Mongabay Newscast

Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series that highlights unique places and species from around the globe. Subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts and stay tuned for subsequent episodes in this season. New Guinea is one of the most most biodiverse regions on the planet and also the world's largest tropical island. It makes up less than 0.5% of the world's landmass, but is estimated to contain as much as 10% of global biodiversity. To unpack the vast biodiversity of New Guinea, conservation policy, and NGO efforts to protect land, culture and Indigenous rights, we spoke with Rodrigo Cámara-Leret, of the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, Charlie Danny Heatubun, head of the research and development agency of the provincial government of West Papua, and Miriam Supuma of Synchronicity Earth. In this third season of the podcast, we take a look at what makes New Guinea unlike any other place in this world, the contributing environmental impacts that threaten its culture and biodiversity, and what is being done to protect it. Listen to the previous 2 seasons of Mongabay Explores via the podcast provider of your choice or find them at our podcast homepage here. Episode artwork: (Casuarius unappendiculatus) is one of the majestic birds that New Guinea is famous for. Image by Rhett Butler for Mongabay. Sounds heard during the intro and outro include the following: rusty mouse-warbler, growling riflebird, raggiana/lesser bird-of-paradise, superb fruit-dove, long-billed honeyeater, little shrike-thrush, brown cuckoo-dove, black-capped lory. Special thanks to Tim Boucher and Bruce Beehler for identifying them. Please invite your friends to subscribe to Mongabay Explores wherever they get podcasts. If you enjoy our podcast content, 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, Instagram and TikTok by searching for @mongabay. Feedback is always welcome: submissions@mongabay.com.

It's a perfect time to pick up a great book, and this episode's got recommendations for you! We welcome to the show Janisse Ray, award-winning author of "Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonders in a World Beyond Humans," detailing her search for "heart-pounding flashes of wild spectacle." Ray shares stories of the places she's traveled and explains why she did all that travel without getting on a plane. We also welcome Jordan Salama, whose new book is called "Every Day the River Changes: Four Weeks Down the Magdalena." He discusses 4 weeks spent traveling down Colombia's Magdalena River, which Colombians speak of with "an almost religious fervor," and what he hopes people can take away from his book. These two share some great adventures but also counsel seeking such enlightening journeys close to home, as well! Further reading from the episode: "Rewilding news" on Mongabay FARC peace deal in Colombia sparked war on forests, report says In Colombia, end of war meant start of runaway deforestation, study finds Salama wrote a fascinating 2019 story for Mongabay about community activism for rivers in southern Europe, In Bosnia-Herzegovina, grassroots opposition stalls a hydropower project 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. Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

We discuss two big stories from Southeast Asia that Mongabay's been covering which highlight the importance of land rights and also Free, Prior, and Informed Consent for Indigenous and local communities. Cynthia Ong is our first guest, she's founder of LEAP, an NGO based in the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, who shares the fallout from a story broken by Mongabay about a giant carbon deal signed by government officials in Sabah -- covering more than 2 million hectares of the state's forests for at least the next 100 years -- without consulting local communities. Our second guest is Gerry Flynn, a Mongabay contributor based in Cambodia who has been covering a recent government decree that made 127,000 hectares of protected areas available for sale or rent. Flynn discusses why there are fears that it will amount to a land grab by powerful interests. Further reading about the Sabah deal: Is colonial history repeating itself with Sabah forest carbon deal? (Ong's commentary) Details emerge about Sabah carbon deal Articles about Cambodia by Flynn: The great Koh Kong land rush Carving up the Cardamoms: Conservationists fear massive land grab in Cambodia 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! Episode artwork: Stung Proat, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. Photo via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. 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. Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

GIFs (animated images) can be a simple and fun way to communicate via text and are increasingly popular. Yet, while a GIF of an ape wearing overalls may seem cute, the animal pictured is often subjected to abuse in the process. All species and subspecies of great apes are endangered or critically endangered. Experts say that GIFs depicting these apes in unnatural situations can also perpetuate the myth that they make good pets which fuels international wildlife trade of these endangered animals. While campaigners have been successful in coercing some stock photo agencies to stop providing images of apes in unnatural situations, many popular GIF sites still don't have policies against these images. This episode features the popular article, "Think that GIF of the smoking chimp was funny? The chimp wasn't laughing," by Tina Deines: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/think-that-gif-of-the-smoking-chimp-is-funny-the-chimp-wasnt-laughing/ 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: Adult female and infant wild chimpanzee feeding on figs in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Image by Alain Houle via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Most observers declared the recent climate summit a failure, as world leaders largely delayed action on climate change. Still there was some progress so we discuss those here plus proactive ways we can all stay engaged with this debate over the planet's future atmosphere, with two guests. Bill McKibben is a noted activist, author, and founder of 350.org as well as the newly created Third Act initiative, and shares his response to the failures of COP26, why he was inspired by the activism he saw at the COP, and how he sees climate activism evolving to counter the outsized influence of the industries that rely on burning fossil fuels and clearing the world's forests for profit. And Trebbe Johnson, author of Radical Joy for Hard Times: Finding Meaning and Making Beauty In Earth's Broken Places and founder of an organization with the same name, Radical Joy for Hard Times, tells us about ecological grief, how it can affect people concerned about the future of our planet, and how to deal with that grief and stay committed to working towards a better future for all life on Earth. 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! Further reading: • "Hope old and new: COP26 focused on two largely unsung climate solutions" • "'Standing with your feet in the water': COP26 struggles to succeed" • "Do forest declarations work? How do the Glasgow and New York declarations compare?" • "COP26 Glasgow Declaration: Salvation or threat to Earth's forests?" • "$1.7 billion pledged in support of Indigenous and local communities' land tenure" Episode artwork via Twitter. 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. Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

The Earth Defenders Toolkit is a collection of apps that support local autonomy of Indigenous lands, giving communities ownership of critical data and reducing the need for outside support. The toolkit, which includes mapping apps like 'Mapeo,' keep the needs of Indigenous communities at the forefront, overcoming barriers inherent to technology, like participation and security. This episode features the popular article, "Sharing solutions: How a digital toolkit is strengthening Indigenous voices," by Caitlin Looby: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/sharing-solutions-how-a-digital-toolkit-is-strengthening-indigenous-voices/ 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: Members of the land patrol from the Kofan community of Sinangoé, Ecuador, test Mapeo Mobile as part of the design process. Image courtesy of Digital Democracy. Caitlin Looby is the 2021 Sue Palminteri WildTech Reporting Fellow, which honors the memory of Mongabay Wildtech editor Sue Palminteri by providing opportunities for students to gain experience in conservation technology and writing. You can support this program here. Editor's note: This story was supported by XPRIZE Rainforest as part of their five-year competition to enhance understanding of the rainforest ecosystem. In respect to Mongabay's policy on editorial independence, XPRIZE Rainforest does not have any right to assign, review, or edit any content published with their support.

Initiatives to plant billions and even trillions of trees have been popping up like seedlings after a rainstorm. These are important in tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, but what about using natural regeneration, where one allows a forest to regrow using its native seedstock, in such efforts? On this episode we discuss the amazing power of letting forests regrow, and when tree-planting is necessary, plus what we know about the differences between planted and naturally regenerated forests with two guests: University of California professor Karen Holl describes the conditions that are conducive to natural regeneration of forests and shares inspiring examples ranging from current experiments to historical events like in Costa Rica and the Northeast United States. And researcher/restoration consultant Robin Chazdon discusses the decision-making process that goes into successful reforestation projects, and whether today's tree-planting campaigns are likely to be beneficial in the long run. Related resources: "Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?" "Beyond tree planting: When to let forests restore themselves" 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. Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

The rare Champman's pygmy chameleon has been missing in the wild for over two decades. First described in 1992, it was finally seen in a dwindling patch of rainforest in the Malawi Hills in 2016. Researchers say there are likely more. However, they are unable to travel the long distances between the shrinking patches of their forest home. Scientists' findings of the rare chameleon call for conservation of the chameleon's habitat, which has seen an 80% deforestation rate over the past 40 years. This episode features the popular article, "Rare pygmy chameleon, lost to science, found in dwindling Malawi forest," by Liz Kimbrough: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/rare-pygmy-chameleon-lost-to-science-found-in-dwindling-malawi-forest/ 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: Chapman's pygmy chameleon by Krystal Tolley Liz Kimbrough is a staff writer for Mongabay. Find her on Twitter: @lizkimbrough_

Indigenous-led conservation initiatives are being aided by the growing field of bioacoustics, with many communities around the world creating listening networks that monitor their lands and help them advocate for their conservation. We speak with two Indigenous leaders and scientists on this episode -- Stephanie Thorassie of the Seal River Watershed Alliance in Manitoba, and Angela Waupochick, a researcher of forested wetlands for Menominee Tribal Enterprises in Wisconsin -- about their projects and how bioacoustics techniques are aiding them. We hear sound clips of bears and birds shared by Waupochick and also Jeff Wells of the National Audubon Society, which partners with the Seal River Watershed Alliance to study the region's importance to wildlife toward establishing a new, 12-million-acre Indigenous Protected Area. Further reading: • "Indigenous-managed lands found to harbor more biodiversity than protected areas" • Canada working towards new future for Indigenous-led conservation (Indigenous Protected Areas) 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: Polar bears at the mouth of the Seal River. Photo by Jordan Melograna of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative. Please share your thoughts and ideas! submissions@mongabay.com.

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_