The resumption of work on the controversial EF-170 railway project also known as the Ferrogro in the Brazilian Amazon has sparked demands for a proper consultation process from leaders of the Indigenous groups who will be directly impacted by the railway lines construction. The same leaders have also stated that they will fight for reparations for the impacts being felt on their territory because of the project, even though it has yet to come to fruition. The railway has a planned trajectory of 933 kilometers (580 miles) stretching from the city of Sinop, in the state of Mato Grosso, to Miritituba, in the northern state of Par, a strategic region for the flow of agribusiness commodities that has seen high levels of deforestation. The Ferrogro was highlighted as a priority project in the portfolio that the Brazilian governments Ministry of Transport presented to the press Jan. 18. During the press conference, Transport Minister Renan Filho stated the goal of increasing the size of the railway sector in Brazils transport system to 40% by 2035 from its current standpoint of less than 20%. Filho also told the press that he intended to change the regulatory framework for railways and to hold talks with Marina Silva, the environment and climate change minister, to unlock the Ferrogro project. Marina Silva, the environment and climate change minister, to unlock the Ferrogro project. Recent debates about the positive economic impacts that the Ferrogro project could have on regional logistics have been accompanied, however,This article was originally published on Mongabay

SAMAL ISLAND, Philippines Its official name, the Island Garden City of Samal, tells you all you need to know about this bucolic township off the coast of the southern Philippines. Its an established tourist destination just offshore from the large city of Davao, and is known for its nature-based attractions such as beaches, waterfalls, a sanctuary for giant clams, and the worlds largest colony of Geoffreys rousette (Rousetteus amplexicaudatus), a species of fruit-eating bat. A favorite getaway for Davao residents as well as other domestic and foreign tourists, the island can be reached from the city by passenger boat for less than $1 in about 10 minutes. Taking a car across involves a longer trip by ferry. This narrow passage of water, home to the popular Paradise Island Park and Beach Resort, is also the site of a coral reef that runs 300 meters across and 50 wide (980 by 160 feet), known as the Paradise Reef. The reef hosts 79 species of hard corals, 26 species of soft corals, and at least 100 species of reef fish, according to a study commissioned by the resort owners. But a massive bridge project, meant to boost tourist traffic from the mainland to Samal, threatens to wipe out Paradise Reef if construction pushes through, according to marine biologists and environmentalists. Theyve called on Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to order a rerouting of the $400 million China-funded project to save the coral garden. Tourists enjoy the waters off Paradise Island ParkThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Between May 2021 and November 2022, more than 200,000 deforestation alerts covering a total of 2,700 hectares (6,670 acres) were recorded around Ouesso, the administrative seat of Sangha province, in the northwestern Republic of Congo, according to data from the online surveillance platform Global Forest Watch. Several observers say the tree cover loss is the result of mining activity in the area, but this has not been confirmed. [If] no thorough study is carried out, it would be difficult to say if this decline of the forest in Sangha is linked to the activities of local communities who still practice slash-and-burn farming to meet their agricultural needs, or if it is linked to logging, large-scale agro-industrial activities or even mining, Nina Kiyindou Yombo, head of the program for natural resources and the rights of forest communities at the Observatoire Congolais des Droits de lHomme (OCDH, the Congolese Human Rights Observatory), said in a telephone interview with Mongabay in November. In the past two years, deforestation extending over 2.73 Kha has been detected around Ouesso, the capital of the Sangha Region. Image de Marian Massala. Map showing loss of forest cover near Ouesso, Republic of Congo 2016-2023. Map: Mongabay based on data from Global Forest Watch. Since the turn of the century, Ouesso has lost more than 50,000 ha (123,550 acres) of primary rainforests, equivalent to around 60% of its tree cover, according to Global Forest Watch. The forests in the Sangha region include many trees of high commercial value, likeThis article was originally published on Mongabay

International delegates attending the eighth annual Our Ocean Conference in Panama March 2-3 have pledged billions to protect the worlds oceans. Participants made 341 commitments worth nearly $20 billion, including funding for expanding and improving marine protected areas and biodiversity corridors. Previous Our Ocean conferences have generated more than 1,800 commitments worth approximately $108 billion. The president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, who inaugurated the event, said the conference was an opportunity for countries of the world to hold frank conversations with the purpose of committing ourselves to actions for the preservation and strengthening of life in the ocean. As Panamanians we inhabit a narrow strip surrounded by blue, Cohen said in a statement. To protect it, we should all think of the ocean as a source of life and recognize it as a great ally in our fight against the climate and biodiversity crises. Panama, the first Latin American country to host an Our Ocean conference, announced at the event that it was adding 36,058 square miles to its existing Banco Volcn Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Caribbean Sea, an area characterized by deep-sea mountain ranges and high biodiversity. The Banco Volcn MPA was established in 2015 with the protection of 5,487 square miles. Its expansion would bring the total amount of ocean protection within Panamas exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to more than 54%. Panama was the first Latin American country to host an Our Ocean conference. Image by Gregory Piper / Ocean Image Bank. With the protectionThis article was originally published on Mongabay

SO PAULO Since the new Brazilian government under President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva took office on Jan. 1, its ministries have been working together to overcome a humanitarian crisis in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory. The situation there has grown dire over the last four years under the administration of Jair Bolsonaro, with the Yanomami people facing waves of invasions by illegal gold miners. The Yanomami, who number about 30,000, have to contend with some 20,000 illegal gold miners, known locally as garimpeiros, who have brought in a tidal wave of disease, mercury contamination in their rivers, severe malnutrition, attacks, and deaths. In view of the situation, the Lula administration declared a state of public health emergency in the Yanomami territory on Jan. 20 and identified two major priorities: to provide health and food assistance to the Yanomami people, and to remove the illegal miners from their territory. As of today, thousands of Indigenous people have been treated and illegal miners have fled, but a list of technical and logistical struggles remain. An illegal mining operation in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in Roraima state. Miners bring diseases, contaminate rivers with mercury and hunt animals that are part of the Yanomami diet. Image Christian Braga/Greenpeace. A few days before the emergency declaration, a team from the Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) traveled to Roraima, the Brazilian state that hosts part of the Yanomami territory. What they found confirmed previous investigations carried out in theThis article was originally published on Mongabay

MEDAN, Indonesia An investigation into the violent death of an orangutan in northern Sumatra in January has shone a light on the persistent problem of human-wildlife conflict and illegal trade of the near-extinct species. Farmers in Karo district, on the outskirts of Gunung Leuser National Park, captured the adult male Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) in a coffee farm on Jan. 20. The animal died about 36 hours later, with experts saying it had suffered physical abuse and succumbed to internal bleeding and suffocation. Orangutans are a protected species under Indonesian law, and harming or killing one is a criminal offense punishable by up to seven years in prison and 100 million rupiah ($6,500) in fines. Local wildlife conservation authorities have begun an investigation into the capture of the orangutan, including the possibility that it might have been linked to the illegal wildlife trade. Based on X-ray results, we found a fracture on his backbone and traces of physical abuse, said Rudianto Saragih Napitu, the head of North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA). He added his office is working with police and the local law enforcement arm of the environment ministry in the investigation. A Sumatran orangutan hanging from a tree. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Local farmers told Mongabay Indonesia that the orangutan had strayed into the coffee farm and climbed up into a stand of bamboo trees. They said they initially tried non-contact methods to shoo it away, including making loud noises and blowing smoke toward it.This article was originally published on Mongabay

Michellejean Pinuhan, an Indigenous Higaonon, completed her bachelors degree in agriculture entrepreneurship in 2022. Then, instead of working in the city after graduation, she chose to return to her roots in the Mount Sumagaya region, in the southern Philippines. The 23-year-old is part of a cohort of Indigenous youths known as basbasonon (second-liners): volunteers keeping alive an ancient forest monitoring practice known as panlaoy that helps protect ecosystems on the slopes of this biodiversity-rich mountain in Misamis Oriental province. Elders prepare the basbasonon to be the next cultural bearers and forest vanguards, and expose them to panlaoy and other cultural traditions. Panlaoy requires immersion in the forest, where participants observe, document and assess the condition of the ecosystem and any threats to it. Its preceded by a pagbala (foretelling) ritual that involves predicting the  permissibility of panlaoy through a bottle containing oil infused with medicinal herbs. Indigenous Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) are territories of life conserved by Indigenous peoples due to their customary laws and governance systems. The Higaunon Indigenous community conserved area in Misamis Oriental, Philippines, is known by its local term Pina daw Bahaw-bahaw. Photo by Archie Tulin / NTFP-EP Philippines. Pinuhans father, Mantundaan Perfecto, is a datu (traditional leader), responsible for performing pagbala to seek their guardian spirits consent for the annual conduct of panlaoy. Pinuhan says she can vividly recall the ceremony her father conducted ahead of her first panlaoy in 2021: The 67-year-old datu tied a string around the bottles tip, suspendedThis article was originally published on Mongabay

At a conference on herpetology the branch of zoology studying reptiles and amphibians at the end of the 1980s, researchers from numerous countries began to tell of disappearing and shrinking frog and toad populations. It was found not to be an isolated situation: the same phenomenon was happening in many forests and mountains across the American continent. After a number of analyses, the scientists found that thousands of amphibians were becoming victim to a lethal fungus originating in Asia called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, which causes a disease called chytridiomycosis. Asian amphibians are resistant to the fungus, but not those on the other continents. Among the many amphibian species decimated in recent decades by Bd are those in the genus Atelopus, commonly known as harlequin frogs. The Atelopus spumarius harlequin frog lives in the Amazon Rainforest, with populations in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and the Guianas. Photo courtesty of Jaime Culebras/ASI. Found in a region stretching from Costa Rica to Bolivia and from Ecuador to French Guiana, including the Brazilian Amazon, these frogs measure a mere 2-3 centimeters (0.8-1.2 inches) in length. Their colors, however, can only be described as showy. They are covered in some of the most vibrant found in nature hot pink, orange, neon yellow and purple earning themselves the moniker jewels of the neotropics. The fungus has been horrible, devastating to the Atelopus. Of the 99 species we know, four are extinct in nature and [as many as] 40 may also beThis article was originally published on Mongabay

On his ninth birthday, Robertus Darren Radyan gave a present to each person who came to his party. Each guest got to take home a light-red flower pot that had a written appeal: Take care of me. Save the Earth and Go Green! Born in Jakarta in 2001, Darren discusses his schoolboy go green awareness in Menjalin Ikhtiar Merawat Bumi: Memoirs by Climate Reality Leaders, a collection of essays by Indonesian climate advocates who demand a safe future unharmed by a threatening climate crisis. Published last year, the book commemorates the 13th anniversary of the Indonesian branch of The Climate Reality Project, a global nonprofit founded in 2006 by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Amanda Katili Niode, founding director of The Climate Reality Project Indonesia, who co-edited the book, earned a PhD in 1988 from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan and was special adviser to Rachmat Witoelar, who served as Indonesias environment minister from 2004-2009. Those who have written essays for the book are climate reality leaders, meaning they participated in one of the three-day workshops organized by The Climate Reality Project on finding solutions to the climate crisis. More than 45,000 climate reality leaders are spread across 190 countries and territories. Indonesia has more than 1,000. Many, if not half, of the books contributors are under 40, with a smattering of Generation Z climate advocates. Their direct-experience narratives are climate-strong, self-initiated, compelling and can instill people to do something in turn.This article was originally published on Mongabay

Haiti is facing a profound political and economic crisis.  Functional governance that serves the interests of Haitis people is largely nonexistent.  One of the necessities to overcome this crisis is transitioning from the extractive environmental and economic model that has long plagued the country to one that is regenerative and good for Haitians and their environment. In July of 2021 President Jovenel Mose was assassinated, and the current Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, is unelected. In fact, Haiti now has no elected government officials at local or national levels since the terms of 10 Senators expired on January 10, 2023. Armed gangs control over half of the neighborhoods and streets in Port-au-Prince, and have significant influence outside of the capital as well. They are inter-connected with many police and politicians.  Haitis electoral council is not currently able to organize elections, and the conditions for safe voting would not exist if they did.  Haiti is already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and the poverty and food crisis is growing. In 2022, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) ranked Haiti in the 10 worst hunger crises in the world, with 4.3 million (over 37% of the population) in need of immediate food assistance. International attention to Haiti typically rises when internal events and turmoil threaten to spill over and affect other nations whether in the form of the dangerous example of a successful slave revolt that established the independent nation in 1804; the flow of boat people and refugees to the US andThis article was originally published on Mongabay