4,500 square kilometers in size, that provides valuable insights into how humanity could develop sustainable cities without degrading their environments. To also read & share the story, go here: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/lost-amazonian-cities-hint-at-how-to-build-urban-landscapes-without-harming-nature/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Incachaca archaeological site in Bolivia. Image courtesy of Greg Keelen on Unspash. Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

Host Mike G. dives into new discoveries from the exciting field of marine bioacoustics research that are helping us better understand the lives of whales and dophins, and we feature fascinating recordings from that research. His first guest is Erin Ross-Marsh, the lead researcher on a study of humpback whales at the Vema Seamount in the South Atlantic off the coast of South Africa. Ross-Marsh tells us about the study's finding that these humpbacks were making gunshot calls, a type of non-song call that was previously unknown in these particular whales, and plays some humpback songs, non-song calls, and gunshot calls for us to listen to. He also speaks with Sarah Trabue, a research assistant with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) who is the lead author of a recently published paper detailing the findings of a bioacoustic study of bottlenose dolphins in and around New York Harbor. Trabue discusses what the study reveals about dolphin behavior in the highly trafficked waters around New York City and plays for us some of the dolphin vocalizations recorded as part of the study. Further reading: • Mongabay: "What's popping? Humpbacks off South Africa, new acoustic study finds" • WCS: "The New York – New Jersey Harbor Estuary is a Dining Hotspot During Summer and Autumn Months for Bottlenose Dolphins" Episode artwork: humpback whales off the coast of Hawaii. Photo Credit: Ed Lyman/NOAA. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Our featured article this week summarizes a joint investigation Mongabay recently conducted with BBC News and The Gecko Project, uncovering how companies have cut local & Indigenous communities out of the profits from Indonesia's palm oil boom, despite being legally required to share those profits. Major brands including Kellogg's, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi, and numerous others have sourced palm oil from these plantations. To also read & share the story, go here: 'A hidden crisis in Indonesia's palm oil sector: 6 takeaways from our investigation.' https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/a-hidden-crisis-in-indonesias-palm-oil-sector-6-takeaways-from-our-investigation/ Read the responses from consumer goods firms to our plasma investigation: https://thegeckoproject.org/articles/responses-from-consumer-goods-firms-to-our-plasma-investigation/ Read the full investigation here: 'The promise was a lie': How Indonesian villagers lost their cut of the palm oil boom. https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/the-promise-was-a-lie-how-indonesian-villagers-lost-their-cut-of-the-palm-oil-boom/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: A bag of oil palm fruitlets gathered by the Suku Anak Dalam. Image by Nopri Ismi. Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

Coastal cultures have often enjoyed abundant lifestyles thanks to the wide array of food, fiber, and other useful resources provided by the world's seas, sounds, estuaries and oceans. Indigenous peoples have also developed strong marine conservation traditions and ingenious methods of ensuring sustainable long-term harvests through practices commonly called 'aquaculture' today. On this episode we hear from Nicola MacDonald about Kōhanga Kūtai, a project in New Zealand that aims to replace the plastic ropes used by mussel farmers with more sustainable alternatives. MacDonald tells us about the project's basis in blending traditional Maori knowledge with Western science. We also speak with Dana Lepofsky, a professor in the archaeology department at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. Lepofsky tells us about her research into clam gardens on the Pacific coast of North America, some of which have been found to be as much as 3500 years old. These clam gardens are such a reliable and sustainable source of food that there's a movement afoot today to rebuild them. Resources & reading: • 'We have a full pharmacopoeia of plants': Q&A with Māori researcher Nicola Macdonald • The Clam Garden Network website Hear our conversation with Dune Lankard of the Native Conservancy about their kelp aquaculture project in Alaska on episode #137 or here: • "Podcast: Kelp, condors and Indigenous conservation" Episode artwork: Green-lipped mussels are endemic to New Zealand and are commonly grown in aquaculture operations. Image courtesy of Adrian Midgley via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

'Rewriting Extinction' is a new conservation funding group trying to reach fresh audiences that has so far raised $180,000 for projects in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Critics of the organization say 'Rewriting Exctinction' has made exaggerated claims about what it can, or has, achieved. Some experts say the effort should still be applauded. This episode features the popular article "Can celebrities and social media influencers really 'rewrite extinction'?" by James Fair: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/can-celebrities-and-social-media-influencers-really-rewrite-extinction/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Art for Rewriting Extinction created by mxvisoor. Please send feedback to [email protected], and thank you for listening.

Agroecology applies ecological principles to agriculture, and it's a key strategy for mitigating--and adapting to climate change--which also boosts biodiversity and food security--and it is the focus of a special series at Mongabay. Joining us first to discuss agroecology as a science, a practice, and a movement is Dr. Maywa Montenegro, an assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Then host Mike G. speaks with iconic Indian scientist, activist and Right Livelihood Award winner Dr. Vandana Shiva, whose brand new book, Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture: Sustainable Solutions for Hunger, Poverty, and Climate Change, synthesizes decades of agroecology research and implementation. She's also the founder of Navdanya, which is both an agroecology center and a global food sovereignty movement. Dr. Shiva shares how agroecology is an effective solution not just to climate change but also for a host of other ecological crises we're facing, such as water scarcity, land degradation, nutrition and biodiversity loss. Further reading: • "From traditional practice to top climate solution, agroecology gets growing attention" by Anna Lappé • "Transitioning to sustainable agriculture requires growing and sustaining an ecologically skilled workforce," Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 96. doi:10.3389/fsufs.2019.00096 Episode artwork: Dr. Vandana Shiva, photo by Kartikey Shiva. If you enjoy the Mongabay Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. On March 24th, Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry announced the birth of a new female Sumatran rhino calf at the SRS captive breeding facility at Way Kambas National Park in Indonesia's Lampung province. For this bonus episode of Mongabay Explores, we speak with senior staff writer for Indonesia, Basten Gokkon. He explains the significance of this event, the difficulty in breeding Sumatran rhinos, and what this birth means for the future of this critically endangered species. If you missed the ten part series of Mongabay Explores Sumatra, you can find them via the podcast provider of your choice, or locate all episodes of the Mongabay Explores podcast on our podcast homepage here. Related Reading: It's a girl: Super rare Sumatran rhino born in captive-breeding center Episode Artwork: Rosa and her child. Image courtesy of Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry. Please invite your friends to subscribe to Mongabay Explores wherever they get podcasts. If you enjoy our podcast content, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok by searching for @mongabay. Feedback is always welcome: [email protected].

It's a really busy time of year for birds all over the world as they migrate and prepare for a new breeding season, so on this episode we discuss the amazing fierceness and beauty of birds, why they deserve your interest and attention, plus some recent research and avian conservation trends in Nepal. We welcome back the incomparable and award-winning author Sy Montgomery, whose most recent books are all about our avian friends: The Hawk's Way: Encounters With Fierce Beauty, which is now in stores, and also 2021's The Hummingbird's Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal On Wings. In her signature & wonder-rich way, Montgomery shares some of the truly amazing things learned from personal experiences with falconry and hummingbird rehabilitation, and discusses why we find birds so fascinating. Host Mike G. also speaks with Mongabay staff writer Abhaya Joshi about the birdlife in his country of Nepal, a new bird-counting app that's sparking newfound interest there, and some of the most recent conservation actions being taken in the country to protect birds. Hear Sy Montgomery's previous appearance on this show here (or search for episode #37 in your podcast app): "Podcast: Exploring the minds and inner lives of animals" Further reading about Nepal's birdlife by Abhaya Joshi: "Bird-counting app kindles interest in Nepal's rich avian life" "Nepal's first bird sanctuary takes flight, raising hope for conservation" "Study: Farmland birds in Nepal, India in dire need of conservation action" Episode artwork: Fiery-throated hummingbird at Paraiso del Quetzal, Costa Rica, by Joseph C Boone via Wikimedia Commons. If you enjoy the Mongabay Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. By 2025, the edible nut industry will be worth an estimated $2 billion globally. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), a traditional and plentiful staple, the galip nut (Canarium indicum), holds the promise of tapping into that demand. Its familiarity and the ease with which it can be grown together with coffee and cocoa is adding up to a new source of income for thousands of small scale farmers across PNG while preserving forest cover. On this episode of Mongabay Explores, we speak with Dorothy Devine Luana, an entrepreneur from the province of East New Britain, whose company grows galip nuts using agroforestry, a farming technique rooted in traditional knowledge that grows multiple cash crops alongside woody perennials. We also speak with Nora Devoe, research program manager for a special project focused on the galip nut at the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). This project has been funding more than a decade of research seeking to understand the viability and potential of the galip nut to drive the canarium industry in PNG and foster new markets for entrepreneurs and locals like Dorothy to sell the crop. If you missed the first six episodes of Mongabay Explores New Guinea, you can find them via the podcast provider of your choice, or locate all episodes of the Mongabay Explores podcast on our podcast homepage here. Episode Artwork: Tinganagalip Women Cooperative Group Chairwoman Caroline Misiel holds a handful of galip nuts. Image by Conor Ashleigh. Sounds heard during the intro and outro include the following: rusty mouse-warbler, growling riflebird, raggiana/lesser bird-of-paradise, superb fruit-dove, long-billed honeyeater, little shrike-thrush, brown cuckoo-dove, black-capped lory. Special thanks to Tim Boucher and Bruce Beehler for identifying them. Please invite your friends to subscribe to Mongabay Explores wherever they get podcasts. If you enjoy our podcast content, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok by searching for @mongabay. Feedback is always welcome: [email protected].

After many delays due to the pandemic, final negotiations on the UN Convention on Biological Diversity are happening this year in Kunming, China, and preparations for it just ended in Geneva, so we are pleased to speak with Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations & Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Mrema, about the outcomes in Switzerland, why the world failed to meet the previous Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and how COP15 can provide a roadmap to actually halting biodiversity loss and safeguarding nature. Because the roles and rights of Indigenous communities are widely agreed to be key to its success, we also speak with Jennifer Tauli Corpuz, a member of the Indigenous Caucus at the Convention on Biological Diversity and senior global policy and advocacy lead for Nia Tero. Jennifer provides the Indigenous perspective on what's currently in the draft biodiversity framework, what changes are needed to better support Indigenous land rights, and the overall importance of Indigenous leadership toward preserving Earth's biodiversity. Related reading: Reaching the Paris Agreement without protecting Indigenous lands is 'impossible', says report Indigenous land rights take center stage in a new global framework for biodiversity conservation Climate efforts won't succeed without secure community rights, says Nonette Royo Momentum is building for a 'robust' biodiversity framework: Q&A with Elizabeth Mrema If you enjoy the Mongabay Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: Red-eyed tree frog. Photo Credit: Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. The Tanah Merah project sits in the heart of New Guinea covering 2,800 square kilometers (1,100 square miles). Roughly twice the size of Greater London, it threatens not only dense, primary, tropical rainforest and Indigenous land, but also could release as much carbon as the U.S. state of Virginia emits by burning fossil fuels for an entire year. However, the true owners of the project have been hidden by a web of corporate secrecy for more than a decade. We speak with Philip Jacobson, senior editor at Mongabay, and Bonnie Sumner, investigative reporter at the Aotearoa New Zealand news outlet Newsroom, to discuss the project from inception to present day, the involvement of a New Zealand businessman, and where the project could go next. Related Reading: The Secret Deal to Destroy Paradise New Zealand developer denies key role in giant palm oil project in Indonesia If you missed the first five episodes of Mongabay Explores New Guinea, you can find them via the podcast provider of your choice, or locate all episodes of the Mongabay Explores podcast on our podcast homepage here. Episode Artwork: Rainforest in Boven Digoel. Image by Ulet Ifansasti for Greenpeace. Sounds heard during the intro and outro include the following: rusty mouse-warbler, growling riflebird, raggiana/lesser bird-of-paradise, superb fruit-dove, long-billed honeyeater, little shrike-thrush, brown cuckoo-dove, black-capped lory. Special thanks to Tim Boucher and Bruce Beehler for identifying them. Please invite your friends to subscribe to Mongabay Explores wherever they get podcasts. If you enjoy our podcast content, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok by searching for @mongabay. Feedback is always welcome: [email protected].

It's the start of field research season in many regions--and some scientists haven't gotten afield since the pandemic started--so we're checking in with a couple researchers to hear what they're planning to work on, out there in the bush. Our first guest is Meredith Palmer, a post-doctoral researcher at Princeton University whose field work this season is testing new conservation technologies like the BoomBox, an open‐source device that attaches to commercially available camera traps and turns them into an automated behavioral response systems. Also on the show is Ummat Somjee, a researcher based out of the Smithsonian Tropical Institute in Panama. He uses insects as models to understand the evolution of extreme structures in animals, like the tusks of elephants or the horns of antelopes. Here are their studies mentioned in this episode: • Palmer, M. S., Wang, C., Plucinski, J., & Pringle, R. M. (2022). BoomBox: An Automated Behavioural Response (ABR) camera trap module for wildlife playback experiments. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 13(3), 611-618. doi:10.1111/2041-210X.13789 • Somjee, U., Powell, E. C., Hickey, A. J., Harrison, J. F., & Painting, C. J. (2021). Exaggerated sexually selected weapons maintained with disproportionately low metabolic costs in a single species with extreme size variation. Functional Ecology, 35(10), 2282-2293. doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13888 If you enjoy the Mongabay Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

A recent study conducted in Malaysian Borneo shows that degraded forests can still provide immense value. The study details five key ecological services provided by degraded forests to Indigenous communities. Yet a government effort aims to convert degraded forests in Malaysian Borneo into timber plantations, despite the fact that researchers say these ecological services cannot be replaced with plantations. This episode features the popular article, "Even degraded forests are more ecologically valuable than none, study shows," by Sheryl Lee Tian Tong: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/even-degraded-forests-are-more-ecologically-valuable-than-none-study-shows/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast via Apple Podcasts or wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Rainforest rainbow in Sabah. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay

There's growing recognition of how vital Indigenous-led conservation practices are to protecting the planet. Because of this, there's a growing global movement to secure Indigenous land rights, toward safeguarding the Earth's future. And there's plenty of science to support it, such as a World Bank study which found that although Indigenous lands account for less than 22% of the world's land area, their territories protect 80% of the world's biodiversity. This protection is not passive: in fact, Indigenous-led preservation projects are a vital part of the conservation movement across the world and in the United States. On this pre-Earth Day episode, we speak with two guests: the director of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society – Julie Thorstenson, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe – about how America's 574 tribes manage more than 140 million acres of land, and which have scientists working to reintroduce and protect endangered or declining wildlife, from bison to condors, salmon, and ferrets. We also discuss the history of Indigenous-led conservation in North America with award-winning author Michelle Nijhuis, whose latest book "Beloved Beasts" – about the history of the modern conservation movement told through the lives and ideas of the people who built it, including Native Americans – is now out in paperback. Related reading at Mongabay.com, featuring Dr. Thorstensen: "Underfunded but passionate, Native American conservationists call for more support" Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts like Apple Podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. Episode artwork: Endangered black-footed ferrets have benefited hugely from the conservation work of multiple Native American communities. Image courtesy of Kimberly Fraser/USFWS. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. New Guinea's dense tropical montane forests are home to 12 of 14 tree kangaroo species. Over the past couple of decades, conservationists have leveraged these charismatic, intelligent marsupials to spearhead community development, conservation efforts, and the establishment of protected areas. In Papua New Guinea, the Torricelli mountain range is home to three species of tree kangaroo, including the critically endangered tenkile. This mountain range sits in the crosshairs of a road project threatening to encroach upon the region; however, the government is in the process of reviewing a draft proposal to have it officially declared a protected area. For this episode of the podcast, we speak with Jim Thomas of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance and Lisa Dabek and Modi Pontio of the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program. They detail the successes and challenges of working for nearly two decades in PNG to conserve these intelligent marsupials and the lands they inhabit. If you missed the first four episodes of Mongabay Explores New Guinea you can find them via the podcast provider of your choice or find all the episodes of the Mongabay Explores podcast on our podcast homepage here. Episode Artwork: A tree kangaroo, photo courtesy of Tom Jefferson/Greenpeace. Sounds heard during the intro and outro include the following: rusty mouse-warbler, growling riflebird, raggiana/lesser bird-of-paradise, superb fruit-dove, long-billed honeyeater, little shrike-thrush, brown cuckoo-dove, black-capped lory. Special thanks to Tim Boucher and Bruce Beehler for identifying them. Please invite your friends to subscribe to Mongabay Explores via Apple Podcasts or wherever they get podcasts. If you enjoy our podcast content, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok by searching for @mongabay. Feedback is always welcome: [email protected].

On this episode we discuss mangrove restoration and other "nature based solutions" (NBS) to climate change. Now promoted as the best strategy to slow climate change--and encompassing an array of solutions from reforestation to ecosystem restoration--critics point out that they also have numerous pitfalls that must be guarded against. Mangrove restoration and other 'blue carbon' projects are a common NBS program one hears about, so host Mike G. speaks with Alfredo Quarto, co-founder of the Mangrove Action Project, who shares why mangrove forests are so globally important & what successful restoration projects look like. Norah Berk also joins the show: she's a policy advisor on climate change and forests at the Rainforest Foundation UK, who explains that NBS have, in many cases, been co-opted by corporations that are using them as carbon offset schemes, and discusses why she thinks land titling for Indigenous and local communities is a better solution to climate change which the world should be focusing on. Further reading: • "At a plantation in Central Africa, Big Oil tries to go net-zero" Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts like Apple Podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. Episode artwork: Mangrove trees growing on a beach. Photo via Pixabay. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. Subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts and stay tuned for subsequent episodes in this season. Spanning over 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) and being built over the course of decades, the Trans-Papua Highway cuts across the entire length of Indonesian New Guinea's two provinces, including 7 key protected areas. While the project is nearly complete, experts warn it will cost billions annually to maintain, and threaten to open up untouched rainforest to palm oil expansion contributing an additional 4.5 million hectares of deforestation by 2036. For this episode, we interviewed David Gaveau, founder of The TreeMap and Bill Laurance, distinguished professor, and director of the Center for Tropical, Environmental, and Sustainability Science at James Cook University in Australia. Both experts explained the environmental, financial, and social costs of the project, which runs through Indonesia's Lorentz National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you missed the first three episodes of Mongabay Explores New Guinea you can find it via the podcast provider of your choice or find all the episodes of the Mongabay Explores podcast on our podcast homepage here. Episode Artwork: Tearing up trees to expand the road for the Trans West Papua highway. Daniel Beltrá/Greenpeace Editor's Note: Bill Laurance, is a Distinguished Research Professor at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia as well as the founder and director of ALERT (Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers) and a member of Mongabay's advisory board. Sounds heard during the intro and outro include the following: rusty mouse-warbler, growling riflebird, raggiana/lesser bird-of-paradise, superb fruit-dove, long-billed honeyeater, little shrike-thrush, brown cuckoo-dove, black-capped lory. Special thanks to Tim Boucher and Bruce Beehler for identifying them. Please invite your friends to subscribe to Mongabay Explores wherever they get podcasts. If you enjoy our podcast content, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok by searching for @mongabay. Feedback is always welcome: [email protected].

A new study reveals that bioacoustics is an underutilized wildlife study tool on one of the world's most biodiverse continents: Africa. On this episode we discuss this gap by highlighting two new bioacoustics studies of hippos and African manatees - and we of course play recordings of their squeals, squeaks and 'wheeze honks' which can now aid their conservation. Dr. Nicolas Mathevon joins the show to share the results of a study which showed that vocal recognition is used by hippos, and we welcome Clinton Factheu, a PhD student in Cameroon who recently co-authored a study revealing the first recorded African manatee vocalizations. Episode artwork: A hippo in the Chobe River, Botswana, by Joachim Huber via Wikimedia Commons. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. Subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts and stay tuned for subsequent episodes in this season. New Guinea is home to the third-largest tropical rainforest in the world—of which 80% is still intact. The two-nation island also contains 44 species of unique birds-of-paradise and dense biodiverse regions unlike anywhere else on the planet. Because of its one-of-a-kind biodiversity, and relatively undeveloped landscape, New Guinea is in a unique position to conserve its forest cover as part of an economy that serves its local inhabitants, rather than extracting from and deforesting these communities. For this third episode of the New Guinea season, Mongabay interviews Bustar Maitar, CEO of EcoNusa, and biologist Edwin Scholes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology about the diverse and charismatic birds-of-paradise and the potential for New Guinea to harness ecotourism to power a sustainable economy. If you missed the first two episodes of Mongabay Explores New Guinea you can find it via the podcast provider of your choice or find all the episodes of the Mongabay Explores podcast on our podcast homepage here. Episode Artwork: A Cendrawasih (bird of paradise) on a tree in Malagufuk village, located in the rainforest in Kalasou valley, Sorong, West Papua. Copyright: Jurnasyanto Sukarno/Greenpeace Sounds heard during the intro and outro include the following: rusty mouse-warbler, growling riflebird, raggiana/lesser bird-of-paradise, superb fruit-dove, long-billed honeyeater, little shrike-thrush, brown cuckoo-dove, black-capped lory. Special thanks to Tim Boucher and Bruce Beehler for identifying them. Please invite your friends to subscribe to Mongabay Explores wherever they get podcasts. If you enjoy our podcast content, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok by searching for @mongabay. Feedback is always welcome: [email protected].

Join us for a dive into two ambitious Indigenous-led conservation initiatives on the U.S. West Coast on this episode. Host Mike G. speaks with Dune Lankard, founder and president of The Native Conservancy, who discusses their work to create a regenerative economy for Alaska's Prince William Sound--based on conservation and restoration-- via projects like kelp farming. We also speak with Tiana Williams-Claussen, she's the director of the Yurok Tribe's Wildlife Department and shares their efforts to bring condors back to the tribe's territory in Northern California, which is set to culminate in the first four birds being released into the wild in April 2022. Articles mentioned: "Thanks to the Yurok Tribe, condors will return to the Pacific Northwest" "By cultivating seaweed, Indigenous communities restore connection to the ocean" Mongabay Series: Indigenous Peoples and Conservation Episode artwork: A condor in southern California by B W via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Creative Commons license. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Since 2014, Papua New Guinea has been the world's largest tropical timber exporter: more than 70% of that is considered illegal. Timber companies continue to possess land originally owned by local Indigenous communities through legal loopholes: while the carbon market has gained popularity as an alternative source of revenue for Indigenous communities, it suffers from some of the same land rights abuses as timber extraction. For this episode of Mongabay Explores we interview Gary Juffa, governor of Oro province in Papua New Guinea, and investigative journalist, Rachel Donald. If you missed episode one of Mongabay Explores New Guinea you can find it via the podcast provider of your choice or find all the episodes of the Mongabay Explores podcast on our podcast homepage here. Episode artwork: Loggers from Turama Forest Industries cut down a tree with a chainsaw in the 'Turama extension' logging concession, Gulf Province. These forests are being felled by Turama Forest Industries - a group company of Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau. Photo by Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert for Greenpeace. Sounds heard during the intro and outro include the following: rusty mouse-warbler, growling riflebird, raggiana/lesser bird-of-paradise, superb fruit-dove, long-billed honeyeater, little shrike-thrush, brown cuckoo-dove, black-capped lory. Special thanks to Tim Boucher and Bruce Beehler for identifying them. Please invite your friends to subscribe to Mongabay Explores wherever they get podcasts. If you enjoy our podcast content, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok by searching for @mongabay. Feedback is always welcome: [email protected].

What are the main global forest conservation trends for 2022? Though deforestation is declining, how much forest is the world still losing? Host Mike G. speaks with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Butler about the year in forests, forest-related storylines to watch, and Mongabay's expanding coverage of topics like these all around the world. He also speaks with Swati Hingorani, a senior program officer at the IUCN and Global Coordinator for the Bonn Challenge, one of the world's most important reforestation programs. Hingorani discusses reforestation trends and the Bonn Challenge's newly revamped and relaunched Restoration Barometer that tracks ecosystem restoration progress being made by countries around the world. Related reading: "Rainforests in 2022: A look at the year ahead" by Rhett Butler "The year in rainforests 2021" by Rhett Butler "Global ecosystem restoration progress: How and who's tracking it?" "Beyond tree planting: When to let forests restore themselves" Two related podcast episodes mentioned in this episode include episode #133 (December 9, 2021), "What do two giant land deals mean for the future of Southeast Asia's forests?" and "Natural forest regeneration's critical role in reforestation goals" from November 10, 2021 (episode #131). Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. Episode artwork: Evergreen forest in California via drone, image by Rhett Butler for Mongabay. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

With the huge Mt. Tonga volcanic eruption in the news, here's a reminder of the resilience of life: 20 years after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 that leveled natural old-growth forests, scientists have discovered one endemic mouse has become the dominant rodent species. First discovered in 1956, it wasn't seen again until 2011 when scientists returned to Pinatubo to survey the area. While endemic tropical island species are typically seen as the most vulnerable, Apomys sacobianus bucks the trend. A study published in the Philippine Journal of Science calls the species a "disturbance specialist," noting its resilience to the cataclysmic event. Experts speculate that as the forests around Pinatubo continue to develop and recover, other species requiring more forest cover may move in, dethroning the mouse. However, it's still very possible for ap. sacobianus to continue living in conditions with low leveles of disturbance. This episode features the popular article, "On a Philippine volcano, an eruption proof mouse rules the roost," by Leilani Chavez https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/on-a-philippine-volcano-an-eruption-proof-mouse-rules-the-roost/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Mount Pinatubo erupting via Wikipedia.

Both E.O. Wilson and Tom Lovejoy were major figures in the conservation field and passed away in late 2021 -- both also appeared on this show, so we play some clips of those conversations and talk with two guests about their legacies, but also where to look for new conservation leadership. Do we need new figures like them, or is this conservation's post-icon era? What about the great diversity of new scientists coming up via programs like STEM, and whole communities like Indigenous ones who have their own scientists, plus rich traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)? We discuss this with two guests: Rebecca McCaffery, who is Society of Conservation Biology's president for North America, and Mongabay staff writer Liz Kimbrough, who interviewed E.O. Wilson just 2 months before his passing. Both of these women hold conservation science PhDs and share expansive views on what's next for leadership in the field. Update 2/2022: In late January, correspondence found among the late E.O. Wilson's papers connected him with J. Phillipe Rushton, whose research in the 1980s and 1990s has been linked with white supremacy. The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation has now issued a statement. Related listening from the Newscast: Tom Lovejoy on episode #51: The 'Godfather of Biodiversity' on why it's time to manage Earth as a system Wilson on episode #56: E.O. Wilson discusses Half-Earth and conservation solutions And here's Liz Kimbrough's late 2021 print interview of E.O. Wilson & friends for Mongabay.com: Half-Earth, conservation, and hope: An interview with E.O. Wilson, Paula Ehrlich and Sir Tim Smit Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. Episode artwork: A moray eel in the Daymaniyat Islands, Oman. Image by Warren Baverstock / Ocean Image Bank. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. Subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts and stay tuned for subsequent episodes in this season. New Guinea is one of the most most biodiverse regions on the planet and also the world's largest tropical island. It makes up less than 0.5% of the world's landmass, but is estimated to contain as much as 10% of global biodiversity. To unpack the vast biodiversity of New Guinea, conservation policy, and NGO efforts to protect land, culture and Indigenous rights, we spoke with Rodrigo Cámara-Leret, of the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, Charlie Danny Heatubun, head of the research and development agency of the provincial government of West Papua, and Miriam Supuma of Synchronicity Earth. In this third season of the podcast, we take a look at what makes New Guinea unlike any other place in this world, the contributing environmental impacts that threaten its culture and biodiversity, and what is being done to protect it. Listen to the previous 2 seasons of Mongabay Explores via the podcast provider of your choice or find them at our podcast homepage here. Episode artwork: (Casuarius unappendiculatus) is one of the majestic birds that New Guinea is famous for. Image by Rhett Butler for Mongabay. Sounds heard during the intro and outro include the following: rusty mouse-warbler, growling riflebird, raggiana/lesser bird-of-paradise, superb fruit-dove, long-billed honeyeater, little shrike-thrush, brown cuckoo-dove, black-capped lory. Special thanks to Tim Boucher and Bruce Beehler for identifying them. Please invite your friends to subscribe to Mongabay Explores wherever they get podcasts. If you enjoy our podcast content, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok by searching for @mongabay. Feedback is always welcome: [email protected].

It's a perfect time to pick up a great book, and this episode's got recommendations for you! We welcome to the show Janisse Ray, award-winning author of "Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonders in a World Beyond Humans," detailing her search for "heart-pounding flashes of wild spectacle." Ray shares stories of the places she's traveled and explains why she did all that travel without getting on a plane. We also welcome Jordan Salama, whose new book is called "Every Day the River Changes: Four Weeks Down the Magdalena." He discusses 4 weeks spent traveling down Colombia's Magdalena River, which Colombians speak of with "an almost religious fervor," and what he hopes people can take away from his book. These two share some great adventures but also counsel seeking such enlightening journeys close to home, as well! Further reading from the episode: "Rewilding news" on Mongabay FARC peace deal in Colombia sparked war on forests, report says In Colombia, end of war meant start of runaway deforestation, study finds Salama wrote a fascinating 2019 story for Mongabay about community activism for rivers in southern Europe, In Bosnia-Herzegovina, grassroots opposition stalls a hydropower project Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

We discuss two big stories from Southeast Asia that Mongabay's been covering which highlight the importance of land rights and also Free, Prior, and Informed Consent for Indigenous and local communities. Cynthia Ong is our first guest, she's founder of LEAP, an NGO based in the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, who shares the fallout from a story broken by Mongabay about a giant carbon deal signed by government officials in Sabah -- covering more than 2 million hectares of the state's forests for at least the next 100 years -- without consulting local communities. Our second guest is Gerry Flynn, a Mongabay contributor based in Cambodia who has been covering a recent government decree that made 127,000 hectares of protected areas available for sale or rent. Flynn discusses why there are fears that it will amount to a land grab by powerful interests. Further reading about the Sabah deal: Is colonial history repeating itself with Sabah forest carbon deal? (Ong's commentary) Details emerge about Sabah carbon deal Articles about Cambodia by Flynn: The great Koh Kong land rush Carving up the Cardamoms: Conservationists fear massive land grab in Cambodia Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! Episode artwork: Stung Proat, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. Photo via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

GIFs (animated images) can be a simple and fun way to communicate via text and are increasingly popular. Yet, while a GIF of an ape wearing overalls may seem cute, the animal pictured is often subjected to abuse in the process. All species and subspecies of great apes are endangered or critically endangered. Experts say that GIFs depicting these apes in unnatural situations can also perpetuate the myth that they make good pets which fuels international wildlife trade of these endangered animals. While campaigners have been successful in coercing some stock photo agencies to stop providing images of apes in unnatural situations, many popular GIF sites still don't have policies against these images. This episode features the popular article, "Think that GIF of the smoking chimp was funny? The chimp wasn't laughing," by Tina Deines: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/think-that-gif-of-the-smoking-chimp-is-funny-the-chimp-wasnt-laughing/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Adult female and infant wild chimpanzee feeding on figs in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Image by Alain Houle via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Most observers declared the recent climate summit a failure, as world leaders largely delayed action on climate change. Still there was some progress so we discuss those here plus proactive ways we can all stay engaged with this debate over the planet's future atmosphere, with two guests. Bill McKibben is a noted activist, author, and founder of 350.org as well as the newly created Third Act initiative, and shares his response to the failures of COP26, why he was inspired by the activism he saw at the COP, and how he sees climate activism evolving to counter the outsized influence of the industries that rely on burning fossil fuels and clearing the world's forests for profit. And Trebbe Johnson, author of Radical Joy for Hard Times: Finding Meaning and Making Beauty In Earth's Broken Places and founder of an organization with the same name, Radical Joy for Hard Times, tells us about ecological grief, how it can affect people concerned about the future of our planet, and how to deal with that grief and stay committed to working towards a better future for all life on Earth. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! Further reading: • "Hope old and new: COP26 focused on two largely unsung climate solutions" • "'Standing with your feet in the water': COP26 struggles to succeed" • "Do forest declarations work? How do the Glasgow and New York declarations compare?" • "COP26 Glasgow Declaration: Salvation or threat to Earth's forests?" • "$1.7 billion pledged in support of Indigenous and local communities' land tenure" Episode artwork via Twitter. See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Please share your thoughts and ideas! [email protected].

The Earth Defenders Toolkit is a collection of apps that support local autonomy of Indigenous lands, giving communities ownership of critical data and reducing the need for outside support. The toolkit, which includes mapping apps like 'Mapeo,' keep the needs of Indigenous communities at the forefront, overcoming barriers inherent to technology, like participation and security. This episode features the popular article, "Sharing solutions: How a digital toolkit is strengthening Indigenous voices," by Caitlin Looby: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/sharing-solutions-how-a-digital-toolkit-is-strengthening-indigenous-voices/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Members of the land patrol from the Kofan community of Sinangoé, Ecuador, test Mapeo Mobile as part of the design process. Image courtesy of Digital Democracy. Caitlin Looby is the 2021 Sue Palminteri WildTech Reporting Fellow, which honors the memory of Mongabay Wildtech editor Sue Palminteri by providing opportunities for students to gain experience in conservation technology and writing. You can support this program here. Editor's note: This story was supported by XPRIZE Rainforest as part of their five-year competition to enhance understanding of the rainforest ecosystem. In respect to Mongabay's policy on editorial independence, XPRIZE Rainforest does not have any right to assign, review, or edit any content published with their support.