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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.
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‘There’s hope’ for North Atlantic right whales: Q&A with filmmaker Nadine Pequeneza
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Malaysian officials dampen prospects for giant, secret carbon deal in Sabah
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In prioritizing conservation, animal culture should be a factor, study says
![](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/01/21074305/victoria_market-fish-001-768x512.jpg)
Bleached reefs still support nutritious fish, study finds
![](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/27071522/Gorillas-in-Congo-Basin-768x512.jpg)
The Congo Basin’s 10 most consequential stories from 2021
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10 notable books on conservation and the environment published in 2021
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Decline of threatened bird highlights planning importance of bison releases
![](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/17093708/Drone-shot-of-Kg.-Sosogon-Suyad-Kota-Marudu-Credits-to-PACOS-Trust-768x512.jpg)
Indigenous leader sues over Borneo natural capital deal
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The past, present and future of the Congo peatlands: 10 takeaways from our series
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Carbon and communities: The future of the Congo Basin peatlands
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For Mekong officials fighting timber traffickers, a chance to level up
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Holding agriculture and logging at bay in the Congo peatlands
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Layers of carbon: The Congo Basin peatlands and oil
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The ‘idea’: Uncovering the peatlands of the Congo Basin
![A pastoralist’s cattle herd. Image courtesy of the Oakland Institute.](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/11/30104012/pastoralist-animals-livelihood-768x512.jpeg)
Allegations of displacement, violence beleaguer Kenyan conservancy NGO
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Details emerge around closed-door carbon deal in Malaysian Borneo
![primary forest in Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, by John C. Cannon/Mongabay](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/11/09191558/20170408-181529-3-2-768x480.jpg)
Bornean communities locked into 2-million-hectare carbon deal they don’t know about
![A long-tongued nectar bat (Macroglossus minimus), a subspecies of which is found on New Britain Island. Image via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/21063103/Macroglossus_minimus_2-768x450.jpeg)
Deforestation notches up along logging roads on PNG’s New Britain Island
![The forests of the Torricelli Mountain Range. Image courtesy of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance.](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/14110058/14-Torricelli-Mountains-768x450.jpeg)
Deforestation threatens tree kangaroo habitat in Papua New Guinea
![The aquatic life of the San Pedro Mártir River in Tabasco, Mexico, finds refuge in the submerged roots of the red mangrove forests. Image by Octavio Aburto.](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/14103726/Octavio_Aburto__DSC1324-Edit-768x450.jpeg)
Inland mangroves reveal a tumultuous climatic past — and hint at our future
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Will ‘ropeless’ fishing gear be seaworthy in time to save endangered whales?
![Glacier in Antarctica. Photo credit: N. Butler](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/08/09233426/antarctica_20478-768x512.jpeg)
Humans’ role in climate warming ‘unequivocal,’ IPCC report shows
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Road construction imperils tree kangaroo recovery in PNG
![Proboscis monkeys in Malaysian Borneo. Image by John C. Cannon/Mongabay.](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/06/14094800/20170410-165445-2-2-768x512.jpg)
Scientists call for solving climate and biodiversity crises together
![Global Forest Watch tree cover loss 2001-2021 set on Planet imagery from Jun-Sep 2020.](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/25145427/tamshi_2021-768x512.jpg)
Science refutes United Cacao’s claim it didn’t deforest Peruvian Amazon
![A member of the Indigenous Tikuna nation paddling a dugout canoe on a tributary of the Amazon in Colombia by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/20134804/colombia_1162-768x487.jpg)
Protected areas now cover nearly 17% of Earth’s surface: U.N. report
![A black rhino in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Image by Sonse, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/04/22181955/Black_rhinoceros_37034456474-2-768x512.jpg)
Saving our ‘Beloved Beasts’: Q&A with environmental journalist Michelle Nijhuis
![Toilet urban art](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/04/06051138/4.-urban-art-banner-768x512.jpg)
‘Opening the lid’ on toilet innovation: Q&A with author Chelsea Wald
![An Indigenous woman crossing a river. Image by Alicia MucúChoc/FAO.](https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/03/25155554/pueblos-indgenas-y-tribales-y-la-gobernanza-de-los-bosques_51050019028_o-2-768x512.jpg)
Nearly half the Amazon’s intact forest on Indigenous-held lands: Report
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Cut down once again: Uncontrolled logging puts new Sahel reforestation projects at risk
- VIDEO: The truth about Cambodia’s Prey Lang sanctuary | Chasing Deforestation
- New concession in Botum Sakor National Park handed to Cambodia’s Royal Group
- Elephants invade as habitat loss soars in Nigerian forest reserve
![Forest Trackers](https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/themes/mongabay_v1/img/series/forest-trackers.jpg)
Oceans
- Indonesian village forms coast guard to protect octopus in Mentawai Islands
- From rat-ridden to reserve, Redonda is an island restoration role model
- Seventy-plus nations sign historic high seas treaty, paving way for ratification
- First Nation and scientists partner to revive climate-saving eelgrass
![Oceans](https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/themes/mongabay_v1/img/series/oceans.jpg)
Amazon Conservation
- Cacao and cupuaçu emerge as Amazon’s bioeconomy showcases
- Amazon drought cuts river traffic, leaves communities without water and supplies
- New online map tracks threats to uncontacted Indigenous peoples in Brazil’s Amazon
- Brazil Supreme Court quashes time frame proposal in win for Indigenous rights
![Amazon Conservation](https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/themes/mongabay_v1/img/series/amazon-conservation.jpg)
Land rights and extractives
- Indigenous community fighting a mine in Palawan wins a milestone legal verdict
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- South Africa community members decry traditional leaders’ power amid mine plans
- Can upcoming referendum in Ecuador stop oil drilling in Yasuní National Park?
![Land rights and extractives](https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/themes/mongabay_v1/img/series/land-rights-and-extractives.jpg)
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’
![Endangered Environmentalists](https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/themes/mongabay_v1/img/series/endangered-environmentalists.jpg)
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- 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
- A utopia of clean air and wet peat amid Sumatra’s forest fire ‘hell’
![Indonesia's Forest Guardians](https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/themes/mongabay_v1/img/series/indonesias-forest-guardians.jpg)
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
![Conservation Effectiveness](https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/themes/mongabay_v1/img/series/conservation-effectiveness.jpg)
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
![Southeast Asian infrastructure](https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/themes/mongabay_v1/img/series/southeast-asian-infrastructure.jpg)