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The Business of Mongabay

ChatGPT has unexpectedly become one of our most important sources of traffic

We Didn’t Block GenAI from Mongabay. The Results Were Surprising. In recent years, many media outlets have chosen to block ChatGPT and other generative AI bots from accessing their content. There are strong arguments for doing so: concerns about copyright, the environmental cost of AI queries, and the broader implications of AI-driven content aggregation. At […]

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Random pieces

An obituary for Kallur Balan, India’s “Friend of the Forest”

Kallur Balan did not seek recognition. He did not write books, nor command the podium at international climate summits. His work was quieter, the slow and unglamorous toil of one man against the arid land. But when he died on Monday, aged 75, the forests he left behind spoke for him. The hills of Palakkad, […]

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Random pieces

Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo, became an internet sensation—but will her fame help save her species?

Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo, became an internet sensation—but will her fame help save her species? Jeremy Hance explored that question in a recent piece on Mongabay News. Moo Deng became TikTok famous overnight. Millions watched videos of her antics: gnawing on a keeper’s boots, chasing water from a hose, and snoozing in a […]

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Random pieces

If nature refuses to give up, why should we?

It’s been a rough few weeks for those who care about the fate of the planet, the wellbeing of others, and the health of the information ecosystem. In moments like these, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed—to wonder whether the effort is worth it, whether the tide of setbacks is too strong to push against. This […]

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My journey

Six lessons from the early years of Mongabay

“When are you going to get a real job?” I heard this a lot in the early years—from my parents, my peers in Silicon Valley, even a partner at a consulting firm who tried to recruit me out of college. I had stepped away from stability into uncertainty. I’d always had a job since I […]

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Mongabay Features

Funding conservation is not always a straightforward moral good.

Funding conservation is not always a straightforward moral good. At times, it has been tied to human rights abuses, from forced evictions of Indigenous communities to violence by eco-guards. Donors—be they governments, multilateral agencies, or NGOs—are increasingly being asked to account for such abuses. Yet the question remains: when violations come to light, what should […]

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Announcements

Mongabay journalist Gerry Flynn banned from Cambodia for reporting on illegal logging

On the evening of Jan. 5, Mongabay journalist Gerry Flynn was denied entry to Cambodia while returning from a vacation. Immigration officials at the airport told Flynn that he is “permanently banned” from Cambodia because there was “an error” on a document submitted as part of his last visa extension application. He was subsequently forced […]

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Talks

How science communication can impact tropical forest governance

Make deforestation newsworthy. That’s a core principle behind much of the work we do at Mongabay. We’re not as eye-catching as a Greenpeace protest, like that pictured above, but we persistently report on it. I highlighted this as one of our key strategies during a talk on Friday at the 31st Annual Conference of the […]

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Random pieces

International Zebra Day

Today is International Zebra Day With their iconic black-and-white stripes, zebras are widely recognized, yet they are often underestimated beyond their striking appearance. Members of the horse family, zebras possess exceptional hearing and eyesight, can sprint up to 70 km/h (43 mph), and deliver kicks powerful enough to deter apex predators. Their distinctive stripes, however, […]

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My journey The Business of Mongabay

Starting something new as an outsider: Lessons from building Mongabay Indonesia

Do you want to contribute to something impactful in a place where you’re an outsider? Here’s what I learned starting Mongabay-Indonesia, an environmental news service in a country where I didn’t even speak the language. 1) Find the right people. The real secret? It’s not about having all the answers—it’s about finding people who do. […]

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Random pieces

Obituary for Mikkel Larsen, 1974-2025

Mikkel Larsen, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 50, was a rare breed of executive: a practical idealist who believed that finance could be harnessed to heal the planet. As the former Chief Executive Officer of Climate Impact X (CIX), a Singapore-based carbon exchange, he worked to bring integrity and credibility to voluntary […]

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The Business of Mongabay

73% of the articles funded by Mongabay would “probably” or “certainly” not have been written otherwise

I don’t get excited about independent evaluations. That’s what I used to think—until one conducted last year on our tropical forests reporting yielded some eye-opening findings. An independent evaluation recently reviewed our work on tropical forest reporting, interviewing 38 stakeholders and analyzing data from over 600 survey respondents. The results were compelling and reinforced the […]

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Media appearances My journey The Business of Mongabay

I never set out to become a journalist.

Over the next couple of months, I plan to share weekly posts like this, offering context and insights on my journey in a format different from my usual style. My goal is to explore whether this approach resonates with new audiences and communities. I never set out to become a journalist. When I started Mongabay, […]

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The Business of Mongabay

The most read topics on Mongabay in 2024

Cat stories attracted the most readers on Mongabay web sites. For anyone familiar with the internet over the past three decades, the popularity of cat-related content will come as little surprise. Across Mongabay’s six-language platforms and four regional bureaus, articles about wild cats topped the charts for median readership in 2024. This includes the iconic […]

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Random pieces

I shut down my Facebook and Instagram accounts

A few days ago, I decided to deactivate my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts. Many of my Instagram photos can still be found in the photo section of this site and within various Mongabay articles. Some of my Instagram videos are also available on YouTube. You can reach me via email or LinkedIn. Thank you […]

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Media appearances

Coverage of Mongabay’s work by the Global Investigative Journalism Network

Today, Rowan Philip from the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) published a piece that offers an overview of how Mongabay operates. I appreciated his analogy of the aye-aye—a unique lemur native to Nosy Mangabe, the island for which Mongabay is named—as a symbol of our work. “And the island’s native aye-aye lemur is perhaps the […]

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The Business of Mongabay

Where to Next? 

In response to my post yesterday about the geographic distribution of our readership and country-level coverage in 2024, several people reached out or commented about Mongabay’s plans to expand its presence in specific countries. When determining where to establish a presence, the calculus for Mongabay as a nonprofit environmental news outlet, extends well beyond audience […]

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The Business of Mongabay

Mongabay’s audience in 2024, by country

I founded Mongabay 25 years ago to address what I perceived as a gap in media coverage of tropical rainforests. Over the years, Mongabay has grown significantly, especially after transitioning to a non-profit in 2012. Since then we expanded from two full-time staff in the U.S. to more than 120 team members across over 30 […]

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Mongabay Features

Issues to watch for rainforests in 2025

Near the end of each year or the start of a new one, I often publish an analysis of key issues to watch for rainforests in the year ahead. Here is my list for 2025: six critical storylines likely to shape the future of these vital ecosystems. Rainforest Outlook 2025 For reference, previous versions of […]

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Random pieces

Jimmy Carter’s conservation legacy

James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th president of the United States, died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100 years old. Known to the world as Jimmy Carter, his presidency was marked by foresight, humility, and an enduring commitment to the environment that would define his legacy long after he left […]

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Mongabay Features

A look back at my writing in 2024.

2024 was a year that demanded reflection—on loss, resilience, and the enduring connections between humanity and the natural world. It was a year that tested our resolve to protect what is irreplaceable, but also one that offered glimmers of hope through collective action and stories of recovery. In my writing, I often grappled with the […]

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Mongabay Features

The conservationists, Indigenous leaders, and environmentalists the world lost in 2024

The world lost many conservationists, Indigenous leaders, and environmentalists in 2024. Their lives were devoted to safeguarding the planet’s biodiversity, protecting vulnerable communities, and advocating for justice in the face of profound challenges. While each had a unique story, they shared a commitment to the environment, often working on the frontlines of conservation or battling […]

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Mongabay Features

Rainforests in 2024

The year 2024 saw significant developments in tropical rainforest conservation, deforestation, and degradation. While progress in some regions provided glimmers of hope, systemic challenges and emerging threats highlighted the fragility of these ecosystems. Although a complete comparison of tropical forest loss in 2024 with previous years is not yet available, there are currently no indications […]

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The Business of Mongabay

Mongabay’s 5 most popular stories of 2024

Here are Mongabay News’s five most-read stories of 2024. All focus on Asia, with four concerning wildlife, and reptiles claiming the top two spots.  A caveat: this ranking reflects only website traffic through December 22, 2024. It does not include social media viewership. “Four of a kind: King cobra is a quad of species, not […]

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Random pieces

Obituary for Indonesian conservationist Elva Gemita

Elva Gemita, a steadfast advocate for wildlife and forest conservation in Indonesia, passed away on November 24 at the age of 44. Born and raised near Kerinci Seblat National Park, she developed an early connection with the biodiversity that would define her life’s work. Her career began in the forests of Jambi Province, dismantling illegal […]