Articles by John Cannon
John is a staff features writer with Mongabay. Follow him on Twitter: @johnccannon. John became a correspondent for Mongabay in 2014 and joined the site's team full time in October 2016. John's journalistic work has also appeared in New Scientist, Slate.com, Yale Environment 360, Pacific Standard, Science (online), Business Insider and Bicycle Times. John has been a guest on the BBC as well as NPR's All Things Considered and Living on Earth, and he has also had several short stories published in literary magazines. He studied biology as an undergraduate at the Ohio State University and has a graduate degree in science writing from UC Santa Cruz. Always eager to find local perspectives on globally relevant stories, John has reported from Brunei, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, Peru and Rwanda. He currently lives in Afghanistan with his wife.
Scientists plead for protection of peatlands, the world’s carbon capsules
Indigenous peoples and communities drive climate finance reform
Bird declines boost case for transformative biodiversity agreement in Montreal
What can Half or Whole Earth conservation strategies do for orangutans?
Despite pledges, obstacles stifle community climate and conservation funding
Small share of land rights pledge went to Indigenous groups: Progress report
Who decides on ‘priorities’ for ecosystem restoration?
Tuning in to the world of nonhuman sound: Q&A with author Karen Bakker
Examining cooperation in nature: Q&A with author Kristin Ohlson
U.S. charts course for adopting ropeless fishing to reduce whale deaths
‘Mind-blowing’ marine heat waves put Mediterranean ecosystems at grave risk
Stamping out invasive species has successful track record on islands, study finds
Study tracks global forest decline and expansion over six decades
Billions rely on wild species for food, energy and more: IPBES report
‘It sustains us all’: IPBES report calls for accounting of nature’s diverse values
In Congo, a carbon sink like no other risks being carved up for oil
Consumer countries mull best approach to end deforestation abroad
‘That’s a scam’: Indian firm’s REDD+ carbon deal in the DRC raises concern
Proposed copper and gold mine threatens the world’s ‘second Amazon’ in PNG
End old-growth logging in carbon-rich ‘crown jewel’ of U.S. forests: Study
‘Why sharks matter’: Q&A with author and shark biologist David Shiffman
Fossil evidence confirms persistence of prehistoric forests in Brunei
Ecotours aimed at saving monkeys are likely stressing them out, study finds
Boom and bust on Lake Victoria: Q&A with author Mark Weston
Cradle of transformation: The Mediterranean and climate change
Beyond CO2, tropical forests a ‘cool’ solution to climate crisis, study finds
‘Nature has priority’: Rewilding map showcases nature-led restoration
IPCC report calls for ‘immediate and deep’ carbon cuts to slow climate change
NGOs alert U.N. to furtive 2-million-hectare carbon deal in Malaysian Borneo
Special series
Forest Trackers
- ‘We just want to be left in peace’: In Brazil’s Amazon, soy ambitions loom over Indigenous land
- Deforestation continues in Kenya’s largest water capturing forest, satellites show
- Drug trafficking imperils national park and Indigenous reserves in the Peruvian Amazon
- Indonesia’s besieged Tesso Nilo National Park hit hard by yet more deforestation, satellites show
Oceans
- Lethal or not? Australia’s beaches are a crucible for shark control methods
- Is ocean iron fertilization back from the dead as a CO₂ removal tool?
- Dominica set to open world’s first reserve centered around sperm whales
- ‘Very good progress’ but nothing firm as deep-sea mining rules are hashed out
Amazon Conservation
- Study links pesticides to child cancer deaths in Brazilian Amazon & Cerrado
- Amazon drought: Much damage still to come (commentary)
- Amazon recovery offers hope of big rewards but poses equally big challenges
- The Amazon’s archaeology of hope: Q&A with anthropologist Michael Heckenberger
Land rights and extractives
- Australia crackdown on climate protesters grows amid fight against gas project
- Study: Despite armed conflicts, Indigenous lands have better environment quality
- Indigenous community fighting a mine in Palawan wins a milestone legal verdict
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
Endangered Environmentalists
- Vietnamese environmentalist sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- Video: Five Tembé Indigenous activists shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
- Indigenous activists demand justice after 5 shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
- After 20 years and thousands of trees planted, Kalimantan’s veteran forester persists
- Aziil Anwar, Indonesian coral-based mangrove grower, dies at 64
Conservation Effectiveness
- Forest restoration can fare better with human helping hand, study shows
- From rat-ridden to reserve, Redonda is an island restoration role model
- Video: Rice as a peace offering in India’s human-elephant conflict capital
- Group certification helps Malaysia’s Sabah aim for palm oil sustainability
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
- To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest
- Robust river governance key to restoring Mekong River vitality in face of dams