The photo speaks for itself: a woman lies on the ground with just her smiling face visible, her body covered by about 20 dead geese, the result of a successful day of hunting. Although the photo is from the beginning of this century, the consequences of this intensive hunting of the ruddy-headed goose (Chloephaga rebidiceps), among other reasons, are noticeable in the present day: the species is now one of the most threatened in Argentina, to the extent that its considered critically endangered on the local list of animals at risk. Most recent counts put the population at no more than 700 individuals. The status of two other species of this genus are also of concern: the upland goose (C. picta) and the ashy-headed or royal goose (C. poliocephala) are both classified as threatened on the same local list. A woman poses with about 20 geese killed during a hunt. The photo was taken in Buenos Aires province, prior to a total ban on geese hunting in 2007. These waterfowl are endemic to South America and similar in appearance to domestic geese, but more closely related to ducks, and they include five species. Three of these species the upland, ashy-headed and ruddy-headed geese all share one characteristic: theyre migratory birds. They nest and breed in southern Patagonia, on both sides of the Argentina-Chile border, with most traveling some 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) north in April and May to spend the winter in the provinces of Buenos Aires andThis article was originally published on Mongabay

MOCOA, Colombia We are experiencing a profound crisis, not only in the Amazon but throughout humanity, said Campo Elas de la Cruz, a Catholic priest and environmental activist who opposes mining activity in Colombias Putumayo region. Over these three centuries, the umbilical cord of Mother Earth has been cut. Thousands of rubber trees were cut down alongside 70,000 Indigenous people who died during the exploitation of rubber, timber, quinoa and oil. And today, in the 21st century, they tell us they are taking the copper from Mother Earth. Campo Elias is referring to the rubber, quinoa and timber rush that happened in the Amazon region during colonization. And also of current plans to explore and mine for copper and molybdenum to feed clean energy technologies in what could be one of the largest deposits of these minerals on the continent and in the world. In this richly biodiverse region, where the cool mountains of the Andes meet the Amazon Rainforest, opinions are divided and emotions are high among communities over the environmental and social costs of hosting this green mining project and the jobs it promises to bring. A monkey known as the Andean saddle-back tamarin (Leontocebus fuscicollis), is seen in the Mocoa area. The Putumayo region is a rich area in biodiversity with more than 150 animal species. In 2018, Canadian multinational Libero Copper acquired four mining titles to explore for and exploit minerals such as copper and molybdenum across more than 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) of landThis article was originally published on Mongabay

FERRISBURGH, Vermont The home that farmer Erik Andrus built with his wife, Erica, sits on a slight rise above a stretch of fields that have been subjected to a variety of agricultural pursuits. Outside his kitchen window, the outline of rice paddies is now part of the evolving story of a farmer who is learning to make the best use of the land, crafting a livelihood while supporting the natural habitat functions of low-lying plains that benefit myriad wildlife. I didnt grow up as a farmer. I worked on my aunt and uncles farm as a kid and kind of caught the bug and knew I always wanted to farm as a career, once I found a way to do it, said Andrus. The opportunity came in 2005 when he and Erica bought what they would come to call Boundbrook Farm in Ferrisburgh, Vermont. With affinities for baking bread and brewing beer, they first attempted to grow wheat and barley, complemented by a small herd of cattle. Andrus soon found, though, that the heavy soils were slow to drain after rains. We had beef cattle at the time, and theyd be up to their knees in the water, looking like water buffalo, and I thought, oh, it looks like rice paddies, he said, and was reminded of visiting rice farms while living in Japan. In May, when seedlings are about 7 inches tall and have begun to grow three to four full leaves, they are transplanted into the paddies.This article was originally published on Mongabay

Its often been said that big cats dont like water but this mythological thinking isnt entirely accurate. New research provides evidence that some male cougars (Puma concolor), or pumas, not only swim, but travel long distances in the chilly sea, dodging boats and orcas. The study focused on a GPS-collared cougar known as M161, or Nolan, who slipped into the Salish Sea in the early hours of July 16, 2020, at the edge of Washington states Olympic Peninsula. He began to swim, not stopping until hed reached Squaxin Island, a journey of about a kilometer, or two-thirds of a mile. Nolan isnt the only cougar known to swim; many others have done the same. For instance, Mark Elbroch, study co-author and director of the puma program at Panthera, the global wild cat conservation NGO, says he once tracked a long-distance swimming cougar in Chilean Patagonia that swam several times to a lake island inhabited by sheep, in 2010. A GPS-collared cougar known as M161, or Nolan, was observed slipping into the Salish Sea at Olympic Peninsula and swimming all the way to Squaxin Island, a journey of about a kilometer, or two-thirds of a mile. Image by Tim Melling/Panthera. M161 being collared as part of Pantheras Olympic Cougar Project. Image by Mark Elbroch/Panthera. But few scientific studies have documented this phenomenon, and reports of swimming cougars have mostly been limited to non-academic literature and anecdotal evidence, Elbroch says. Im sure theyve been swimming for years and years and years,This article was originally published on Mongabay

JAKARTA It was heaven, says Indonesian fisheries scientist Alyssa Elle Wibisono, describing her first ever scuba diving experience in the Komodo Islands when she was a high school student. The vibrant schools of fish were so new and amazing to her that the experience marked her starting point into the world of marine conservation. I didnt know yet how it was going to look like, I mean I was still in high school, but I knew that I wanted to work in the field one way or another, she tells Mongabay in a recent interview. For a little over a decade, the fundamental pathway she chose to achieve her passionate goal of protecting Indonesias marine ecosystem was through academia. Wibisono started her undergraduate studies in 2009 with a focus on marine biology and conservation at Wellesley College in the U.S., before going on to get her Ph.D. in sustainable fisheries management in 2020 at the University of Rhode Island. Elle Wibisono, center, interviewing traditional Indonesian fishers. Image courtesy of Elle Wibisono. Wibisono currently works as a senior manager for marine protected area and fisheries at the Jakarta-based NGO Konservasi Indonesia. She also managed fisher projects in eastern parts of the country with another NGO, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Indonesia. In those years of diving deep into marine conservation in Indonesia, Wibisono took in as much nuance as possible about the convoluted issue in a way that she says has allowed her to be more empathetic about fishers and coastalThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Like many beekeepers living in the vicinity of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Alejandro Oliveros Lpez has a wildlife problem. To keep ants at bay and provide water to their bees, keepers place bowls at the foot of their apiaries. But when water is scarce, these attract a wide range of wild animals, from tapirs to wild cats. Driven by climate change, this issue keeps worsening as the dry season gets longer. Basically, they drink the water, because during the dry season, the natural water sources dry up, Oliveros Lpez said. So, if a tapir comes, drinks the water and knocks over the tank to bathe itself, it can cause us a lot of problems. The cats are the same because they drink a lot of water. To help reduce this problem and protect both wildlife and beekeepers livelihoods, conservationists are using water troughs, known locally as bebederos, to keep wildlife from coming into conflict with farmers. The idea of the project is that we provide water to both the bees and the animals, and try to avoid these kinds of problems, said Carlos Delgado-Martnez, a PhD student with the National Autonomous University of Mexico and member of the Ocelot Working Group, whose team is implementing water troughs. Were placing the bebederos near the apiaries but not close enough that the animals get too close. Calakmuls water conflict The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve is one of Mexicos largest protected areas, covering more than 700,000 hectares (approximately 1.8 million acres). Since the reserve doesntThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Gorillas and chimpanzees, like humans, have long been known to suffer from malaria. But evidence of the parasites effects on bonobos, one of humankinds closest genetic relatives, has been scant. Now, new research suggests that bonobos do suffer from malaria infection, and that the disease could threaten the survival of some of the species wild populations. An international team of scientists examined bonobo fecal samples collected from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the only country where bonobos (Pan paniscus) occur and stored in the laboratory of virologist Beatrice Hahn at the University of Pennsylvania. For ten of the sites included in the study, only one fecal sample out of more than 1,400 analyzed tested positive for evidence of malaria parasites. But among a population living on either side of the Lomami River, a major tributary of the Congo River that runs parallel to it in the central DRC, 38% of bonobos had evidence of malaria parasites in their feces. It wasnt immediately clear to the researchers what cost the disease has on the Lomami River bonobos, known to the researchers as the TL2 population; telltale signs such as lethargy or reduced reproductive ability are hard to detect in the field. But malaria had evidently exacted a price in the past: the bonobos possessed variants of an immune gene that likely protect them against severe cases of malaria. There would have to be a cost for natural selection to favor those immune variants, said Emily Wroblewski, assistant professorThis article was originally published on Mongabay

CHITWAN The chirping of birds is interrupted by the rustling of leaves and the sound of breaking twigs. Its breakfast time at the office of the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) in Sauraha on the fringes of Nepals Chitwan National Park. As trust officials munch their bread with sips of tea, three juvenile rhinos tuck into their own meal, grazing under the watchful eye of their caretaker. One of the rhinos even tries to finish off the leftovers of a human breakfast. These greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis), now habituated to living with humans, were rescued from different parts of the national park after being separated from their mothers. Officials now face the daunting challenge of sending them back out into the wild, ensuring that they can survive amid threats from predators and poachers. Juvenile rhinos Pushpa and Anjali graze as Pooja watches on in Chitwan, Nepal. Image courtesy of Rama Mishra. Theyve named the three rhinos, all females, Pushpa, Anjali and Pooja. Pushpa was rescued three years ago, Anjali two years ago, and Pooja in October last year. All of them were only a week-old when they were brought to the trust. Generally, female rhinos in their first pregnancy are inexperienced about motherhood and they dont provide adequate care to their calf, said Dr. Amir Sadaula, a veterinarian with the NTNC. Sometimes the mother dies during delivery and other times calves get separated from their mothers due to attacks by predators such as tigers or natural calamitiesThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Overproduction of cash crops, vast monocultures of chemical-dependent grains and massive animal agriculture operations are putting major stress not just on U.S. farmland where theyre contributing to soil erosion, groundwater depletion and climate change but these practices are also impacting areas such as the Brazilian Cerrado, where more than half the huge savanna has been converted to soy. Compounding these issues is the fact that roughly a third of all food produced in the U.S. is wasted, a statistic that also bears out globally. As the 2023 growing season begins in the Northern Hemisphere, author and food journalist Tom Philpott whose most recent book, Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It, details these problems joins the Mongabay Newscast to talk about the most problematic practices, how they permeate the worlds food systems and how techniques like agroecology and agroforestry could change the game and provide a way out. Listen here: Agroecology is a sustainable agriculture practice based on Indigenous and traditional methods of growing food that can address most of the aforementioned challenges while slowing the biodiversity crisis, according to the IPCCs 2022 report. Its methods can increase the nutrient profile of soils, protect it from erosion and provide a more diversified set of crops for farmers to sell. The question is, why dont we do it? Philpott, who nowadays dives into these topics as a research associate for the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, says quarterlyThis article was originally published on Mongabay

THE HAGUE, Netherlands A misty rain blows against my face as I follow Farah Obaidullah along Scheveningen Beach in the northwest part of The Hague. Despite the wind and drizzle, the shoreline feels calm. Gray waves roll into the sand like long, deep breaths. Machines have raked the beach into a well-manicured carpet of grains and shell fragments. But about a year ago, in February 2022, Scheveningen looked very different as Storm Eunice battered the coastline with high-speed winds and fierce waves. The sea was amazing just how wild it gets and how ferocious, says Obaidullah, who strides quickly over the beach, an old Greenpeace beanie pulled over her bobbed curls. You dont really want to be out near the sea at that time. But I walked outside in the aftermath of Eunice, and the sand had literally taken over the boulevard and the beach bars. Storm Eunice ravaged the Netherlands with winds of up to 128 kilometers per hour (80 miles per hour) and sea levels reaching 2.2 meters (7.2 feet) above their normal height. It damaged buildings, toppled trees and killed three people. But while the sand blew across the coast, the tide and storm surge never reached the town of Scheveningens infrastructure, thanks to interventions made a couple of decades ago in anticipation of sea level rise and extreme weather events like this. (Left) Preparation for Storm Eunice at Scheveningen. (Right) Aftermath of Eunice at Scheveningen. Photos by Farah Obaidullah. In 2003, experts identified theThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Last year, farmer protests erupted throughout the Netherlands, riding a wave of rural anger at government plans to drastically halve nitrogen emissions by downsizing and closing farms. This quickly swept the newly founded agrarian party, the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BoerBurgerBeweging, or BBB), to victory in last weeks provincial elections, making it the countrys biggest political party. In the face of the farmer and nitrogen crisis, Dutch agriculture and environmental experts are calling for a change to the food system in a way that both reduces nitrogen emissions while addressing the financial and livelihood concerns of farmers, many of whom are in debt. As they say in Dutch, You cant be green if you are in the red, says Lennart Fuchs, an agriculture researcher at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. Among the solutions the experts propose are agroforestry systems that harmoniously integrate reduced livestock with profitable trees and crops such as hazelnut, walnut, cider apple and timber trees, Fuchs tells Mongabay in an interview. Also known as silvopasture, this is a climate change solution that reduces emissions and can bring large returns on investments by producing multiple streams of income. A computer-generated image of what a future farm could look like in the Netherlands if it used an agroforestry system. Image by Lennart Fuchs. The Netherlands has long been a global agricultural powerhouse, and farms there have often been managed by the same families for generations. Home to some 17.5 million people, the country is Europes largest meat exporter and theThis article was originally published on Mongabay

COLOMBO Arjuna Jinadasa owns a plot of land full of coconut trees in Kurunegala, in northwestern Sri Lanka, where he enjoys a good produce of about 3,000 coconuts a month. With Sri Lankas traditional cuisine heavily reliant on coconut milk, its a crop with high demand. Jinadasa has made healthy profits from his plantation until recently when daily aerial attacks by monkeys started to impact the harvest. These monkeys destroy at least 200 young coconuts daily, and now my monthly yield is reduced to about 250 coconuts, says Jinadasa. The farmer tried many non-lethal methods to keep the raiding monkeys away, but the success was short-lived, as the primates got used to them. Two toque macaques (Macaca sinica) feeding on human food waste in north-central Sri Lanka. Image by Malaka Rodrigo. Sri Lanka has three species of monkeys, but the endemic toque macaque (Macaca sinica) is also the most problematic. Coconut plantations in many areas are also often subjected to aerial attacks by grizzled giant squirrels (Ratufa macroura), as they eat young coconuts. Sri Lankas minister of agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera, says nearly 100 million coconuts are destroyed by monkeys and giant squirrels each year, causing a loss of about 6,638 million Sri Lankan rupees ($19.3 million). Amaraweera makes this comment based on a preliminary estimate of crop damage caused by wild animals compiled by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute. The report is based on data gathered by the Agrarian Development Department, and it lists coconut as theThis article was originally published on Mongabay

A wave of violence against Indigenous people in Nicaragua this month has drawn international outcry over the governments lack of action against land invaders committing human rights violations and destroying some of the countrys most important forests. Groups believed to be connected to cattle ranching, logging and illegal mining launched several attacks in March against Mayangna and Miskitu Indigenous communities living in and around the Bosaws Biosphere Reserve, the largest protected area in Nicaragua. The increasing number of settlers and land traffickers on (Mayangna) Sauni As territory hasnt stopped, the Indigenous territorial government said in a letter to officials. The environmental destruction has been unstoppable, leading to disastrous consequences for human lives and the greater wellbeing of the communities. The 2-million-hectare (4.9-million-acre) Bosaws Biosphere Reserve borders the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, an area created in the 1980s to give Indigenous groups self-governance. But their vast stretches of uninhabited forests have drawn settlers (known locally as colonos) looking to profit from the areas natural resources. For years, Indigenous communities have been trying to fend off the settlers, who have resorted to shootings, kidnappings and intimidation to take over the land. On March 11, armed settlers killed at least six Mayangna Sauni As men in the Wilu community while injuring one other, who was sent to the hospital, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which denounced the attacks. Several other members of the community are still missing. Mayangna Sauni As territory. (Photo courtesy of LarryThis article was originally published on Mongabay

JAKARTA Funds from illegal logging, mining and fishing are flowing into election campaigns in Indonesia, authorities have revealed. The announcement by the national anti-money-laundering watchdog, known as the PPATK, during a parliamentary hearing comes less than a year before the country is scheduled to hold legislative and presidential elections. PPATK head Ivan Yustiavandana said his agency had found indications that candidates in the 2014 and 2019 elections used money raised from the illegal extraction of natural resources to fund their campaigns. He did not identify the candidates, including whether they ran in the legislative or presidential elections those years. We cant disclose the amount here, but its huge, Ivan told lawmakers in Jakarta on Feb. 14. The original crime itself is trillions of rupiah [in amount], because its related to many crimes that are linked to natural resources, and this money goes into certain individuals who we suspect as political persons. Official data show that illegal logging costs the country 35 trillion rupiah ($2.3 billion) in state losses each year, while illegal mining results in 3.6 trillion rupiah ($233 million) in state losses. Ivan said the PPATK is working together with the countrys General Elections Commission, or KPU, and the Elections Supervisory Agency, or Bawaslu, in investigating the flow of money. Responding to the findings, lawmaker Arsul Sani from the PPP party called on the PPATK to provide a detailed report on its findings, including identifying the parties that benefited from these funds. This could then form the basisThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Carbon offset certifier Verra has suspended issuance of credits from an award-winning project in Kenya, Mongabay has learned, after serious questions were raised about its validation and methodology. Indigenous rights advocacy group Survival International released a report March 16 saying that the offset, called the Northern Kenya Grassland Carbon Project, cant accurately count its carbon savings and is altering long-standing Indigenous livestock grazing practices. In a statement emailed to Mongabay, the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), a Kenya-based conservation group that manages the offset, criticized the Survival International report, saying it uses scant cherry-picked evidence to question an exceptionally complex and detailed model. The project, which claims to increase carbon storage in the soil of northern Kenyas savanna grasslands by managing the grazing patterns of livestock herds, has been a darling of offset supporters since it began generating credits for carbon markets in 2021. At last years COP27 climate conference, it was awarded the prestigious Triple Gold distinction by the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance; in his speech to conference attendees, Kenyan President William Ruto called it exemplary. But Survival Internationals investigation found that third-party validators hired to assess the project had raised more than 100 findings a euphemism for concerns in the review process before Verra ultimately decided to verify the carbon credits it generated. An Indigenous Borana herder at the Biliqo Bulesa Conservancy in northern Kenya. Biliqo Bulesa is one of the conservancies participating in the offset. Image by NRC/Raimond Duijsens via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). EarlierThis article was originally published on Mongabay

DHAKA Bangladesh has recently achieved remarkable success in freshwater fish production due to its fast-growing aquaculture, securing third place in global freshwater fish farming. The country produced more than 1.25 million metric tons of freshwater fish in 2020 while it was only 440,000 metric tons in 1980, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organizations 2022 report on global fisheries and aquaculture. To increase fish production to meet the protein demand of its growing population, Bangladesh has been using antibiotics and pesticides in fish culture and applying hormones in artificial fish breeding, which makes its food safety questionable. Bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic diseases often hit aquaculture production in Bangladesh and that is why fish farmers regularly use aqua-chemicals like antibiotics and pesticides to cut disease burden in fish farming. A woman feeding fish at her pond in Jessore, Bangladesh. Photo by Yousuf Tushar / WorldFish Via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). The aqua-chemicals are mainly applied to prevent and treat bacterial, fungal and parasitic diseases. Those are also used to improve water quality and increase the productivity of fish culture ponds or act as growth promoters. Despite contributing to the growth and development of the aquaculture sector, the use of these chemicals has been criticized for the potential adverse impacts on the environment and human health as well. A 2021 survey, conducted via face-to-face interviews with fish farmers in Rajshahi district of Bangladesh, found that farmers used nine active antibiotic ingredients in finfish rearing. However, most of theThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Chile has a new marine protected area (MPA) in Patagonia that will safeguard an important feeding and breeding area for blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), a species listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The countrys Council of Ministers for Sustainability approved the Tic-Toc Golfo Corcovado Marine Park in Northern Patagonia in December 2021. The new MPA finally came to fruition in July 2022, after more than two decades of conservation efforts spearheaded by scientists and conservationists, when the Chilean government issued a decree officially establishing it. Located south of the island of Chilo in the Gulf of Corcovado, the MPA spans 100,000 hectares (247,100 acres). The area is frequented not only by blue whales, but also by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis), at least two species of dolphin, including Peales (Lagenorhynchus australis) and Chilean (Cephalorhynchus eutropia), the South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) and colonies of penguins. It is also visited by the black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris), the southern royal albatross (Diomedea epomophora) and the sooty shearwater (Ardenna grisea) all birds that feature in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Whales under siege A few years ago, scientists confirmed that Chilean Northern Patagonia is the most important feeding and breeding area for the Eastern South Pacific population of blue whales during the austral summer. This would turn out to be a key discovery in protecting this globally unique blue whale population, which is now composed of just a few hundredThis article was originally published on Mongabay

KATHMANDU  The South Col in the Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) region faces blasts of unrelenting winds that sweep away almost everything in their path, including snow. Located nearly 8,000 meters (26,000 feet) above sea level, the southeastern ridge of this desolate terrain is where mountaineers heading to worlds tallest peak make their final camp. A recent study published in the journal Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, shows that even the winds havent swept away a trail of tough microbes that can survive the harsh conditions on the Roof of the World for decades, if not centuries, left behind by mountaineers in the area. Some of the microbes we found were possibly transported by humans when they sneeze or cough, said Steve Schmidt, co-author on the paper and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. The concern, with all the pollution thats going on Everest, is that these microbes arent going to go away, he told Mongabay, adding that he himself didnt go to Sagarmatha to collect soil samples there. Through his previous work, Schmidt had established ties with researchers on their way to Sagarmatha to set up the worlds highest weather station on South Col in May 2019 as part of the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition (April to May 2019).  He requested collections of soil samples, to which Baker Perry, co-author and professor of geography at Appalachian State University, obliged. As part of the study, three surface sediment samples from the South Col were collected by members ofThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Humans must make deep, rapid, and sustained cuts to greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCCs March 20 assessment warns that the 2020s will be perhaps the last chance to keep the global rise in temperature within 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. (The current global temperature is 1.1 C, or 2 F, warmer than in the mid-19th century.) Researchers say halting global warming at this level provides the best chance for staving off its worst potential impacts, including extreme storms, droughts and sea-level rise. And yet greenhouse gas emissions have continued to tick upward. The report and many observers highlights the conclusion that fossil fuel use must end as soon as possible. Fossil fuel producers and their financiers must understand one simple truth: Pursuing mega-profits when so many people are losing their lives and rights, now and in the future, is totally unacceptable, U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres told the Human Rights Council in February. Unless humanity kicks its addiction to fossil fuels now, critical climate tipping points will crush the human rights of generations to come. The IPCC report calls for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and notes the drastic cost reductions in renewable energy that could facilitate that transition. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. This publication is the sixth synthesis report, which IPCC produces every six to seven years. The authorsThis article was originally published on Mongabay

As climate change has escalated over the decades, the demand for efficient liquid biofuels, especially to power the transportation sector, has grown more urgent, placing increased pressure on fragile ecosystems, even leading to outright bans. Three generations of biofuels have been explored with corn, soy, palm oil, grasses, algae and many other organic sources tried but with most failing to fully live up to their promise. Still, biofuels remain a go-to climate solution for policymakers who view them as a green, carbon-cutting transition route to wean the world off fossil fuels. Globally, investment in liquid biofuels hovered around $4 billion over the past decade, doubling in 2021 to more than $8 billion, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and more is needed to unlock the potential of advanced biofuels, it states. Over the years, a range of government policies has subsidized or supported the industry to the tune of billions of dollars in some cases. Recently, the U.S. governments Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge, for example, pledged around $4.3 billion to support research and help fuel producers develop clean biofuels. Despite these efforts, three stumbling blocks have kept some biofuels from going mainstream and others mired in controversy: thorny technological problems, the inability to achieve cost-efficient upscaling, and environmental harm (ranging from deforestation to pollution). An ethanol production plant in Indiana, U.S. Debate over whether biofuels truly provide climate benefits continues, with various studies achieving contradictory results. Image by cassini83 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain). A studyThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Sudan, a 45-year-old rhino believed to be the worlds last surviving male northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), died five years ago at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on March 19, 2018. He had been battling ill health for months, and after his condition worsened considerably, veterinarians decided to euthanize him. Since then, an international consortium of scientists and conservationists known as the BioRescue Project a consortium made up of Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Germany; Safari Park Dvr Krlov in the Czech Republic; the Kenya Wildlife Service; and Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya have been working to bring the species back from extinction through in vitro fertilization and stem cell research. They have already created 24 viable embryos using eggs from the last two female white rhinos that are still alive, and the frozen sperm of deceased male northern white rhinos like Sudan. To mark the occasion, photographer Ami Vitale has released a new short film, Remembering Sudan, which will be screened at upcoming film festivals and can be viewed online, heres the trailer: Though the northern white rhino is functionally extinct following the loss of the last male of the species, conservationists like Vitale find great hope in BioRescue, and in the power of humanity to react positively: What happens next is in all of our hands, Vitale told Mongabay by email when reflecting on the anniversary. Whats going to save us all is to get beyond our routine ways of thinking.This article was originally published on Mongabay

A recently opened salmon processing plant in southern Chile is raising concerns about whether environmental regulations were properly carried out to prevent contamination of marine ecosystems and clean drinking water. The Dumestre salmon plant near the city of Puerto Natales is receiving backlash from conservationists and residents who say the facility is at risk of dumping waste in the fjords and channels of southern Chile. Some residents, including Indigenous Kawesqar, also complain that the plant made an aggressive push into the area without properly consulting them. This plant just crowns the salmon industry as a powerful invader of Patagonia, said Loreto Vsquez Salvador, of the ltima Esperanza Citizen Association, an activist group that has been fighting the plant. Aquaculture (the farming or cultivation of freshwater and marine species) has become a growing environmental concern over recent decades as Chile climbs the list of the worlds largest producers of salmon and trout. Many aquaculture methods have been known to deplete oxygen in the water, killing off coral reefs and compromising other fish populations with antibiotics. The Dumestre plant, operated by Australis Seafoods, started construction in 2019 and opened last December following years of protests from locals even after they were promised hundreds of local jobs. The Dumestre salmon plant near the city of Puerto Natales. (Photo via Agrupacin Ciudadana de ltima Esperanza) With the ability to process over 70,000 tons of salmon per year, the Dumestre operation needs around 350 ships to travel through the Seoret canal per year, accordingThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Growing up in Gllivare/ Vhtjer, a Swedish village in Spmi, north of the Arctic Circle, the threats facing Smi people were a daily reality. We are Europes only Indigenous people, but colonialism means our territory, Spmi, is split across four countries: Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. But across these national borders, the same pressures bear down on us, from mining to forestry and wind farms. Fish drying outside a Smi cabin. Image by Jan-Eerik Paadar / Smediggi Saamelaiskrjt (the Smi Parliament) via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). For outsiders commercial gain, our land has been seized, our people displaced, and the reindeer herding thats been the foundation of our lives for millennia, eroded. Adjacent to my village is Malmberget, a scene of deep mine iron ore extraction, and a little over 100 kilometers away is Kiruna, the worlds largest underground iron mine. Both are owned by Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB), the 100% state-owned Swedish mining company. Kiruna is one of the nine out of 12 mines in the north of Sweden which are on Smi land. These mines as well as the infrastructure accompanying them have caused pollution, devastated ecosystems, poisoned the lichen that our reindeer survive on, and  taken away our reindeer grazing areas. A Smi herd of reindeer in Finland. Image by Smediggi Saamelaiskrjt (the Smi parliament) via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). More mining Now a new danger has emerged. European Union policymakers want to secure the critical raw materials which its Member States need for the green energyThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Bearded pigs play a prominent role in the lives of many people living on the island of Borneo. For some ethnic groups, theyre a hunters most-prized quarry, providing an important source of protein, and a shared pig is often a central part of community celebrations. Now, a recent study provides quantitative evidence for the first time that Bornean bearded pigs (Sus barbatus) can persist even in areas where theyre highly sought-after by local Indigenous groups. For thousands of years, the bearded pig has been hunted, said David Kurz, a conservation scientist and postdoctoral fellow at Trinity College in the U.S. and the lead author of the study published Feb. 17 in the journal npj Biodiversity. We know that from archaeological evidence. Prior research has also shown that hunting affects the movements of bearded pigs and the areas they frequent. Kurz and his colleagues wanted to know whether the pigs presence could be tied to specific social and cultural factors in the areas where they occur. Bearded pigs (Sus barbatus) play a prominent role in the lives of many people living on the island of Borneo. Scientists have found evidence that its been hunted for thousands of years. Image courtesy of Mike Prince via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Bearded pigs (Sus barbatus) play a prominent role in the lives of many people living on the island of Borneo. Scientists have found evidence that its been hunted for thousands of years. Image courtesy of Jessica Suarez. The team began with cameraThis article was originally published on Mongabay