Twenty years after a helicopter crash killed some of Nepal’s most prominent environmental figures, the nation is celebrating ecological gains while grappling with a void in visionary leadership, reports Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi. On Sept. 23, 2006, a Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter crashed near the high-altitude mountain village of Ghunsa, killing all 20 passengers and four crew members. The victims included Gopal Rai, the minister of forests and soil conservation; other senior government officials; a Finnish diplomat; a USAID official; and key WWF staff. They had traveled to Ghunsa to hand over management of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, in the northeastern corner of Nepal, to local communities.  The crash occurred the next day as the group was taking off from Ghunsa. “For the community, this was the beginning,” said Ghana Shyam Gurung, now country representative for WWF Nepal. Seven WWF staff died in the crash, the single greatest loss of life in the history of the organization. Among them were Harka Gurung, Chandra Gurung, and Mingma Norbu Sherpa, and their loss left an institutional vacuum. “We didn’t just lose people that day. We lost the pace we were moving at,”said Sarita Jnawali, a former conservationist with the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC). Shiv Raj Bhatta, an ecologist at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, who lost key supervisors in the crash, recalled the immediate aftershock. “I wondered how we would ever produce people of that height again,” Bhatta said. The community-based conservation framework championed by that generation laid…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Wildlife traffickers are increasingly targeting critically endangered maleo birds from coastal Indonesia for the international exotic pet trade, according to a recent study. In 2024, enforcement agencies recorded three separate seizures totaling 25 live juvenile maleo birds (Macrocephalon maleo) en route to or within India. The ground-dwelling, black-and-white birds are endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Just 4,000 to 7,000 breeding pairs are thought to remain there due to severe habitat destruction and egg poaching, reports Mongabay’s Spoorthy Raman. While all international commercial trade in maleos is banned under Indonesian law and CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, the new study marks the first documented evidence of the species entering illicit international commerce. Researchers found that trafficking syndicates recruited couriers including young couples, families with children, and a single mother. They were offered paid holidays and cash to carry the birds through international transit hubs in Jakarta, Mumbai, and Bangkok to avoid detection. “All evidence we have so far points to a domestic pet market in India,” said study co-author Uttara Mendiratta, a wildlife trade researcher in India and consultant with the Wildlife Trust of India. “We also see social media posts where influencers or celebrities are seen with rare wildlife as pets.” “We were not expecting to see maleos because we have not seen them in international trade before,” said lead author Chris Shepherd, senior conservation advocate at the U.S.-based Center for Biological Diversity. Shepherd said that while 25 birds may seem like a small number, removing them…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Cambodia’s population of critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins has increased to an estimated 118 individuals since the confirmed birth of six calves this year. They were born along a 120-kilometer (75-mile) stretch of the river in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces, in the country’s northeast. Conservation officials say the births are a strong sign that the river’s sole cetaceans can recover if severe environmental threats are curbed, reports contributor Eung Sea for Mongabay. In Cambodia and Laos, Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) are regarded as sacred animals representing the ancestral spirit of the river. They also generate vital ecotourism revenue for riverside communities. “Irrawaddy dolphins are very important for our community,” said Heang Koeurn, a boat driver at the Kampi dolphin pool, a 60-meter-deep (nearly 200-foot) stretch of the Mekong that serves as a protected habitat for some 20 Irrawaddy dolphins in Kratie. “People here can make more income from tourists by driving them to see the beauty of Irrawaddy dolphins.” “They are a source of Cambodian national and local pride,” said Ian Baird, a professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the U.S. “They may also inspire people to protect the river and its tributaries from the impacts of more dams in the future.” Yet the Irrawaddy dolphin population in Cambodia’s section of the Mekong remains far below late-1990s estimates of roughly 200 individuals. The steep decline is largely from electrofishing, habitat degradation, and gillnet entanglement, which is especially deadly for calves, Sea reported. Additionally, more than 160 dams…This article was originally published on Mongabay

“The wet markets in Laos are like wildlife parks; however, while you can only look at the animals in our zoos back in China, the wild animals in Lao markets can be eaten.” So proclaimed a Chinese vlogger as he toured a wildlife market. As he explored, he filmed himself showing off bear paws, various birds, dried rats, monitor lizards, and a live pangolin in his hands. The Chinese Embassy in Laos has issued repeated warnings to citizens that “Lao law prohibits the sale of ivory, rhinoceros horns, pangolins, and other wildlife products. Violators will be punished by law.” But vloggers continue to imply, incorrectly, that such sales are legal. “Brothers, look at what this is. This is not a zoo, but a wet market in Laos. The owner just weighed it and said it’s 3.3 kilograms for 1,200 Chinese yuan [about $54 per kilo or $24.60 per pound]. Back in China, let alone 3.3 kilograms, even for a single scale, you would have to go to jail,” he added, referring to the pangolin. Videos like this are easily found on Chinese social media platforms — WeChat Channels (known as Weixin Channels in mainland China), Douyin, and Xiaohongshu — using Chinese search terms like 老挝穿山甲 (Laowo chuanshanjia or Lao pangolin); 老挝野味 (laowo yewei or Lao wild game); and 老挝熊掌 (Laowo xiongzhang or Lao bear paw). With the opening of the China-Laos Railway in 2021 and the lifting of China’s pandemic lockdowns in early 2023, Laos has become a top choice…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Fishers have caught at least 440 invasive lionfish off the coast of Porto Seguro in northeastern Brazil in recent weeks. The local government paid fishers to harvest the fish in an attempt to curb the rapid spread of a species that can decimate native fish stocks, Mariana Martins writes for Mongabay Brasil. Lionfish (Pterois volitans), which are native to the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea, have no natural predators along Brazil’s coastline and are preying upon the young of local species. The fish have already damaged coral reef ecosystems in the North Atlantic, including the Caribbean. Now they have also reportedly reached the Abrolhos reefs, the largest and richest reef system in the South Atlantic. “By preying on juveniles of commercially exploited species, there is a depletion of fish populations,” Carlos Hackradt, biologist and coordinator of the Marine Ecology and Conservation Laboratory at the Federal University of Southern Bahia, told Martins. “This brings serious consequences for the ecosystem, affects the fishing economy and harms tourism on degraded reefs.” Abrolhos is home to mushroom-shaped coral structures, locally known as chapeirões, and supports at least 90 coral and 266 fish species, including the goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) and blue parrotfish (Scarus coeruleus), which are nationally listed as critically endangered and endangered, respectively. Abrolhos is also the main breeding and nursing ground for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Western South Atlantic. While the presence of lionfish there has been confirmed, their extent has not yet been measured. “It has only just happened,” Hackradt…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Seven of Brazil’s nine Amazonian states are set to be governed by politicians aligned with far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, Karla Mendes and Lucas Berti reported for Mongabay Brasil. On Oct. 25, Brazil will have an electoral face-off between the top two candidates for several races that were not able to secure more than 50% of the vote in the first round of the elections. The second round election includes the decision for president, where incumbent leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is up against Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro who is barred from public office after being convicted of planning a coup d’état in 2022. The second vote will also define many of the state governments in the Brazilian Amazon. In the first round on Oct. 4, five candidates won a clear majority and have already been elected. Mato Grosso, an agricultural state in the southwest of the Brazilian Amazon, elected agribusinessman Otaviano Pivetta, aligned with the right-wing party Republicanos. Pará elected Daniel Santos, known as Dr. Daniel, with the Podemos party. He has promised to designate Vinícius Borba to lead the environment department. Borba is a lawyer who gained notoriety for representing farmers illegally raising cattle on Indigenous land. In Roraima, Brazil’s northernmost state that borders Venezuela and Guyana, nearly 70% of voters elected Arthur Henrique, affiliated with Flávio Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party. He previously served as the popular mayor of the state’s capital city, Boa Vista. He supports legalizing mining in Indigenous territories.…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Construction of a power plant that will burn waste to generate electricity at a landfill near Bangladesh’s capital faces strong opposition from nearby communities, who say they fear severe health risks posed by toxic air pollution, reports contributor Eyamin Sajid for Mongabay. The $467 million project is being overseen by the municipal authority Dhaka North City Corporation, and is owned by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), backed by Chinese-headquartered multilateral lenders. It’s designed to incinerate up to 3,000 metric tons of municipal waste daily, tackling the capital’s escalating garbage crisis while also generating up to 42.5 megawatts of electricity. The project is slated for completion in December 2028. Densely populated communities, including several schools, sit less than a mile from the location of the power plant. Local farmers told Mongabay that unmanaged trash fires at the dumpsite already disrupt their work and well-being. “We can’t breathe when waste is burned in the dumping station,” said Md Naim, who grows rice and vegetables nearby. “Our nose closes with ashes, and we feel a headache from the smoke while working on the field.” According to the environmental impact assessment for the project, the incinerator will produce 74.8 metric tons of fly ash daily, enough to get airborne. An analysis by environmental groups indicates the plant will generate 73,576 metric tons of solid waste annually, along with 39.56 metric tons of toxic substances, including dioxins, furans, and heavy metals. “If the power plant is built and run regularly, local residents, especially children…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Australian authorities have disrupted an alleged wildlife trafficking syndicate, uncovering a clandestine operation where smuggled native animals were hoarded alongside caches of cash and gold, reports contributor Johan Augustin for Mongabay. The operation reportedly seized 28 native and a few exotic species alongside approximately A$300,000 (nearly $210,000) in cash, gold, and silver bullion on July 16. The bust marks the first major wildlife crime investigation carried out by the new National Environmental Protection Agency (National EPA), Australia’s first independent federal environmental regulator, launched on July 1. In addition to the 28 native Australian reptiles — including shingleback lizards (Tiliqua rugosa), spiny-tailed skinks (Egernia stokesii), and lace monitors (Varanus varius) — there were heavily regulated nonnative species like a North American hognose snake (genus Heterodon) and a ball python (Python regius). The agency alleges the native species were supplied to foreign nationals for illegal export. “Illegal trade of Australia’s native wildlife is a serious crime,” Dani Yannopoulos, head of the National EPA’s environmental permitting and compliance division, said in a media release published Aug. 22. “Australia’s native wildlife is precious and we are working closely with [Australian] Border Force and international partners to stop those who attempt to exploit it through the illegal wildlife trade.” Yannopoulos added that anyone taking part in the illegal wildlife trade risks serious penalties. Under Australian federal environmental law, exporting native animals or eggs without a permit carries penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines reaching A$364,000 ($253,000). Even so, immense profits continue…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Part of a forest in Malaysian Borneo that Indigenous communities had envisioned co-managing and self-governing has been turned into an active commercial logging concession, according to a recent civil society report. The 283,500-hectare (700,500-acre) Upper Baram Forest Area, in the northeastern part of the state of Sarawak, was proposed as a community-led conservation area more than 15 years ago. In 2021, the Sarawak Forest Department secured $1.4 million from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), which promotes the sustainable use of forests, to develop a conservation initiative with 32 Indigenous villages, called the Baram Peace Park. However, the state government subsequently granted a 170,000-hectare (420,000-acre) timber concession in 2024 to a company called Borneoland Timber Resources Sdn. Bhd., overlapping key cultural and ecological zones, reports contributor Danielle Keeton-Olsen for Mongabay. According to a report from Swiss-based nonprofit Bruno Manser Fonds, a key funder of the Baram Peace Park project, between March and May 2025, community observers tracked more than 160 logging trucks exiting the concession monthly. These trucks hauled an estimated 10.5 million ringgit ($2.6 million) in timber per month. Logging paths have penetrated core primary forest around Gunung Murud Kecil, a peak central to the Indigenous Penan heritage, threatening protected species including helmeted hornbills (Rhinoplax vigil), sun bears (Helarctos malayanus), and Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi). Affected villagers allege loggers have violated native customary rights by bulldozing land and destroying ancestral fruit trees. Komeok Joe, CEO and founder of the Penan rights organization Keruan, said local communities are actively…This article was originally published on Mongabay

More than half of the world’s wild tulip species assessed so far are threatened with extinction, reports Mongabay’s Shreya Dasgupta. “For a flower this famous, it may surprise people how rare its wild relatives have become,” Brett Wilson, co-founder of the Wild Tulip Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global nature conservation authority, told Mongabay in an interview. Researchers have so far assessed the conservation status of 62 wild tulip species for the IUCN Red List, Wilson said. Of these, 32 are threatened with extinction. Most of the assessed species, 53, occur in Central Asia; five are critically endangered, seven endangered, 15 vulnerable, and 14 classified as near threatened. These at-risk wild tulips are concentrated in the massive Central Asian mountain systems of Tien Shan and Pamir-Alay, which Wilson calls the single richest region on Earth for tulip diversity. The biggest threats to most wild tulips are livestock overgrazing and climate change. Tulips grow underground as dormant bulbs in cold, harsh conditions, before emerging and flowering in spring. Grazing animals can trample tulip bulbs and eat the flowers before they produce seeds, Wilson said. Meanwhile, “a warming, drying climate is squeezing mountain species upslope with nowhere left to go while more unpredictable weather can lead to landslides and floods,” he added. Other threats including mining, infrastructure development, and overharvesting of bulbs from the wild, which affect specific species. The “classic victims of overcollection,” Wilson said, are the big, showy red-flowered species growing close to settlements. “Tulipa fosteriana in Uzbekistan and…This article was originally published on Mongabay