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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

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 news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amaz...

news.mongabay.com

Amazon oil drilling plan excludes unique hybrid manatees too big for rescue

A rare hybrid population faces an oil frontier with a rescue plan that experts call insufficient.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

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. news.mongabay.com/2026/06/the-...

news.mongabay.com

The global trafficking ring preying on a rare golden monkey from Brazil

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...

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Investigators are examining possible links to the international trafficking of golden lion tamarins and Lear’s macaws, two threatened species endemic to Brazil.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

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.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

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.

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Reposted by Fernanda Wenzel

Alexandre de Santi @alexdesanti.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

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 news.mongabay.com/2026/02/braz...

news.mongabay.com

Brazil wanted more protections for its endangered national tree. Then France called

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...

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

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 news.mongabay.com/2025/12/stri...

news.mongabay.com

Stricter rules adopted to protect sloths from pet trade and selfie tourism

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...

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Do you know that sloths are known as the Miss Congeniality of the Amazon? However, their peaceful appearance and their apparent smile have turned them into one of the primary targets of animal trafficking organizations. More on that in my latest to @mongabay.com news.mongabay.com/2025/11/slot...

news.mongabay.com

Sloth selfies are feeding a booming wildlife trafficking trade

It’s not easy to find a sloth in the middle of the forest. They spend most of their time in the tree canopy and are masters of camouflage, thanks to their slow movements and the algae attached to thei...

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Last year, a group of landless people risked their lives in a conflict with land grabbers in one of the most dangerous parts of the Amazon, in the hope of securing a piece of land. This story is now revealed in a short documentary by @mongabay.com news.mongabay.com/video/2025/1...

news.mongabay.com

On the frontline of the Amazon land war

TERRA NOSSA, Brazil — In 2024, Mongabay investigative reporter Fernanda Wenzel traveled to one of the most dangerous spots in the Brazilian Amazon — a region where a silent land war is destroying the ...

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Esses fazendeiros são acusados de grilar vastas áreas dentro do assentamento PDS Terra Nossa, onde cinco pessoas foram mortas em disputas por terras. Decisões judiciais determinaram que eles deixem a área, mas até agora nada aconteceu.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

No ano passado, visitamos um desses acampamentos em Novo Progresso, no Pará, uma das regiões mais violentas da Amazônia. Encontramos um grupo cercado por homens armados contratados por fazendeiros.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

A demora do governo Lula em retomar a reforma agrária está levando a uma nova onda de ocupações de terras na Amazônia, em situações que muitas vezes terminam em conflito.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

My last contribution to @mongabay.com European efforts to become net zero may trigger carbon emissions in Brazil and Indonesia.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Six months from COP30, Brazil is about to approve what experts call the worst environmental setback in four decades.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

De acordo com as autoridades brasileiras, isso significa uma inversão no fluxo de ouro pelo continente. O Brasil, uma tradicional lavanderia de ouro, agora está fornecendo o metal para ser lavado em outros países.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

No entanto, com a entrada em vigor de regras mais rígidas para o comércio de ouro, Castro teve que se reinventar. Agora, @mongabay.com descobriu que ele se juntou a uma organização criminosa que contrabandeia ouro do Pará para a Venezuela.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

O homem ao lado do buraco era Adriano Aguiar de Castro, que, segundo as autoridades, pulou de um esquema de lavagem de ouro para outro desde 2019.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Os garimpeiros ilegais da Amazônia são muito criativos. Anos atrás, um grupo criou uma mina subterrânea falsa para enganar as autoridades sobre a origem do ouro. Esse buraco da foto, pequeno demais para acomodar um homem adulto, foi a origem de 379,4 kg de ouro, segundo eles.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

These ranchers are accused of land grabbing vast areas within the PDS Terra Nossa settlement, where five people were killed in land disputes. The courts have already ordered them to leave, but so far nothing has happened.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Last year, we visited one of these settlements in Novo Progresso, in the state of Pará, one of the Amazon's most violent regions. We found a group surrounded by armed men hired by ranchers.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

The Lula government's delay in unlocking agrarian reform is leading to a new wave of land occupations in the Amazon, in situations that often end in conflict.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Depois de projetos REDD terem ido parar nas páginas policiais, iniciativas de restauração florestal surgem como a nova aposta dos créditos de carbono na Amazônia. Até a mineradora Vale e a indústria de carne Marfrig entraram na onda. Leia no @mongabay.com brasil.mongabay.com/2025/05/rest...

brasil.mongabay.com

Restauração da Amazônia oferece redenção para créditos de carbono após escândalos em projetos REDD

Em 2024, uma operação policial contra o maior produtor de créditos de carbono do Brasil marcou o ponto mais baixo da já longa crise de reputação dos projetos REDD. Grandes empresas que compraram crédi...

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Garimpeiros estão fugindo das operações em Roraima e no Pará e procurando novas fronteiras de exploração de ouro. Uma delas é o Amapá, onde eles estão perigosamente próximos de uma das maiores árvores da Amazônia. @mongabay.com brasil.mongabay.com/2025/05/gari...

brasil.mongabay.com

Garimpo ilegal se instala a 1 km da segunda maior árvore da Amazônia

Desde 2019, pesquisadores têm utilizado laser e realizado incursões na Amazônia brasileira para identificar árvores gigantes, que se elevam muito acima do dossel da floresta. Além de serem um patrimôn...

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

According to Brazilian authorities, it means an inversion in the gold flow across the continent. Brazil, a traditional gold laundering machine, now is supplying gold to be laundered elsewhere.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

As the Brazilian government implemented stricter rules for gold commerce, however, Castro had to reinvent himself. Now, @mongabay.bsky.social found that he joined a criminal organization smuggling gold from Pará state into Venezuela.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

The man standing next to the hole was Adriano Aguiar de Castro, who, according to authorities, jumped from one gold laundering scheme to another since 2019.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Illegal miners in the Brazilian Amazon are very creative. Years ago, a group created a fake underground mine to cheat authorities about the origin of the gold. This small hole, too small to accommodate a grown man, was the origin of 379.4 kg of gold, according to them.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

As the Brazilian government implemented stricter rules for gold commerce, Castro had to reinvent himself. Now, @mongabay.bsky.social found that he joined a criminal organization smuggling gold into Venezuela.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

The man standing next to the hole was Adriano Aguiar de Castro, who, according to authorities, jumped from one gold laundering scheme to another since 2019.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Restoration projects in the Amazon are the carbon market's new bet after scandals involving REDD projects. Big techs, large banks, and even companies like Vale and Marfrig came on board. Find out more in my report for @mongabay.bsky.social news.mongabay.com/2025/04/for-...

news.mongabay.com

For scandal-ridden carbon credit industry, Amazon restoration offers redemption

As REDD projects around the world face setbacks, restoration projects in the Amazon are flourishing as a means of reviving market confidence in forest-based carbon credits.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

O episódio é cheio de bastidores! Mostra que cheguei na história do Stoppe por acaso, como percebi que tinha algo errado naquela fachada verde e a reação dele quando o confrontei. Uma delícia para quem gosta de jornalismo investigativo!

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

In 2024, Brazil registered the highest number of fires in ten years. The prospects for 2025 are gloomy, especially for the Amazon. Local and federal governments should already be working to avoid another tragedy. My latest to @mongabay.bsky.social. news.mongabay.com/2025/01/afte...

news.mongabay.com

After a searing Amazon fire season, experts warn of more in 2025

South America recorded the highest number of fire outbreaks in 14 years in 2024, with Brazil at the epicenter of the crisis.

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Fernanda Wenzel @nandawenzel.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

A Carbonext afirma que 14 dos 32 indivíduos e empresas mencionados na investigação não têm relação contratual com a empresa, e que os outros 18 atendem a todos os requisitos legais.

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