Mongabay in the news, May 2018
Mongabay’s original reporting appears in many places beyond Mongabay.com when other outlets republish, quote from, or re-report our findings. One highlight from this past month includes Agence France Presse picking up on our report about rapid deforestation in areas of Peruvian rainforest, which was itself picked up widely by dozens of outlets ranging from Yahoo News UK to The Hindu. Also in May, Mongabay editor Glenn Scherer was interviewed at length about the deteriorating situation in Venezuela for the syndicated radio show “Radio Ecoshock”, which is heard on 96 radio stations around the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. Scherer’s reporters have filed a series of stories about threats to the country’s environment from the rampant unemployment and inflation, which is driving its citizens to raid zoos and nature reserves to kill animals for food, and farmers to invade a biological research station to cut the forest to plant crops, putting a species of critically endangered primate at further risk. Listen to him discuss the issues on the show here. Mongabay publishes on a Creative Commons basis and encourages media outlets to republish its features in their own publications. Learn how to do this here. Here’s a selection of where our reporting appeared in May 2018: Africa Business Report, BT.com, BaleBengong, Beritagar, Business Standard, CanIndia, Clean Technica, Climate Change News, DH News-Brussels, Daiji World, Daily Observer, Daum News-South Korea, Day After News-India, The Dodo, Eco-Business, Ecowatch, Energy Post, El Espectador, Europe1, France 24, Free Malaysia Today, The Guardian, The Hindu, IC Magazine, The Independent, India-New England News, Des Informemenos, International News Lens, La Jornada, Latest News, MED India, MVS Noticias, Metro-Brussels, Mother Nature Network, La Mula, Natural News, New India Express, New Kerala News, New Security Beat, The News Minute, Northeast Today, Noticias de Hoy, Pacific Standard, Peru Reports, Publimetro, The Quint, RPP Noticias, Raw Story, The Revelator, SIFY News, La Semana, Sciences et Avenir, Scroll, South Africa Today, TVA Nouvelles, Telesur, El Tiempo, UOL Noticias, El Universial, The Week, & Yahoo News UK. Banner image: Rockweed, Maine coast, by Erik...
![[VIDEO] At Seattle event, Mongabay discusses technology’s role in conservation](https://mongabay.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Nasa-771x427-449313_240x240.png)
[VIDEO] At Seattle event, Mongabay discusses technology’s role in conservation
Last month, Seattle Audubon hosted a panel discussion featuring Mongabay staff and colleagues about the ever-growing applications of technology for conservation. Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett A. Butler moderated the event. He was joined by Mongabay Wildtech editor Suzanne Palminteri, plus board member Christopher Herndon, who co-founded the conservation group Acaté Amazon Conservation, which uses a range of technology for its projects supporting the Matsés indigenous community in Peru. They were joined onstage by Seattle Audubon’s Dr. Megan Friesen, a bioacoustics researcher and recent guest on Mongabay’s podcast where she discussed her work discovering the breeding behavior of secretive seabirds. Following a discussion of the many ways the panelists see technology being applied to conservation these days, from drones to remote sensing, GPS and artificial intelligence, the group then answered questions from a crowd of around 50 attendees. Watch the video here. Banner image courtesy of...
Mongabay in the News, April 2018
Our reporting appears in many places beyond Mongabay.com when other outlets republish, quote from, or re-report our findings. One highlight from this past month includes an interview of Mongabay reporters Alicia Prager and Flávia Milhorance on the radio show “The Takeaway”, which has millions of listeners in the U.S. The pair reported for a series on threats to Brazil’s massive Cerrado savannah ecosystem from agriculture, and the reports also detailed a land grab by Harvard University‘s investment arm there of a tract of land the size of Los Angeles. Listen to them discuss the issue on the show here. Here’s a selection of where our reporting appeared in April 2018: Alto Nivel, Asian Correspondent, El Deber, The Dodo, EFE, EJU TV, Earther, Eco-Business, Ecowatch, Environmental Health News, Epoch Times, Mining.com, Minnesota Post, El Nuevo Herald, Pacific Standard, RPP, Republika, Scroll, La Semana, Tarung News, WNYC’s “The Takeaway“, and Yale Environment 360. Mongabay publishes on a creative commons basis and encourages other outlets to republish its features in their own publications. Learn how to do this here. Banner image by Rhett A. Butler for...
Partnership between Mongabay and CIFOR announced
Mongabay has launched a new partnership to increase the dissemination of news about the status of the world’s forest ecosystems with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), a scientific organization that researches ways to better manage and preserve the planet’s tropical forests. “I have always been a great fan of Mongabay,” said Robert Nasi, CIFOR Director General. “This is science communication at its best — informing and influencing society for a more sustainable world. I see only benefits in our future collaboration.” The two organizations will complement each other’s activities through production of original reports about forest conservation, events and webinars, and through professional training opportunities for Mongabay’s global network of 200+ journalists in 50 countries. “As one of the world’s top forest research institutions, CIFOR is at the forefront of efforts to understand forest ecosystems globally,” said Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Butler. “This collaboration will enable Mongabay’s vast network of journalists to leverage CIFOR’s expertise and expansive body of research to explore issues related to tropical forest conservation and management.” CIFOR is a non-profit, scientific institution that conducts research on the most pressing challenges of forest and landscape management around the world. Using a global, multidisciplinary approach, CIFOR aims to improve human well-being, protect the environment, and increase equity. “This collaboration between CIFOR and Mongabay is a breakthrough. It’s exciting to see two key players in forest conservation join forces to investigate and report on the progress and challenges we are facing in saving forests and addressing climate change,” added Aida Greenbury, an Indonesia-based advisory board member for Mongabay. The partnership is slated to span two years. Banner image by Rhett A. Butler Editor’s note: the number of Mongabay’s global correspondents was previously noted incorrectly and has been...
Mongabay event: X-raying coral reefs and rainforests from the sky
Mongabay’s Bay Area Tropical Forest Network (BATFN) is holding an event in Palo Alto, CA on May 24th. Patagonia, the outdoor apparel and equipment company, is graciously hosting the event at the Palo Alto store from 6-8 pm. The event will feature a conversation between Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler and Greg Asner and Robin Martin of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory. Asner and Martin will talk about their use of airplane-mounted hyperspectral sensors to map rainforests in unprecedented detail as well as their latest initiative: an effort to create a comprehensive global reef monitoring system by tying field data collected during underwater surveys to Planet’s constellation of satellites. Event description: Robin Martin and Greg Asner have pioneered the use of advanced LiDAR and spectrometer sensors to study tropical forest ecosystems, revealing information about biodiversity, habitat function and health, and ecosystem services. Their work has been widely profiled by the likes of Science Magazine, National Geographic, and hundreds of other outlets. They’ve now turned their system to coral reefs, which may support the development of the first comprehensive global reef monitoring system in an era when the world’s corals are deeply threatened by rising temperatures, growing carbon emissions, and unsustainable fishing and extraction. Rhett Butler, founder of conservation news web site Mongabay.com, will talk with Robin and Greg about how technology can help protect an conserve these critical ecosystems. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited, so please RVSP here if you’d like to attend. Video footage...
Mongabay public event in Seattle, May 17
Mongabay staffers will visit Seattle soon, and on May 17 Seattle Audubon will host them for a panel discussion about the ever growing use of technology in conservation, from drones to GPS and AI. Speaking will be Founder/CEO Rhett A. Butler, Wildtech editor Suzanne Palminteri, and board member Christopher Herndon. They will be joined on stage by Audubon’s Megan Friesen, who is a bioacoustics researcher (and recent guest on Mongabay’s podcast, listen here). Learn more here and please join us, or tell a friend if they’re in the area. View full information at the Aububon site. Banner image: Researchers using a small drone tested ground and aerial photo measurements to calculate leopard seal size and mass using the body length (between the blue dots) and width at various points along the body (the pink dots). This method allows scientists to gather important population data without capturing and stressing the animals. Photo credit: NOAA AERD Video footage of the event...
Mongabay’s performance during Q1 2018
The first quarter of 2018 was a strong one for Mongabay. Traffic to our four main news sections — Global English, Indonesia, Latam (Spanish), and India — grew 26 percent versus Q1-2017, with a net increase of 567,000 users and 1.73 million pageviews. The biggest new development during the quarter was the official launch of Mongabay-India in mid-January. Mongabay-India’s readership and social media following grew rapidly since its inception — a trend we expect to continue as the team grows from two to six staff in the next few months. 2017 trends Traffic to Mongabay hit a new record in 2017. We had more than 24 million visitors and nearly 56 million pageviews during the year. Indonesia attracted the most traffic of our news sections, followed by English and then Spanish. Mongabay published more than 4,000 articles across nine languages. Indonesia led the way with 1,830 stories, followed by our global English section with 1,268, and Spanish with 648. The shift toward mobile devices continued through 2017, with more than 70 percent of users visiting Mongabay on cell phones. Mobile users primarily access Mongabay via the mobile version of our web site and Facebook Instant Articles. Mongabay plans to release a mobile app in the second quarter of 2018. Facebook was our largest source of traffic in 2017 with 13 million user...
Mongabay news app for Android now available
Mongabay now has a free app available in the Google Play Store. This app provides Android users with a quick and easy way to read and share Mongabay news and stories on their devices. Similarly, Apple customers can receive Mongabay stories on their iPhones, iPads, etc via that company’s news app, Apple News, more info here. If you have an Android device, please download the app and give it a try. If you like what you see, please give it a rating. Here’s what it looks like: ...
Mongabay in the News, March 2018
Our reporting appears in many places beyond Mongabay.com when other outlets republish, quote from, and re-report our findings. Highlights from this past month include Salon.com’s republishing of our exposé on sexual harassment in the natural science and environmental fields, and an appearance by a Mongabay-India editor on the BBC talking about a recent sea turtle hatching that amazed residents of Mumbai. Mongabay publishes on a creative commons basis and encourages other outlets to republish its features in their own publications. Learn how to do this here. Here’s a selection of where our reporting appeared in March 2018: Alternet, Asian Correspondent, BBC Indonesia, BBC World, Buffalo News, Cambodia Daily, Common Dreams, Dagens Nyheter, Daily Climate, Earth Island Journal, El Espectador, Eco-Business, Ecowatch, The Dodo, GenomeWeb, Guardian, Huffington Post, IDN Times, IFL Science, India Blooms, The Intercept-Brasil, Jakarta Post, LADbible, Metro Ecuador, Mexico News Daily, National Geographic Indonesia, News Lens International, Ooska News, Pacific Standard, RINF News, RPP Noticias, Salon, Sciences et Avenir, Scroll, Smithsonian Magazine, Spektrum, The Star-Kenya,Tarung News, Visayan Daily Star, Western Australia Today, and World Politics Review. Banner image: Indonesian rainforest. Photo by Rhett A. Butler for...
Saving jaguars in the Chaco (event recap)
Earlier this month Mongabay held a Bay Area Tropical Forest Network (BATFN) event at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University. The event featured Anthony Giordano of S.P.E.C.I.E.S and the Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project, who spoke about his efforts to conserve jaguars and their habitat in the Chaco ecosystem of Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina. Giordano told the audience about the natural history of the jaguar, which is the third largest cat species in the world (and the most powerful of the big cats pound for pound) and once ranged from California to Patagonia. He explained that jaguars today face three major threats: loss of habitat, conflict with ranchers and farmers, and declining availability of prey. As a consequence, jaguars have gone functionally extinct in the United States, El Salvador, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay, while suffering heavy losses across many other range countries. Jaguars now occupy less than half their early 1990s range. Giordano also spoke about the Chaco, which is the second largest biome after the Amazon in South America, with an original expanse topping a million square miles. While the Chaco is often characterized as a dry forest ecosystem, it is actually one of the world’s most diversified biomes, with habitats ranging from flooded swamps to savannas to humid forests. This variance supports a richness of species, including all three species of peccary. But like the jaguar, the Chaco is also under threat, primarily from cattle ranching and soy farms. Losses have been substantial in Argentina and Paraguay, which have some of the highest deforestation rates in the world since 2000. Given these dire trends, Giordano has launched a series of initiatives to study and protect the Chaco in Paraguay, including the first scientific survey of jaguar across the country, supporting the development of a national jaguar conservation plan, and leading workshops to to address human-jaguar conflict. Giordano says that jaguar conservation can support broader efforts to conserve the Chaco ecosystem by building good relationships with landowners and creating positive incentives for maintaining wildlife populations and encouraging habitat restoration. Mongabay’s next BATFN takes place in Palo Alto in May. More details to...
Mongabay Latam a finalist for One World Media Award
UPDATE: Mongabay Latam has now been named a finalist for the award. Congratulations to the whole team. Mongabay Latam has been named to the longlist in the Special Award category of the One World Media Awards, for its environmental coverage in Latin America. This award recognizes an independent media organization based in a developing country using media to address social, cultural, political and economic issues. The Award seeks to recognize and encourage outstanding reporting that informs the public, provides an outlet for local people’s voices, creates a space for critical information, and holds those in power to account. Other nominees include Myanmar Now (Myanmar), Nasha Niva (Belarus), and Reporter At-Large (India). The judging panels will meet in late April to decide the final nominees in each category. View the longlists for the Special Award and the other...
Mongabay – Now Accepting Summer Internship Applications
Mongabay.org offers two exciting internship opportunities. The first opportunity primarily involves writing environmental news stories for our affiliated news site – Mongabay.com. Our interns will have the opportunity to develop their writing skills and have their news stories be published on our renowned website which boasts over two million global readers every month. The second opportunity is similar but it focuses on technology that plays a crucial role in improving our understanding and protection of nature on our Mongabay Wildtech news site. Mongabay’s Wildtech section identifies potentially valuable tools, as well as the scientists and resource managers using technology in their work. Wildtech interns will apply their research, critical thinking and writing skills to produce stories about the development and innovative use of technology to improve research and conservation outcomes. Full internship details here! Deadline to apply is June...
“Conservation Effectiveness” series wins award
A feature on how conservation NGOs use evidence to guide their decisions, by staff writer Shreya Dasgupta, is the winner in the environment category of the 2018 Science Seeker Awards. Scientists have long urged conservation NGOs to make decisions based on scientific evidence, Shreya writes in the piece. However, big conservation NGOs run into many problems in trying to use the available science. So she sets out to explain what is known about the topic by looking at the published evidence: “Overall, there has been a rise in peer-reviewed studies looking into the effectiveness of conservation strategies. But NGOs don’t seem to be using them,” she writes in the piece. Read on for her full analysis of why this is and what can be done, here, Experience or evidence: How do big conservation NGOs make decisions? The feature was part 4 of “Conservation Effectiveness,” Mongabay’s multi-part series investigating the effectiveness of some of the most popular strategies to conserve tropical forests around the world. The series was the result of a collaboration between Mongabay staff reporters Shreya Dasgupta and Mike Gaworecki, their editor Rebecca Kessler, and a team of conservation scientists led by tropical forest ecologist Zuzana Burivalova of Princeton University. Wonderfully interactive infographics were created for most features in the series by GreenInfo Network, whose team was led by Tom Allnutt. Banner image: Crested black macaque. Photo by Rhett A. Butler /...
Mongabay in the News, February 2018
Our reporting appears in many places beyond Mongabay.com when other outlets republish, quote from, and re-report our findings. Highlights from this past month included the Associated Press wire service picking up on our report about an orangutan which was shot 130 times by farmers who were later arrested; many dozens of media outlets around the world published that AP newswire article based on our report, too many to list in full, but they ranged from the Washington Post to The Independent, Asian Correspondent, and The Evening Standard. In February there was also an appearance on the popular American environmental radio show Living on Earth with a Mongabay correspondent discussing her article about Brazil’s move to end the building of megadams in the Amazon, listen to that here. Here’s a selection of where our reporting appeared in February 2018: AFK Insider, Alternet, The Argus, Asian Correspondent, Belfast Telegraph, Burnham Weekly, Bridport News, CBC, CBS News, CFJC Today, Chat News Today, Chronicle Journal, Common Dreams, Crewe Guardian, Daily Echo, Daily Gazette & Standard, The Daily Mail, Dorset Echo, Droitwich Advertiser, Earth Island Journal, East Lothian Courier, Eco-Business, Epsom Guardian, Evening Standard, Express and Star, Fox News, Gazette and Herald, Guardian, Halstead Gazette, Hereford Times, Hollywood.com, Ilkley Gazette, The Independent, International News Lens, Irvine Times, Kidderminster Shuttle, Leigh Review, Living on Earth, Local Guardian, Malaysian Insight, New Security Beat, New York Daily News, The News Minute, News Shopper, North Wales Chronicle, Northern Echo, Pacific Standard, Powys County Times, Publimetro, El Pueblo, Pulitzer Center, RPP Noticias, The Republic, Scroll, Seattle Times, Spokane Spokesman Review, La Semana, South Wales Guardian, Stourbridge News, Surrey Comet, Swindon Advertiser, Telegraph & Argus, Times Colonist, Times of India, Times of Malta, Toronto Metro News, Truthout, VOA News, Vancouver Sun, WESA Pittsburgh 90.5 FM, WTOP DC 103.5 FM, WCF Courier, Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, Wirral Globe, Worcester News, Yahoo News, and the Yeovil Express. Mongabay publishes on a creative commons basis and encourages other outlets to republish its features in their own publications. Learn more about how to do this here. Banner image: A birdnest fern, by Rhett Butler for...
Op-ed for Sydney Morning Herald about Sumatran rhinos penned by Mongabay senior correspondent
Senior correspondent Jeremy Hance argued in an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald that we should save the Sumatran rhino, the world’s oldest, smallest, and cutest rhino from extinction not only because losing biodiversity is bad for the health of humanity’s environment, but also “because we can.” Mongabay sent Hance to Indonesia in 2017 to visit the remaining Sumatran rhinos (estimates vary from 30 left on the one hand, to maybe 100 on the optimistic side) in the forests and protected sanctuaries where captive breeding is having some limited success. He produced a 4-part series on the issue, learn more about that and read his op-ed for the Herald here. Banner image: Female Sumatran rhino with calf in Way Kambas, Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler for...
New Special Reporting Project: Indigenous Peoples and Conservation
Indigenous peoples’ stewardship of natural resources is increasingly being recognized as a critical priority in efforts to combat climate change, protect biodiversity, and maintain the ecosystems that sustain the planet. Yet indigenous communities continue to face grave threats when it comes to protecting their lands: a 2016 report by Global Witness found that 40 percent of those killed defending the environment in 2015 were members of indigenous communities. Some indigenous peoples are challenged by governments’ failure to recognize their land rights and the loss of traditional knowledge, which erodes cultural identity. To raise greater awareness of these issues, Mongabay is undertaking a special reporting project to focus specifically on the intersection of indigenous peoples and conservation. The Indigenous Peoples and Conservation project will produce a series of journalistic stories that explore threats to indigenous peoples’ territories and showcase successful indigenous-led conservation initiatives. Click here for full details on the Indigenous Peoples and Conservation...
Mongabay’s reporting now available on Apple News
We’re always trying to reach Mongabay readers wherever they like to consume news, and Apple News is the latest destination we’ve added. Readers who have Apple devices like iPhones or iPads with an iOS 9 or later operating system can now find our features there, just tap the search button and look for Mongabay (or click on this link to go directly there). Other places we make our news available include at Flipboard.com, on our social media channels (follow/like our Facebook page, Twitter feed, and/or our Instagram profile for regular updates), via email alerts or RSS feed, and also via audio on our podcast and video on our Youtube channel....
Mongabay CEO speaks about conservation April 10th in San Francisco
Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett A. Butler will speak at the Battery in San Francisco, CA on April 10th. The event centers on the question “How can we conserve Earth’s most important ecosystems so humanity and nature can flourish?” Rhett will be sharing the floor with Enrique Ortiz, a noted biologist who co-founded the Andes Amazon Fund and the Amazon Conservation Association. Rhett and Enrique will be discussing forests. The Battery is a private club so tickets are not available to the public....
Mongabay in the news, January 2018
Among the most popular of our features that were referenced and republished elsewhere in the news media during January 2018 was the huge story Mongabay broke concerning a policy shift away from the building of mega-dams in the Amazon — such as here at Business Insider — these dam proposals have energized resistance among indigenous groups, NGOs, activists, and residents of the affected regions, so the change in direction by Brazil was a major announcement. Also of note in January was coverage of Mongabay’s opening of a new bureau in India, and a Mongabay report from a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh which was republished by numerous outlets including Pacific Standard: refugees in the camp are forced to strip the surrounding forests for building materials and cooking fuel, putting the camp at risk for mudslides when the rains return. Here’s a selection of where Mongabay features appeared in January 2018: AFK Insider, Asia Sentinel, Asian Correspondent, BBC Indonesia, Brazzil.com, Business Insider, Catch News, Curacao Chronicle, Daily Maverick, Die Tageszeitung, The Diplomat, EFE, El Deber, El Espectador, El Nacional, Eco-Business, Ecowatch, Hawaii Public Radio, India Blooms News Service, IntellAsia, Gizmodo Brasil, International Business Times, International News Lens, Jakarta Post, L’Express, La Mula, La Red 21, Lado B, Malaysian Insight, Metro News Russia, The New Arab, New York Daily News, Noticias Venezuela, Pacific Standard, Pulitzer Center, RPP Noticias, Science Alert, Scroll, The Star, United Press International, and The Wire. Mongabay publishes on a creative commons basis and encourages other outlets to republish its features in their own publications. Learn more about how to do this here. Banner image: A wild orchid in the Ebano Verde Scientific Reserve in the Dominican Republic, by Rhett Butler for...
Mongabay welcomes new board member, Jeanne Sedgwick
Mongabay is pleased to announce its newest board member, Jeanne Sedgwick. Jeanne brings deep and varied experience in the conservation field, and is currently vice chair of the Resources Legacy Fund, a Sacramento-based conservation organization and environmental philanthropy platform. “We’re very excited to have Jeanne join the board,” said Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Butler. “Jeanne brings passion, strategic thinking, and an extensive network of contacts in the conservation world that will help accelerate Mongabay’s growth and impact.” Jeanne grew up in New York, where her connection to nature was sparked by spending many hours exploring the estuaries that feed Long Island Sound — from a tender age, she was captivated by seeing baby sharks, rays, horseshoe crabs, and all the rich bird life. She later studied at Stanford University and has lived in northern California ever since. Her interest in working on behalf of the natural world was catalyzed by a trip she took to Borneo with her husband in the early 1980s. The couple spent a week upriver trying to get back to an area where he had found interesting invertebrates on a prior trip, but when they finally arrived, they discovered that loggers for a foreign company had cut nearly every tree in the watershed, silting the river up and devastating wildlife that the Iban people depended on for their livelihood. The idea that a place this rich and remote could be so utterly ruined for short term profit set her on a trajectory to help change this narrative. As Director of the Conservation Program at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation in Los Altos, California, she oversaw the program’s growth from an annual grants budget of $500,000 in 1989 to over $100 million annually. She also has brought her passion to the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity, for which she acted as chair, and also became a trustee for WildAid, a San Francisco-based organization working internationally to reduce demand for wildlife products. “It’s an honor to be part of such a high-quality, high-integrity news organization like Mongabay,” Jeanne said after officially joining its board. She is also vice chair of the Stanford Habitat Conservation Board, which oversees implementation of habitat plans that protect endangered species on Stanford University lands, and is a member of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve Coordinating Council for the university. She lives in Woodside, CA, with her husband, where they’ve been enjoying the recent arrival of 40 great blue herons, who are busily setting up a rookery adjacent to their home. Banner image of a great blue heron courtesy of Rick McMeechan, US National Park...
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Insiders get the story behind Mongabay stories Dec 5, 2018 -
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