Rhett Ayers Butler
Few creatures better embody the notion of peaceful coexistence than the manatee. Slow-moving and largely indifferent to human affairs, these aquatic herbivores graze on seagrasses and algae in the shallow coastal waters of the Americas and West Africa. Yet despite their unassuming nature, manatees are increasingly at the mercy of human activity. The West Indian [Continue reading]
In 2021, I grappled with a difficult decision. At the time, Facebook accounted for more than 80% of Mongabay’s external referral traffic — but we were increasingly questioning the value of that traffic. Mongabay’s mission as a nonprofit newsroom is to produce journalism that informs and drives impact, not just generate clicks. Years earlier, we’d [Continue reading]
You can’t fact someone into caring. Facts inform, but stories move. That idea came up often last week during discussions at The Villars Institute. The science is clear: our planetary systems are under immense stress. Yet, we’ve failed—dramatically—to communicate that reality in ways that resonate with most people. The challenge is compounded by the worsening [Continue reading]
There was something almost subversive about David Myers’s approach to conservation. He spoke the language of developers, negotiated like one, and sometimes even thought like one — but his ambitions ran in the opposite direction. Where others saw empty land as opportunity for subdivisions or shopping malls, he saw the scaffolding of nature itself: canyons, [Continue reading]
I’ve always loved forests—not just for their beauty, but for the feeling they evoke. Step into a forest and the world changes. The light softens. The air cools. The sounds shift from the chaotic clatter of human life to something older, gentler, and more patient. What draws me back, again and again, is the sense [Continue reading]
Vincent van der Merwe, Champion of the cheetah, died in Riyadh on March 16th, aged 42 For a species built for speed, cheetahs have run out of room. In their native Africa, they are marooned on islands of fragmented habitat, hemmed in by fences, farmland, and highways. It was Vincent van der Merwe’s unlikely task [Continue reading]
My obsession with Madagascar began in childhood. While my friends hung out at the mall or played video games, I hoarded books on the island’s chameleons and lemurs, dreaming of the day I would see them myself. I saved every spare dollar—from jobs, birthdays, even the Tooth Fairy—to fund my future adventure. By college, I [Continue reading]
In the waters surrounding Fiji, an ancient tradition endures. Indigenous (iTaukei) communities have long established aquatic funerary protected areas (FPAs) in honor of their deceased, temporarily forbidding fishing and harvesting in designated sections of freshwater and marine ecosystems. Though historically practiced for cultural and spiritual reasons, FPAs have inadvertently contributed to sustainable resource management—yet remain [Continue reading]
For my eighth-grade graduation, my parents gave me a basic 10-gallon aquarium. I quickly became obsessed with freshwater fish—not just the common pet store varieties like neon tetras and angelfish, but also more unusual species like elephant-nose fish and upside-down catfish. My fascination led me to devour books and academic papers, work in a fish [Continue reading]
I trust you are well. It’s meant to sound polite. It often isn’t. Over the years, I’ve come to see that how we open conversations matters. Yet this phrase lingers—empty, impersonal, and detached. This may seem trivial given everything happening in the world, but communication matters. If we want it to be meaningful, let’s rethink [Continue reading]
Elisabeth Vrba, who died last month at 82, did not set out to overturn the way scientists understood evolution. But her relentless inquiry, guided by a keen mathematical mind and a sharp eye for patterns in the fossil record, challenged some of Darwin’s most sacrosanct ideas. In a field where slow, incremental change had long [Continue reading]
Red lines. (This post discusses threats to press freedom and may be distressing for some readers. Please proceed with care.) We have entered a new era in the United States—one that carries profound risks for journalism. The assumption that the U.S. will remain a safe environment for independent reporting, especially on issues of power and [Continue reading]
How travel shaped my life 🥾 Growing up, travel wasn’t a luxury—it was a way of life. My father’s job meant a steady stream of airline miles, and my mother, a travel agent in the golden age of the industry, had the know-how to turn those miles into experiences on a limited budget in an [Continue reading]
What I wish I knew 25 years ago When I started Mongabay, I wasn’t thinking about building a global news organization. I just wanted to share my love for nature and make people care about what was happening to the world’s forests. Back then, I didn’t know how to run a newsroom, raise money, or [Continue reading]
One year after completing Mongabay Africa’s environmental journalism grants, a cohort of Sahel-based journalists has taken the initiative to form the African Network of Francophone Environmental Journalists (RAJEF). Officially launched on February 26th, the network aims to strengthen environmental reporting across Francophone Africa, beginning with a fact-checking training session. The six founding members, hailing from [Continue reading]
Dr. Ajith Kumar, a distinguished wildlife biologist, mentor, and educator, dedicated his life to the study and conservation of India’s biodiversity. His research and leadership over four decades shaped the landscape of wildlife science in the country, particularly through his work on primates and small carnivores, as well as his instrumental role in training future [Continue reading]
Francisco Marupa did not die as he lived. He had spent his years as a guardian of the forests and rivers of the Madidi National Park in Bolivia, walking its ancient paths as his ancestors had before him. His voice carried the weight of centuries, speaking for the Leco people, for the trees felled in [Continue reading]
Few ecosystems punch above their weight quite like seagrass meadows. These humble underwater pastures, spanning over 300,000 square kilometers across six continents, quietly perform a remarkable array of ecological services. They stabilize shorelines, shelter marine life, and sequester carbon at rates up to 40 times greater than terrestrial forests. Yet, like so many unsung heroes [Continue reading]
Not all opportunities are worth taking. In 2010, a high profile literary agent approached me with an enticing offer: Write a book about my journey and the environmental trends shaping the world. It was the kind of opportunity many dream of—a chance to share my perspective, to build my profile, to hold a finished work [Continue reading]
Sustainability officers are now an endangered species. This week, I spoke with a group of sustainability officers navigating a corporate landscape where terms like CSR, ESG, and climate change have become politically charged. Many companies are pulling back from public commitments on sustainability—not necessarily because the urgency has diminished, but because the risk of political [Continue reading]
Ecologists are spending less time in the field. That could be a problem. There was a time when an ecologist’s education was not complete without the mud of a marsh on their boots or the scent of damp earth after a rainforest downpour. Increasingly, however, the discipline is moving indoors. A paper published in Trends [Continue reading]
I grew up with an unusual passport for a kid. My father’s constant work travel meant a generous supply of airline miles, and my mother—who built her career as a travel agent focused on international destinations—had the connections to make them go far on a limited budget. We went to the classic places for middle-class [Continue reading]
A forest may burn to the ground, but beneath the ashes, a pangolin is already rebuilding. Pangolins are best known for their misfortune. As the world’s most trafficked mammal, their numbers have been decimated by poaching for scales and meat. But a recent study underscores what is at stake beyond the species itself: pangolins play [Continue reading]
Randy Borman was never meant to be Cofán. And yet, from the moment he was born in 1955, deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, he belonged to them. His parents, American missionaries, had come to translate the Bible into the Cofán language, but their eldest son took to the forest as though it were written into [Continue reading]
A striking image of an ice stupa—an artificial glacier towering above the barren landscape of Ladakh—has won first place in the 2024-25 Onewater Walk of Water: Water Towers photo contest, reports Shanna Hanbury. More than an aesthetic marvel, the stupa represents a pragmatic solution to a growing crisis: the dwindling availability of water in the [Continue reading]