As predators return to Sweden’s wild, ecotourism looks to change mindsets
GÄSTRIKLAND, Sweden — It’s just past 7 p.m. here in the woods along the eastern coast of Sweden. A handful of people are waiting, some of them for the past…
Articles by Johan Augustin
Johan Augustin is a Sydney-based freelance journalist. He specializes in environmental topics, travelling the globe in search of the next story to tell.
As reef bleaching intensifies, lab-grown corals could help beat the heat
CAPE FERGUSON, Australia — In a lab on Australia’s east coast, scientists are concocting what they hope will be the solution to the steadily worsening problem of coral bleaching. Few…
A watery onslaught from sea, sky and land in the world’s fastest-sinking city
JAKARTA — The Waladuna mosque is submerged in a meter of seawater, about 3 feet deep. It’s low tide in northern Jakarta. During high tide, the water creeps up to…
In race for a sustainable alternative to plastic, Indonesia bets on seaweed
BALI, Indonesia — It’s just after sunrise here in Bali, and a group of locals are preparing to sail their wooden boats out to a bay off Nusa Lembongan, a…
In Bali, young people lead the fight as a plastic plague threatens paradise
BALI, Indonesia — Waves roll in over the black volcanic sand on Sogsogan, a beach in southern Bali. Further out, surfers prepare to master the swell. Bali has long been…
On the front line of climate change in India’s Sundarbans
SAGAR ISLAND, India — Saktipada Bhuinya looks out over the ocean that surrounds Sagar Island. The Indian part of the Sundarbans, the vast mangrove forest in the Bay of Bengal,…
Elephant in the room: Botswana deals with pachyderm population pressure
This is the second article in a two-part series on Botswana’s population of African elephants. Read the first part, about a reported increase in poaching, here. CHOBE NATIONAL PARK, Botswana…
Trouble in Botswana’s elephant paradise as poaching said to rise
This is the first article in a two-part series on Botswana’s population of African elephants. Read the second part, about measures to deal with the number of elephants, here. CHOBE…
Special series
Forest trackers
- Indigenous Cacataibo of Peru threatened by land grabbing and drug trade
- Colombian and Ecuadorian Indigenous communities live in fear as drug traffickers invade
- Cocaine production driving deforestation into Colombian national park
- Industrial agriculture threatens a wetland oasis in Bolivia
Oceans
- 2020’s top ocean news stories (commentary)
- ‘Tamper with nature, and everyone suffers’: Q&A with ecologist Enric Sala
- New paper highlights spread of organized crime from global fisheries
- Study: Chinese ‘dark fleets’ illegally defying sanctions by fishing in North Korean waters
Amazon conservation
- Indigenous groups blast Amazon state’s plan to legalize wildcat mining
- In ‘dire’ plea, Brazil’s Amazonas state appeals for global COVID assistance
- Brazil’s collapsing health service, new COVID variant, raise Indigenous risk
- Lack of protection leaves Spain-size swath of Brazilian Amazon up for grabs
Land rights and extractives
- Indigenous groups blast Amazon state’s plan to legalize wildcat mining
- Papua tribe moves to block clearing of its ancestral forest for palm oil
- Protesters hold back military takeover of Balkans’ largest mountain pasture
- Podcast: New innovations to clean up the impacts of mining
Endangered environmentalists
- Brazilian woman threatened by Amazon loggers wins global human rights award
- Indonesian fishers opposed to dredging project hit by ‘criminalization’ bid
- Life as an Amazon activist: ‘I don’t want to be the next Dorothy Stang’
- In Philippines’ Palawan, top cop linked to assault on environmental officer
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
