- Mongabay Latam journalists and staff traveled to more than ten countries to document the challenges and capture what their lenses saw in powerful images.
- In this list we select the 12 best videos of 2023 that summarize the work of our team of journalists throughout the year.
Some of the most important environmental stories of 2023 were captured in 12 videos. From the protection of ecosystems and endangered species, deforestation and the indiscriminate increase of illegal mining in the Amazon and the consequences of environmental commitments to wildlife trafficking, the impact of illegal armed groups on indigenous communities and violence against environmental and territorial protectors.
Journalists and photojournalists traveled around 10 countries in the region To document progress and setbacks in environmental protection. Through formats short, medium and long duration We collect the most important data from our research to assess the relevance of the stories.
These are the 12 videos which summarize the work of our team of journalists in 2023.
12. These people were disappeared because they were defending the environment and territory in Mexico
Sergio Rivera, Eva Alarcón, Marcial Bautista and Celedonio Monroy These are just some of the names that are part of the unfortunate list of environmentalists and conservationists who have fallen victim to disappearances in Mexico. An investigation conducted by Mongabay Latam, Quinto Elemento Lab and Where the Disappeared Go documents for the first time how many defenders have been exposed to this violence since December 2006, how many are still missing and who was found dead.
Read the full story Here.
11. Colombia: Son of a Californian cartel boss involved in the shark fin trade to Hong Kong
What is the connection between the largest shark fin attack and Fernando Rodríguez Mondragon, the son of the late Cali Cartel boss? For nine months, a team of journalists from Mongabay Latam, OCCRP and Armando Info reconstructed the route behind the shipment of more than 3,000 endangered shark fins to Hong Kong. While this report was being prepared, Colombian prosecutors ordered Fernández Mondragón's house arrest.
Read the whole story here.
10. SPECIAL | The small and forgotten wildcats of Latin America
Some are smaller than a house cat, Therefore, observing them in the wild is a feat. Many experts consider them cryptic because they are difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. We track five fascinating and little-known wildcat species that face enormous threats in Latin America.
Read the whole story here.
9. Deforestation, illegal mining and drug trafficking are destroying indigenous reserves in Colombia
In Colombia, the expansion of legal and illegal economic activities is impacting the ancestral territories that occupy indigenous reserves. journalists Mongabay Latam, Own Agenda, Vorágine and Free Trade Zone They traveled to four reserves in the departments of Caquetá, Putumayo and Guanía to document the risks faced by communities in maintaining their autonomy, their culture and their lives. What we find is alarming: expansion of factory farming and illegal cultivation; the impacts of mining and hydrocarbon extraction projects; and illegal armed groups that corner communities.
Read the whole story here.
8. #Scientific Expeditions | The challenge of installing a weather station in Cape Horn
In a new episode of #ScientificExpeditionsWe present the story of a group of scientists from the Cape Horn International Center for Global Change Studies and Biocultural Conservation (CHIC), led by geophysicist Matías Troncoso. Experts are installing weather stations at various locations in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, at the southern tip of #Chile, where the last city on the continent is located before crossing to Antarctica. The aim is to collect information to understand the effects of the climate crisis. This work was a challenge for scientists.
Read the whole story here.
7. #ScientificExpeditions | The incredible journey of seven Orinoco caiman
Nine years ago, a group of Venezuelan biologists set a goal of bringing seven Orinoco caimans from Venezuela to a zoo in Denmark to save the species. These seven endangered animals were finally transferred in January 2023. How did they do it?
Read the whole story here.
6. The Hell of Gold in Cenepa: 70 illegal mining wells devastate the Amazon in Peru
A team of journalists from Mongabay Latam He traveled the 38 kilometers of the Cenepa River, near the border that Peru shares with Ecuador. The picture there is alarming: diggers for illegal gold mining are devastating the Amazon and pushing the Awajún communities into a corner. Threats, labor and sexual exploitation and environmental destruction dominate the area.
Read the whole story here.
5. Enemies of biodiversity: Invasive species are spreading uncontrollably in Latin America
Have you heard of the beaver, the African snail, the brown hare, the moth and the Antillean coquí frog? These species have one thing in common: they are considered invasive in several countries and their impact is alarming. Mongabay Latam; The spacebar from Ecuador; El Tiempo from Colombia; and La Lista from Mexico, They investigated what negative effects they have on biodiversity and how they can also affect humans.
Read the whole story here.
4. The forests we lost: How to address deforestation with incomplete data?
Did you know that nine Latin American countries have lost more than 39 million hectares of primary or intact forests in twenty years? Mongabay Latam and the 6th generation of #RedLatam young journalists from different latitudes examined the progress of deforestation in Ecuador, Guatemala, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Chile. We found? Information gaps, incomplete data and, in most cases, a lack of transparency.
Read the whole story here.
3. The mining titles that threaten the lands of the indigenous people of Guainía
The gold rush is sweeping the surrounding areas of Cerro Mavicure and Estrella Fluvial de Inírida, two of Colombia's ecosystem wonders. Mongabay Latam and Voragine They visited the region's indigenous communities, who live in uncertainty over the approval of 13 mining concessions for gold and its concentrates. We have discovered that there are complaints that these titles are being managed on behalf of indigenous residents, even though they have not even been consulted.
Read the whole story here.
2. Violence in the Colombian Amazon
Violence in Colombia's Amazon protected areas is critical. Mongabay Latam, Conflict Routes and La Silla Vacía They traveled to La Paya, Sierra de la Macarena and Amacayacu National Parks and found a very serious situation: park rangers and environmental officials are under serious threat from illegal armed groups contesting control of natural areas. Some were declared military targets and others were killed. Added to this are the pressures of deforestation, drug trafficking and illegal mining, as well as the lack of budget and logistics, which make it difficult to maintain these important ecosystems for the country.
Read the whole story here.
1. Oil debt: more than 6,000 untreated wastes in four Latin American countries
For eight months, a team of journalists from four countries investigated the serious environmental impact of the oil industry in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador. What are the findings? More than 8,000 sites are contaminated with crude oil, from broken pipes and abandoned scrap dumps to ponds, pits and oily water sources. Most of this waste, described by authorities as environmental liabilities, was forgotten for decades and went untreated by governments. However, they are not the only oil impacts noted.
Read the whole story here.
Main image: Vorágine and Mongabay Latam traveled to the Guainía department on the border with Venezuela and collected testimonies and documents showing how armed groups extract gold for the market in Inírida. Credit: Jose Guarnizo.
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Videos | #ScientificExpeditions l The scientist who wants to save the Antilles manatees
If you would like to learn more about the environmental situation in Latin America, you can view our collection of articles here.
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Animals, forests, conservation, environmental protection, deforestation, invasive species, extinction, multimedia
Latin America, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela
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