Eco Media Center

HSBC orders review of its lending to rainforest logging companies
Following allegations that it has been financing land-grabbing of indigenous territories and destruction of rainforests in Malaysian Borneo, HSBC said it will conduct an audit of its relationships with logging companies to see whether its lending has violated the bank's environmental policy.

Controversial palm oil project halted in Cameroon
An American company has halted work on a controversial palm oil project in Cameroon due to opposition from local communities and environmentalists, reports Reuters.

Scientists discover two mini-spiders in China (photos)
Scientists have uncovered two miniature spiders living on mountains in China's southern region, one of which is among the smallest spiders recorded worldwide, according to a new paper in ZooKeys. Both spiders belong to the Mysmenidae family, which is made up of mini-spiders with eight eyes.

Rhinos moved from South Africa to Botswana for safekeeping
A private safari company has moved six white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) from their home in South Africa to Botswana in a bid to save them from an out-of-control poaching crisis in their native land. Currently, around two rhinos are killed everyday in South Africa for their horns, which are then smuggled to East Asia.

Three new species of carnivorous snails discovered in endangered habitat in Thailand (photos)
Scientists from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok and the Natural History Museum, London recently discovered three new species of carnivorous snails in northern Thailand. However, the celebration of these discoveries is tainted by the fact that the new snails are already threatened with extinction due to the destruction of their limestone habitat.