As the founding Chair of the Executive Board of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), I have witnessed firsthand a groundbreaking effort to preserve one of Earths most essential ecosystems. Established in 2020, the GFCR hosts the first UN trust fund dedicated to Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), Life Below Water. As the worlds largest blended finance mechanism focused on ocean conservation, it can serve as a model for others working to reverse biodiversity loss. Coral reef health impacts the livelihoods and food security of an estimated one billion people, yet coral reefs are at extreme risk due to global climate change and local stressors including coastal development, overfishing, and plastic and nutrient pollution. Over half of the worlds coral reefs have already been lost, but it is not too late to act. Despite its immense importance, funding to improve ocean heath and for coral reef conservation, in particular has been scarce. Recent reports suggest that $175 billion per year is needed to achieve SDG 14 by 2030; however, according to the World Economic Forum, less than $10 billion was invested between 2015 and 2019. GFCR learning session with sugarcane farmers in Talanoa, Fiji on May 17, 2022. Photo courtesy of Global Fund for Coral Reefs. This is where a blended finance mechanism like the GFCR can have the greatest impact. Bringing together donors, nations, UN agencies, foundations, NGOs, and private investors, blended finance funds align private investment with public good to conserve coral reefs, deliverThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Theres a recent saying, grown popular among climate scientists: What happens in the Arctic doesnt stay in the Arctic. Now, new research adds to our understanding that, likewise, what happens in the Amazon Rainforest doesnt stay there. Researchers reporting in Nature Climate Change last month found that deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest may have knock-on effects for the climate in distant regions, potentially pushing key elements of the global climate system on the Tibetan Plateau and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet closer to climatic tipping points that could be catastrophic for humanity and our planets biodiversity. Earths climate is controlled by a complex network of interactions between its atmosphere, oceans, land, ice and biosphere. Scientists have identified many elements of this system that humanitys actions are presently pushing toward thresholds, or tipping points, beyond which changes become self-sustaining ultimately causing the whole Earth system to shift into a new state possibly hostile to life in its current forms. Earth system components that have a critical threshold beyond which a system reorganizes are called tipping elements, explained study co-author Jingfang Fan, an Earth system scientist at Beijing Normal University in China and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany. These tipping elements include the Amazon Rainforest biome, the East and West Antarctic ice sheets, the Arctic permafrost, and the Great Barrier Reef, among others. It is theorized that a tipping point reached in one region could trigger a tipping point in another, and so on,This article was originally published on Mongabay

Environmental advocates have long called for a ban on bottom trawling on seamounts in the South Pacifics international waters, and they hoped one would finally be instituted at a regional meeting in Manta, Ecuador, in February. But the trawling, which has declined in scale over the last decade, will be permitted to go on. Bottom trawling involves dragging heavy nets and trawl doors along the seabed that run roughshod over any organisms or structures in their path; scientists have compared it to clear-cutting a forest. Instead of a ban, the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), an intergovernmental body that regulates fishing in the area, changed bottom trawling rules in a way thats left observers debating whether it will provide more or less protection than the current policy. The new rules focus on vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), such as sponge fields and cold-water coral communities, which are often located around seamounts. They mandate the protection of a minimum of 70% of VME-indicator species, or groups of species, introducing such a threshold for the first time. The rules rely on habitat modeling to try to determine where VMEs are or could be, so trawling can be restricted there. The models are based largely on data about the bycatch that trawling nets have brought up in the past, as well as on some direct surveys by research vessels. The rules, which will go into effect next year, were proposed by Aotearoa New Zealand, the only country bottom trawling in the watersThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Photographer Kiliii Yuyan joins the podcast to talk about the value of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in protecting the worlds biodiversity. Teaming up with previous guest Gleb Raygorodetsky and with support from the National Geographic Society and the Amazon Climate Pledge, their media project and campaign seeks to highlight five different Indigenous communities stewardship of life across the world. Yuyan discusses his insights into the TEK of Indigenous communities hes visited while working on this project, and what stories he still plans on covering for the campaign. He also shares with us his own reflections as a person with Indigenous ancestry doing this work, and what he wishes more journalists would do when telling the stories of Indigenous peoples and the knowledge they offer. Listen here: Indigenous peoples manage and protect 80% of the worlds remaining biodiversity. However, they do not have rights to nearly half of the land they manage. Research shows that where Indigenous land rights are recognized in tropical areas, deforestation is reduced. With several mounting environmental crises, NGO leaders and experts are calling for the protection of Indigenous lands, and the recognition of their rights. Larry Lucas Kaleak listens to the sounds of passing whales and bearded seals through a skinboat paddle in the water. The sounds of bearded seals and bowhead whales are unique and distinctive, and can be easily heard in the vibrations of the wooden paddle. Image (c) Kiliii Yuyan. Some Indigenous leaders and researchers also espouse the benefits of combining TEK withThis article was originally published on Mongabay

After 24 years of eluding ornithologists, a small, ground-hopping songbird known only from the tropical forests of northeastern Madagascar has been spotted by researchers once again. The dusky tetraka (Xanthomixis tenebrosa) was last seen in 1999, and the research team, led by the Peregrine Funds Madagascar program, started its search from the location of this last sighting. After a 40-hour drive and half-day hike up a steep mountainside, they found that much of the forest had been converted to vanilla farms, despite its protected status. They spent five more days searching at higher elevations before heading downhill. Eight days into the expedition, on Jan. 1, John C. Mittermeier, director of the Lost Birds program at the American Bird Conservancy, saw an olive and yellow-throated bird in dense undergrowth near the river. He took a photo and showed the team, who agreed it looked like a dusky tetraka. The next day, the team caught a bird to take measurements and a closer look before releasing it safely back into the wild. Seeing the bird for the first time was truly a surprise, said Armand Benjara, the Peregrine Funds Madagascar program leader. Our entire team was extremely happy and excited. https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/07111429/Dusky-Tetraka-2-edit.mp4 A dusky tetrakas call. Image and audio by John C. Mittermeier. The expedition team with The Peregrine Funds Madagascar Program that rediscovered the dusky tetraka in two different locations. Photo by John C. Mittermeier. The team found birds in two locations: on the Masoala Peninsula and near Andapa. The birds wereThis article was originally published on Mongabay

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began spreading in a seafood and poultry market in Wuhan, China, shone a spotlight on zoonotic diseases and the risks that markets selling wild meat can pose to human health. Following the outbreak, some countries like China temporarily closed down wet markets, while others like Vietnam banned the wildlife trade outright. A WWF survey found that the overall consumption of wildlife dropped by 30% in Southeast Asia and the U.S. On the surface, the pandemic may seem to have deterred people from consumption and trade of wildlife due to restrictions and awareness about zoonoses. However, a new study published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice reveals a more complex picture. The study, part of a bigger livelihood survey of hunting communities in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, interviewed hunters living near protected areas to understand how COVID-19 has impacted their livelihoods. The survey found that the wildlife trade declined during the pandemic, but hunting and forest visits in protected areas increased to make up for lost jobs and to supplement income. The study aims to get a more holistic picture of hunting and trying to put conservation into practice, so we could intervene positively to reduce hunting and also ensure these communities are stable, says lead author Elizabeth Davis, a researcher at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. A muntjac. Many communities hunt incidentally, killing wild animals like deer, mongoose, squirrels, rabbits, bush pigs or muntjacs when they encounter them in the forest, or setting trapsThis article was originally published on Mongabay

JAKARTA Two major palm oil companies recently exited a committee that helps identify forest areas for protection, bringing the total number of firms quitting the framework since 2000 to four. The committee, called the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA), is a widely supported mechanism to distinguish forest areas that should be protected from degraded areas that can be developed. This, environmentalists say, points to a startling industry trend in which industry giants are shirking responsibility for their harmful business practices. The two companies that recently withdrew from HCSA are Singapore-based Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), the main palm oil arm of the vast Sinar Mas conglomerate, which is owned by the billionaire Widjaja family; and IOI Corporation Berhad (IOI), one of Malaysias biggest conglomerates. GAR played a major role in developing the HCSA No Deforestation methodology and was a founding HSCA member. GAR chief sustainability and communications officer Anita Neville said that being a member of the HCSA is no longer necessary for the company. This is because the HCSA toolkit has been embedded into industry standards including the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification, which is the worlds largest association for ethical palm oil production, she said. The HCSA toolkit is a guidebook that provides standardized, scientifically robust and cost-effective methods for distinguishing and protecting viable forest areas. The decision not to renew our membership was not taken lightly, Neville told Mongabay. However, as the HCSA evolved beyond creation and rollout of its toolkit, we saw increasing overlap with other industry bodies includingThis article was originally published on Mongabay

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