Articles by Basten Gokkon

Park rangers in Indonesia said this week that they had photographed the nearly extinct Sumatran ground cuckoo (Carpococcyx viridis) for the first time in a protected area in North Sumatra,…

As recently as a few thousand years ago, the Indonesian island of Sumba was home to miniature elephants, giant rats and dragons, according to fossil discoveries reported in a scientific…

JAKARTA — After a year in which it destroyed over 1,000 hectares of peat swamp forest in violation of its own sustainability policy, palm oil giant Felda Global Ventures said…

Transport infrastructure is a key part of Kalimantan's development plans, but conservationists fear a planned bridge in Balikpapan will have devastating environmental impacts.

JAKARTA — Not everyone supports the Indonesian government’s decision to publish information on the location of fishing boats in its waters, via data mapping platform Global Fishing Watch, accessible to…

JAKARTA -- Inflated quotas for breeding animals in Indonesia’s commercial conservation facilities appear to be fueling the illegal wildlife trade, according to a new study by TRAFFIC, an NGO. To supply…

Indonesian authorities have indicted five local shipping companies on charges of gross negligence after their coal barges damaged coral reefs in a Javan marine park, a local official told Mongabay.…

RUMAH KINANGKUNG — Authorities were explaining the rules governing protected animals to residents of this North Sumatran village when a man appeared, carrying a small, scaly creature by the tail.…

JAKARTA — The Indonesian government can’t restore one of the country’s best coral reefs until it strikes a compensation deal with the insurer of the cruise line that wrecked it,…

JAKARTA -- Palm oil and paper lobby groups have asked Indonesia’s highest court to strike down rules holding plantation firms strictly liable for fires that occur on their land. The…

A group of researchers in Indonesia has created a new genus of arboreal toad to fit what they say are two new species, according to a recent article in the…

JAKARTA — The extent of coral reef damage from the grounding of a Bahamian-flagged cruise ship at Raja Ampat earlier this month is about 3.5 times as big as an…

A timber plantation company is illegally clearing one of Indonesia’s last coastal peat swamp forests, a carbon reservoir and biodiversity hotspot home to hundreds of endangered orangutans, say observers who…

JAKARTA — One of the main coral reefs at Raja Ampat, an Indonesian island chain home to perhaps the world's richest marine biodiversity, was severely damaged last week when a…

JAKARTA — The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry is going to court over a successful freedom of information request by Greenpeace, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle…

The death of an endangered Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) in Indonesian Borneo earlier this week sent the wildlife conservation community into deep mourning and raised questions about whether the animal…

By mapping such community lands, LandMark aims to “make clear that these lands are not vacant, idle or available to outsiders,” according to a statement by the World Resources Institute…

Koh and Wich testing their drone in Switzerland. The conservation drone has been equipped with various cameras including the GoPro HD Hero video camera, the Canon IXUS 220 HS, and…

Remote-controlled plane offers bird's-eye approach to conservation. Aerial photograph from the drone showing forest clearing. Courtesy of Lian Pin Koh. Conservationists have converted a remote-controlled plane into a potent tool…