Category: Climate Change

Auto Added by WPeMatico

Posted on by

Latin America in 2024: politics, turmoil and hope

  • In 2024, Latin America continued facing chronic issues of deforestation, ecosystem contamination, violence, habitat loss and political turmoil.
  • Changes brought on by presidential elections in several countries have not brought on significant changes for the environment, at least not yet, with effects still to be seen in the years to come.
  • Increased criminal activity in the region remains a serious obstacle to conservation work, endangering local and Indigenous communities, while highlighting governments’ inability to tackle narco-trafficking and its associated consequences.

Throughout a year in which Latin America saw elections in six countries and prepared for the biodiversity COP16 in Colombia, the region continued its struggle with extreme weather events, criminal activity threatening ecosystems and development encroaching on communities and wildlife habitats. At the same time, community efforts toward conservation, environmental justice and implementation of nature-based solutions kept up. Below we selected several key stories we reported on last year – they are good opportunities to refresh one’s memory about what has happened, but also set our expectations for the issues carrying on into 2025. 

Political change across the region

In El Salvador, the re-election of Nayib Bukele posed environmental concerns, as his agenda prioritizes development, security, and attracting foreign investments over the country’s natural assets. In 2017, El Salvador was the first country in the world to ban mining but fears that Bukele would reverse that ban have since become a reality. 

In Panama, presidential race winner Jose Raul Mulino has stated he didn’t have plans to re-open the Cobre Panama mine, but his plans are also more focused on job development and infrastructure than on environmental issues. Last year, the government’s relocation of the island community of Gardi Sugdub – a first for the country – highlighted Panama’s tangible struggle with climate change impacts.

Families are migrating from Gardi Sugdub, a tiny island belonging to the Indigenous Guna Yala people of Panama, packed with houses to the edge of the water, due to sea level rise.
Families are migrating from Gardi Sugdub, a tiny island belonging to the Indigenous Guna Yala people of Panama, packed with houses to the edge of the water, due to sea level rise. Image by Michael Adams via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Mexico’s election of its first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has brought hope that more of the country’s environmental issues will get attention from the government. Sheinbaum is the former mayor of Mexico City and an environmental scientist by trade. She co-authored the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, yet her campaign has been light on rigorous environmental policy, some critics have said. As the successor of AMLO, her support of the controversial Tren Maya and oil giant Pemex has raised red flags about her commitment to conservation and the energy transition.

Venezuela’s electoral campaign, with Nicolas Maduro’s victory still highly contested, had little space for environmental issues, even though the country has plunged into a crisis so severe that many observers have called it an ecocide. Mining has torn through the Amazon Rainforest. A neglected oil industry has polluted the coast. Protected areas are plundered for their timber and exotic species. Funds for scientific research have all but dried up. Funds for park guards have dwindled, as well.

A year of wildfires and drought

Wildfires have scorched millions of hectares of forest across South America so far this year. From Bolivia to Brazil, Peru to Argentina, the continent has been gripped by one of its worst fire seasons in decades, with deforestation and drought fueling the flames.

Bolivia has been hit the hardest, with more than 7 million hectares (17 million acres) of forest and natural vegetation scorched by late September. This made 2024 Bolivia’s worst year for fires on record. There were three times more fires in Bolivia in 2024 than in previous years, devastating biodiversity and Indigenous territories.

Brazil, home to 60% of the Amazon, also faced extreme fire activity. In the Brazilian Pantanal, more than 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres) burned by October, marking one of the most destructive fire seasons in recent history. 

Peru has also declared a state of emergency in six regions as fires spread across the country. By late September, the fires had killed 20 people, injured more than 160, and burned more than 12,300 hectares (30,400 acres) of natural vegetation, while severe drought in the Amazon left several Indigenous communities isolated. Meanwhile, Colombia reported 44,000 hectares (109,000 acres) destroyed by fires in September alone. In Mexico, heat waves have also had severe impacts: by August 2024, the country had recorded at least 125 heat-related deaths and 2,308 cases of heat stroke, along with power outages, wildfires, and mass die-offs of threatened howler monkeys. 

The Amazon has experienced its worst fire season in 19 years, while Pantanal wetlands have already burned 15% of its area. Image courtesy of Fernando Donasci/Environment and Climate Change Ministry.

In early 2024, Venezuela experienced record-breaking fires. Apart from the highest number of fires in any January and February for the last two decades, wildfires continued into early May, devastating national parks and affecting the capital of Caracas. To that point, up to 2 million hectares (4.94 million acres) of land appear to have already burned, experts estimated.

Mining, energy and infrastructure projects expanded

In Bolivia, lithium extraction has brought on new issues for communities neighboring the industry. In Salar de Uyuni, a lithium plant opened in 2023 has been using untested equipment and has been possibly mismanaging its use of freshwater, raising concerns for residents about whether the Bolivian government can responsibly manage the rapid growth of the industry.

In Nicaragua, despite US sanctions, harmful mining has continued unabated. Between 2021 and 2023, the amount of Nicaraguan land concessioned for mining more than doubled, from 923,681 hectares (2,282,465 acres) to 1.8 million hectares (4,447,896 acres), according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines. Mining concessions now take up around 15% of the country’s total land area. 

In Colombia, approval of the $420.4 million Alacrán mining project in northern Colombia has alarmed residents, who say they might lose their food and drinking water to unregulated pollution, causing them to relocate to other parts of the country. In Guyana, a series of ongoing road projects traveling over 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital of Georgetown to the city of Lethem, in the south, are supposed to improve access to more rural parts of Guyana while facilitating international trade, most notably with Brazil. But the project also crosses sensitive wetlands and Indigenous communities, raising concerns about how the government will manage future development there.

Plant of Bolivian Lithium Deposits, in Uyuni. Photo: YLB.

Earlier in the year, Mongabay reporter Maxwell Radwin and videographer Caitlin Cooper embarked on a journey aboard the Tren Maya, traveling from Cancún to Palenque and back, on a mission to uncover critical issues associated with the rail project, including impacts on communities and ecosystems.

Criminality encroaches on ecosystems

In Ecuador, an investigation by Mongabay and Codigo Vidrio found that for the last seven years, the Los Lobos criminal group has become deeply entrenched in illegal gold mining across all of the country’s provinces, taking over the mineral’s supply chain. The group that has entered even protected areas, has spread fear among local and Indigenous communities.

The Maya Biosphere Reserve, which stretches 2.2 million hectares (5.3 million acres) across northern Guatemala, has seen a wave of land invasions in 2024 in areas that have historically not faced threats of colonization.  As new trails open up and fires spread, officials have raised concerns not just about deforestation but about potentially losing control of the area altogether.

In Colombia, the Chinese-owned Buritica gold mine lost control over 60% of its operations as its tunnels have been invaded by informal miners associated with Colombia’s largest criminal armed group, the Gaitanista Army of Colombia (EGC), also known as the Gulf Clan. Armed groups have increasingly gained power in the country: one report found that one of Colombia’s biggest active FARC dissident groups, the Central Armed Command (EMC), controls much of the Amazon rainforest in the departments of Guaviare, Meta and Caquetá.

The Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala. Large-scale deforestation in the region has been linked, in part, to narco-trafficking, say experts.
The Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala. Large-scale deforestation in the region has been linked, in part, to narco-trafficking, say experts. Image courtesy of CIFOR via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

In the Peruvian Amazon, cocaine has gained more ground. According to official data from MAAP, the surface area of coca production in Peru is increasing, particularly in the central Peruvian Amazon, along the Andes Mountains in the regions of Ucayali and Huánuco, leading to further threats and killings of Indigenous leaders. At the same time, experts have warned that organizations associated with the drug trade have diversified into mining, logging and land-grabbing enterprises, redrawing the map of criminal networks in Latin America.

Green finance has also continued stirring controversy. In early 2024, a Mongabay investigation revealed that several companies registered in Latin American countries claiming to have U.N. endorsement have persuaded Indigenous communities to hand over the economic rights to their forests for decades to come. Indigenous communities in Peru, Bolivia and Panama were promised jobs and local development projects in exchange for putting on the market more than 9.5 million hectares (23.5 million acres) of forests. The U.N. entities cited by the companies have rejected any involvement.

Conservation efforts carry on, despite obstacles

While Latin America might be battling many chronic issues, it still abounds in stories about conservation successes and new solutions to older problems. In Beni, Bolivia, a new approach to ranching has succeeded in bringing more sustainable practices and helping regenerate native grasses in the local savannas. In Peru, conservationists have come together to help protect the critically endangered Lima leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus sentosus), which lives in Lima’s archaeological sites, while in Iquitos, communities are struggling to protect turtle species from illegal trade and local culinary traditions.

Illegal bird traders have aggressively sought out the red siskin for more than a century. Image courtesy of SRCS.

Research has shown that in Ecuador community-led conservation initiatives were more effective in curbing páramo loss than state-protected areas, while in Guyana, local Indigenous communities have set up a conservation zone for the rare red siskin (Spinus cucullata) finch to protect it from illegal trade and habitat loss.

Banner image: Mist rising from the Amazon rainforest at dawn. Photo by Rhett A. Butler for Mongabay.

Posted on by

A deadly parasite turns jaguar conservation into a human health priority

  • Analysis of jaguar droppings in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands have uncovered the presence of Spirometra tapeworms, a parasite with significant ecological and public health implications that can be dangerous to people in its larval form.
  • Pantanal ranchers typically see jaguars as pests because they prey on livestock; however, conservationists aim to reframe these big cats as allies in ecological balance, as they control parasite-carrying prey and serve as vital bioindicators of the biome’s health.
  • The underreporting of parasitical infections in humans caused by Spirometra reveals a gap in public health awareness in Brazil, making the discovery of the parasite in jaguars a key breakthrough toward protecting communities.
  • Educational workshops and practical measures, such as electric fencing, have significantly reduced jaguar-livestock conflicts while improving community practices and promoting coexistence between humans and the big cats.

In Brazil’s Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland, Paul Raad crouched in the undergrowth, scanning the ground for signs of jaguar activity. He wasn’t looking for the big cats themselves; instead, the veterinarian from São Paulo State University (UNESP) was searching for fresh jaguar feces. Spotting a recent sample, Raad carefully collected it, stored it in a sterile container, and sent it to a lab to be analyzed. It was one sample of dozens that he’s collected since 2022.

The team of technicians at the wildlife postgraduate program at UNESP made a surprising discovery in the jaguar scat: the presence of the tapeworm genus Spirometra. While Spirometra have been widely documented in scat from wildlife in Asia and Europe, this marked their first detection in jaguar droppings in the Pantanal.

“We found it in many fecal samples. [This tapeworm] wasn’t even the main target of the study, but it stood out so much — screaming, ‘Look, I’m here’ — that we ended up prioritizing it,” Felipe Fornazari, a UNESP professor and supervisor of Raad’s master’s research, told Mongabay.

Paul Raad examines a Spirometra spp. tapeworm collected from the feces of a jaguar from the Brazilian Pantanal. Image © Eduardo Rossi/UNESP.

It was an important discovery. Although parasites evoke negative connotations, researchers see them playing a key role in jaguar conservation. Jaguar populations are at risk from retaliatory killings by farmers, who see them as pests endangering livestock, especially in the Brazilian Pantanal, where about 90% of the land is privately owned by cattle ranchers.

Yet jaguars are vital for sustaining healthy ecosystems — and surprisingly this tapeworm parasite may help highlight this importance. Adult Spirometra live harmlessly in jaguars and pose no danger to humans. However, in their larval stage — found in feral hogs (both prey for jaguars and a food source for people living in the Pantanal), other animals and water sources — they can cause sparganosis, a severe infection in humans that can invade the eyes, brain or other body parts, sometimes proving fatal. By preying on hogs, jaguars help curb the spread of this dangerous parasite. They also offer researchers a window into the region’s environmental health and parasitic risks.

“If you wouldn’t have jaguars, who would eat the feral hogs and other larvae carriers?” Raad, whose research was completed in December 2024 but hasn’t been published yet, told Mongabay. “Jaguars are saving lives. They are being a bioindicator, telling humans that this parasite is here and can affect them too.”

Conservationists are using this evidence to reframe jaguars as essential allies in ecological balance and public health. Since October, Raad, in partnership with local ranch syndicates and wildlife conservation NGOs WWF and Ampara Silvestre, has organized five workshops across the Pantanal to promote coexistence with jaguars. At the Pousada Piuval eco-lodge and cattle ranching property, a key spot for his research, he’s given lectures highlighting the benefits of jaguar conservation and practical strategies to protect cattle from predation. These sessions also educate locals on safe water practices from natural resources, a common source for the local drink known as terere, and proper preparation of bushmeat, such as feral hogs, to mitigate the risk of sparganosis.

The eggs of Spirometra spp. hatch into larvae that inhabit feral hogs, reptiles, and natural water sources, posing a risk of infection to humans who come into contact with them. Image courtesy of UNESP.

In addition to supporting jaguar conservation and community well-being, the research helps build trust with local populations by demonstrating that scientists are there to help them, rather than simply visiting these biomes for academic or career pursuits, Raad said.

“I want this product of research to be useful not only for me and the university but also for the community,” he said. “Jaguars are saving lives, and through this work, we’re saving jaguars too.”

Studying parasites

Parasites play an important role in conservation, providing key insights into their hosts (such as jaguars) and ecosystems (such as the Pantanal). For example, analyzing parasitic infections can help scientists gauge the size and health of animal populations, assess habitat quality, and determine the level of connectivity between animal groups in a particular region.

“Overexploitation, habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, and climate change are major threats to animal conservation, and all of these can be informed by parasites,” a 2021 study published in the journal Conservation Biology reads. “Research on parasites can also augment knowledge of the primary host and thereby potentially inform conservation.”

For his tapeworm study, Raad worked with teams from the zoonoses and genetics departments at UNESP, led by Felipe Fornazari and Ligia Silveira da Mota, respectively, and the pathology department at the Federal University of Mato Grosso, led by Richard Pacheco. They analyzed dozens of jaguar fecal samples from Poconé municipality in the north of the Pantanal, including the Pousada Piuval ranch, by extracting the DNA of the tapeworm from the feces. Most tested positive for the parasite. While the exact number of jaguars represented by these samples remains uncertain, Fornazari estimated it to be around eight — a compelling finding that underscores the need for further research, as well as highlighting jaguars’ crucial role in the ecosystem and the importance of adopting better health practices for communities in the wetlands.

Paul Raad, a veterinarian from São Paulo State University, collected numerous jaguar fecal samples in the Brazilian Pantanal from 2022 to 2024. Image © Paul Raad.

“It is a study that is being carried out with an important species — the jaguar — in a very important region where the environment and livestock intersect,” Fornazari said. “This parasite hasn’t been studied much in Brazil. We know it can cause diseases in domestic animals, wild animals and people, and this could be happening in Brazil but we’re not detecting it.”

Spirometra tapeworms have a complex life cycle, closely tied to aquatic environments like the Pantanal’s floodplains. Its larval stages infect crustaceans, amphibians, reptiles and mammals, eventually maturing in definitive hosts such as jaguars. Cases of sparganosis, caused by consuming undercooked infected meat or contaminated water, are mostly found in East and Southeast Asia. A 2011 study identified three cases in Brazil, including one case where the patient had Spirometra larvae in her eye.

The low number of sparganosis reports in Brazil may indicate underreporting rather than a lack of infections, Fornazari suggested. “In remote areas with limited health services, many cases of disease go unreported,” he said.

The relationship between the environment, the parasite, the jaguar and the local community can be explained by the One Health paradigm, a concept developed by the World Health Organization, according to Raad. One Health recognizes that the health of people, animals and the environment are all closely connected, and when one of these areas has problems, it can affect others.

“We cannot discuss human health without considering animal health, and we cannot address animal and human health without acknowledging the health of the environment,” Raad said.

Minimizing jaguar-human conflict

Educating the local community about jaguars as bioindicators is part of broader efforts to protect these big cats and mitigate human-jaguar conflicts. At Pousada Piuval, Raad has worked with jaguar expert Rafael Hoogesteijn and the Ampara Institute on an electric fencing project to prevent jaguars from preying on calves. The 7,000-hectare (17,300-acre) ranch, home to 2,200 head of cattle with an annual birth rate of 1,000 calves, has demonstrated significant reductions in calf predation through these interventions.

Ranchers identify pregnant cows nearing calving and move them to designated maternity areas where electric corrals provide overnight protection from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m., the jaguars’ peak hunting hours. In 2022, there were 20 attacks. This declined to four in 2024, with no attacks at all within the electric fencing area. That means the project has so far been 100% effective in preventing jaguar attacks on calves and cattle within the fenced areas, and 80% successful overall in reducing attacks.

The project has reduced calf losses from 30 in 2022 to just one in 2024. Camera traps have also captured footage of a young jaguar receiving a mild shock from the fence and learning to avoid it on subsequent visits.

“Jaguars learn quickly,” Raad said. “When they encounter fencing, they associate cows with a negative experience and avoid them in the future. We cannot confirm that they will never hunt again, but we can say that we have reduced the chances of them attacking the cattle.

Evidence of the Spirometra spp. tapeworm in a jaguar fecal sample that was studied at UNESP in collaboration with the Federal University of Mato Grosso. Image © Eduardo Rossi/UNESP.

“Piuval has become a school for ranchers and a school for jaguars on how to hunt without going after cattle,” he added.

The project has provided additional benefits to farmers by facilitating essential herd management, according to Eduardo Eubank, owner of the Pousada Piuval ranch. “This has improved herd care,” he told Mongabay. “In addition to enclosing the calves, the cowboys register births and ensure all health protocols are met.”

Junior Lozano, a veterinarian overseeing livestock at Pousada Piuval, said electric fencing is essential for sustainable cattle farming in the Pantanal. “I think this is the future for us here,” he told Mongabay. “People need to trust in this project — it’s the only viable way forward.”

The next step, he said, is to build larger electric enclosures to continue protecting young calves once they leave the maternity pen after two weeks post-birth to graze in the pastures.

The initiatives to save jaguars illustrate the far-reaching benefits that the conservation of a single species can bring, Raad said. “This electric fencing project and the parasite discovery have shown that protecting jaguars leads to healthier ecosystems and communities,” he said. “Now, we need to replicate these successes on a larger scale.”

Banner image: Studying faecal samples and putting up electric fences are part of a large conservation project to protect the Pantanal’s jaguars as well as help the local community. Image © Paul Raad.

Citations:

Gagne, R. B., Crooks, K. R., Craft, M. E., Chiu, E. S., Fountain-Jones, N. M., Malmberg, J. L., … VandeWoude, S. (2021). Parasites as conservation tools. Conservation Biology, 36(1). doi:10.1111/cobi.13719

Anantaphruti, M. T., Nawa, Y., & Vanvanitchai, Y. (2011). Human sparganosis in Thailand: An overview. Acta Tropica, 118(3), 171-176. doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2011.03.011

Mentz, M. B., Procianoy, F. Maestri, M. K., & Rott, M. B. (2010). Human ocular sparganosis in southern Brazil. Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, 53(1). doi:10.1590/S0036-46652011000100009

FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.

Posted on by

Photos: Top new species from 2024

  • Scientists described numerous new species this past year, the world’s smallest otter in India, a fanged hedgehog from Southeast Asia, tree-dwelling frogs in Madagascar, and a new family of African plants.
  • Experts estimate that fewer than 20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science, with potentially millions more awaiting discovery.
  • Although species may be new to science, many are already known to local and Indigenous peoples and have traditional names and uses.
  • Upon discovery, many new species are assessed as threatened with extinction, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts.

A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life.

This year, in Peru’s Alto Mayo Landscape alone, scientists uncovered 27 new-to-science species, including four new mammals, during a two month expedition. Meanwhile, the Greater Mekong region yielded 234 new species, and scientists from the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species globally. The ocean depths continued to surprise, with more than 100 potentially new species found on an unexplored underwater mountain off Chile’s coast. Two new mammal species were found in India this year, including the world’s smallest otter.

Scientists estimate only a small fraction of Earth’s species have been documented, perhaps 20% at best. Even among mammals, the best-known group of animals, scientists think we’ve only found 80% of species.  Yet most of the hidden species are likely bats, rodents, shrews, moles and hedgehogs.

Members of Indigenous Awajun communities in Peru’s Alto Mayo assist scientists with their research, such as throwing cast nets to capture fish.  68 fish species were collected, including eight that are new to science. Photo courtesy of Conservation International/ Trond Larsen.

However, while species may be new to Western science, many have been well known to Indigenous peoples and local communities for generations. These communities often maintain sophisticated classification systems and deep ecological knowledge about species’ behaviors, uses and roles in local ecosystems.

“For example, the blob-headed fish, which is so bizarre and unusual, and scientists have never seen anything like it, but it’s very familiar to the Awajún,” Trond Larsen, the leader of the Alto Mayo expedition in Peru from the NGO Conservation International, told Mongabay. “They regularly catch and eat them.” Similarly, the ghost palm, newly named by scientists this year, has been used by Iban communities in Borneo for basketry and food for decades.

Unfortunately, many species may be threatened with extinction before they’re even formally named, victims of human activities like development and climate change. Some of these species could be foods or medicines for humans, but each has a unique role in Earth’s interconnected web of life.

“There is something immensely unethical and troubling about humans driving species extinct without ever even having appreciated their existence and given them consideration,” Walter Jetz, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University, U.S., told Mongabay.

Here’s our look at some of the new-to-science species described in 2024:

Vampire hedgehog and glamorous viper among 243 new species from the Greater Mekong

The Greater Mekong region revealed some of the year’s most distinctive species. Local nature enthusiasts and researchers documented a hedgehog species with fang-like teeth, leading to its name vampire hedgehog (Hylomys macarong).

They also described a pit viper (Trimeresurus ciliaris) whose scales create the appearance of dramatic eyelashes, and a karst dragon lizard (Laodracon carsticola) first noticed by a local tour guide.

These findings illuminate the region’s rich biodiversity and conservation challenges, as many species face immediate threats from development and wildlife trafficking.

New giant anaconda species found on Waorani Indigenous land in Ecuador

Northern green anaconda, a new species found in Ecuador, feeding on a large lizard. Photo by Jesus Rivas.

A significant discovery has been made in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where scientists have identified a new species of giant anaconda in the Bameno region of Baihuaeri Waorani Territory. During their research, the team encountered an impressive female specimen measuring 6.3 meters (20.7 feet) in length from head to tail, though local Indigenous communities report encountering even larger individuals. The species faces multiple threats throughout its range, from deforestation destroying their habitat to direct hunting by humans and environmental degradation from oil spills.

Tree-dwelling frogs found in Madagascar’s pandan trees

One of the newly named frogs, Guibemantis ambakoana. Ambakoana means ‘living within Pandanus’ in Malagasy. Image courtesy of Hugh Gabriel.

In Madagascar’s eastern rainforests, three frog species living in pandan trees received their first scientific descriptions. Known locally as sahona vakoa (pandan frogs), these amphibians complete their entire life cycle within the water-filled spaces between the plants’ spiky leaves. The species, now given the scientific names Guibemantis rianasoa, G. vakoa and G. ambakoana, exemplify how local ecological knowledge often precedes formal scientific documentation by generations.

A new underwater mountain hosts deep-sea wonders off Chile</

A Chaunacops, a genus of bony fish in the sea toad family, seen at a depth of nearly 1,400 m (4,560 ft) on Seamount SF2 inside Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park. Image courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute. CC BY-NC-SA
A rarely seen Bathyphysa conifera, commonly known as flying spaghetti monster was documented on an unnamed and unexplored seamount along the Nazca Ridge off the coast of Chile. Image courtesy of ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

An expedition in the Southeast Pacific discovered more than 100 potentially new-to-science species on a previously unknown underwater mountain, including deep-sea corals (order Scleractinia), glass sponges, sea urchins (class Echinoidea), amphipods (order Amphipoda) and squat lobsters (family Galatheidae).

The expedition also sighted rare creatures like the flying spaghetti monster (Bathyphysa conifera) and Casper octopus (genus Grimpoteuthis).

The seamount, rising about 3 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) from the seafloor, about 1,450 km (900 mi) off Chile’s coast, hosts thriving deep-sea ecosystems with ancient corals and glass sponges. The findings highlight the rich biodiversity of the high seas as the U.N. finalizes treaties to protect international waters.

Toothed toads emerge from mountain forests of Vietnam and China

A new-to-science frog species from Vietnam identified as the Mount Po Ma Lung toothed toad (Oreolalax adelphos). Image courtesy of Zoological Society of London.

Two new species of rare, toothed toads were discovered in Vietnam and China: the Mount Po Ma Lung toothed toad (Oreolalax adelphos) and the Yanyuan toothed toad (Oreolalax yanyuanensis). These amphibians are characterized by an unusual row of tiny teeth on the roof of their mouths. The discovery brings the total known toothed toad species to 21. However, more than half are already considered threatened due to habitat loss and degradation.

Dwarf squirrel and blobfish among 27 new species found in Peru’s Alto Mayo

This ‘blob-headed’ fish (Chaetostoma sp.), is new to science and was a shocking discovery due to its enlarged blob-like head, a feature that the fish scientists have never seen before, even though this species is already familiar to the Indigenous Awajun people who worked with scientists. It is a type of bristlemouth armored catfish. Photo courtesy of Conservation International / Robinson Olivera.
This dwarf squirrel species (Microsciurus sp.) is a very small squirrel that is difficult to spot in the rainforest where it moves quickly and hides among tree branches. After proper taxonomic revision, this species that is new to science will also belong to a new genus. Photo courtesy of Conservation International/Ronald Diaz.
A semi-aquatic (amphibious) mouse (Daptomys sp.) that is new to science from Peru’s Alto Mayo. The species belongs to a group of rodents that is considered among the rarest in the world, and the few species that are known have only been observed a handful of times by scientists, with much still to be learned about their ecology. Photo courtesy of Conservation International/Ronald Diaz.

In Peru’s densely populated Alto Mayo region, home to 280,000 people, scientists working with local communities documented 27 species previously unknown to Western science.

The species included an amphibious mouse (Necromys aquaticus) found in just one patch of swamp forest; a fish with an unexplained blob-like head structure (Trichomycterus sp. nov.); an agile dwarf squirrel (Microsciurus sp. nov.); and a tree-climbing salamander (Bolitoglossa sp. nov.). These findings demonstrate how even human-modified landscapes can harbor biodiversity not yet documented by scientists.

The clouded tiger cat gains species status

Colombia and Costa Rica are key locations for the conservation of Leopardus pardinoides. But preservation of Colombia’s clouded tiger cats faces difficult hurdles, including the urgent need for more research and protection conducted within key areas that lie inside conflict zones, say researchers. Image courtesy of Camilo Botero. Article title - A tiger cat gains new species designation, but conservation challenges remain
Leopardus pardinoides, or the clouded tiger cat, as a new species. This small wildcat is found in the cloud forests of Costa Rica, south to Panama, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Colombia and Costa Rica are key locations for the conservation. Image courtesy of Camilo Botero.

Scientists formally described a new small wild cat species, the clouded tiger cat (Leopardus pardinoides), found in high-altitude cloud forests from Central to South America. This taxonomic clarification has major conservation implications, as new data indicate all three tiger cat species have experienced dramatic range reductions, with the clouded tiger cat’s habitat particularly threatened by human activities.

A rare ghost palm from Borneo

The ghost palm (Plectocomiopsis hantu) from Borneo was already known to local communities. Benedikt Kuhnhäuser / RBG Kew

 Though long used by local Iban communities in western Borneo for basketry and edible shoots, scientists finally gave a formal name to a distinctive rattan palm after 90 years. Named Plectocomiopsis hantu (“hantu” meaning ghost in Indonesian and Malay), the palm is known for its ghostly appearance, with white undersides to the leaves and gray stems. It’s currently known from only three locations in or near protected rainforest habitats.

A new family of African plants that can’t photosynthesize

Afrothismia species have lost their ability to photosynthesize and rely on fungi for food. Image courtesy of Martin Cheek © RBG Kew

Scientists named an entirely new family of plants, Afrothismiaceae, which have evolved to take all their nutrients from fungal partners rather than through photosynthesis. Found in African forests, these rare plants only appear above ground to fruit and flower. Most species in this family are extremely rare or possibly extinct, with the majority recorded only once in Cameroon.

New orchids from Indonesia

Indonesia is home to exceptional biodiversity including the orchid Dendrobium cokronagoroi (left) and Mediocalcar gemma-corona (right), two of the five new orchids described from Indonesia. Photos courtesy of Jeffrey Champion and Andre Schuiteman RBG Kew.

The orchid family is immense, and new species are found most years. This year, researchers described five new species from islands throughout Indonesia. These are: Coelogyne albomarginata from Sumatra, Coelogyne spinifera from Seram, and Dendrobium cokronagoroi, the Dendrobium wanmae (a critically endangered species) and Mediocalcar gemma-coronae (endangered), all from western New Guinea.

A lonely liana faces extinction from cement production in Vietnam

The habitat of Chlorohiptage vietnamensis is being destroyed for the manufacture of cement. Photo courtesy of Truong VanDo/RBG Kew.

A new genus and species of green-flowered liana, Chlorohiptage vietnamensis, was discovered in Vietnam but is already assessed as critically endangered. Its limestone karst habitat is being cleared for quarries to make cement, threatening the only known population of this unique plant.

Two new mammals from India

Small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus), the world’s tiniest otter species, photographed for the first time in Kaziranga. Photo courtesy of Arun Vignesh.
Binturong (Arctictis binturong), the largest civet species, was also photographed for the first time in Kaziranga. Photo courtesy of Chirantanu Saikia.

Two new mammal species in were described in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, Northeast India’s biggest national park.  A forest officer documented the presence of the small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus), the world’s tiniest otter species.  The small-clawed otter, protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, joins two other otter species already known to inhabit Kaziranga.

The binturong (Arctictis binturong), an elusive nocturnal tree-dweller also known as the bearcat, was photographed by tour guide Chirantanu Saikia in January 2024. The binturong is found exclusively in Northeast India and requires dense forest canopy for survival. It has become increasingly rare due to deforestation.

While local residents had previously reported sightings of both species, these photographs provide the first concrete evidence of their presence in the park. Conservation officials believe these discoveries suggest the potential presence of other undocumented species within the park, highlighting the importance of continued wildlife surveys and protection efforts in the region.

One of the tiniest frogs ever found in Brazil

Brachycephalus dacnis rests on a fingertip. Photo courtesy of Lucas Machado Botelho.

Scientists in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest described a remarkable new species of frog, Brachycephalus dacnis, measuring just 6.95 millimeters in length – about the size of a pencil eraser. Unlike other similarly tiny frogs that often struggle with balance, this species has maintained its inner ear structure, allowing it to jump gracefully up to 32 times its body length. The discovery in São Paulo state’s remaining Atlantic Forest highlights both the region’s rich biodiversity and the urgent need for conservation, as this critically threatened ecosystem now stands at just 13% of its original extent, potentially harboring many more undiscovered species.

Banner image of Leopardus pardinoides, or the clouded tiger cat, as a new species. This small wildcat is found in the cloud forests of Costa Rica, south to Panama, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Image courtesy of Johanes Pfleiderer.

Liz Kimbrough is a staff writer for Mongabay and holds a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Tulane University, where she studied the microbiomes of trees. View more of her reporting here.

Photos: Top species discoveries from 2023

Gone before we know them? Kew’s ‘State of the World’s Plants and Fungi’ report warns of extinctions

FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message directly to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.

Posted on by

Climate financing should come from oil and gas ‘super’ profits, study says

  • Oil and gas companies have the ability to become a significant source of climate financing, a new study in Climate Policy argues.
  • The study looked at oil and gas profits from 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine spiked energy prices across the globe, boosting realized companies’ earnings by 65%, or around $495 billion.
  • If governments had imposed an additional 30% tax on the profits of private oil and gas companies, it would have raised $147 billion, the study said.
  • Climate financing was the focus of the COP 29 climate conference, which only managed to come up with $300 billion in annual support for developing countries.

The international community is struggling to come up with enough funding to adequately address climate change, especially for developing countries that are impacted the most.

At the latest climate change conference, COP 29, leaders tripled annual funding for developing nations combatting climate change to $300 billion annually, but it still fell short of the $1.3 trillion experts say is needed.

The $300 billion, negotiated in Azerbaijan, renews an agreement made in 2009 to provide poorer nations with $100 billion to transition away from fossil fuels and address droughts, natural disasters and other impacts of climate change. But many critics said they want more money and more creative solutions.

“Fossil fuel-producing countries continue to promote their own interests, jeopardizing both the COP negotiations and the fate of humanity,” said Jack Corscadden, a climate campaigner for the Environmental Investigation Agency. “Continued fossil fuel extraction and consumption is not compatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C.”

One study, published ahead of the conference, argued that policymakers haven’t been asking enough of sectors with the highest emission rates, most notably oil and gas. Companies have the ability to make significantly higher financial contributions than they are right now — especially when they see unexpected profits.

“There is a clear case to include fossil fuel profits on the agenda of [UN] climate finance negotiations and to pursue an international agreement on minimum fossil fuel production taxes,” said the study, which was published in Climate Policy.

The study looked at oil and gas profits from 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine spiked energy prices across the globe, boosting realized companies’ earnings before interest and tax by 65% compared to expected earnings, or around $495 billion. The crisis began when Russia cut off 80 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas to Europe.

Four companies alone made an additional $123 billion in unexpected profit that year, including Aramco, Petrobras, PetroChina and Gazprom.

“The windfall profits alone taken in by oil and gas companies due to the 2022 energy crisis would have been sufficient to cover the existing commitments of the industrialized nations for nearly five years,” the study argued.

Gas flaring on the Napo River in Ecuador. Photo by Peter Prokosch/Grida. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

These unexpected profits, known as “super” profits, were nearly five times larger than the annual $100-billion climate finance goal established in 2009, and 700 times larger than the initial pledges at the climate conference in 2023 to assist with losses and damage from climate change.

Most of the oil and gas companies that benefited from the 2022 price spike were government-controlled, but they weren’t obligated to divert profits towards climate change efforts. The study said 70% of government-controlled super profits weren’t required to contribute to the 2009 climate change commitment.

If governments had imposed an additional 30% tax on the profits of private oil and gas companies, it would have raised $147 billion, the study said. Had they taxed them at 100%, it would have raised $324 billion on top of the $425 billion made through current tax structures.

“The sheer magnitude of these numbers illustrates that there is ample potential for governments to raise funds for climate action,” the study said.

One downside to this approach is that oil and gas companies currently use unexpected profits to “cushion” against financial losses in the future. Setting the tax rate too high could hurt companies’ growth and even lead to solvency. At the same time, the study argued that there is overinvestment in oil and gas, and that growth should be in renewable energies.

Reliance on oil and gas has been especially challenging for climate finance goals in Latin America, where major economies like Mexico and Argentina struggle to prioritize renewable energy and other climate change initiatives. Both countries received significant financial support to fight climate change yet also relied on revenue from carbon-intensive activities, according to the Sustainable Finance Index (SFI) 2024.

Guatemala and other Central American countries have done a better job at increasing climate mitigation efforts through redirecting annual budgets to fighting climate change while deprioritizing revenue from fossil fuels.

But leaders at COP 29 maintained that developed countries like the US and China — as well as oil-rich countries in the Middle East — need to carry more of the burden of climate financing.

While the $300 billion deal is disappointing for many, they’re hoping that it will set up more productive — and more ambitious — negotiations for next year’s climate conference in Brazil.

“The end of the fossil fuel age is an economic inevitability,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. “New national plans must accelerate the shift, and help to ensure it comes with justice.”

Banner image: An Exxon crude oil refinery. Photo courtesy of Columbia Law School.

FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.

See related from this reporter:

New datasets identify which crops deforest the Amazon, and where