John Cannon
Mongabay
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Past articles by John:
Carbon market intermediaries act with little transparency, according to report
Only about 10% of the exchanges, brokers, resellers and cryptocurrency vendors that buy and sell voluntary carbon market credits share the precise commissions and profits they make in these exchanges, according to a review commissioned by the nonprofit watchdog Carbon Market Watch. The opacity with which these “intermediaries” operate makes it impossible to discern how […] → Read More
Russian invasion hinders global biodiversity conservation, study shows
The red-breasted goose is a well-traveled bird. From their breeding grounds in Arctic Siberia, flocks typically migrate over northern Kazakhstan through the Russian Republic of Kalmykia and Rostov Oblast to balmier climes near the shores of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. Wandering individuals — vagrants, in the parlance of ornithologists — have […] → Read More
‘Development’ projects in Ethiopia leave starvation, disease in wake: Report
A flagship dam and large-scale sugarcane plantations in southwestern Ethiopia are causing starvation and disease among several Indigenous groups driven off their land by the projects, according to a report by the Oakland Institute, a California-based think tank. Construction of the Gilgel Gibe III dam on the Omo River began in 2006. The intention was […] → Read More
Update gives practical guidance for buyers of tropical forest carbon credits
Eight conservation and Indigenous organizations have released a detailed guide for companies looking to invest in tropical forest carbon credits. The groups first published the Tropical Forest Credit Integrity (TCFI) Guide in May 2022. After months of consultation, an update lays out step-by-step guidance that they say provides companies with a tool to offset their carbon […] → Read More
Pollution and climate change set stage for rise in antimicrobial resistance
Pollution from a variety of sources is driving up the incidence of resistance to the compounds used to treat infections, according to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme. The authors also note that climate change and biodiversity loss help foster the development of antimicrobial resistance, or AMR. They call for systemic societal […] → Read More
Carbon markets entice, but confuse, corporations: Report
Corporations see investments in voluntary carbon markets as a key part of their climate strategy, according to a new report from the environmental nonprofit Conservation International and the We Mean Business Coalition, a partnership of climate NGOs. Both are based in the U.S. Voluntary carbon markets provide businesses with the opportunity to buy credits that, […] → Read More
10 notable books on conservation and the environment published in 2022
It’s too easy nowadays to look at the state of the world and feel a sense of hopelessness. Scientists tell us we face not one but two potentially existential menaces in climate change and biodiversity loss. Given the dour tone of many of these predictions, you might forgive writers chronicling the state of things for […] → Read More
Airbus looks to put its satellites to new biodiversity conservation uses
The Airbus Foundation and the Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF) recently announced a new award for research that would use satellites to aid in biodiversity conservation. The application period, open to individual researchers and nonprofit organizations, began Dec. 5 and ends Feb. 3, 2023. A team of four judges will assess the potential of proposals designed […] → Read More
Threatened cloud forests key to billions of dollars worth of hydropower: Report
The tiny droplets of condensation in the canopies of the world’s cloud forests are just the first link in a life-giving chain. That water replenishes rivers, streams and reservoirs, filters down to thirsty farmland, and flows through pipes into homes and industry. It is the lifeblood of the human villages, towns and cities downslope, not […] → Read More
Scientists plead for protection of peatlands, the world’s carbon capsules
A group of researchers from more than a dozen countries are calling for worldwide peatland protection and restoration. In a signed statement released Dec. 1, more than 40 scientists say the global importance of peatlands must be addressed. These swampy, waterlogged depressions haven’t yet figured into discussions around tackling the world’s most pressing environmental crises, […] → Read More
Study tracks global forest decline and expansion over six decades
Since 1960, the world has lost an area of forest larger than the island of Borneo, according to a recent study. That net loss of 817,000 square kilometers (315,000 square miles) of forest area, combined with the growth of the global population, means that there’s just half a hectare (1.2 acres) of forest for every […] → Read More
Billions rely on wild species for food, energy and more: IPBES report
Some 50,000 wild species provide for many of the world’s people, according to a recent report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). But today, those critical services are threatened by the global biodiversity crisis, the authors found in their review of more than 6,200 sources. “The sustainable use of wild […] → Read More
‘It sustains us all’: IPBES report calls for accounting of nature’s diverse values
A focus on valuing nature through the lens of the market has contributed to the global biodiversity crisis, according to a recent report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). IPBES produced an in-depth assessment in 2019, concluding that 1 million species of plants and animals could go extinct as part […] → Read More
‘Why sharks matter’: Q&A with author and shark biologist David Shiffman
In the introduction to his new book, conservation biologist David Shiffman quotes Senegalese forestry engineer and conservationist Baba Dioum: “In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught,” Dioum says. If anything is clear from Why Sharks Matter: […] → Read More
Beyond CO2, tropical forests a ‘cool’ solution to climate crisis, study finds
As hot and muggy as most tropical rainforests are, you only need to leave their florid confines and step onto a recently razed plot of land to feel an immediate difference. In the bright sun, a wall of drier heat greets you, jolting your body with the impulse to return to the shade and humidity […] → Read More
‘Nature has priority’: Rewilding map showcases nature-led restoration
In the past decade, the European bison (Bison bonasus) has made a comeback in Central and Eastern Europe. Hunters had killed the last known bison in the region nearly a century ago. But thanks to reintroduction programs in Belarus, Poland, Russia and Romania, nearly four times as many bison are alive today as there were […] → Read More
IPCC report calls for ‘immediate and deep’ carbon cuts to slow climate change
Current pledges to cut emissions won’t be enough to slow climate change, according to a new report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said this report, which focuses on the mitigation of human-caused global warming, catalogs “a litany of broken climate promises.” “We are on a fast […] → Read More
Climate change a threat to human well-being and health of the planet: New IPCC report
Climate change is endangering the health of the planet, humanity, and the species and ecosystems that anchor life on Earth, according to a report released Feb. 28 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “The stakes for our planet have never been higher,” António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, said at a press conference. “The […] → Read More
The Congo Basin’s 10 most consequential stories from 2021
For the Congo Basin, 2021 proved to be an up-and-down year. Funding commitments totaling in the billions of dollars were announced that would help forested countries preserve some of the highest-quality tropical rainforest left on the planet. And research into the world’s largest tropical peatland, which is found in the Congo Basin, continues to expand […] → Read More
Indigenous leader sues over Borneo natural capital deal
Adrian Lasimbang, an Indigenous leader in Malaysian Borneo, is suing the state of Sabah, contesting a recently signed agreement selling the rights to carbon and other natural capital from 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of forest to a foreign company for the next 100 years. The deal allows Hoch Standard Pte. Ltd., a Singaporean […] → Read More