The Habibat Project Newsletter

Why Ghana Needs Grassroots Regulation to Combat Galamsey

The Habibat Project — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 14:07:00 GMT

Photo: A Galamsey worker manually digging for gold. Credit: Kawtey, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Read the article on The Habibat Project website

Illegal and poorly regulated small-scale gold mining, known locally as “Galamsey,” continues to inflict severe environmental damage across Ghana. In the Ashanti, Western, Eastern, and Central regions, opera…

GEF-9: How Nigeria is Preparing for the New Funding Cycle

The Habibat Project — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:15:00 GMT

Photo: Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, delivering a speech at the Eighth Global Environment Facility Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Credit: Amir Sadiq

Read the article on The Habibat Project website

Following the conclusion of the Eighth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly on June 5, Nigeria is seeking to align its GEF-9 project …

Small Island Nations Confront a Funding Vacuum in Race to Protect Biodiversity

The Habibat Project — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:05:00 GMT

Photo: GEF Operational Focal Point for Madagascar, Hery Rakotondravony (r) and the GEF Operational Focal Point for Nigeria (l) at the Eighth Assembly. Credit: The Habibat Project

Read the article on The Habibat Project website

As the world edges toward the 2030 deadline for the Global Biodiversity Framework’s “30x30” target, representatives of vulnerable …

How the Nigerian Conservation Foundation Is Supporting Nigeria’s Sustainability Ambitions in the Ninth GEF Funding Cycle

The Habibat Project — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:24:07 GMT

Photo: Interview with the director-general of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (left) at the Eighth GEF Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Credit: Amir Sadiq

Read the article on The Habibat Project website

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) is implementing several GEF-funded projects in Nigeria, including the restoration of Omo Forest in Ogun …

Short Documentary on the Perret's Toad

The Habibat Project — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 18:31:46 GMT

The short documentary below provides additional visuals on our previous report on the people expediting the extinction of the Perret’s toad, what their needs are and how it intersects with their traditional practices, the state of the animal’s habitat in Idanre Hills, as well as the researchers involved in the conservation of the toad.

This story was produced with the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network

How Nigerian Toad Was Lost, Found and Is Now Almost Extinct

The Habibat Project — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 20:54:34 GMT

The critically endangered Perret’s toad (with a marker to show its position). Courtesy of Amir Sadiq

A version of this story was originally published in Daily Trust.

Read the article on The Habibat Project website

At the start of each farming season, Ademigokun Sunday grabs a sack of hoes and a cutlass and treks for 40 minutes to the wooded valleys of the …

Urgent Intervention Required for Women Fishers and Mangrove-Coastal Ecosystems in Mauritius

The Habibat Project — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:45:17 GMT

Photo: The lead researcher, Raphael, collecting notes on mangroves from a southeast coastal inhabitant. Credit: Raphael Merven

Read the article on The Habibat Project website

In Mauritius, an Indian Ocean Island off the eastern coast of Africa, stewards and users of the coast are expected to experience environmental and socio-economic insecurity if their …

Human-Bear Conflicts, Gold Mining, and Other Threats Endanger Andean Species, but Conservationists Respond

The Habibat Project — Thu, 22 May 2025 18:01:21 GMT

Photo: Award-winning biologist and National Geographic Explorer, Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, poses for a photo. Credit: Mark Thomas

The Andes is presently facing multiple threats to its biodiversity, with species such as the Andean cat and yellow-tailed woolly monkey now endangered, while others like the Andean Bear remain vulnerable, according to Peru-bas…

Battling Chytrid: A Conservationist’s Journey to Protect Frog Populations from a Ravaging Panzootic

The Habibat Project — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 08:01:48 GMT

Photo: Anthony Waddle, researcher at the Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Credit: Yorick Lambreghts/Macquarie University

Frog populations worldwide are declining due to a devastating winter panzootic caused by the chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). The disease, known as chytridiomycosis, has caused the death of amphibians massively,…

In Bagamoyo, Women Pioneer Seaweed Farming to Protect Coastal Ecosystems

The Habibat Project — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 17:20:05 GMT

Photo: Zuhura Ahmad (wearing a blue hijab in the middle) leading women in Bagamoyo to plant seaweeds. Credit: Zuhura Ahmad/She Shapes Nature

Oceans account for 71% of the world’s surface but are slapped with a myriad of challenges, including microplastic and mercury pollution, climate change, ocean acidification, loss of coral reefs, and overfishing. The…

Amid Discrimination and Ejection, the Batwa Community Pays Homage to the Rainforest Through Sustainability and Conservation Efforts

The Habibat Project — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 09:46:10 GMT

Photo: Batwa kids actively involved in tree-planting activities in Kalehe village, southwestern Uganda. Credit: Wendee Nicole

The Batwa community has struggled since they were kicked out of their homes in the rainforests of southwestern Uganda to favor mountain gorilla conservation efforts, which have actually yielded increased gorilla populations. The p…

Webinar: The Habibat Project's Second Webinar on Reported Stories (Community/Audience Training)

The Habibat Project — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 12:03:27 GMT

We have just concluded our second but final webinar for the year which you can watch above. For an enlightening hour, Amir Sadiq & hosted this session that analyzed key takeaways from our January and March 2024 reported stories on mangrove restoration in Calabar, Nigeria and conservation efforts in Madagascar. Kudos to our growing community on WhatsApp…

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods Threaten Nepal's Himalayan Communities

Mukesh Pokhrel — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 10:02:17 GMT

Photo: Mount Makalu & other mountains in the Himalayan range, and a glacial lake, photographed during a Kongma La Pass trek. Credit: Rajesh Thapaliya, Kathmandu/Wiki Commons

As temperatures continually rise due to climate change, the Himalayan region is facing increasing environmental risks. In Nepal, the Himalayas are warming faster than other areas in …

As World Rivers Day approaches, cause for concern – and hope – for the planet’s waterways

David Malakoff — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 09:01:39 GMT

Photo: The Potomac River near Washington, D.C., which has seen dramatic improvements in water quality over the past few decades. Credit: David Malakoff for The Habibat Project

“Rivers,” the Canadian conservationist Roderick Haig-Brown once wrote, are like the “veins of the Earth,” serving as lifelines for people and countless other species as well. Witho…

Webinar (Podcast): First Community Training Session on Stories Reported via The Habibat Project

The Habibat Project — Sat, 14 Sep 2024 17:09:46 GMT

Photo: Screenshot of The Habibat Project’s First Webinar held earlier today. Credit: The Habibat Project

If you have not joined the THP Community WhatsApp Group yet, chances are that you did not know that we had our first webinar today. You can now listen to the new episode of the THP Podcast via the link above.

“No to Food. Yes to Microplastics.” Arctic Wildlife Forced to Welcome Environmental Pollution

The Habibat Project — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 13:40:25 GMT

Photo: Melanie Bergmann records Arctic Ocean plastic pollution between deployments on Polarstern icebreaker. August 31, 2017, Arctic Ocean. Credit: Alfred Wegener Institute / Esther Horvath

While people often think that there isn't enough happening in the Arctic to be affected by the frequent anthropogenic activities that go on in the rest of the world, …

What may we learn from Qatar’s policy focus on sustainability via its National Vision 2030?

The Habibat Project — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 13:12:58 GMT

Professor Damilola Olawuyi, College of Law, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar. Credit: UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, HBKU.

Qatar is known for its oil and gas exploration and adventures which have made it the richest state in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. It is a small state in terms of size and …

Fourteen years later, unregulated gold mining in Zamfara State, Nigeria, is still causing problems for people and the environment

The Habibat Project — Sun, 30 Jun 2024 12:38:08 GMT

Women and children displaced from their villages by the activities of bandits associated with illegal mining in Zamfara State. Credit: Khadijah Abdulrazaq for The Habibat Project

Introduction of the issue on ground

Illicit artisanal mining in Zamfara State is now “a tale as old as time.” Zamfara is rich in deposits of gold, zinc, copper, and many other mi…

Fighting Cancer via PROTACs, RIPTACs, and the Downmodulation of a Transcription Factor

The Habibat Project — Thu, 30 May 2024 21:03:48 GMT

Professor Craig Crews during the interview session. Credit: The Habibat Project

PROTACs (PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras) were first introduced in 2001 to help remove specific unwanted protein growths, with the potential to target and destroy disease-causing protein tumors. This technology now presents a promising alternative to chemotherapy and precision…

Death by wind turbines and missiles: What does the future hold for bats in Ukraine?

The Habibat Project — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 22:47:45 GMT

Bat biologist Alona Prylutska feeding some adult bats. Credit: The Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center

Bats in Ukraine are under threat and are listed in the national red-data book. The conditions of these flying mammals are further worsened by the Russia-Ukraine war, as the buildings and environments they hibernate in are bombed, leading to their deaths…