Researchers analyzed spotted skunk DNA and found that rather than the four skunk species previously recognized by science, there are actually seven. Referred to as the “acrobats of the skunk world” these small carnivores use impressive handstands to warn predators that a noxious spray is coming their way. The plains spotted skunk (included among them) is in significant decline, but figuring out the different species lineages may inform and aid conservation efforts. This episode features the popular article, "In search of the 'forest ghost,' South America's cryptic giant armadillo," by Liz Kimbrough: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/pepe-le-new-meet-the-acrobatic-spotted-skunks-of-north-america/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Western spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis). Image by Robby Heischman courtesy of the Field Museum. Liz Kimbrough is a staff writer for Mongabay. Find her on Twitter: @lizkimbrough_

Mongabay Newscast

Mongabay Reports: New species of North America's rare spotted skunks discovered

The world economy demands clean energy and cheap commodities and these are being extracted at a furious rate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So the DRC is benefiting from all this activity, right? Though extremely rich in natural resources, thanks to political instability plus a centuries-long legacy of commercial and colonial resource extraction, the value mainly accrues to the country's east and west, where corporations and governments benefit the most. Joining the show to discuss are Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute, who describes how Western investors like university pension funds and corporations profit from oil palm plantations where human rights violations and environmental abuses are common. Then Christian-Geraud Neema Byamungu, a Congolese researcher who focuses on natural resource governance, tells us about how the growing demand for cobalt to make electric-car batteries has led to increased mining, the Chinese companies that dominate the DRC's mines, and why the contracts between those companies and the DRC are being called into question. Further reading: • ”As energy needs drive demand for minerals, forests face greater threats” • ”Pension and endowment funds linked to conflict-plagued oil palm in DRC” Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: palm oil production in Yalifombo village © Oskar Epelde via Oakland Institute.   Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

Extracted, exported and forgotten: the global race for resources and the DRC

Since 2010, the Giant Armadillo Project has been researching the world’s largest armadillo, an animal that despite its size and range across almost every country in South America, is one of the world’s least recognized animals. These researchers have made key findings, like the fact that their burrows, which can be up to 5 meters long, serve as shelter for at least 70 other species, including birds, reptiles and mammals. The species is categorized as vulnerable to extinction, especially due to the advance of agribusiness. This episode features the popular article, "In search of the 'forest ghost,' South America's cryptic giant armadillo," by Suzana Camargo: https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/in-search-of-the-forest-ghost-south-americas-cryptic-giant-armadillo/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit: Peering inside a giant armadillo burrow, image courtesy of the Giant Armadillo Project.

Mongabay Reports: In search of the ‘forest ghost,’ South America’s giant armadillo

Two top guests join this episode to discuss the importance of Indigenous rights to the future of biodiversity conservation and efforts to build a more sustainable future for life on Earth. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and is the current executive director of the Tebtebba Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education, based in Manila. Tauli-Corpuz who is a member of the Kankana-ey-Igorot people of the Philippines describes the Global Indigenous Agenda released at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, why it calls for Indigenous rights to be central to conservation efforts, and what she hopes to see achieved at the UN Biodiversity Conference taking place in Kunming, China next year. We also speak with Zack Romo, program director for the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) who was in Marseilles for the Congress and helped pass the motion to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025. The rights-based approach that Amazon protection plan calls for, and what the next steps are to making the plan a reality, are discussed. Here’s further reading and listening: • ”‘The tipping point is here, it is now,’ top Amazon scientists warn” • ”As COP15 approaches, ’30 by 30’ becomes a conservation battleground” • ”‘Join us for the Amazon,’ Indigenous leaders tell IUCN in push for protection” Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: Participants at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2021, image via IISD.   Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

The key role of Indigenous rights in the future of biodiversity conservation

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 features the popular article, "Gabon becomes first African country to get paid for protecting its forests." https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/gabon-becomes-first-african-country-to-get-paid-for-protecting-its-forests/ Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonproft media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Photo Credit Elephants in Longue Bai, Gabon, by Jefe Le Gran via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). https://www.flickr.com/photos/jefelegran/857116478 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/  

Mongabay Reports: As Gabon gets paid to conserve its forests, will others follow?

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 officer for international fisheries Grantly Galland discusses the reassessments of tuna extinction risks released by the IUCN during the event, and he shares why species-level assessments don’t tell us the whole story about tuna populations. Articles and podcast eps mentioned during the show:  • ​​”‘Global Indigenous Agenda’ for land rights, conservation launched at IUCN congress” by Ashoka Mukpo  • ”Podcast: Two tunas and a tale of managed extinction” (episode 118 of the Mongabay Newscast) Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: Atlantic bluefin tuna. Photo by Richard Herrmann/Pew.   Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

Are tuna species recovering as well as news reports say? It's complicated.

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 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, "Nuts about agroforestry in the U.S. Midwest: Can hazelnuts transform farming?" Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonproft media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: Hazelnuts. Photo by George Hodan, CC0 Public Domain Please share your thoughts! submissions@mongabay.com

Mongabay Reports: Can climate-friendly agroforestry transform farming in the U.S. Midwest?

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 projects--while Bladon provides a broad overview and details about the newest sections added to their latest report, like the evidence for mammal conservation project successes or failures: What Works in Conservation, 2021 Also discussed is Mongabay’s Conservation Effectiveness series, which looks at the scientific evidence for a number of strategies, from forest certification to marine protected areas and payments for ecosystem services: Mongabay/Conservation Effectiveness series Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: NGO staffers are deeply involved in programs aimed at species conservation. Photo by Rhett A. Butler / Mongabay.   Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

The evidence for successful nature conservation

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, "Biologists warn 'exctinction denial' is the latest anti-science conspiracy theory." Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonproft media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: The golden lion tamarin is an endangered species native to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Photo via Toronto Zoo.   Please share your thoughts! submissions@mongabay.com

Mongabay Reports: ‘Extinction denial’ is the latest anti-science conspiracy theory

Environmental journalist Cynthia Barnett joins this episode to discuss her fascinating new book, "The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans," 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 recent report about Philippines’ MPAs and links to related coverage, here: • With growing pressures, can the Philippines sustain its marine reserves?” Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: A selection of gastropods via Wikimedia Commons.   Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

What can seashells tell us about the oceans' health?

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 Shaba. We discuss the Samburu people's inspiring and 'stubborn optimism' for the species, what they are acheiving at Reteti Sanctuary, 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 health of its rainforest home, and what his research team is learning about their conservation. Want more? Listen to episode 85 (January 2020) to hear Ami discuss how meeting and photographing the last northern white rhino changed her life, and episode 95 (May 2020) features amazing recordings of forest elephant communication, shared by Elephant Listening Project researcher Ana Verahrami. This episode is our most popular one to date, download-wise. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: Orphaned savanna elephant calves recuperate at Reteti Sanctuary before their eventual release, photo courtesy of Ami Vitale.   Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

Optimism for elephants fuels effective Indigenous conservation effort

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, "Two new Javan rhino calves spotted in the species’ last holdout." Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonproft media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: A Javan rhino calf spotted on camera trap in Ujung Kulon National Park on March 27, 2021. Image courtesy of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry.   Please share your thoughts! submissions@mongabay.com

Mongabay Reports: Two new Javan rhino calves spotted in the species’ last holdout

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 Trees for Climate Health 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 freelance environmental journalist Mike Tatarski who recently filed a story about Vietnam’s plan to plant a billion trees by 2025. Tatarski tells us about the impetus and goals of this nationwide effort, Vietnam’s long history of supporting tree planting, and more. Articles discussed: • ”How to pick a tree-planting project? Mongabay launches transparency tool to help supporters decide” • ”‘Drastic forest development’: Vietnam to plant 1 billion trees — but how?” Look for episode 119 of the Mongabay Newscast to hear our discussion of reforestation trends and issues with Mongabay staff writer Dr. Liz Kimbrough, who helped develop the new Reforestation Directory and app that rates such projects: Reforestation.app. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: Girls from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation planting ponderosa pines in South Dakota, image courtesy of Trees, Water, and People.   Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

Reforestation done right, from Haiti to Honduras and Ho Chi Minh City

Human society reconnected with nature in 2020, can we keep that trend going? 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 book that introduced the concept, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, in order to facilitate discussion of the human cost of alienation from the natural world. Louv discusses the international movement kicked off by the book, what the latest research says about the connection between nature deficit disorder and a variety of physical and mental ailments, and how the pandemic shifted the public's views on nature.  We also welcome to the show educator Megan Strauss, co-editor of Mongabay Kids, which provides kids, families, and educators with content that helps raise awareness of environmental issues and fosters an appreciation of plants, wildlife, and wild places. She shares the philosophy behind the site and the great variety of activities available there, plus her point of view on nature connection from her home region of Australia. Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: Boy and butterfly by Ryan Hagerty via the Creative Commons.   Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

Nature deficit reorder: reconnecting kids and ourselves to the world

Wildlife researchers often use motion-sensing cameras, also known as camera traps, to study animals in the wild. However, these are usually positioned at ground level, leaving a diverse world of animals unexamined: those that dwell in the trees above. Camera traps set in trees in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park captured 35 different mammal species over a 30-day period, including a rare Central African oyan, a small catlike mammal that had not previously been documented there. Mongabay Reports is a new series that shares evergreen articles like this from Mongabay.com, read by host Mike DiGirolamo. This episode features the popular article, "Camera traps in trees reveal a richness of species in Rwandan park."  Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonproft media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay. Episode artwork: A L’hoest’s monkey photographed in the park, which is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Photo courtesy of WCS Rwanda.   Please share your thoughts! submissions@mongabay.com

Mongabay Reports: Camera traps in trees reveal a richness of species in Rwandan park

News and inspiration from nature’s frontline, featuring inspiring guests and deeper analysis of the global environmental issues explored every day by the Mongabay.com team, from climate change to biodiversity, tropical ecology, wildlife, and more. The show airs every other week.

hubhopper

Mongabay Newscast

hubhopper