Gerald Flynn

1 week ago | rsn.org | Carolyn P. Cowan |Charles Mpaka |Gerald Flynn |Hans Nicholas Jong

In 2019, Malawi registered a massive win in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. Intelligence-driven operations culminated in the arrest of more than a dozen members of the Chinese-led “Lin-Zhang gang,” one of Southern Africa’s most prolific trafficking syndicates. Found to be in possession of hundreds of pieces of elephant ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales and hippo teeth, the traffickers were sentenced to between 18 months and 14 years in prison.

1 week ago | news.mongabay.com | Gerald Flynn

The Salween River, one of Asia’s last free-flowing rivers, supports Indigenous communities and biodiversity across China, Myanmar and Thailand, but faces threats from at least 20 proposed hydropower dams, mainly in Myanmar. Myanmar’s postcoup instability has stalled dam construction, though powerful armed groups and foreign investors, particularly from China and Thailand, remain key players in determining the river’s fate.

3 weeks ago | news.mongabay.com | Gerald Flynn

A long-dormant fluorite mine is being reopened in northern Thailand, but the ethnically Karen communities that live in Mae Hong Son province’s Mae La Noi district are staunchly resisting the return of the mining company. Universal Mining, a Thai company, aimed to reopen its fluorite mine in 2021 following an injection of Chinese investments, but so far has failed to secure the environmental impact assessment needed to recommence mining operations in Mae La Noi.

1 month ago | news.mongabay.com | Gerald Flynn

Cambodian journalist Ouk Mao was arrested May 16 by plainclothes military officers, according to his wife and colleagues. Mao had previously faced legal charges and physical attacks as a result of his environmental reporting. It is not yet clear what charges, in any, Mao currently faces. As of 10:30 p.m., Mao’s wife said he remained in temporary detention at the Stung Treng provincial prison.

1 month ago | news.mongabay.com | Gerald Flynn

Cambodian environmental journalist Ouk Mao was attacked by a group of men, apparently including a former police officer, while documenting illegal logging in Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, following a pattern of escalating harassment and threats. Mao has faced numerous legal challenges, including defamation and incitement charges, that he claims are retaliation for exposing environmental crimes, with local officials allegedly trying to silence his work.