Malavika Vyawahare

Madagascar, Reunion

Staff Reporter at Mongabay

Africa staff reporter, Mongabay. Stints @ Hindustan Times, E&E Publishing and NYT. Columbia J-School Alum. RTs are not endorsements, opinions are mine.

Articles

Seychelles becomes first country to comply with fisheries transparency standard

1 week ago | news.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

Seychelles, an archipelagic nation off the eastern coast of Africa, has become the first country to comply with the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) standard that lays down what information about a country’s fisheries sector should be published online by public authorities.
À la recherche d’or " responsable ", Chanel s’est tournée vers une aire protégée à Madagascar

1 month ago | fr.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

En 2019, la maison de luxe française Chanel a cherché à se procurer de l’or auprès de mineurs malgaches. Il se trouve que ceux-ci opéraient au sein d’une aire protégée qui abrite, entre autres, des lémuriens en danger critique d’extinction.
Breast milk contamination exposes Africa's ‘forever chemicals’ problem

1 month ago | news.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

Researchers warn that synthetic chemicals in various products, including carpets, clothes, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, and nonstick cookware, pose a significant threat to infants in Africa. Over the past two decades, the chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” have become a significant public health concern in Europe and North America. Emerging data from African countries point to the pervasive nature of the problem in the continent.
From Kenya to Madagascar, massive effort aims to put seagrasses on the map

1 month ago | news.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

In 2019, scientists set out to map the extent of seagrass in Seychelles, an island nation off the eastern coast of Africa. There, they hit upon a startling number: More than 90% of the country’s “blue carbon,” or the carbon stored in marine ecosystems, is contained within seagrass meadows.
Chanel wanted ‘responsible’ gold. It turned to a protected area in Madagascar

2 months ago | news.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

In 2019, French fashion house Chanel sought to obtain responsibly sourced gold from artisanal miners in Madagascar — who happened to operate inside a protected area that’s home to critically endangered lemurs and other wildlife. Under the initiative, which eventually fell through, Chanel partnered with Fanamby, the local NGO managing Loky Manambato Protected Area in northern Madagascar, to formalize the operations of some 1,000 miners.
Nigerian president’s bid to resume oil drilling in Ogoniland a ‘betrayal,’ groups say

2 months ago | news.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and key members of his administration met with select members of the Ogoni community from the Niger Delta on Jan. 21 to discuss restarting oil drilling in the region, after health and environmental concerns brought the activity to a halt for more than two decades.
New study assesses threat to wildlife from cacao expansion in Congo Basin

Jan 21, 2025 | news.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

Wildlife in the heart of the Congo Basin, an area that stretches from western and southern Cameroon to northeastern and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are most at risk from the expansion of cacao cultivation, a recent study found. Cameroon, the world’s fourth-largest cacao producer, wants to double its output by 2030 — an ambition at odds with the country’s stubbornly low yields, changing climatic conditions, and the demand for “deforestation-free” cocoa from consumer nations.
‘Nightmare’ fire threatens iconic Madagascar national park

Jan 10, 2025 | news.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

A mighty blaze in Madagascar’s Ranomafana National Park is menacing the home of the world’s rarest lemur species. Disastrous dry conditions have turned the biodiversity haven into a tinderbox. The park, one of the country’s leading tourist destinations, is a 10-hour drive from Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, and is also home to the prestigious Centre ValBio research center (CVB).
Chanel wanted ‘responsible’ gold. So it turned to a protected area in Madagascar

Oct 31, 2024 | news.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

In 2019, French fashion house Chanel sought to obtain responsibly sourced gold from artisanal miners in Madagascar — who happened to operate inside a protected area that’s home to critically endangered lemurs and other wildlife. Under the initiative, which eventually fell through, Chanel partnered with Fanamby, the local NGO managing Loky Manambato Protected Area in northern Madagascar, to formalize the operations of some 1,000 miners.
The Itombwe owl: Two birds and an identity crisis

Sep 10, 2024 | news.mongabay.com | Malavika Vyawahare

The last sighting by scientists of the Itombwe owl, a species endemic to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, was in 1996. This was in Itombwe Nature Reserve, a protected area described by its director as “forgotten by a majority of organizations and people who support the conservation of biodiversity.”Being overlooked may have helped keep the reserve protected, with the forest remaining intact and satellite imagery showing no roads being carved inside it.