African forest elephants play a crucial role in shaping the Congo rainforest ecosystem, two experts explain on this episode. As seed dispersers and maintainers of forest corridors and clearings, they are sometimes referred to as "gardeners of the forest." 

 

Their small and highly threatened population needs additional study and conservation prioritization, since the loss of this species would fundamentally change the shape and structure of the world's second-largest rainforest.

 

Guest Fiona "Boo" Maisels is a conservation scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, while Andrew Davies is assistant professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University, and they speak with host Mike DiGirolamo about these charismatic mammals.  

 

Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.

 

If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!

 

See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.

 

Image credit: A calf attempts to sneak its trunk into a mineral pit that mom is drinking from. Protest calls are often heard from calves in this behavioral context, as mom sometimes pushes them away and they in turn express their displeasure with a little yell. Photo Ana Verahrami, Elephant Listening Project.

 

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Timecodes 

 

(00:00) Introduction

(02:00) There are two African elephant species?

(06:06) Can the "value" of an elephant be quantified?

(19:30) The value of forest bais

(27:25) Impacts of climate change

(30:30) The future of forest elephants in the Congo Basin

(38:44) Credits

Billionaires, foundations, and philanthropists often make massive, headline-grabbing pledges for biodiversity conservation or climate change mitigation, but how effective are these donations? How do these huge sums get used, and how do we know? These questions are among the considerations that conservationists and environmental reporters should keep in mind, two guest experts on this episode say.

 

On this edition of the Mongabay Newscast, Holly Jonas, global coordinator of the ICCA Consortium, and Michael Kavate, staff writer at Inside Philanthropy, break down some of the more overlooked issues these giant gifts raise, and story angles that reporters should consider when covering philanthropy for the environment.

 

"I think what the public really needs is more critical and in-depth coverage of the ideologies and the approaches behind their kinds of philanthropy, the billionaire pledges and so on, how they're being rolled out in practice, where the funding's actually going," says Jonas.

 

Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.

 

If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!

 

See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.

 

Image credit: Great Green Macaw in Las Balsas reserve. Photo credit: José León.

 

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Timecodes 

 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:55) Biggest trends in environmental philanthropy

(07:23) Follow the money, follow the power

(20:23) Tools and techniques for reporters

(24:09) Localization & accountability

(37:37) Funding transparency

(53:25) Project finance for permanence

(01:06:14) Western influence in philanthropy

(01:13:37) Credits

Today’s guest is Jay Griffiths, award-winning author of several books, including the acclaimed Wild: An Elemental Journey. She speaks with co-host Rachel Donald about the importance of language for preserving communities and their cultures, the impact of colonization and globalization on Indigenous communities, and the innate human connection with the natural world in the land of one's birth. 

 

Roughly 4,000 of the world’s 6,700 languages are spoken by Indigenous communities, but multiple factors (such as the decimation of human rights) continue to threaten their existence along with their speakers’ cultures.

 

The guest also explores parallels between humans, nature and culture: “There’s great research that suggests that we learned ethics from wolves [by taking] an attitude to the world of both me the individual, and of me the pack member,” in caring for all members of the group, she says.

 

Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.

 

If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!

 

See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.

 

Image credit: Kali Biru (Blue River) on Waigeo Island in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo credit: Rhett Ayers Butler

 

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Timecodes 

 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:45) The power of language

(09:03) Colonialism and globalization

(17:40) The trickster in myth to modern governance

(23:24) Reclaiming belonging

(20:27) Championing Indigenous voices

(34:45) Against mechanic modernity

(40:35) West Papua, a brief explainer

(46:22) Land and identity

(51:50) A world of climate refugees