The global Living Planet Index, 1970-2020. The LPI is based on 34,836 monitored populations of 5,495 vertebrate species. The white line represents the index value, and the shaded areas represent the statistical uncertainty surrounding the value. Graphic: WWF / ZSL

Global biodiversity report shows “catastrophic decline” in wildlife populations – “In just my lifetime, 50 years, we’ve seen a decline of 73 percent in the average size of these wildlife populations”

By Molly McCrea 18 October 2024 (CBS News) – A shocking new report on global biodiversity is detailing what it calls “a catastrophic decline” in wildlife populations ahead of a major international conference on biodiversity. On Monday, 21 October 2024, the United Nations will convene a two-week conference in Cali, Colombia called COP16. On the agenda […]

A soldier removes the body of a howler monkey that died amid extremely high temperatures in Tecolutilla, Tabasco state, Mexico, 21 May 2024. Photo: Luis Sanchez / AP Photo

It’s so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are falling dead from the trees – “They were falling out of the trees like apples”

By Mark Stevenson 21 May 2024 (MEXICO CITY) – It’s so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are falling dead from the trees. At least 138 of the midsize primates, who are known for their roaring vocal calls, were found dead in the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco since May 16, according to the Biodiversity […]

Conservationists from Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation hold a baby orangutan rescued along with its mother during a rescue and release operation for orangutans trapped in a swath of jungle destroyed by forest fires in Sungai Mangkutub, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photo: Quartz

Global demand for palm oil drives fires in Indonesia – “Palm oil plantations make a wasteland out of paradise”

By Zoë Schlanger 18 September 2019 (Quartz) – The smoke wafting from fires in the tropical forests of Indonesia—forming plumes big enough to blot out the sky in Malaysia and Singapore—is a reminder of a global supply chain run amok. Whereas the devastating fires burning in the Amazon rainforest were set largely for cattle ranches that feed the […]

X-ray showing pellets lodged in the body of an orangutan who was shot 74 times with pellets by villagers and blinded. Photo: Bryan Denton / The New York Times

One casualty of the palm oil industry: An orangutan mother, shot 74 times

By Hannah Beech 29 June 2019 BUNGA TANJUNG, Indonesia (The New York Times) – The men came at Hope and her baby with spears and guns. But she would not leave. There was no place for her to go. When the air-gun pellets pierced Hope’s eyes, blinding her, she felt her way up the tree […]

Environmentalist José Luis Álvarez Flores, an activist who fought to conserve wildlife, was found murdered between the borders of Tabasco and Chiapas on 11 June 2019. Photo: Reforma

Environmental activist who fought illegal mining murdered in Chiapas – “This is abominable, he was a nice person, his fault was to fight against the illegal extraction of sand”

11 June 2019 (Mexico News Daily) — An environmental activist from Tabasco who worked to preserve the habitat of howler monkeys was found dead yesterday in Chiapas. The body of José Luis Álvarez Flores was found in Calatraba, a community in the municipality of Palenque. The 64-year-old was reportedly shot at least five times. Álvarez […]

Civilization destroying nature at rate “unprecedented in human history” – Up to 1 million species threatened with extinction, many within decades

Civilization destroying nature at rate “unprecedented in human history” – Up to 1 million species threatened with extinction, many within decades

6 May 2019 (IPBES) – Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the summary of which was […]

Smuggled orangutan seized at Bali airport – Two-year-old male was found drugged inside a rattan basket

23 March 2019 (BBC News) – A Russian man has been arrested in Bali on suspicion of trying to smuggle a young orangutan out of Indonesia. The two-year-old male was found drugged inside a rattan basket when Andrei Zhestkov was stopped at security at Denpasar airport on Friday night. Mr Zhestkov is said to have […]

UK supermarket ad pulled for showing palm oil harvesters terrorizing orangutans and destroying forest habitat

By Sarah Butler and Mark Sweney 9 November 2018 (The Guardian) – Iceland’s Christmas campaign has been banned from TV because it has been deemed to breach political advertising rules.As part of its festive campaign the discount supermarket struck a deal with Greenpeace to rebadge an animated short film featuring an orangutan and the destruction […]

Photo gallery: Winners of the Environmental Photographer of the Year award for 2018

24 September 2018 (Daily Mail) – The competition is run annually by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management. “Not in My Forest” by Calvin Ke, taken in Malaysia in 2018, received a Highly Commended award. He saw this southern pig-tailed macaque clutching a discarded bottle, examining and tasting it before sinking into this […]

Borneo’s last remaining orangutans threatened by illegal logging, despite government protection

By Josh Gabbatiss Science Correspondent 5 June 2018 (The Independent) – The forest which is home to some of the last remaining Bornean orangutans is being logged despite the Indonesian government’s vow to protect it, Greenpeace has claimed.The group said six illegal logging settlements had been identified in Sungai Putri, the peatland forest home to […]

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