Erik Hoffner

As we’ve watched the biodiversity COP in Colombia and then the climate COP negotiations in recent weeks, the urgency of addressing the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss has never been clearer. The need for bold action is undeniable, and the solutions we implement must be just as transformative. One area that holds […]

Dr. Neil Vora is no stranger to dangerous diseases, as a former epidemic intelligence service officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Vora has deployed to nations like Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to combat outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus, and is an ardent supporter of investing in […]

Corpus Christi is a city on the Texas Gulf Coast located close to water hungry industries in the drought plagued state, attracting multiple proposals

Journalism is the practical expression of the connection between the local and the global, writes the environmental investigations director of the Pulitzer Center in a new op-ed.

“In a culture that perceives nature as separate from people, the dominant conservation mindset is biased in theory and practice by science-based methodologies to conserve and protect nature,” a new op-ed argues.

A global housing affordability crisis is underway, so when the Center for Demographics and Policy at Chapman University in the U.S. released a report this year highlighting the “disastrous” state of housing affordability for 94 markets — where median home prices far exceed median wages by many times, making housing much more expensive for the […]

“In the wake of COP29, which ended with developed economies begrudgingly committing to increase climate funding for developing countries to $300

It was another busy year for Mongabay’s podcast team, featuring many fresh interviews, a new season of the Mongabay Explores series, an award, and its first year featuring a two-person co-host team at the microphone. With more than 40 episodes published, there are many favorites to choose from, but the following is a list of […]

Recognition of the need to restore degraded landscapes is accelerating at pace. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (the UN Decade) has triggered a global movement to rally individual action, financial investment, and political backing to prevent, halt and reverse the loss of nature. In October, at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) conference […]

In 2024, the U.N.’s climate and biodiversity conferences, COP29 and COP16, drew the attention of more than 3,500 media delegates and 1,000 journalists, respectively. Though these massive global negotiations are consequential for international policy on the environment and have human rights implications, there were also international negotiations this year on managing the majority of the world’s fisheries (which are currently being driven to collapse) — without any media in the room. There are 17 regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) responsible for regulating the fishing of various commercially valuable species across vast swaths of the ocean. Their members meet regularly, but their decisions aren’t often well-publicized, due to a lack of journalists in attendance. “Our presence at these meetings is not really welcomed, and that’s a problem,” says Mongabay staff writer Malavika Vyawahare. During this podcast episode, Vyawahare is joined by a fisheries expert and an RFMO secretary to explain how science is used during these meetings, the consequences their decisions have on global fish populations, human rights and labor rights on the high seas, and how journalists can better cover these secretive organizations. “Decisions are being made by RFMOs that impact billion-dollar fisheries and take effect next year [so] these stories deserve to be told,” says Grantly Galland, a project director at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Also joining the conversation is Darius Campbell, secretary of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, an RFMO. “The sea is [vast and it’s] very difficult to understand what’s going on. Most of the [fish]…This article was originally published on Mongabay