In Sumatra, a vulnerable, ‘mythical’ wild goat lives an unknown life
So far, the Sumatran serow has eluded Pungky Nanda Pratama. Some villagers tell him the animal, a type of goat-antelope, sleeps in the trees hanging by its horns, or scales…
Articles by Ian Morse
Ian is a journalist of natural resources, once based in eastern Indonesia, and now in Seattle, USA. He writes the Green Rocks newsletter on mining and clean energy, and you can follow him on Twitter @ianjmorse.
Whale shark stranding points to silting of Indonesia’s Kendari Bay
On the second day of 2021, a whale shark drifted into Kendari Bay, in eastern Indonesia, and became trapped when the tide quickly turned. After a 10-hour struggle in murky,…
When roads cross wilderness areas, plant pathogens can hitch a ride
On the Åland Islands, a small, sparsely populated archipelago in southern Finland, a team of ecologists spend two weeks each autumn surveying the habitat of a particular butterfly species. The…
Mining industry releases first standard to improve safety of waste storage
Spurred by a deadly Brazilian dam disaster in early 2019, a partnership between the U.N. and industry leaders has released new guidance on managing mining waste. Released Aug. 5, the…
Locals stage latest fight against PNG mine dumping waste into sea
A coalition of more than 5,000 villagers and a provincial government in Papua New Guinea has built a legal challenge against the world’s most productive battery nickel plant. The company,…
Indonesian miners eyeing EV nickel boom seek to dump waste into the sea
JAKARTA — As Indonesia ramps up its mining sector to feed the world’s hunger for zero-emission vehicles, it is faced with a problem: what to do with all the waste.…
Indigenous solutions to climate crisis could lie in archaeology, experts say
For the first time last August, indigenous groups felt the global community was taking seriously their potential contributions to climate crisis policy. Indigenous peoples have long been labeled among the…
Wireless grids and towers of power: Engineering our way out of dirty energy
Julian Hunt is tasked with scouring the Earth, its libraries, and his own mind to engineer a way to cleaner energy. At the multi-government-funded International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis…
Indonesian anti-graft enforcers set their sights on a new target: corporations
This article was co-published with The Gecko Project. KOKOE, Indonesia — For years, this eastern Indonesian village of fishermen and seaweed farmers simmered with anger over the pollution of its…
Indonesia’s Lake Poso, an evolutionary ‘gem,’ threatened by dam
LAKE POSO, Indonesia – In the aftermath of a violent communal conflict that set neighbor against neighbor around this ancient lake in the mountains of eastern Indonesia, local leaders were…
In Indonesia, a tourism village holds off a nickel mine — for now
TANGKENO, Indonesia — Teenagers pound cowhide drums to dancers weaving their feet between bamboo stalks on this stage beneath the stars. It’s the island of Kabaena’s annual indigenous culture festival,…
In Indonesia, a project meant to boost livelihoods has left locals behind
BITUNG, Indonesia – Animals and humans alike have been caught by surprise the excavators, roads and factories that have appeared in the last few years in this port city in…
Their lawsuit against a coal firm in limbo, Bornean villagers take their fight online
As the forests of South Kalimantan province were whittled away by extractive industries, just one district in this corner of Indonesian Borneo remained free of both mining and oil palm…
For one Indonesian fisher, saving caught turtles is a moral challenge
TAPULAGA, Indonesia — Over the past several years, Bakring, 56, has bought more than 20 live sea turtles. According to the law, each of these transactions could earn him five…
Indonesian villagers fighting planned mine garner national support
KENDARI, Indonesia — A conflict between residents of a remote Indonesian island and a nickel-mining company trying to operate there has gained national attention. In September, the National Commission on…
On an island coveted by miners, villagers prepare to raise a ruckus
ROKO-ROKO, Indonesia — Residents of this village on the island of Wawonii look like they’re preparing for a battle. Men with chainsaws guard four jerry-rigged huts they’ve built to protect…
For Indonesia’s Kendari Bay, silting is a death sentence
KENDARI, Indonesia — Next year will mark the completion of a nearly mile-long bridge being built over this booming industrial city’s iconic bay, say government officials here. But researchers studying…
Indonesian flooding disaster bears the hallmarks of agriculture and mining impacts
TAPUWATU, Indonesia — Muhammad Arfa says he thinks a miracle saved his home. A wave of mud that swept through this riverside village on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi when…
In Indonesia, a land ‘left behind’ weighs its development alternatives
ARU ISLANDS, Indonesia — In one of this country’s most isolated places, Ipus Apalem believes he has finally found a way for his village of 400 to improve its lot.…
In Indonesia, an earthquake leaves devastation on land and under the sea
PALU, Indonesia — Few people knew about the luscious coral off Palu, in Indonesia’s Central Sulwaesi province, before an earthquake turned it into an underwater wasteland. “You didn’t even need…
In Indonesia, a company intimidates, evicts and plants oil palm without permits
MAROANGIN, Indonesia — One day in March last year, Rahim was shocked and furious to find an excavator rolling through his rice field, turning the bright green grains into piles…
Conservation officers forced online in fight against bird trafficking
MAKASSAR, Indonesia — “Hi, This is Kamaruddin calling in, just parking my car.” “Great, go ahead and share your experience with this broadcast’s theme with the Natural Resources Conservation Agency.”…
In eastern Indonesia, a bird-trafficking hotspot flies under the radar
MARAFENFEN/LORANG, Indonesia — Benedictus has to go out just after dark to check his traps. If he goes any earlier, the palm cockatoos will still be awake and hear him…
Amid lack of enforcement, fishermen take the fight to blast fishing
LAMBANGAN and UWEDIKAN, Indonesia — “At first, I saw some spinefoot fish, about 50 of them. I was smoking out on the water.” It was midday three years ago, says…
In a land untouched by mines, indigenous holdouts fight a coal invasion
Residents of the last district in South Kalimantan still free of mining and palm oil say they will fight to protect their villages, even as new laws smooth the path for mining companies.
Indonesians race to save their disappearing lakes, before it’s too late
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.…
Special series
Forest trackers
- New palm oil frontier sparks scramble for land in the Brazilian Amazon
- Deforestation rises in Colombia’s Chiribiquete National Park as cattle invade
- ‘What other country would do this to its people?’ Cambodian land grab victims seek int’l justice
- Deforestation surge threatens endangered species in Tanintharyi, Myanmar
Oceans
- Sea turtles under threat as Indian government weighs development in Andaman Islands
- European tuna boats dump fishing debris in Seychelles waters ‘with impunity’
- Red flag: Predatory European ships help push Indian Ocean tuna to the brink
- Surge in seizures of giant clam shells has Philippine conservationists wary
Amazon conservation
- As COP26 looms and tropical deforestation soars, REDD+ debate roars on
- ‘We are made invisible’: Brazil’s Indigenous on prejudice in the city
- Intimidation of Brazil’s enviro scientists, academics, officials on upswing
- Government inaction prompts voluntary REDD+ carbon credit boom in Brazil
Land rights and extractives
- Cambodia puts its arduous titling process for Indigenous land up for review
- Recognizing the true guardians of the forest: Q&A with David Kaimowitz
- Nearly half the Amazon’s intact forest on Indigenous-held lands: Report
- Pension and endowment funds linked to conflict-plagued oil palm in DRC
Endangered environmentalists
- Intimidation of Brazil’s enviro scientists, academics, officials on upswing
- Thailand’s Indigenous Peoples fight for ‘land of our heart’ (commentary)
- Brazilian woman threatened by Amazon loggers wins global human rights award
- Indonesian fishers opposed to dredging project hit by ‘criminalization’ bid
Indonesias forest guardians
- Why I stand for my tribe’s forest: It gives us food, culture, and life (commentary)
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
Conservation effectiveness
- A Malagasy community wins global recognition for saving its lake
- Scientists in Costa Rica are growing new corals to save reefs
- Technology innovations look to change the cacao landscape in Colombia
- In mangrove restoration, custom solutions beat one-size-fits-all approach
Southeast asian infrastructure
- Indonesian governor’s arrest in road project points to more tainted contracts
- Papua deforestation highlights eastward shift of Indonesia forest clearing
- Podcast: Omens and optimism for Sumatran orangutans
- Planned coal-trucking road threatens a forest haven for Sumatran frogs
