Mongabay Explores

Circular Economy, Pt 3: Are there circular solutions for global housing unaffordability and climate change?

According to UN-Habitat, a global housing affordability crisis is underway, with 1.6 billion people currently in need of adequate, affordable homes. That number could ris

Circular Economy, Pt 2: How Finland is leading the world in circular economy planning

In 2016, Finland became the first nation to design a circular economy roadmap, in an effort to design goods to be less resource-intensive, from their manufacture to dispo

Circular Economy, Pt 1: EV issues are about 'more than just cars'

The fifth season of Mongabay Explores dives into the circular economy: the effort to design goods to be less resource intensive, from their manufacture to disposal and re

Congo Basin, Bonus: Pollution & impunity in the DRC

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), pollution from extracting minerals commonly used in the energy transition like cobalt and copper is on the rise, and miners gen

Congo Basin, Part 6: How the Congo Rainforest is shaped by elephants

The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) plays a critical role in shaping the Congo rainforest, experts say. Though they represent incalculable and intrinsic valu

Congo Basin, Part 5: Where's the money for Congo Basin conservation?

How much does it cost to protect the Congo Rainforest? The world's second-largest rainforest provides critical ecological services that millions of people and myriad spec

Congo Basin, Part 4: A 'just energy transition' requires justice in the DRC

The global 'just energy transition' has increased demand for critical minerals – such as cobalt and copper – for products like lithium-ion batteries, solar panels, and ot

Congo Basin, Part 3: Big challenges and potential for ape conservation

Recent research shows that great apes of the Congo Basin stand to lose up to 94% of their habitat due to climate change. In the world's only habitat of bonobos and mounta

Congo Basin, Part 2: Can we right the wrongs of fortress conservation?

The debate about how to best protect the Congo Basin's rainforest increasingly finds experts and Indigenous leaders arguing that it's time for a change, one that brings l

Congo Basin, Part 1: Second-largest rainforest in the world at a turning point

The Congo Basin contains the world's second-largest rainforest, a staggering 178 million hectares: containing myriad wildlife and giant trees plus numerous human communit

Sumatra, Bonus: Can young Indonesians help their iconic elephants survive?

Leif Cocks returns to the podcast to discuss the status of the Sumatran elephant, a critically endangered species that we discussed with him in season 2, which is estimat

Sumatra, Bonus Ep: She's here! Rare Sumatran rhino calf born

Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry recently announced the birth of an incredibly rare Sumatran rhino calf at a captive breeding facility at Way Kambas Natio

New Guinea, Part 7: Galip nut drives community empowerment and forest conservation

By 2025 the global, edible nut industry will be worth an estimated $2 billion. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the traditional and plentiful staple, the galip nut (Canarium in

New Guinea, Part 6: Who is destroying these rainforests? The Tanah Merah mystery.

The Tanah Merah project sits in the heart of New Guinea covering 2,800 square kilometers (1,100 square miles). Roughly twice the size of Greater London, it threatens not

New Guinea, Part 5: 'Ghosts of the rainforest'

New Guinea's dense tropical montane forests are home to 12 of 14 tree kangaroo species. Over the past couple of decades, conservationists have leveraged these charismatic

New Guinea, Part 4: A long and winding road

Spanning over 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) and being built over the course of decades, the Trans-Papua Highway cuts across the entire length of Indonesian New Guinea's

New Guinea, Part 3: Defending paradise

New Guinea is home to the third-largest tropical rainforest in the world—of which 80% is still intact. The two-nation island also contains 44 species of unique birds-of-p

New Guinea, Part 2: 'Carbon cowboys' and illegal logging

Since 2014, Papua New Guinea has been the world's largest tropical timber exporter: more than 70% of that is considered illegal. Timber companies continue to possess land

New Guinea, Part 1: Protecting unparalleled biodiversity

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

Sumatra, Part 10: Solutions and optimism that drive conservation

'I'm amazed how resilient, adaptable and optimistic the people of Sumatra are,' conservationist and HAkA Sumatra founder Farwiza Farhan says in the first moments of this