The Zambian government has ordered a copper miner to assess its infrastructure for weaknesses and clean up areas affected by pollution of the Kafue River, after residents downstream of the plant that processes the mine’s waste reported changes in the river’s color, taste, and smell on Sept. 28. The order also requires Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to cover laboratory testing and related costs. The pollution was traced to a leaking pipe at KCM’s tailings leach plant and an overflow from a pollution control dam on the Mushishima Stream, a tributary of the Kafue. The company disputes allegations that it caused the pollution, saying it detected the river’s discoloration and reported the incident to local authorities. The incident has renewed concerns about recurring pollution in the Kafue, which Misozi Ngulube, director-general of Zambia’s Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA), has described as the country’s most polluted water body. In February 2025, the breach of a tailings dam operated by Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, also on the Kafue, released more than 50 million liters (13 million gallons) of toxic sludge into a tributary. The spill killed fish more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) downstream, damaged crops, and disrupted local water supplies. The government reported three cases of minor illness, but the event raised broader concerns for communities and wildlife. Ngulube told Mongabay that pollution in the Kafue comes largely from agriculture, industry, and mining. She said WARMA has acquired a water-quality monitoring system and is working toward real-time pollution detection. However, monitoring alone can’t…This article was originally published on Mongabay

As Brazilians head to the polls to vote in a runoff election, Amazon deforestation is also on the ballot. New data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) find that incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva presided over the lowest deforestation levels ever recorded in both the Amazon rainforest and Cerrado savanna. Between August 2025 and July 2026, deforestation fell to 3,335 square kilometers (1,288 square miles), registering a drop of nearly 42% from the previous year and the lowest rate of deforestation since satellite monitoring began in 1988. “In 2021, deforestation peaked under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to its highest level since 2008. More than 13,200 km2 (5,097 mi2) of forest was cleared — nearly four times the 2025-26 figure. “Without a doubt, what we are seeing is very positive,” University of São Paulo climate scientist Carlos Nobre told Mongabay in an audio message. “I am also sure that this is the lowest deforestation in the Amazon’s history since the military dictatorship began heavily deforesting the Amazon in the mid-1970s.” Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship from 1964 till 1985. The nation did not keep year-on-year deforestation data during that period, but INPE estimates suggest an average of 21,130 km2 (8,158 mi2) of forest were cleared every year between 1978 and 1988. The Cerrado, a tropical savanna and one of Brazil’s main agricultural regions, also recorded its lowest deforestation level last year since monitoring began for that biome in 2001. Between August 2025 and July 2026,…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Greenland’s parliament has asked the government to pause licensing on seabed mining amid concerns about foreign interests in mining and potential environmental consequences for marine life. The Oct. 15 measure directed the government, called Naalakkersuisut, to present a law to the parliament, called Inatsisartut, in early 2027 to suspend seabed mining until at least 2029. “This is a decision to decide. An important one, and not the same thing as protection,” Jenseeraq Poulsen, executive director of Oceans North Kalaallit Nunaat, an environmental nonprofit, told Mongabay by email. Of the Greenlandic parliament’s 31 members, 17 were present, and all voted in favor of the proposal across party lines. On Oct. 14, a day before the vote, U.S. President Donald Trump said that “massive” oil, gas and mineral exploration was getting ready to begin in Greenland, a statement at odds with the recent decision from Greenland’s parliament. “On a question that has divided this parliament before, and in a month when there is considerable external interest in Greenland’s minerals, Inatsisartut spoke with one voice,” Poulsen said. “Every member present voted for it.” The resolution was first proposed in February 2026 by Pipaluk Lynge, a representative of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party. In the original proposal, she stated concerns over endangering Greenland’s marine environment due to other countries’ interest in deep-sea mining, and potential impacts on game animals and fishing. According to the 2026 report from Greenland’s national statistics organization, more than 90% of Greenland’s exports come from the fishing industry. According to a…This article was originally published on Mongabay