Articles by Philip Jacobson

JAKARTA — In 2013, Bob Effendi was at a turning point. He wanted to leave the oil company he was working for. He had growing concerns about climate change and…

In the village of Tewah, in the heart of Indonesian Borneo, stands a wooden church named Immanuel. When the church was founded by German missionaries more than a century ago,…

On Aug. 13 last year, the Ecuadorian navy intercepted a suspicious-looking vessel near the Galápagos Islands. Climbing aboard, authorities found freezers full of thousands of sharks, some of them endangered…

In June this year, elections will take place in 171 districts, provinces and municipalities across Indonesia. On paper, millions of citizens in the world’s third-largest democracy will be afforded the…

One of the world’s biggest paper producers continues to deny that it secretly owns most of the companies supplying it with wood, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. In the…

While many have been surprised to read recent media reports of ATM break-ins and other criminal activity by villagers from Tulungselapan in Ogan Komiring Ilir district, South Sumatra province, it…

The uproar over Iceland Foods’ decision to ban palm oil from its own-label products has been loud and swift. While many applaud the move as a bold stance against deforestation…

Fresh momentum on a long-delayed indigenous rights bill hit a snag last week when the Indonesian Ministry of Home Affairs, tasked by President Joko Widodo with leading a review of…

New research into the activities of a major Malaysian financial institution has raised questions over the efficacy of major brands’ policies against buying from firms engaged in deforestation. In a…

The owner of Indonesia’s largest conglomerate has been accused of participating in the illegal deforestation of Borneo’s Ketungau peat swamp to make way for oil palm plantations. The Salim Group,…

In the leadup to the release of the second installment of Indonesia for Sale, our series examining the corruption behind Indonesia’s deforestation and land-rights crisis, we are republishing the first article…

After Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the United Nations special rapporteur on indigenous rights, was included on a list of some 600 people the government of her native Philippines wants declared as terrorists,…

We met James Watt in his home village of Bangkal during the reporting of “The palm oil fiefdom,” in early 2017. Bangkal lies on the banks of Sembuluh, a sprawling…

An investigation by The Associated Press has uncovered ownership ties between one of the world’s largest paper producers and more than two dozen tree-plantation companies linked to devastating fires and…

JAKARTA – A subsidiary of Indonesia’s second-largest pulp and paper firm is seeking to overturn a government decision to nix the company’s plans to operate on peatlands. PT Riau Andalan…

LAKE LIMBOTO, Indonesia — Anton Kui has fished here since he was in fifth grade. He remembers he could quickly catch a day’s worth of fish close to his home.…

JAKARTA – It was supposed to be about cracking down on the illegal wildlife trade, as traffickers move online. But a conservation bill now making its way through Indonesia’s parliament…

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has the strongest set of requirements among certification schemes for edible oils and biofuels, even if its members often get away with flouting its…

Susilo sat attached to an oxygen tank instead of tending his vegetables. The 62-year-old farmer, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, had a long history of respiratory trouble,…

Seagrass, the “ugly duckling” of the conservation world, is a vital lifeline for thousands of communities around the globe and an efficient absorber of “blue carbon.” It is also quickly…