Mongabay’s most impactful investigations of 2024

This year, Mongabay published in-depth investigations on critical environmental issues. Our reporting revealed evidence of ecosystem destruction and its consequences for people worldwide, showcasing the importance of journalism in protecting our planet. Here are some of these stories.

Amazon airstrips

Mongabay Latam and Earth Genome found 67 clandestine airstrips used for transporting drugs in Peru’s Ucayali, Huánuco, and Pasco regions. The team used artificial intelligence to scan satellite images, which was then cross-checked with official records and on-the-ground reporting. Many of these illegal airstrips are situated near Indigenous communities, reserves for people living in voluntary isolation, and forest concessions. Notably, 31 runways are concentrated in the province of Atalaya, an area that has emerged as one of the most violent in the Peruvian Amazon.

Rhino poaching

After critically endangered Javan rhinos were poached in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park, Mongabay Indonesia launched an investigation into how two criminal gangs managed to kill multiple rhinos over years in one of the world’s most heavily guarded protected areas. The investigation revealed that the poachers may have obtained insider information about the rhinos’ movements. Although arrests have been made, questions about the scale of the poaching and the fate of the missing animals remain unanswered.

Land grabs

Mongabay and Repórter Brasil uncovered how a notorious land grabber in the Brazilian Amazon used relatives and an employee as fronts to dodge environmental fines and lawsuits. This investigation highlighted a common tactic that burdens law enforcement with the costly and time-consuming task of identifying the true financiers behind deforestation. Experts say that targeting environmental offenders by seizing their assets, rather than focusing on uncovering their identities, would be a more effective approach.

Maasai’s misery

Two Mongabay investigations published this year revealed significant conservation and human rights concerns in Tanzania, with brutal impacts for the East African country’s Maasai pastoralists. In August, whistleblowers speaking to Mongabay accused a luxury hunting firm catering to UAE elites and royals of decades of poaching. The testimonies focused on Loliondo, northern Tanzania, where the authorities have served waves of eviction notices affecting Maasai herders. Then, in November, we examined how Tanzania’s conservation policies, backed by German funding, are driving Maasai evictions from ancestral lands. These findings highlight tensions between economic interests, conservation, and Indigenous rights.

Cobalt capital

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s copper belt, pollution from cobalt and copper mining – critical for the green energy transition – is causing widespread harm, including deaths, infant health issues, crop destruction, water contamination, and forced relocations. Despite legal obligations, companies, including those linked to state-owned Gécamines, stand accused of failing to address the damage. Mongabay investigated villages affected to document the unresolved environmental and human rights abuses.

False claims

In January, a Mongabay investigation found that companies falsely claiming U.N. endorsement persuaded Indigenous communities in Peru, Bolivia, and Panama to give up rights to over 9.5 million hectares of forests, promising jobs and development in return. The U.N. denied any involvement, and the companies’ untested methodology for valuing natural capital lacks transparency. Experts warn that weak regulation in sustainable finance enables such exploitation of communities protecting critical ecosystems.

‘Timber cartel’

Notorious Cambodian logging firm Angkor Plywood has been illegally exporting rare tree species from protected areas like Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary to Vietnam and China, enabled by its powerful connections, Mongabay revealed in the first in a two-part investigation into the company described as a ‘timber cartel’. The year-long project found evidence linking the logging syndicate to widespread deforestation and illegal logging, despite its claims its wood comes from plantations. In part two, Mongabay linked Angkor Plywood to the U.S. market.

Banner image: A Javan rhino immerses itself in the Cigenter River within Ujung Kulon National Park. Image by Stephen Belcher courtesy of Ujung Kulon National Park.

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Daniel Editor

This story first appeared on Mongabay

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