REDD and Land Tenure: the Rights Issue
In Panama, where many land-tenure issues have gone unresolved for a long time, the nation’s indigenous communities are closely watching the climate-mitigation plan REDD (“Reducing Emissions from...
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Like other nations with tropical forests, Panama is preparing for the chance that the United Nations will include the program REDD (“Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation”) in a...
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Will a UN Climate-Change Solution Help Kuna Yala?
Faced with sea level rising, one indigenous community weighs a plan to mitigate climate change. In northeast Panama’s lush tropical forests, a sovereign indigenous comarca is raising the same question...
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DeepSee Dive on Hannibal Banks
Photo credit: Kip Evans It’s almost impossible to plan an trip like this. Factors of weather, mechanics, and physical logistics are the enemy of scheduling. Today we are about two hours behind on...
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“Do You Like to Breathe?”
Back on the Ethereal our lunch and dinner conversations revolve around the importance of marine systems to keep the planet functioning and humans breathing. How do we change perception of the ocean...
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Filming the Seas’ Greatest Catch With Crittercam
Blistering speed. Immense power. Ocean wanderers. These are just a few terms used to describe billfish. Another word that could be used is “threatened.” A 400-pound black marlin launches itself from...
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Welcome to Panama. Love, Blue Marlin.
Sam Friedrichs is leading an ongoing project using Crittercam to help unlock the secret lives of marlin before it’s too late. The day has finally arrived! After smooth flights last night and a couple...
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Finding a Billfish for Crittercam
Sam Friedrichs is leading an ongoing project using Crittercam to help unlock the secret lives of marlin before it’s too late. Depending on who you talk to, billfish are considered one of the most...
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Sailfish Crittercam Success!
Sam Friedrichs is leading an ongoing project using Crittercam to help unlock the secret lives of marlin before it’s too late. The day dawned clear and bright as we hit the water shortly after 7:00 am...
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Endangered sloths in Central Park?
The Critically Endangered pygmy three-toed sloth lives in one place on earth and that place is under pressure.image: Craig Turner/ZSL Ten years ago, the pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus Pygmaeus)...
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Flying Panama’s Underdogs
Flying Panama’s Underdogs How did GPS units, cameras and chance encounters on the streets of Bozeman Montana help indigenous people trying to protect their land in Panama? A band of trees along the...
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Barro Colorado, Island of Magic Diversity in the Middle of Panama Canal
Barro Colorado is a 4,000-acre island in the middle of the Panama Canal. Nearly six times the size of New York’s Central Park, the island is at the heart of a wildlife sanctuary that straddles...
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Enemies With Benefits: How Parasitic Ants Protect Their Hosts
What might be the best-titled research paper of the year comes to us courtesy of researchers at the University of Copenhagen, an investigation entitled “Chemically armed mercenary ants protect...
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Striking Picture: Bats Hunt Frogs by Detecting Water Ripples
Male túngara frogs (Physalemus pustulosus) are the romantic type. Instead of roaming around looking for mates, these tiny Central and South American rain forest amphibians sit in puddles singing love...
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February 2, 2014: Walking from Siberia to Australia, Prepping Putin’s $51...
Sochi, Russia underwent a $51 billion metamorphosis to create infrastructure and security to host the Winter Olympics. (photo by Thomas Dworzak/National Geographic) Every week, embark with host Boyd...
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Expedition Diaries: The Monteverde Cloud Forest
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Photo © KIKE CALVO This post is the first of Kike Calvo’s visual diary as a National Geographic Expert on the Lindblad Costa Rica-Panama Expedition aboard the National...
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April 6, 2014: Riding Horses Across Continents, Swimming in the Arctic Ocean...
Filip Masetti remains focused on riding to Brazil with his horses Frenchie, Bruiser and Dude, despite border troubles. (Photo Courtesy Filipe Masetti) Every week, embark with host Boyd Matson on an...
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Mysterious New Poison Dart Frog Found; Is Size of Fingernail
A new species of poison dart frog so teeny it can fit on a fingernail has been discovered in a rain forest in Panama, a new study says. Scientists found the toxic, electric-orange amphibian in a single...
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Under-the-Radar Environmental Stories for 2015: The Furtive Five
Clockwise, from upper left: The Mir diamond mine in Siberia (credit: Wikimedia-Staselnik); Volcanic island in Cocibolca Lake (credit: Aaron Escobar); Amazon deforestation (credit: NASA); Tehran smog...
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