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Drug-route battles put Peru’s forests and communities at risk

Lucía lives in Peru, in one of more than 50 indigenous communities along the Putumayo, an Amazonian river that marks the border between Peru and Colombia. She has a banana plantation on the Colombian side of the river, which she has not visited in months out of fear of Los Sinaloa, an armed group of […]

Investigation finds widespread shark finning across a Chinese tuna fleet

When Adhi Tayuh Braka joined one of China’s largest fishing fleets in 2018, he planned to catch tuna, knuckle down and save money to get married. To pass the time, he photographed his co-workers, their equipment and the fish they pulled out of the western Pacific Ocean. Maybe he’d have some pictures to show his […]

Panama withholds information on boats facing sanctions

This is the second in a two-part series originally published in Spanish on Mongabay Latam. You can read the first part here. An investigation recently published by Mongabay Latam and Bloomberg Línea seeks to answer the question: Why would a foreign boat request to fly the Panamanian flag? Numerous experts, scientific publications and reports point […]

Panama’s shipping registry faces questions over illegal fishing

This is the first in a two-part series originally published in Spanish on Mongabay Latam. You can read the second part here. The crystal-clear waters of the oceans surrounding Panama hold wealth beyond the abundance of fish. Legal gaps and flexibility in some of the regulations governing fishing activity have become the ideal bait, attracting companies […]

Ruby Beach reopens after summer closure

News Release Date: September 14, 2022 Contact: Meagan Huff, Public Information Officer, (360) 409-3737 PORT ANGELES, Wash. – On September 14, 2022, the Ruby Beach parking area and access road at Olympic National Park…

Grand Canyon implements Tuweep pilot day-use reservation system

Grand Canyon National Park will implement a new pilot advance day-use ticket reservation system for the Tuweep Visitor Use Area, July 21, 2022. Park staff are managing for significant and steadily increasing visitation at Tuweep since 1995, along with limited park staffing in the area, ongoing vehicle safety, and natural and cultural resource concerns.

Logging advances toward one of the world’s oldest biosphere reserves

ISANGI, Congo — In a secluded corner of the Congo, machetes in hand, scientists make their way through the Yangambi Man and Biosphere Reserve, using shallow streams as natural paths to move faster through the wilderness. Some of them are plotting routes for a large-scale biodiversity survey. Others are climbing a metallic structure the size […]

Chinese firms linked to illegal logging and mining in northern DRC

BASOKO, Congo — In Yaliwasa, northern DRC, logs from 200-year-old hardwood trees lie rotting deep into the world’s second largest rainforest. They were cut in a hurry to be exported to global processing hubs in Asia, then redistributed to luxury markets in China and beyond. Instead, the precious wood is sprouting orange fungi and crumbles […]

Cambodian mining operation linked to large-scale Prey Lang logging

PHNOM PENH — The early onset of Cambodia’s wet season had seen the rain fall thick over Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, turning freshly cut paths through the forest into a near-impassible slick of churned-up mud. But the torrential weather had done little to deter local loggers, who rode out of the beleaguered protected area carrying […]