Alleged last-minute political maneuvers prevented Brazil from securing the highest protections from international commercial trade of Brazilwood at the 2025 meeting of CITES.
✍️ @nandawenzel.bsky.social, Spoorthy Raman, Emmanuelle Picaud on @mongabay.com
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Anti-environmental diplomacy: Lula’s office confirmed to @mongabay.com that he and Macron spoke ahead of a crucial CITES vote in 2025. Following their conversation, Brazil dropped its push for maximum protection for the country’s iconic tree and accepted a less stringent proposal.
Investigators are examining possible links to the international trafficking of golden lion tamarins and Lear’s macaws, two threatened species endemic to Brazil.
EXCLUSIVE for @mongabay.com: Brazilian federal police seized devices from the famous bird expert Tony Silva in a wildlife trafficking probe tied to India’s Vantara zoo, a source told Mongabay. The seizure took place last Friday at the Congonhas Airport, in São Paulo.
At @mongabay.com we uncovered an international wildlife trafficking network targeting Brazil’s endangered golden lion tamarins. The reporting traces cases in Togo and Suriname, and follows a 40-day trans-Atlantic voyage that left three animals dead.
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The French music industry, which uses Brazilwood to produce instrument bows, came out on top. Only 10,000 adult trees remain in the wild.
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Vantara denies wrongdoing and stated that Silva “has been engaged by an independent contractor for limited consultancy.” Silva didn't respond to Mongabay.
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A new @mongabay.com investigation looks at the risks of oil drilling at the mouth of the Amazon River and what an oil spill could mean for a unique population of hybrid manatees found nowhere else on Earth.
@alexdesanti.bsky.social
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My latest for @mongabay.com
Brazil sought the highest global protection for its endangered national tree, pau-brasil. But negotiations shifted after diplomatic pressure from France. @spoorthyraman.bsky.social Emmanuelle Picaud, Andrew Lehman, Elisângela Mendonça.
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Extra-protection for sloths! More than 180 countries approved stricter rules for the trade of sloth species targeted by criminal organizations. The poor animals are often displayed as tourist attractions and sold as “exotic pets”, as we showed in @mongabay.com
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Smuggled in cars, aboard airplanes, or on sailboats crossing the Atlantic Ocean, tiny golden-furred monkeys are being wrenched from their Brazilian forest homes and trafficked overseas by sophisticate...
Just three months ago, Brazil seemed close to winning the highest level of international trade protections for the country’s symbol and namesake, the Brazilwood tree (Paubrasilia echinata). On Nov. 26...
The famous bird specialist Tony Silva had cell phones and a computer seized by Brazil’s Federal Police at Guarulhos Airport, in São Paulo, according to a source.
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A rare hybrid population faces an oil frontier with a rescue plan that experts call insufficient.
Early in 2026, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s office denied that he had a phone call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, about easing proposed trade restrictions on Brazil’s...
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Just three months ago, Brazil seemed close to winning the highest level of international trade protections for the country’s symbol and namesake, the Brazilwood tree (Paubrasilia echinata). On Nov. 26...
Known for their peaceful appearance and the impression that they’re always smiling, sloths now have extra protection to prevent their exploitation by a cruel and illegal pet trade. CITES, the global w...
