Rhett Ayers Butler

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Rhett Ayers Butler
Butler in 2023
Born1978 (age 47–48)
United States
Alma materUniversity of California, San Diego (BSc)
OrganisationMongabay
Known forConservation science, Environmental journalism
AwardsParker-Gentry Award, Heinz Award

Rhett Ayers Butler (born 1978)[1] is an American journalist, author and entrepreneur who founded Mongabay, a conservation and environmental science news platform, in 1999.[2]

Butler founded Mongabay out of his interest in nature and wildlife.[3] The name "mongabay" originated from an anglicized spelling and pronunciation of Nosy Mangabe, an island off the coast of Madagascar.[4]

Butler has received multiple conservation, environmental, and journalism awards including the Parker-Gentry Award from the Field Museum of Natural History[5] in 2014, the SEAL Environmental Journalism Award in 2021,[6] the Heinz Award for the Environment in 2022,[7] the Henry Shaw Medal from the Missouri Botanical Garden in 2025,[8] and being named to the Forbes Sustainability Leaders List in 2025.[9]

Education and career

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Butler studied Management Science and Economics University of California, San Diego, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree.[10]

In 1999 Butler founded Mongabayorg Corporation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California that raises awareness about social and environmental issues relating to forests and other ecosystems.[11] Mongabay.org was established in 2012 as the non-profit arm of Mongabay[12] and its first project with Mongabay-Indonesia, an Indonesian-language environmental news service.[13] Butler has served as CEO since inception.[14]

Reporting focus

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Butler's reporting has focused on environmental issues in the tropics, especially topics related to forests, like biodiversity, conservation, and deforestation. He's done extensive reporting in Indonesia,[15] Malaysia, Borneo, the Amazon rainforest, and Madagascar.

In 2011 Butler published Rainforests, a book geared toward kids.[16][non-primary source needed]

Research

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Butler has co-authored more than 20 academic papers in publications ranging from Science[17] to Trends in Ecology & Evolution.[18] These papers have usually focused on trends in deforestation and tropical forest conservation,[19] public interest in conservation,[20] conservation practice,[21] palm oil,[22] and conservation technology.[23]

Philip Jacobson arrest

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Butler played a prominent role in the effort to free American journalist Philip Jacobson after his detention on 17 December 2019 on an alleged visa violation.[24] Jacobson was released without charge on 31 January 2020.[25]

Awards

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References

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  14. ^ Butler, Rhett. "How Mongabay grew from a guy in his pajamas to a multinational media organization", Mongabay.com, 1 January 2019. Retrieved on 17 February 2021.
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  26. ^ Field Museum "Parker/Gentry Award", Retrieved on 14 January 2021
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