Mongabay Reports: ‘Extinction denial’ is the latest anti-science conspiracy theory
Release Date: 08/19/2021
Mongabay Reports: As Gabon gets paid to conserve its forests, will others follow?
Mongabay Newscast
Gabon recently received the first $17 million of a pledged $150 million from Norway for results-based emission reduction payments as part of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). Gabon has 88% forest cover and has limited annual deforestation to less than 0.1% over the last 30 years, in large part possible due to oil revenues supporting the economy. With oil reserves running low, Gabon is looking to diversify and develop its economy without sacrificing its forests by building a sustainable forest economy supported by schemes such as CAFI. Will other countries follow suit? This episode...
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Are tuna species recovering as well as news reports say? It's complicated.
Mongabay Newscast
We look at some of the biggest news from the recent IUCN World Conservation Congress, like the upgraded conservation status of 4 tuna species, including Atlantic bluefin. Is it really OK to eat such tuna now, as some media outlets reported? Are bluefin no longer endangered, but a species of 'least concern?' Well, it's complicated. Mongabay staff writer Elizabeth Claire Alberts was at the event and discusses important news and motions that passed, like Indigenous peoples' role in conservation and a resounding rebuke of deep sea mining, for instance. Then, Pew Charitable Trusts’ senior...
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Mongabay Reports: Can climate-friendly agroforestry transform farming in the U.S. Midwest?
Mongabay Newscast
Monocultures of corn and soybeans carpet 75% of the U.S. Midwest, leading to soil erosion, water pollution, and massive greenhouse gas emissions. However, a new wave of farmers is breaking the monocrop monotony by growing these annuals between long rows of perennial shrubs like American hazelnuts, which keep soils intact while harboring beneficial bugs and sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere. Hazelnuts are a huge market internationally and have big potential in the U.S. either as a snack or an oilseed, since the fatty acid profile is very similar to olive oil. Listen to an April 2021 report...
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The evidence for successful nature conservation
Mongabay Newscast
The scientific evidence for what kinds of nature conservation programs actually work is always changing, and the use of such evidence should be standard practice when creating new programs, our two guests on this episode argue. Hiromi Yamashita & Andrew Bladon with the Conservation Evidence Group join us to discuss their massive new “What Works In Conservation 2021” report, which evaluates scientific evidence for the success of conservation initiatives. Yamashita shares her work on how traditional and local knowledge benefit conservation initiatives--especially around coastal conservation...
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Mongabay Reports: ‘Extinction denial’ is the latest anti-science conspiracy theory
Mongabay Newscast
There’s a growing refusal by some to acknowledge the ongoing global extinction crisis being driven by human actions, conservation scientists say. These views are pushed by many of the same people who also downplay the impacts of climate change, and go against the actual evidence of widespread species population declines and recent extinctions. Listen to a September 2020 report published at Mongabay.com about this news via this episode of Mongabay Reports, which shares evergreen articles from Mongabay.com, read by host Mike DiGirolamo. This episode features the popular article, "" Please...
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What can seashells tell us about the oceans' health?
Mongabay Newscast
Environmental journalist Cynthia Barnett joins this episode to discuss her fascinating new book, "," about the many ways humans have prized seashells for millennia, using them as money, jewelry, and art, plus how seashells help us examine the challenges marine environments are facing today. We’re also joined by Mongabay's Philippines-based staff writer Leilani Chavez, who describes the incredible marine biodiversity found in the Philippines' waters (among the best in the world) and why there’s a movement to expand conservation efforts beyond the extensive coral reef systems. View Leilani's...
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Optimism for elephants fuels effective Indigenous conservation effort
Mongabay Newscast
Top conservation photographer Ami Vitale rejoins the show to discuss the work of an Indigenous-owned elephant sanctuary in Kenya, where she has shot a wonderful, new, heart-melting film called . We discuss the Samburu people's inspiring and 'stubborn optimism' for the species, what they are acheiving at , and new things they're learning about this intriguing, super intelligent, and endangered species. Then, for this World Elephant Day special, we speak with Duke University researcher John Poulsen about forest elephants of Central/West Africa: why this species is special, how they're key to the...
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Mongabay Reports: Two new Javan rhino calves spotted in the species’ last holdout
Mongabay Newscast
Indonesia recently announced exciting news, the sighting of two Javan rhino calves in Ujung Kulon National Park, the last place on Earth where the critically endangered species is found. The new additions bring the estimated population of the species to 73; conservationists have recorded at least one new calf a year joining the population since 2012. Listen to a June 2021 report published at Mongabay.com about this news via this episode of Mongabay Reports, which shares evergreen articles from Mongabay.com, read by host Mike DiGirolamo. This episode features the popular article, "." Please...
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Reforestation done right, from Haiti to Honduras and Ho Chi Minh City
Mongabay Newscast
Often called a panacea, 'tree planting' is a hot topic but it can fail when too little thought goes into it, so the guests on this episode reframe the practice, saying that 'tree growing' ought to be the focus of reforestation programs. 'Right tree, right place, right community” is the approach taken by that guest Erin Axelrod directs, whose approach ensures that the dozens of projects it is implementing currently (and its overall goal to grow over 10 million trees by 2025) are appropriate to the areas, likely to succeed and survive, and benefit local communities. We also speak with...
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Reconnecting kids and ourselves to the planet with author Richard Louv
Mongabay Newscast
During the past year's pandemic and lockdowns, spending time outdoors has been soothing for many--whether found outside our homes, in parks, or via nature documentaries--and in some ways it was a meaningful reset. Both human health and conservation benefit when we spend time in nature, so today we're discussing reconnection for kids and adults: what we know about its beneficial effects, how a movement to connect with nature is growing globally, and what this means for conservation. Our first guest is author Richard Louv, who coined the phrase ‘nature deficit disorder’ and wrote the 2005...
info_outlineThere’s a growing refusal by some to acknowledge the ongoing global extinction crisis being driven by human actions, conservation scientists say.
These views are pushed by many of the same people who also downplay the impacts of climate change, and go against the actual evidence of widespread species population declines and recent extinctions.
Listen to a September 2020 report published at Mongabay.com about this news via this episode of Mongabay Reports, which shares evergreen articles from Mongabay.com, read by host Mike DiGirolamo.
This episode features the popular article, "Biologists warn 'exctinction denial' is the latest anti-science conspiracy theory."
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