Author Archive

Scientists discover ‘shark’ Sumatran forest

Mongabay: In early April, Indonesian scientists discovered an endangered freshwater fish in the Harapan rainforest of Jambi. The species had never before been observed in the region, and is declining elsewhere throughout its range. The Harapan rainforest was the first and still-largest ecosystem restoration area established in the whole of Sumatra. It consists of lowland tropical forest at the border of Jambi and South Sumatra. The 100,000 hectares were formerly designated as timber concessions, locally...

Brief lives linked to Amazon biodiversity

Mongabay: The South American Amazon rainforest is renowned for being one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, boasting an estimated 16,000 different tree species. However, the distribution of these diverse tree species is curiously uneven throughout the expansive forest. Some areas of trees, commonly called clades, can contain hundreds of different species while others contain only a few. What is the reason behind this irregular diversity? According to a new study headed by Tim Baker and published...

Italy and Panama continue illegal fishing, says new report

Mongabay: On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its biennial report identifying six countries whose fisheries have been engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing during the past two years. The report comes at a time when one-fifth of reported fish catches worldwide are caught illegally and commercial fishing has led to a global fish stock overexploitation of an estimated 80 percent. The countries listed in the report - Colombia, Ecuador, Italy,...

Malaysian customs seizes 1,800 trafficked reptiles

Mongabay: Malaysia contains an amazing array of plants and animals, including this water monitor. Photo taken in Sabah by Rhett A. Butler Malaysia ended 2010 with the confiscation of 4.3 metric tons of reptiles near the Thai border on December 20th, reports the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, TRAFFIC. The confiscation was the largest of the year and consisted of over 1,800 monitor lizards, snakes, freshwater turtles, and tortoises. All of the species seized are protected under CITES (the Convention...

Fisheries commissions’ ability to manage diminishing tuna stocks called into question

Mongabay: Fisheries commissions' ability to manage diminishing tuna stocks called into question During a meeting earlier this month, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) disregarded appeals from the EU and Japan, as well as from Commission scientists, calling for a substantial and immediate reduction in catch rates of bigeye and yellowfin tuna in response to diminished stocks. An earlier meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) resulted...