Mongabay

My latest on Mongabay: How an industry disconnect is failing Bangladesh's agar plantation, while undermining its forest conservation efforts. https://lnkd.in/g4jdKYMn

Today is the day! 🗞️ It's out in Mongabay, one of the most challenging and demanding investigative projects I’ve worked on over the past 12 months – one that I’m genuinely proud of! "As traditional forest governance erodes in Peru, ‘ghost permits’ fill the vacuum" is a piece that looks at a part of the Peruvian Amazon where things start to get messy: Indigenous governance, land rights, and forest protection systems that, on paper, should work. In reality, however, they’re being bent, reused, and sometimes exploited, with consequences that go well beyond deforestation. What sits at the core of this complexity? The collision between internal fractures and external pressures and the implications they have for communities that have historically served as the forest's most resilient defence system. You can read it here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dqHBP64N It’s also the project that probably reflects most what I took away from my time at Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism’s Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism: in-depth field interviews; OSINT techniques ranging from geolocation to permit tracing and document digging; data-informed reporting; and a qualitative, survey-driven empirical spine. Last but not least, huge thanks to editor Latoya Abulu for believing in the story from the very beginning and pushing it to be sharper at every stage, as well as to the Pulitzer Center for making the reporting possible through its financial support 🌟 Stay tuned as I continue to work on new projects in the years ahead! 📰

Facebook removes groups after Mongabay and Bellingcat report illegal wildlife trade Facebook has removed nine Indonesian groups used to trade wildlife after an investigation by Mongabay and Bellingcat uncovered the activity. The groups, some operating for years, had tens of thousands of members and regularly featured listings, including protected species. Reporters found advertisements for species including rhinoceros hornbills and Javan silvery gibbons, both protected under Indonesian law. In one group alone, more than 200 posts appeared in a single week, some offering threatened species. Sellers and buyers communicated openly in comment threads, sometimes noting the risk of being caught. The reporting also traced some of the trade to a physical shop, Station Sato, in the Jakarta area. Visits to the store found young birds and other wildlife for sale, alongside signs that most transactions were arranged online. Listings extended beyond Facebook to other platforms, sometimes disguised under unrelated product categories. Indonesia is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, and its wildlife trade has proved difficult to police. Officials told reporters they would investigate. A subsequent inspection of the shop did not identify protected species at the time, though earlier evidence suggested otherwise. Inspectors faced practical limits, including difficulty identifying juvenile animals and limited authority to prosecute Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said it had removed the groups and associated profiles for violating its policies. The company has partnered with conservation organizations for years to curb wildlife trafficking online, including bans on certain sales and warning systems tied to search terms. The trade continues to shift. Sellers use coded language and simple pricing systems to avoid detection. Monitoring by Indonesian groups suggests listings for several threatened species have increased in recent years. Efforts to control it, both by platforms and authorities, remain inconsistent. 🦧 Achmad Rizki Muazam and Foeke Postma. Full story: https://lnkd.in/gdF-zyhn

“She wants what they have to say to reach our hearts and that we react, that we get up and do something to make the situation better.” Excellent interview with Richard Ladkani from our Media Partner Mongabay. Richard discusses the very physical and emotional journey of making YANUNI, which will close our Festival tonight as 2026 Shared Earth Foundation Award for Advocacy Winner. https://lnkd.in/ePzj9bRy

[Nonprofit news impact] After a 15-month-long Mongabay investigation exposed cracks in international #conservation efforts around the hunting of Maltese falcons and other #birds in Egypt, authorities reacted 🦅 Egypt’s Ministry of Environment issued a ban for hunting birds in two key regions: the New Valley and Lake Nasser 💪🏿 This real-world impact demonstrates the power of independent journalism in informing policy and conservation outcomes. By documenting the cross-border dynamics of wildlife crime, our team helped reveal a loophole in conservation policy that was being actively exploited. In a world where migratory species often depend on international protections, independent #journalism plays a critical role in closing the gaps that threaten biodiversity and giving a voice to conservationists on the ground. Learn more below about this notable outcome for bird conservation via independent environmental journalism:

💡 In Case You Missed It... A thought provoking piece from Mongabay that highlights research done by frequent FLARE collaborators - Sarah Castle, Johan Oldekop, Peter Newton, Kathy Baylis and Daniel Miller. Read the paper and full piece from Mongabay at the links below.