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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:31:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Java environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/java/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>In Java’s hills, former bird hunters are rebuilding a songbird haven</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-javas-hills-former-bird-hunters-are-rebuilding-a-songbird-haven/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-javas-hills-former-bird-hunters-are-rebuilding-a-songbird-haven/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Aug 2026 10:29:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Triyo Handoko]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/27102040/Javan-blue-flycatcher-Cyornis-banyumas-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327538</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Hunting, Poaching, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PURWOREJO, Indonesia — As a young man, Parman hunted songbirds here in the Menoreh Hills, a landscape of karst valleys near the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. The area is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, but back then Parman would raid nests for rare birds, taking fledglings before they had learned to fly, then raising them [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PURWOREJO, Indonesia — As a young man, Parman hunted songbirds here in the Menoreh Hills, a landscape of karst valleys near the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. The area is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, but back then Parman would raid nests for rare birds, taking fledglings before they had learned to fly, then raising them himself until they were old enough to sell. “Most buyers came from outside the area, especially Yogyakarta and Magelang,” Parman told Mongabay Indonesia in June, referring to the two nearest cities to his home in Donorejo village. “They’d ask local people to catch them, and we’d sell them — for a pretty good price.” The colorful Javan blue flycatcher (Cyornis banyumas), for example, used to be a common sight and sound here in the Menoreh Hills. But the species is now critically endangered, a sad reflection of the depth of Indonesia’s songbird trade. Today, many more of these birds are held in cages than live freely in forests. “Remarkably, the population in captivity likely numbers in the tens of thousands, while the wild population is now suspected to number fewer than 1,000, and maybe much lower,” notes the most recent assessment of the Javan blue flycatcher, published in 2022 by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. “It became really difficult to find birds here,” Parman said. “So that’s why we stopped, and chose to focus on raising goats instead.” But after Parman and his peers stopped hunting for the songbird trade, they found outsiders&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-javas-hills-former-bird-hunters-are-rebuilding-a-songbird-haven/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-javas-hills-former-bird-hunters-are-rebuilding-a-songbird-haven/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327538</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia&#8217;s blackouts reignite debate over coal-dependent energy transition</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesias-blackouts-reignite-debate-over-coal-dependent-energy-transition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesias-blackouts-reignite-debate-over-coal-dependent-energy-transition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 09:45:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/09170445/chimneys-of-Suralaya-coal-power-plant-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322168</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Java, Global, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Coal, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Security, Energy Transition, Environmental Policy, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, Just Transition, Pollution, Public Health, Renewable Energy, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Calls are mounting for Indonesia to accelerate its energy transition after widespread blackouts struck Java and Sumatra in recent weeks, exposing what analysts say are deep vulnerabilities in a power system that remains highly centralized and heavily dependent on coal. In late May, large parts of Sumatra lost electricity after a transmission line [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Calls are mounting for Indonesia to accelerate its energy transition after widespread blackouts struck Java and Sumatra in recent weeks, exposing what analysts say are deep vulnerabilities in a power system that remains highly centralized and heavily dependent on coal. In late May, large parts of Sumatra lost electricity after a transmission line in Jambi failed. Just days later, a separate outage disrupted power across parts of Java, Indonesia&#8217;s most populous island and economic center. While officials initially pointed to technical problems, state utility PLN later said constrained coal supplies had contributed to the Java outage. For energy analysts, the outages underscore a broader structural problem. &#8220;The dependence on a centralized, coal-dominated electricity system is a threat to energy supply security,&#8221; said Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR). To reduce the risk of more widespread outages, analysts at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a U.S.-based think tank, said Indonesia should accelerate the      deployment of decentralized renewable energy, particularly rooftop solar combined with battery energy storage systems (BESS). &#8220;For Indonesia, an archipelago of thousands of islands, rooftop solar combined with battery energy storage systems offers a viable alternative to diesel power, which can be costly and challenging to supply,&#8221; IEEFA researchers Mutya Yustika and Randi Bachtiar wrote in a recent analysis. Unlike fossil fuels, they noted, solar power is not vulnerable to fuel supply disruptions or price volatility. Because rooftop systems can be installed on homes, businesses and industrial&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesias-blackouts-reignite-debate-over-coal-dependent-energy-transition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesias-blackouts-reignite-debate-over-coal-dependent-energy-transition/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322168</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Java, a women’s collective is helping save gibbons through forest-inspired textiles</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-java-a-womens-collective-is-helping-save-gibbons-through-forest-inspired-textiles/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-java-a-womens-collective-is-helping-save-gibbons-through-forest-inspired-textiles/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 02:00:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Falahi Mubarok]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01143027/Kain-ecoprint-di-Basecamp-Ambu-Halimun-Foto_-Falahi-Mubarok-3--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320422</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Gibbons, Industry, Natural Resources, Primates, Wildlife, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BOGOR, Indonesia — In a village bordering Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park on the Indonesian island of Java, local people browse a row of fabrics carrying impressions of plants and the silhouette of the forest’s silvery gibbon. They are made by the women-led Ambu Halimun collective, whose name translates to “mothers of Halimun” in the local [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BOGOR, Indonesia — In a village bordering Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park on the Indonesian island of Java, local people browse a row of fabrics carrying impressions of plants and the silhouette of the forest’s silvery gibbon. They are made by the women-led Ambu Halimun collective, whose name translates to “mothers of Halimun” in the local dialect. The project focused on boiling and pressing distinctive local plants into motifs on fabric, which drew women like Mirna Maharani into closer observation of the vegetation surrounding the village of Citalahab. Species once overlooked, even dismissed as weeds, have since acquired new value as sources of color, pattern and identity, Mirna explained. “Now, we are preserving them,” said Mirna, 30, a mother of two. Formed in 2020 during the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, the goal of Ambu Halimun was to engage women in conservation while providing an arena to uplift economic agency and professional development. Ambu Halimun is a women&#8217;s empowerment group that produces eco-friendly textiles in Bogor, West Java. Image by Falahi Mubarok/Mongabay Indonesia. Primatologist Rahayu Oktaviani, co-founder of the Kiara Foundation, which came up with the Ambu Halimun initiative, said she wanted to seed an original approach to conservation that would benefit women in Citalahab. “The forest isn’t something that is separate to them,” Rahayu told Mongabay Indonesia. “That&#8217;s why we&#8217;re building a sense of ownership.” Last year, Rahayu received the Whitley Award in recognition of her organization’s grassroots conservation work with Java’s silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch), which included the work&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-java-a-womens-collective-is-helping-save-gibbons-through-forest-inspired-textiles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-java-a-womens-collective-is-helping-save-gibbons-through-forest-inspired-textiles/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320422</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New study explores how reforestation could help Java&#8217;s leopards survive</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-study-explores-how-reforestation-could-help-javas-leopards-survive/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-study-explores-how-reforestation-could-help-javas-leopards-survive/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 01:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/19054541/Foto-CI-Perhutani-YOJ-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319188</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, East Java, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Development, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Infrastructure, Leopards, Mammals, Predators, Top Predators, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Reforestation done right could be key to helping rebuild habitat connectivity for Javan leopards on an island with one of the highest human densities on Earth, a new study says. It frames strategic forest restoration — linking up fragmented patches of forest to create contiguous corridors — as offering a rare pathway to balance rapid [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Reforestation done right could be key to helping rebuild habitat connectivity for Javan leopards on an island with one of the highest human densities on Earth, a new study says. It frames strategic forest restoration — linking up fragmented patches of forest to create contiguous corridors — as offering a rare pathway to balance rapid infrastructure expansion with the conservation of the endangered big cat. “And to implement this, strong commitment from various stakeholders is needed, given Java’s highly fragmented landscape; this will undoubtedly be a significant challenge,” study lead author Andhika C. Ariyanto, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, told Mongabay by email. Camera-trap image of a Javan leopard on Mount Sanggabuana, West Java province. Image courtesy of Sanggabuana Wildlife Ranger. The study is the first to produce an islandwide model of habitat connectivity for the Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas), offering conservationists a new tool to identify which forest corridors should be protected and restored as infrastructure development expands across Java, Andhika said. By comparing the impact of new roads and railways with a scenario in which degraded forests were restored, Andhika and his colleagues found that replanting trees in key areas could help reconnect fragmented habitats throughout Java and give wildlife, including leopards, more room to move and survive. They looked at key forest areas used by leopards across Java, an island half the size of the U.S. state of Texas with five times its population. This high human population density has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-study-explores-how-reforestation-could-help-javas-leopards-survive/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-study-explores-how-reforestation-could-help-javas-leopards-survive/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319188</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia farmers count the costs as rains wash out Java durian harvest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesia-farmers-count-the-costs-as-rains-wash-out-java-durian-harvest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesia-farmers-count-the-costs-as-rains-wash-out-java-durian-harvest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Mar 2026 04:23:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[L. Darmawan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/03145626/ganjar6_durian-kromo-banyumas-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315130</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Extreme Weather, Farming, Food, food security, Impact Of Climate Change, Plants, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANYUMAS, Indonesia — The first two months of the year would ordinarily see Ganjar Budi Setiaji hurrying around Plana village’s durian orchard, here in the hilly Javanese district of Banyumas. But on the last Tuesday of January, the 53-year-old father instead appeared restless. “In 2024, I harvested 3,500 durians from 300 trees,” Ganjar told Mongabay [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANYUMAS, Indonesia — The first two months of the year would ordinarily see Ganjar Budi Setiaji hurrying around Plana village’s durian orchard, here in the hilly Javanese district of Banyumas. But on the last Tuesday of January, the 53-year-old father instead appeared restless. “In 2024, I harvested 3,500 durians from 300 trees,” Ganjar told Mongabay Indonesia, a little ruefully. “I’ve had only 500 this year.” The durian fruit farmed by Ganjar is a mainstay in much of Southeast Asia, where its unusual texture and intense flavor profile splits opinion. Last year, Indonesia’s food minister rushed out trade data showing the archipelago’s superior production volume after Malaysia announced the durian as the kingdom’s national fruit, the latest bout of cultural fencing between the neighbors. Here in the Banyumas hills, farmers have propagated their own durian heritage since a hajj pilgrim known locally as Mbah Kromo planted an unusual durian tree in 1985 at his home in Karangsalam village. Ganjar shows drums used in the fermentation process to produce natural fertilizer. Image by L Darmawan/Mongabay Indonesia. A few years later, Mbah Kromo began offering seeds from the parent tree to his neighbors. Appreciation for the Kromo durian grew as the trees flourished across the district. Ganjar slices through a thorny Kromo durian, revealing a sweet fruit with the texture of thick cheesecake, an acquired taste to many. The Kromo durian is also unusual for producing a heavyweight fruit than can, people here say, grow up to 10 kilograms (22 pounds), with a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesia-farmers-count-the-costs-as-rains-wash-out-java-durian-harvest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesia-farmers-count-the-costs-as-rains-wash-out-java-durian-harvest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315130</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Five detained over alleged hunting in Javan leopard habitat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/five-detained-over-alleged-hunting-in-javan-leopard-habitat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/five-detained-over-alleged-hunting-in-javan-leopard-habitat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jan 2026 04:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/28075814/Macan-tutul-Sanggabuana3-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313422</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hunting, Leopards, Mammals, Poaching, Predators, Top Predators, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, Wildlife Rangers, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian authorities have detained five people in connection with the alleged illegal hunting and shooting of an endangered Javan leopard in the Gunung Sanggabuana conservation forest in West Java, a case that has intensified scrutiny of wildlife protection failures and the limits of enforcement on the ground. The arrests followed the circulation of viral videos [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian authorities have detained five people in connection with the alleged illegal hunting and shooting of an endangered Javan leopard in the Gunung Sanggabuana conservation forest in West Java, a case that has intensified scrutiny of wildlife protection failures and the limits of enforcement on the ground. The arrests followed the circulation of viral videos and camera trap footage showing suspected hunters operating inside the protected forest. West Java Police Chief Inspector General Rudi Setiawan said the suspects were detained after investigators acted on public reports and digital evidence, and that they will be charged under environmental and wildlife protection laws. Public concern grew after camera trap footage from October through November 2025, released in January 2026, showed a Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) limping with a serious front leg injury, alongside separate clips of suspected poachers carrying firearms, bladed weapons and hunting dogs. Authorities suspect the wound was caused by a gunshot fired by poachers. “The priority now is ensuring the ecosystem remains protected and that there are no further disturbances to wildlife,” Rudi said as quoted by local news portal Kompas on Jan. 27. Footage showing the alleged hunters of the injured Javan leopard. Image courtesy of Sanggabuana Conservation Foundation. The leopard, classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List with an estimated wild population of around 350, is Java’s last surviving top predator following the extinction of the Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica). The leopard faces mounting threats from hunting, habitat loss and dwindling prey. Conservationists, however,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/five-detained-over-alleged-hunting-in-javan-leopard-habitat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/five-detained-over-alleged-hunting-in-javan-leopard-habitat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313422</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia backs away from coal exit test case amid financial and political pushback</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-backs-away-from-coal-exit-test-case-amid-financial-and-political-pushback/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-backs-away-from-coal-exit-test-case-amid-financial-and-political-pushback/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jan 2026 13:44:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/15133656/8437-768x507.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312999</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, charcoal, Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, Coal, Energy, Environment, Finance, Fossil Fuels, Just Transition, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has scrapped a plan to retire a major coal-fired power plant, after having promised for years to do so. Airlangga Hartarto, the country’s chief economics minister, said in December that it would be unfeasible to shut down the 660-megawatt Cirebon-1 plant by 2035, which is seven years ahead of its [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has scrapped a plan to retire a major coal-fired power plant, after having promised for years to do so. Airlangga Hartarto, the country’s chief economics minister, said in December that it would be unfeasible to shut down the 660-megawatt Cirebon-1 plant by 2035, which is seven years ahead of its scheduled end of operation. But energy analysts and civil society groups say the decision reflects deeper political and financial resistance to moving away from coal — resistance that could undermine Indonesia’s energy transition at a time when global climate finance is becoming harder to secure. The failure of the early retirement plan for Cirebon-1 exposes how government policies that continue to protect and subsidize coal make it costly to shut plants early, they warn, even as Indonesia seeks international funding to do so. Airlangga said the decision was “based on technical considerations,” arguing that the plant, which went into operation in 2012, is still relatively young and therefore has a long operating life ahead. He also said Cirebon-1 uses “relatively better” technology that results in lower emissions, making it a less suitable candidate for early retirement compared with older, dirtier coal plants. As such, he said, the government will focus on shutting down older units, where the environmental benefits would be greater. “We will look for an alternative — one that is older and whose environmental impacts clearly mean it should already be retired,” he said on Dec. 5, as quoted by state news agency&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-backs-away-from-coal-exit-test-case-amid-financial-and-political-pushback/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/indonesia-backs-away-from-coal-exit-test-case-amid-financial-and-political-pushback/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312999</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s 1st Javan rhino translocation ends in death, in conservation setback</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indonesias-1st-javan-rhino-translocation-ends-in-death-in-conservation-setback/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indonesias-1st-javan-rhino-translocation-ends-in-death-in-conservation-setback/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Dec 2025 05:27:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/15140841/IMG_berita202511011110-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311389</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Asian Rhinos]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Javan Rhinos, Mammals, Megafauna, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rhinos, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Conservation officials have announced the death the first Javan rhino ever translocated as part of Indonesia’s conservation program, marking a setback for efforts to protect the critically endangered species. The Ujung Kulon National Park Authority confirmed on Nov. 27 that the male rhino, named Musofa, died at the Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area (JRSCA) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Conservation officials have announced the death the first Javan rhino ever translocated as part of Indonesia’s conservation program, marking a setback for efforts to protect the critically endangered species. The Ujung Kulon National Park Authority confirmed on Nov. 27 that the male rhino, named Musofa, died at the Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area (JRSCA) despite intensive veterinary care. Musofa was captured Nov. 3, after entering a pit trap in the Gardu Buruk area of Ujung Kulon National Park as part of a planned genetic-management initiative. After weather and safety assessments, he was moved Nov. 5 to the JRSCA using a military transport vehicle in an operation supported by the Indonesian National Armed Forces and conservation partners. He initially arrived in stable condition and showed early signs of adaptation. However, Musofa’s condition deteriorated Nov. 7, prompting emergency treatment by veterinary teams, and he perished later that afternoon. “All procedures were carried out in accordance with international conservation standards, including simulations, ethical reviews and logistical and security preparedness,” Ardi Andono, head of the park authority, said in a statement. The Javan rhino Musofa in a pit trap on Nov. 3 before translocation. Image courtesy of the Ujung Kulon National Park Authority. Musofa arrived at the Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area (JRSCA). Image courtesy of the Ujung Kulon National Park Authority. A necropsy report dated Nov. 8 found that chronic internal illnesses were the underlying cause of death, with experts at IPB University concluding the rhino had long been weakened by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indonesias-1st-javan-rhino-translocation-ends-in-death-in-conservation-setback/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indonesias-1st-javan-rhino-translocation-ends-in-death-in-conservation-setback/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311389</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study maps whale shark stranding hotspots in Indonesia, highlights conservation needs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/whale-shark-stranding-indonesia-marine-endangered-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/whale-shark-stranding-indonesia-marine-endangered-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Nov 2025 14:55:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/26085157/ws_Edy-Setyawan_3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309717</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Kalimantan, Papua, Southeast Asia, Sulawesi, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Megafauna, Oceans, Saltwater Fish, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study has mapped whale shark stranding hotspots in Indonesian waters over the past decade and linked their occurrence to oceanographic dynamics, providing a scientific basis for targeted, preventative conservation strategies. In the study published in October, marine researchers from Indonesia and New Zealand identified locations with significant reports of stranded whale sharks (Rhicodon [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study has mapped whale shark stranding hotspots in Indonesian waters over the past decade and linked their occurrence to oceanographic dynamics, providing a scientific basis for targeted, preventative conservation strategies. In the study published in October, marine researchers from Indonesia and New Zealand identified locations with significant reports of stranded whale sharks (Rhicodon typus) across Indonesia between 2011 and 2023. They said long-term stranding records can fill key data gaps for migratory species, such whale sharks, and their analysis also revealed population demographics, trends and oceanographically driven stranding hotspots. “Findings from this study show that stranding incidents exhibit clear spatial and temporal patterns, with specific hotspots and seasons when cases increase,” lead author Mochamad Iqbal Herwata, a species conservation senior manager at Konservasi Indonesia (KI), the local affiliate of Conservation International, told Mongabay in an email interview. A juvenile whale shark migrating out of Saleh Bay, off Indonesia’s Sumbawa Island, toward wider waters. Image courtesy of Abdi Hasan/Konservasi Indonesia. The researchers documented whale shark strandings across Indonesia’s diverse marine habitats, where monsoon-driven oceanographic processes create productive feeding grounds. They compiled 115 verified events from news-based sources using strict inclusion criteria. They analyzed spatial and temporal patterns with statistical tests and hotspot mapping, finding that strandings were often associated with high chlorophyll-A (indicating phytoplankton abundance), high waves, and low sea surface temperatures during the southeast monsoon and transitional seasons. The scientists found that the studied whale shark stranding events across Indonesia revealed clear regional concentrations, with West Java and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/whale-shark-stranding-indonesia-marine-endangered-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/whale-shark-stranding-indonesia-marine-endangered-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309717</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scientists call for stronger action to save Indonesia’s vanishing seagrass meadows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/seagrass-meadows-marine-conservation-indonesia-blue-carbon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/seagrass-meadows-marine-conservation-indonesia-blue-carbon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Nov 2025 14:24:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/04064725/Jenis-lamun-di-Kepulauan-Togean-Sulawesi-Tengah.-Foto_-Christopel-Paino-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308768</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Kalimantan, Papua, Southeast Asia, Sulawesi, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Blue Carbon, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Seagrass]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SANUR, Indonesia — Indonesia’s seagrass ecosystems are crucial for climate action, biodiversity and coastal livelihoods, yet remain a largely neglected asset, marine scientists and conservation experts said at a recent meeting. Participants at the Indonesian Seagrass Symposium, which ran from Oct. 29-30 on the island of Bali, called for stronger collaboration and data-driven policies to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SANUR, Indonesia — Indonesia’s seagrass ecosystems are crucial for climate action, biodiversity and coastal livelihoods, yet remain a largely neglected asset, marine scientists and conservation experts said at a recent meeting. Participants at the Indonesian Seagrass Symposium, which ran from Oct. 29-30 on the island of Bali, called for stronger collaboration and data-driven policies to secure the future of these ecosystems in Indonesia’s environmental agenda. They said scientific data gaps, weak institutional capacity and low public awareness were key barriers to stronger protection and policy integration. “I see seagrass as a kind of forgotten ecosystem,” Victor Nikijuluw, senior ocean program adviser at the foundation Konservasi Indonesia (KI), the national affiliate of Conservation International and host of the symposium, told reporters. “We barely pay attention to it, even though its ecological, biological and ecosystem service roles are strategically important.” In Indonesia, Victor added, “this is the ecosystem most often sacrificed, that’s why I call it the forgotten ecosystem, one that most people don’t even know about.” Seagrass meadows are a crucial habitat for dugongs. Image courtesy of Tutus Wijanarko/WWF-Indonesia. Seagrasses, distinct from seaweeds, are flowering plants that thrive beneath shallow coastal waters and form vital nurseries for juvenile fish and shelter for marine life such as crabs, prawns and sea cucumbers. Together with mangroves and coral reefs, these meadows help trap carbon, filter land-based runoff, and buffer shorelines from erosion. Across the world, more than 70 seagrass species blanket roughly 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) of ocean floor, an expanse&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/seagrass-meadows-marine-conservation-indonesia-blue-carbon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/seagrass-meadows-marine-conservation-indonesia-blue-carbon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308768</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Radioactive leak in Banten exposes workers to danger &#038; reveals regulatory failures</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/radioactive-leak-in-banten-exposes-workers-to-danger-reveals-regulatory-failures/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/radioactive-leak-in-banten-exposes-workers-to-danger-reveals-regulatory-failures/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Oct 2025 16:25:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anggita Raissa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/24051542/RADIOAKTIF-CIKANDE-FOTO-3-768x512-1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308254</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Jakarta, Java, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Crime, Disasters, Energy, Environment, Health, Human Rights, Nuclear Power, Pollution, Public Health, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SERANG, Indonesia — The rain had just passed over Nambo Udik, a village in Cikande, Serang, Banten. The air hung heavy and damp, and puddles lingered in the muddy yard in front of Sakinah and Roni’s home. These days, the couple spends most of their time indoors, gazing out at the quiet street. It has [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SERANG, Indonesia — The rain had just passed over Nambo Udik, a village in Cikande, Serang, Banten. The air hung heavy and damp, and puddles lingered in the muddy yard in front of Sakinah and Roni’s home. These days, the couple spends most of their time indoors, gazing out at the quiet street. It has been more than a month since they last worked after news broke of radioactive contamination in the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate. Sakinah lost her job when PT Bahari Makmur Sejati (BMS Foods), her employer, abruptly shut down. The closure followed an alarming report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Aug. 19, which detected traces of radioactive material in a frozen shrimp shipment from Indonesia. The contaminated batch was traced back to BMS. Government agencies — including the Ministry of Environment, the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten), the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and the police bomb squad Gegana — launched an investigation to uncover the radiation source. What they found led back to PT Metal Technology (PMT), a metal smelting plant in the same industrial zone. There, Roni had worked as a helper for more than 10 years. Tests revealed that the radiation came from Cesium-137, a hazardous isotope commonly associated with nuclear waste. By mid-September, both Roni and Sakinah had undergone medical examinations. Blood tests confirmed they had been exposed to radiation. Roni was prescribed Radiogardase, which is designed to flush Cesium-137 from the body. He takes nine of them&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/radioactive-leak-in-banten-exposes-workers-to-danger-reveals-regulatory-failures/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/radioactive-leak-in-banten-exposes-workers-to-danger-reveals-regulatory-failures/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308254</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s most vulnerable push for nation’s first Climate Justice Bill</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesias-most-vulnerable-push-for-nations-first-climate-justice-bill/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesias-most-vulnerable-push-for-nations-first-climate-justice-bill/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2025 01:23:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/23012002/IMG_1666-2048x1150-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308157</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Kalimantan, North Maluku, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Environment, Human Migration, Human Rights, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Law, Migration, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — “Going to Dubai was an act of desperation,” says Muninggar, a 48-year-old former fish farmer from northern Java. “There were no jobs left in the village. If I wasn’t forced to, I wouldn’t have gone — my kids were still small.” Like many Indonesians on the frontlines of climate change, Muninggar has seen [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — “Going to Dubai was an act of desperation,” says Muninggar, a 48-year-old former fish farmer from northern Java. “There were no jobs left in the village. If I wasn’t forced to, I wouldn’t have gone — my kids were still small.” Like many Indonesians on the frontlines of climate change, Muninggar has seen erratic weather and rising temperatures destroy her livelihood, forcing her to migrate in search of a living. Her story echoes those of Indigenous farmers in Borneo and disabled fishers in eastern Indonesia, all facing the same reality: the climate crisis is deepening inequality and displacing those least responsible for it. Now, these communities are uniting to demand that climate justice be recognized as a constitutional right — part of a growing movement behind Indonesia’s first proposed Climate Justice Bill. Indonesia&#8217;s marginalized communities march to demand stronger climate action from the government in Jakarta in August 2025. Image courtesy of People&#8217;s Alliance for Climate Justice (ARUKI). Migrant workers Over the course of a few years, increasingly erratic weather devastated Muninggar’s fish ponds. “During the dry season, the seawater didn’t rise high enough, turning the pond water yellow. When that happened, the fish, shrimp and crabs died — I suffered total harvest failure,” she says. She took out a bank loan to stay afloat, but after five years of unpredictable weather and mounting losses, she was forced to close her pond, as were many of her neighbors. In September 2021, she chose to seek work abroad as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesias-most-vulnerable-push-for-nations-first-climate-justice-bill/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesias-most-vulnerable-push-for-nations-first-climate-justice-bill/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308157</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Connecting Indonesia’s environmental stories to millions</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/connecting-indonesias-environmental-stories-to-millions/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/connecting-indonesias-environmental-stories-to-millions/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Oct 2025 16:06:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/13144449/Akhyari-Hananto-20230927_111532-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307481</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conversations with Mongabay leaders]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Java, Kalimantan, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Green, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, and Interviews With Environmental Journalists]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Before dawn breaks over Surabaya, Indonesia’s “City of Heroes,” Akhyari Hananto has already begun his day. After morning prayers, he opens Google Analytics to scan real-time graphs showing how Mongabay Indonesia’s readers moved through the night—what stories caught their attention, which posts resonated, and where curiosity waned. “That information often determines how I’ll prioritize my [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Before dawn breaks over Surabaya, Indonesia’s “City of Heroes,” Akhyari Hananto has already begun his day. After morning prayers, he opens Google Analytics to scan real-time graphs showing how Mongabay Indonesia’s readers moved through the night—what stories caught their attention, which posts resonated, and where curiosity waned. “That information often determines how I’ll prioritize my work for the rest of the day,” he says. By the time most people are pouring their first cup of coffee, he has already drafted ideas to re-energize audiences across the country. As Multimedia Manager for Mongabay Indonesia, Hananto sits at the intersection of creativity, data, and strategy. His job blends newsroom production, design, and analytics. On any given day, he may be editing multimedia, managing the outlet’s social media presence, or translating insights from Google Analytics into tactical decisions for Mongabay’s headquarters. “Everything I do connects to one central mission,” he explains, “ensuring that Mongabay’s environmental journalism reaches, engages, and resonates with audiences across Indonesia.” That mission has become increasingly important in a nation whose 280 million people live amid some of the planet’s richest biodiversity—and where forests, peatlands, and coral reefs are rapidly disappearing. For Hananto, who joined Mongabay in 2014, making environmental issues accessible is not just professional work; it is personal. “As an Indonesian, it’s impossible not to care,” he says. “These issues are not distant or abstract—they’re unfolding right here, on our own islands.” Akhyari Hananto. Courtesy of Hananto Hananto’s path to journalism was far from conventional. As a university&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/connecting-indonesias-environmental-stories-to-millions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/connecting-indonesias-environmental-stories-to-millions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307481</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia eyes seagrass zoning for blue carbon; experts urge community benefits</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-eyes-seagrass-zoning-for-blue-carbon-experts-urge-community-benefits/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-eyes-seagrass-zoning-for-blue-carbon-experts-urge-community-benefits/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2025 08:39:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/07122243/2847d35f-7bed-4686-8e25-62053ac6a0a4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307028</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Kalimantan, Papua, Southeast Asia, Sulawesi, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Blue Carbon, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Global Environmental Crisis, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Seagrass]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s push to legalize a blue carbon zoning plan that’s focused on seagrass has sparked optimism for climate solutions, but some experts debate its risks and safeguards. The Indonesian Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has been drafting new amendments to a 2019 government regulation to designate 17 seagrass habitats across the archipelago as certain &#8220;national [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s push to legalize a blue carbon zoning plan that’s focused on seagrass has sparked optimism for climate solutions, but some experts debate its risks and safeguards. The Indonesian Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has been drafting new amendments to a 2019 government regulation to designate 17 seagrass habitats across the archipelago as certain &#8220;national strategic areas&#8221; (KSNT), giving them priority status for sovereignty, environmental protection and global heritage. The ministry’s director-general of marine spatial management, Kartika Listriana, said the zoning plan for Blue Carbon Reserves was a pledge to fight the climate crisis, protect ocean ecosystems and support coastal communities. “Marine spatial planning is meant to create real benefits,” she said in a Sept. 14 press release, “from giving investors legal certainty in the marine and fisheries sectors to improving community welfare to safeguarding our coasts and seas.” Mangrove and seagrass ecosystems in northern Nias Island. Image courtesy of Eko Siswono Toyudho/Konservasi Indonesia. Indonesia is moving to designate 17 seagrass habitats as national strategic areas for blue carbon, a plan that promises climate and community benefits but raises concerns over safeguards. Image courtesy of Eko Siswono Toyudho/Konservasi Indonesia. Indonesia holds about 11.5% of the world’s seagrass meadows, a resource the government hopes to tap to expand its carbon storage capacity. Scientists estimate that, per unit area, seagrass can capture carbon up to 35 times more effectively than tropical rainforests. According to the ministry, 17 sites have been earmarked as indicative KSNT locations for blue carbon reserves under the 2025-45&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-eyes-seagrass-zoning-for-blue-carbon-experts-urge-community-benefits/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-eyes-seagrass-zoning-for-blue-carbon-experts-urge-community-benefits/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307028</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s giant Java seawall plan sparks criticism &#038; calls for alternatives</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesias-giant-java-seawall-plan-sparks-criticism-calls-for-alternatives/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesias-giant-java-seawall-plan-sparks-criticism-calls-for-alternatives/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2025 01:30:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/10115229/6-Indonesian-village-rising-tidal-floodwaters-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305716</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, East Java, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, Tropics, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Deforestation, Disasters, Environment, Erosion, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Flooding, Forestry, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Nature-based climate solutions, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Overfishing, Sea Levels, Solutions, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has set up a new authority to build a massive seawall along the north coast of Java, a project aimed at shielding millions of residents from flooding and sinking land, but observers reject it as a true solution while highlighting risks, elite bias and lack of consultation. The president on Aug. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has set up a new authority to build a massive seawall along the north coast of Java, a project aimed at shielding millions of residents from flooding and sinking land, but observers reject it as a true solution while highlighting risks, elite bias and lack of consultation. The president on Aug. 25 officiated the formation of the North Java Coast Management Authority to oversee the construction of a 700-kilometer (435-mile) seawall from Banten to Gresik, aimed at protecting 20 million coastal residents from erosion, tidal flooding and land subsidence. The $80 billion project will cover planning, financing and construction, with officials hoping to attract investors while addressing environmental and social impacts. Prabowo appointed retired Vice Admiral Didit Herdiawan Ashaf, who’s currently the vice fisheries minister, to lead the new government agency, with Darwin Djajawinata and Suhajar Diantoro serving as vice chairs. The agency will oversee planning, financing and construction of the seawall, addressing environmental and social considerations, and its head can adjust plans as needed. “Why two vice chairs? Because managing the North Coast (Pantura) will inevitably involve investment. One vice chair was appointed from Danantara. The other represents the government, specifically the Ministry of Home Affairs, given that this project will span five provinces on Java Island,” State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi told reporters in Jakarta as quoted by local media Tempo. &nbsp; Tidal floodwaters engulf Timbulsloko village. Image by Nuswantoro/Mongabay Indonesia. A 2023 study found that major northern Javan cities, including Jakarta, Pekalongan, Semarang and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesias-giant-java-seawall-plan-sparks-criticism-calls-for-alternatives/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesias-giant-java-seawall-plan-sparks-criticism-calls-for-alternatives/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305716</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New model reveals hidden dynamics of Indonesia’s booming songbird trade</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-songbird-trade-wildlife-trafficking-market-demand-supply/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-songbird-trade-wildlife-trafficking-market-demand-supply/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2025 13:09:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/29070532/1000269860-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305118</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Wild Bird Trade]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, East Java, Indonesia, Jakarta, Java, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Pet Trade, Rainforests, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers have developed the first model to map how supply and demand interact in Indonesia’s highly lucrative songbird trade, revealing patterns that could help curb poaching pressure on rare and threatened species. Market dynamics in Indonesia’s songbird trade appear to be driven more by species traits, such as mimicry, rather than species identity, according to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers have developed the first model to map how supply and demand interact in Indonesia’s highly lucrative songbird trade, revealing patterns that could help curb poaching pressure on rare and threatened species. Market dynamics in Indonesia’s songbird trade appear to be driven more by species traits, such as mimicry, rather than species identity, according to a new paper published in the journal Biological Conservation. The researchers said understanding this trade aspect could uncover demand patterns that were previously overlooked, subsequently aiding in the development of strategies to reduce demand in a country whose songbird trade is one of the world’s most prolific wildlife trade sectors. “There is one big question that I get asked a lot: who are buying these birds found in the markets and for what? Why are they selling so many species?” study lead author Karlina Indraswari, who conducted the research during her Ph.D. studies at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, told Mongabay by email. “Then it continued to the question, why are there so many species recorded in the supply side, yet very little info from the demand side? &#8230; Therefore, can we, at least, get a rough idea of why certain species are traded. So, with that, I shared the idea to the team who were keen to assist me with this paper,” she added. Demand for wild-caught birds remains high, fueling a market that poses serious risks to Indonesia’s threatened species. Image courtesy of Ganjar Cahyadi. The bird trade thrives in Indonesia,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-songbird-trade-wildlife-trafficking-market-demand-supply/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-songbird-trade-wildlife-trafficking-market-demand-supply/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305118</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On Java’s Mount Slamet, two former trappers find new calling as bird protectors</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/on-javas-mount-slamet-two-former-trappers-find-new-calling-as-bird-protectors/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/on-javas-mount-slamet-two-former-trappers-find-new-calling-as-bird-protectors/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Aug 2025 15:13:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[L. Darmawan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/29084318/A-Sikatan-cacing-jawa_Cyornis-banyumas_Burung-Indonesia_Jihad-1536x1025-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305124</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, Indonesia, Java, Oceania, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Hunting, Trapping, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANYUMAS, Indonesia — As youngsters, Ari and Junianto would clamber over the upland above Sambirata village, gathering sap to glue-trap the birds nesting below Java’s Mount Slamet. “If it gets wet it’ll lose its stickiness, so you’d have to place it during the day,” Junianto, now in his mid-30s, told Mongabay Indonesia as he pressed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANYUMAS, Indonesia — As youngsters, Ari and Junianto would clamber over the upland above Sambirata village, gathering sap to glue-trap the birds nesting below Java’s Mount Slamet. “If it gets wet it’ll lose its stickiness, so you’d have to place it during the day,” Junianto, now in his mid-30s, told Mongabay Indonesia as he pressed on through thin mist up Mount Slamet together with Ari. A mother Javan blue flycatcher (Cyornis banyumas) is seen feeding her young in their nest. Image courtesy of Burung Indonesia/Jihad. Junianto learned to trap birds in the fourth grade. Before long, hunting had become his primary occupation. Often he would carry a small snake as bait for bigger birds. Within half an hour, they’d usually catch a white-eye (from the Zosteropidae family) or an olive bulbul (Iole viridescens) — both are greenish songbirds — somewhere between 800 and 1500 meters (2,600 and 4,900 feet) up the mountain. Junianto, a former bird hunter, is now a conservation activist. Image by L. Darmawan for Mongabay Indonesia. Their contact lists grew as they became more experienced hunters. Junianto began stockpiling birds from other hunters that he supplied to traders in the neighboring city of Purwokerto. Ari, meanwhile, branched out into selling species on social media. Between 2011 and 2012, he sold not just songbirds, but also slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang), sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) and even Javan hawk-eagles (Nisaetus bartelsi), Indonesia’s national bird — the equivalent of trading bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the U.S. Ari recalled earlier&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/on-javas-mount-slamet-two-former-trappers-find-new-calling-as-bird-protectors/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/on-javas-mount-slamet-two-former-trappers-find-new-calling-as-bird-protectors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305124</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s fish farm expansion to absorb D.C.-sized swath of protected forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/indonesias-fish-farm-expansion-to-absorb-d-c-sized-swath-of-protected-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/indonesias-fish-farm-expansion-to-absorb-d-c-sized-swath-of-protected-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Aug 2025 15:34:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[M Ambari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/01083904/upscalemedia-transformed-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305047</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia, Java, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aquaculture, Coastal Ecosystems, Fisheries, Governance, and Mangroves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[WEST JAVA, Indonesia – A billion-dollar push to expand fish farming on the island of Java to support Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s free school meals program will absorb protected forests nearly the size of Washington, D.C., according to the country’s largest environmental group. “This area would become one of the largest releases of protected forests [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[WEST JAVA, Indonesia – A billion-dollar push to expand fish farming on the island of Java to support Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s free school meals program will absorb protected forests nearly the size of Washington, D.C., according to the country’s largest environmental group. “This area would become one of the largest releases of protected forests in West Java in history,” said Wahyudi, the West Java provincial director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi). Launched in January, Prabowo’s nutrition program is a national drive to reach 83 million people by the end of the president’s five-year term in 2029. In February, the government categorized the planned 78,000-hectares (193,000-acre) aquaculture belt across Java’s northern coast as a national priority project. This initial building site will span 20,400 hectares (50,400 acres) across four districts on the West Java coast. That designation will enable the project managers to speed through some environmental safeguards to expedite the first stage of the $1.6 billion project to completion by its 2027 deadline. In June, Mongabay Indonesia spoke with a security guard outside a pond in Sedari village, Karawang district, who said he was unaware of plans to bring the local fish farms under the national priority project framework. “What will happen to me then?” he said. Remaining mangrove ecosystems along the coast of West Java province. Photo: Irfan Maulana/Mongabay Indonesia Indonesia’s fisheries ministry projections for the development include the creation of more than 100,000 new jobs. However, Walhi and other environmental civil society organizations say&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/indonesias-fish-farm-expansion-to-absorb-d-c-sized-swath-of-protected-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/indonesias-fish-farm-expansion-to-absorb-d-c-sized-swath-of-protected-forests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305047</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rare Javan leopard sighting renews focus on conservation, monitoring efforts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/javan-leopard-camera-trap-java-endangered-wildlife-big-cat-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/javan-leopard-camera-trap-java-endangered-wildlife-big-cat-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2025 08:11:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten GokkonFalahi Mubarok]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/22093338/456923fa-fddc-4f6d-954b-0822fcb212b6.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304773</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, East Java, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Leopards, Mammals, Predators, Top Predators, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A camera trap in an Indonesian mountain forest has recorded a rare Javan leopard, sparking renewed conservation monitoring efforts in the area. The Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) was captured on a camera installed in the Mount Lawu forest area of Central Java province, according to a July 29 post by the KGPAA Mangkunagoro I [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A camera trap in an Indonesian mountain forest has recorded a rare Javan leopard, sparking renewed conservation monitoring efforts in the area. The Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) was captured on a camera installed in the Mount Lawu forest area of Central Java province, according to a July 29 post by the KGPAA Mangkunagoro I Grand Forest Park (Tahura) on Instagram. The recording, which shows the endangered big cat strolling calmly past the lens, was obtained after officials followed up on a hiker’s report of a leopard sighting along a trail. Dhidhit Suryono, field coordinator team leader at Tahura Mangkunagoro, said the cameras were installed for two full weeks around the reported site to ensure optimal observation results and increase the chance of capturing footage. The exact location of the recording is not being disclosed, he added, to prevent potential poaching. Tahura KGPAA Mangkunagoro I is a 231-hectare (571-acre) forest park on the slopes of Mount Lawu, a 3,265-meter (10,712-foot) volcano on the border between Central and East Java provinces. Image courtesy of Tahura KGPAA Mangkunagoro I. The effort involved four officers and two local residents, Dhidhit said. Of the 10 cameras they carried, only three worked in the field, one of which captured the leopard before the observation period ended. He said this backed their hypothesis that the animal regularly roams the area. Tahura KGPAA Mangkunagoro I is a 231-hectare (571-acre) forest park on the slopes of Mount Lawu, a 3,265-meter (10,712-foot) volcano on the border between Central and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/javan-leopard-camera-trap-java-endangered-wildlife-big-cat-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/javan-leopard-camera-trap-java-endangered-wildlife-big-cat-conservation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304773</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s aquafarm revamp sparks fears for fate of farmers and mangroves</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/indonesia-aquaculture-fish-farm-mangroves-shrimp-fisheries-sustainable-coastal-marine/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/indonesia-aquaculture-fish-farm-mangroves-shrimp-fisheries-sustainable-coastal-marine/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Aug 2025 06:10:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten GokkonM Ambari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/20095146/3d3c2cab-4c91-4a9c-833c-3bb672208711-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304502</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aquaculture, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KARAWANG/JAKARTA, Indonesia — At 55, Warno has spent the past quarter of a century making a living from a fish farm that he manages in Karawang district, in the Indonesian province of West Java. Here, in ponds spanning a combined 2 hectares (5 acres), he raises milkfish and shrimp, and grows seaweed. “Every year, I [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KARAWANG/JAKARTA, Indonesia — At 55, Warno has spent the past quarter of a century making a living from a fish farm that he manages in Karawang district, in the Indonesian province of West Java. Here, in ponds spanning a combined 2 hectares (5 acres), he raises milkfish and shrimp, and grows seaweed. “Every year, I have to spend a considerable amount of money to start over after the harvest,” he tells Mongabay Indonesia. “There also has to be regular maintenance to keep the pond water in good condition.” Crucially, Warno doesn’t own the land his fish farm sits on; he rents it from PT Perhutani, a government-owned company. That makes him one of many small-scale fish farmers along the northern Java coast who say they fear losing the land under a new government plan to revitalize what it calls “idle” state-owned aquafarms covering 78,000 hectares (about 193,000 acres) across the region. Fish farms like this one in Karawang district are managed by both small-scale farmers and businesses. The latter typically control dozens of hectares, while small farmers usually manage less than 5 hectares (12 acres) each. Image by M. Ambari/Mongabay Indonesia. Indonesia’s fisheries minister, Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, has described the program as a key strategy to support the government’s national food security agenda. The first phase covers some 20,400 hectares (50,400 acres) of ponds along most of West Java’s northern coast. Most of these are what the ministry terms “unproductive”: managed using traditional methods, lacking water reservoirs and wastewater treatment&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/indonesia-aquaculture-fish-farm-mangroves-shrimp-fisheries-sustainable-coastal-marine/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/indonesia-aquaculture-fish-farm-mangroves-shrimp-fisheries-sustainable-coastal-marine/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304502</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Batang coal plant’s seawater permit imperils marine life, fishing communities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/batang-coal-plants-seawater-permit-imperils-marine-life-fishing-communities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/batang-coal-plants-seawater-permit-imperils-marine-life-fishing-communities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jul 2025 03:39:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/25085441/ba9-IMG_8776.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303177</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate, Climate Change, Coal, Coastal Ecosystems, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Fossil Fuels, Global Environmental Crisis, Infrastructure, Land Grabbing, Marine, Ocean Warming, Politics, Sea Levels, and Social Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s marine ministry has approved one of Java’s largest coal plants to use vast amounts of seawater for cooling, prompting concerns from marine experts over the impact of heated discharge on coastal ecosystems and fisheries. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries on July 22 issued a permit for the utilization of seawater for non-energy [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s marine ministry has approved one of Java’s largest coal plants to use vast amounts of seawater for cooling, prompting concerns from marine experts over the impact of heated discharge on coastal ecosystems and fisheries. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries on July 22 issued a permit for the utilization of seawater for non-energy purposes (ALSE) to PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia (BPI), the operator of the Batang coal-fired power plant in Central Java. The permit makes the Batang facility the first power plant in Java and the second in Indonesia to be legally authorized to manage seawater for industrial activities, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the Batang plant utilized approximately 3 billion cubic meters (106 billion cubic feet) of seawater annually, primarily for cooling purposes, and such large-scale seawater use requires accountable management in accordance with government regulations. The ALSE permit regulates the use of seawater for non-energy industrial purposes, such as cooling, potable water production or other uses, according to the ministry. “This effort also supports transparency and accountability in sustainable marine industries,” Frista Yorhanita, the ministry’s director of marine resources, said in the statement. Unfavorable coastal conditions in Batang, Central Java, have made it increasingly difficult for fishers to operate. Image by Wulan Yanuarwati/Mongabay Indonesia. The Batang thermal coal plant began full operations in 2022 with a 2,000-megawatt capacity. As one of Java’s main power sources, it was built to boost Indonesia’s energy supply and support local economic growth. However, instead of improving&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/batang-coal-plants-seawater-permit-imperils-marine-life-fishing-communities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/batang-coal-plants-seawater-permit-imperils-marine-life-fishing-communities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303177</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Burning, burying and banning: Indonesia’s cities struggle to manage their garbage</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/burning-burying-and-banning-indonesias-cities-struggle-to-manage-their-garbage/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/burning-burying-and-banning-indonesias-cities-struggle-to-manage-their-garbage/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jul 2025 00:23:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeff Hutton]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/22070704/bamban-heru-zgd-5yJIsb8-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302916</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bali, Indonesia, Java, South Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities, Corruption, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Plastic, Pollution, Recycling, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Haryanto surveys a sandy patch the size of roughly half a soccer field. Overlooked by a 40-meter (130-foot) lighthouse, the clearing is a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean, where the surf pummels Pandansari Beach — a pristine stretch lined with casuarina trees about an hour’s drive south of the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. But [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Haryanto surveys a sandy patch the size of roughly half a soccer field. Overlooked by a 40-meter (130-foot) lighthouse, the clearing is a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean, where the surf pummels Pandansari Beach — a pristine stretch lined with casuarina trees about an hour’s drive south of the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. But here, directly under the 66-year-old’s feet: 1,800 cubic meters of garbage — nearly 200 dump truck loads — of household, industrial and even hospital waste, Haryanto says. According to Haryanto, a one-time manager with the state electricity monopoly PLN, the garbage appeared unannounced last December. Some 18 months prior to that, 10 times that amount landed on a second, bigger site about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away in a similar manner. “This is a tourist area. There was no warning. It just appeared,” Haryanto tells Mongabay. Haryanto now heads a local group called Forum Peduli Gadingsari, named after his village in the district of Bantul and intended to “watch out for government mismanagement,” as he puts it. “There was no environmental review. There were no permits. What if there was a tsunami? How do they manage the leachate? This is an environmental crime,” he says. For at least two decades, Indonesian governments have struggled to come to grips with their growing mountains of waste, with much of it dumped illegally. More than 35% of all of Indonesia’s garbage — some 11 million metric tons last year — was deemed unmanaged, finding its way into rivers,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/burning-burying-and-banning-indonesias-cities-struggle-to-manage-their-garbage/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/burning-burying-and-banning-indonesias-cities-struggle-to-manage-their-garbage/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302916</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Villagers in Sumatra bring ancient forest flavors back to the table</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/villagers-in-sumatra-bring-ancient-forest-flavors-back-to-the-table/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/villagers-in-sumatra-bring-ancient-forest-flavors-back-to-the-table/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Jun 2025 08:13:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claire Turrell]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/04071834/07-Paduka-community-cooking-for-visitors_credit-Javara-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300043</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Oceania, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Ancient Civilizations, Animals, Anthropology, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Crops, Environment, Fish, Food, Food Industry, Forests, Freshwater Fish, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Plants, Rainforests, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nurul Nazipah’s favorite dish to cook is one that involves going into the Muaro Jambi forest to pick from among 120 different types of herbs and edible greens that grow wild. To the untrained eye, they could be weeds in the Sumatran forest, but to Nazipah each one has its own identity. It could taste [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nurul Nazipah’s favorite dish to cook is one that involves going into the Muaro Jambi forest to pick from among 120 different types of herbs and edible greens that grow wild. To the untrained eye, they could be weeds in the Sumatran forest, but to Nazipah each one has its own identity. It could taste mild, earthy or sometimes bitter. To complete her prized rempah ratus belut dish, she also needs an eel caught fresh from the Batang Hari River. “This richly spiced traditional dish has a distinct, fresh flavor and was historically prepared only during special occasions,” Nazipah says. But it’s not just the taste of the dish that fills her with pride. She says it also showcases how rich the forest is as a resource. “Through this dish, we can highlight the potential of local food sources that are still abundant in our surroundings.” Nazipah is among the local women from the Dusun Karet Market, popularly known as Paduka, near the 7th-century Buddhist temple complex of Muaro Jambi, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Paduka women, who cook for temple visitors, concoct their dishes using diverse traditional ingredients. They say they want to do their part to show how their home is a living landscape steeped in heritage. Dining in the grounds of the temple. Image courtesy of Javara. As their eight villages are found within the Muaro Jambi temple complex, also spelled Muarojambi, they wanted to make sure the recipes remained authentic. While they say they&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/villagers-in-sumatra-bring-ancient-forest-flavors-back-to-the-table/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/villagers-in-sumatra-bring-ancient-forest-flavors-back-to-the-table/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300043</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After years of silence, Indonesia moves to assess its iconic wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/after-years-of-silence-indonesia-moves-to-assess-its-iconic-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/after-years-of-silence-indonesia-moves-to-assess-its-iconic-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2025 16:40:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dyna Rochmyaningsih]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/29072153/javan-gibbon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299844</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Java, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, data, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Governance, Mammals, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Surveying, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse nations on Earth, appears to be gearing up to renew official estimates of its remaining wildlife populations, following nearly two decades without official updates on the status of some key species. With a new forestry minister, Raja Juli Antoni, appointed in October 2024 under President Prabowo Subianto, scientists say [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse nations on Earth, appears to be gearing up to renew official estimates of its remaining wildlife populations, following nearly two decades without official updates on the status of some key species. With a new forestry minister, Raja Juli Antoni, appointed in October 2024 under President Prabowo Subianto, scientists say they hope the initiatives signal a more open and transparent approach to conservation in the country. A change in tone would be a welcome shift from the previous forestry administration, led by Siti Nurbaya Bakar, whose era was marked with data censorship and a tight grip over conservation organizations. On Jan. 31, dozens of national park managers, heads of provincial conservation offices, NGO workers, and academics across the country joined an online meeting organized by the Ministry of Forestry’s conservation directorate-general. At the meeting, the director-general, Satyawan Pudyatmoko, urged the attendees to “work together” to initiate wildlife population surveys and conduct the latest population and habitat viability analyses (PHVA) for some iconic species. Both efforts, he said, are “the current priorities of Indonesia’s conservation.” “Oftentimes, conservation actions that are not based in science, only common sense, are not effective and wastes of money,” said Satyawan, a conservation scientist himself, who has held his current role since 2023. Population surveys provide the raw data used for PHVA computer modeling, which aims to assess how certain species could survive under multiple scenarios in the future. This information, in turn, is crucial in developing species conservation strategies and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/after-years-of-silence-indonesia-moves-to-assess-its-iconic-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299844</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia convicts trafficking accomplice in a Javan rhino poaching scandal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/indonesia-convicts-trafficking-accomplice-in-a-javan-rhino-poaching-scandal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/indonesia-convicts-trafficking-accomplice-in-a-javan-rhino-poaching-scandal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2025 05:25:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Donny Iqbal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/31180931/javan-rhino-courtesy-of-KLHK-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299700</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Asian Rhinos]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Green, In-situ Conservation, Javan Rhinos, Mammals, Megafauna, Mongabay investigation, Poaching, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rhinos, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s highest court has overturned the acquittal of an accused translator who facilitated transactions in the international trade of poached rhino horns. The Supreme Court in Indonesia recently sentenced 72-year-old Liem Hoo Kwan Willy to one year in prison for helping communications between an Indonesian trader and a Chinese buyer in the trafficking of Javan [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s highest court has overturned the acquittal of an accused translator who facilitated transactions in the international trade of poached rhino horns. The Supreme Court in Indonesia recently sentenced 72-year-old Liem Hoo Kwan Willy to one year in prison for helping communications between an Indonesian trader and a Chinese buyer in the trafficking of Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) horns. The ruling is part of a year-long crackdown by Indonesian conservation authorities on international wildlife trade that stemmed from the discovery in 2024 of organized poaching of Javan rhinos in their only habitat, Ujung Kulon National Park, Banten province. The conservation director-general Satyawan Pudyatmoko praised the decision and the prosecutor’s efforts, saying it reinforces Indonesia’s commitment to protecting the Javan rhino by holding all parties in the illegal wildlife trade accountable. Liem Hoo Kwan Willy has been found guilty in an illegal Javan rhino trade. Image by Donny Iqbal/Mongabay-Indonesia. Willy was previously cleared of all charges by Banten’s Pandeglang District Court despite evidence such as phone records and texts linking him to the transactions and renting the Chinese buyer a room in his house. The lead judge on the three-member panel overruled his colleagues, arguing that Willy didn’t profit from facilitating the transactions of the rhino horns. Meanwhile, the same district court in July 2024 convicted and sentenced Yogi Purwadi, the Indonesian trader whom Willy helped with translations, to four and a half years in prison. The court a month earlier had also convicted and sentenced to a record 12 years&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/indonesia-convicts-trafficking-accomplice-in-a-javan-rhino-poaching-scandal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299700</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Silvery lining for Java’s endangered gibbon as Rahayu Oktaviani wins Whitley prize</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/silvery-lining-for-javas-endangered-gibbon-as-rahayu-oktaviani-wins-whitley-prize/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/silvery-lining-for-javas-endangered-gibbon-as-rahayu-oktaviani-wins-whitley-prize/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 May 2025 03:11:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nuswantoro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/26051403/Owa_Jawa_Hylobates_moloch-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299626</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Gibbons, Habitat Loss, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Hunting, Mammals, Primates, Rainforests, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Rahayu Oktaviani revered the work of Canadian primatologist Biruté Galdikas while a student in the mid-2000s, aspiring to join her hero in protecting the Bornean orangutan, which would be classified several years later as a critically endangered species. In the end, a lack of research funding kept the Borneo forest canopy out [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Rahayu Oktaviani revered the work of Canadian primatologist Biruté Galdikas while a student in the mid-2000s, aspiring to join her hero in protecting the Bornean orangutan, which would be classified several years later as a critically endangered species. In the end, a lack of research funding kept the Borneo forest canopy out of reach for Ayu, as she’s better known, upon graduation. “So, I turned to the Javan gibbon,” Ayu told Mongabay Indonesia. An hour west of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), her alma mater and Indonesia’s top forestry university, Ayu was instead drawn by the distinctive call of the silvery gibbon from Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park, named after the twin active volcanoes at its heart. “I heard that voice every time I went into the forest,” Ayu said. Last month, Ayu won the prestigious Whitley Award, which recognizes achievements in grassroots conservation, to advance her work on protection of Java’s silvery gibbon. Ayu follows past winners like Amanda Vincent, today a world expert on seahorses, who won the inaugural Whitley Award in 1994 to study seahorses in the Philippines. “Drawing on a decade of research into gibbon behaviour and habitat needs, Ayu and her team at Kiara (Konservasi Ekosistem Alam Nusantara) will work with community members, park rangers and managers to build capacity, monitor biodiversity and guide conservation strategies toward a shared vision,” the U.K.-based Whitley Fund for Nature wrote in a release. Rahayu Oktaviani has dedicated 17 years of her life to saving the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/silvery-lining-for-javas-endangered-gibbon-as-rahayu-oktaviani-wins-whitley-prize/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299626</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Central Java villages take fast fashion to the cleaners at Indonesia’s Supreme Court</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/central-java-villages-take-fast-fashion-to-the-cleaners-at-indonesias-supreme-court/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/central-java-villages-take-fast-fashion-to-the-cleaners-at-indonesias-supreme-court/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2025 00:56:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[T. Handoko]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/14132715/IMG_2627-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299072</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Business, Environment, Environmental Law, Fashion industry, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater, Industry, Poisoning, Pollution, Rivers, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Waste, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SUKOHARJO, Indonesia — Sarmi recalls the unusual blight that fell over Gupit village around 2017, when doves and finches appeared to vanish from the sky. “With pollution that acrid and poisonous, there weren’t any birds or animals around — they all went away,” she told Mongabay Indonesia. Life in this part of Sukoharjo, a subdued [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SUKOHARJO, Indonesia — Sarmi recalls the unusual blight that fell over Gupit village around 2017, when doves and finches appeared to vanish from the sky. “With pollution that acrid and poisonous, there weren’t any birds or animals around — they all went away,” she told Mongabay Indonesia. Life in this part of Sukoharjo, a subdued farming district on the island of Java, changed in 2017 when Indonesia’s largest textile group, known as Sritex, opened a factory run by one of its subsidiaries, PT Rayon Utama Makmur (RUM), to supply rayon fibers, also called viscose, to the global fast fashion industry. RUM stopped operating in mid-2023, one of the early dominoes leading up to Sritex itself folding on March 1 this year after being declared bankrupt for missed debt repayments. Sritex had made uniforms for Indonesia’s military and supplied garments to high-street fixtures like H&amp;M and Uniqlo. But sales at the group slumped from around $1.3 billion in 2019 to less than $850 million a year later as the coronavirus pandemic weakened consumer demand. More than 10,000 workers lost their jobs overnight as Sritex stopped operating in March, after the cabinet of President Prabowo Subianto mulled a rescue for the country’s largest textile company, which had started out as a simple shop in the 1960s. As officials in Central Java surveyed the collapse of the province’s biggest employer, Sarmi and 184 others celebrated vindication in court. “Even my child&#8217;s vertigo, thank God, is gone,” Sarmi said. “He used to need treatment&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/central-java-villages-take-fast-fashion-to-the-cleaners-at-indonesias-supreme-court/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299072</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wildlife crime crackdown in jeopardy worldwide after US funding cuts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/wildlife-crime-crackdown-in-jeopardy-worldwide-after-us-funding-cuts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/wildlife-crime-crackdown-in-jeopardy-worldwide-after-us-funding-cuts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2025 01:51:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn CowanCharles MpakaGerald FlynnHans Nicholas JongPhilip JacobsonSpoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/21155516/guarding-elephants-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299424</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, China, Global, Indonesia, Java, Malawi, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Thailand, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Finance, Forestry, Forests, Funding, Governance, Poaching, Politics, Protected Areas, Rhinos, Tigers, Wildlife, Wildlife Rangers, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2019, Malawi registered a massive win in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. Intelligence-driven operations culminated in the arrest of more than a dozen members of the Chinese-led “Lin-Zhang gang,” one of Southern Africa’s most prolific trafficking syndicates. Found to be in possession of hundreds of pieces of elephant ivory, rhino horn, pangolin [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2019, Malawi registered a massive win in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. Intelligence-driven operations culminated in the arrest of more than a dozen members of the Chinese-led “Lin-Zhang gang,” one of Southern Africa’s most prolific trafficking syndicates. Found to be in possession of hundreds of pieces of elephant ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales and hippo teeth, the traffickers were sentenced to between 18 months and 14 years in prison. The case was hailed as a milestone in Malawi’s growing capacity to curb wildlife crime. With help from international donors, the country has set up a forest and landscape monitoring center, trained police, judicial and anticorruption officials on forest and wildlife crime, and achieved major reductions in elephant ivory and pangolin scale trafficking — not bad for a nation with a GDP per capita of $602 a year. Such progress, however, is now in jeopardy following the Trump administration’s sudden shutdown earlier this year of USAID and its sweeping freezes of conservation grant programs administered through several federal agencies. U.S. funds channeled through NGOs in Malawi have helped equip frontline law enforcers and strengthen wildlife laws, according to Brighton Kumchedwa, director of Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife. Taking down the Chinese syndicate, he told Mongabay, “would not have been possible” without this assistance. But in Malawi and elsewhere, the abrupt cuts now threaten to diminish this momentum, thrusting wildlife officials into what Kumchedwa describes as a “difficult situation.” Elephant tusks confiscated by forest officials in Uganda,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/wildlife-crime-crackdown-in-jeopardy-worldwide-after-us-funding-cuts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/wildlife-crime-crackdown-in-jeopardy-worldwide-after-us-funding-cuts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299424</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Indonesia phases out coal, what happens to people &#038; environments left behind?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/as-indonesia-phases-out-coal-what-happens-to-people-environments-left-behind/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/as-indonesia-phases-out-coal-what-happens-to-people-environments-left-behind/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2025 15:54:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/19095441/GP0STTB7D_Medium-res-with-credit-line-1200px-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299299</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Climate Change, Coal, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Human Rights, Just Transition, Politics, Pollution, Rehabilitation, Renewable Energy, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As Indonesia, one of the world’s biggest polluters, plans to retire its fleet of coal-fired power plants to tackle climate change, one critical question is being overlooked: What happens to the communities and environments they leave behind? An analysis by the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) found that environmental legacy impacts, such [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As Indonesia, one of the world’s biggest polluters, plans to retire its fleet of coal-fired power plants to tackle climate change, one critical question is being overlooked: What happens to the communities and environments they leave behind? An analysis by the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) found that environmental legacy impacts, such as pollution, degraded ecosystems and lost livelihoods, are not integrated into current transition plans. Indonesia’s current regulatory framework, particularly the 2009 electricity law, does not mandate post-operation planning for coal-fired power plants. This is a stark contrast to the mining law, which obliges post-operation rehabilitation. As a result, environmental impact assessments, known as AMDALs in Indonesia, for coal plants routinely exclude post-closure recovery plans, leaving behind long-term environmental degradation and unaddressed social costs once plants are shut down. ICEL reviewed the AMDALs of six coal plants on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali and found that most lacked any mention of post-operation planning or environmental recovery measures. “What we found is that post-operation impacts assessed mostly relate to demolition dust or noise from increased truck traffic,” ICEL program deputy director Grita Anindarini said during a recent event in Jakarta. This limited focus suggests AMDALs are treating closures as construction projects, rather than as opportunities for environmental recovery and justice. This is despite a well-documented history of coal plants damaging ecosystems and disrupting livelihoods across the archipelago. In Bali, the Celukan Bawang coal-fired plant has been blamed for damaging coral reefs and coastal ecosystems, which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/as-indonesia-phases-out-coal-what-happens-to-people-environments-left-behind/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299299</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In an ancient Javanese sultanate, coastal women battle climate fallout</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/in-an-ancient-javanese-sultanate-coastal-women-battle-climate-fallout/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/in-an-ancient-javanese-sultanate-coastal-women-battle-climate-fallout/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2025 02:55:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Irfan Maulana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/15075217/Women-in-Timbul-Seloko-Village-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297543</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Justice, Conservation, Environment, Erosion, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Gender, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Overfishing, Sea Levels, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DEMAK, Indonesia — The Java Sea has pursued Sunarti for years, first submerging her birthplace in Timbulsloko village, before forcing the mother of two to flee inland on the northern coast of Demak district in Indonesia’s Central Java province. “I became unemployed,” the 53-year-old told Mongabay Indonesia. “The crops we planted wouldn’t grow. I asked [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DEMAK, Indonesia — The Java Sea has pursued Sunarti for years, first submerging her birthplace in Timbulsloko village, before forcing the mother of two to flee inland on the northern coast of Demak district in Indonesia’s Central Java province. “I became unemployed,” the 53-year-old told Mongabay Indonesia. “The crops we planted wouldn’t grow. I asked God, ‘Why is my life like this?’” As each year passed, brackish water claimed more of the Demak coast, flooding the fields and fishponds in this farming district of 1.2 million people. The water invaded homes and places of business after breaching flood defenses built by communities to hold back the tide. When floodwater intruded into cemeteries, families confronted grief for their loved ones once again. “The water gradually rose up and the roads were submerged,” Sunarti said. “In the end, my father and I went to Semarang on a bicycle.” Sunarti’s new start in Indonesia’s sixth-largest city, a busy port of almost 2 million people, at first involved casual work peeling onions and laboring on construction sites. Later, the mother of two trained to work in the fisheries sector. However, most fishers on Java’s north coast, a region known as Pantura, are themselves struggling to adapt to changes at sea off the world’s most populous island. Mongabay reporting has documented Pantura’s fishers sailing ever farther from home just to sustain a living, as the costs of doing business mount. Overfishing has pushed many fisheries to the brink of collapse or beyond, but research shows&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/in-an-ancient-javanese-sultanate-coastal-women-battle-climate-fallout/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297543</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chauffeur at Indonesia energy nonprofit drives uptake of biogas by Java farmers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chauffeur-at-indonesia-energy-nonprofit-drives-uptake-of-biogas-by-java-farmers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chauffeur-at-indonesia-energy-nonprofit-drives-uptake-of-biogas-by-java-farmers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2025 07:55:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Toto Sudiarjo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/13070548/biogas-man-indonesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295717</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Biofuels, Clean Energy, Community-based Conservation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Natural Gas, Natural Resources, Nature-based climate solutions, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Solutions, Sustainability, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SLEMAN, Indonesia — A decade ago, Suyono’s neighbors found his antics collecting the goat and quail droppings outside his home verging on the strange. Today, it’s become the norm in many households in Minggir, a Javanese village producing its own gas. “A lot of people just laughed,” Suyono, 50, told Mongabay Indonesia. “‘Um, pak, you [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SLEMAN, Indonesia — A decade ago, Suyono’s neighbors found his antics collecting the goat and quail droppings outside his home verging on the strange. Today, it’s become the norm in many households in Minggir, a Javanese village producing its own gas. “A lot of people just laughed,” Suyono, 50, told Mongabay Indonesia. “‘Um, pak, you can just buy it [gas] at the food stall.’” In 2014, after a period living abroad in Malaysia as a low-paid migrant worker, Suyono returned home to Minggir village, which is located a few kilometers west of the city of Yogyakarta. Once settled, he took a job as a driver at Yayasan Rumah Energi, a foundation that works on household renewable energy projects, like biogas. Biogas is produced via anaerobic digestion, where microorganisms break down animal manure, biological waste or plant residues in a sealed environment deprived of oxygen. The chemical reaction produces methane and other gases, which can be burned as alternatives to propane and butane cylinders, which governments burn billions of dollars a year on subsidizing (and whose price is determined by international markets). Chauffeuring Yayasan Rumah Energi staff sparked Suyono’s interest in the foundation’s work on biogas. After studying the basics, Suyono went to work and began producing around 1.8 kilograms (4 pounds) at a time. Within a few years, people increasingly began asking Suyono for help installing biogas infrastructure at local Islamic boarding schools and in nearby homes. Later, he helped build 500 units in farther-flung East Nusa Tenggara province. Yayasan&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chauffeur-at-indonesia-energy-nonprofit-drives-uptake-of-biogas-by-java-farmers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295717</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Illegal sea fence displaces fishers and sparks land scandal near Jakarta</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/illegal-sea-fence-pik2-tangerang-kohod-agung-sedayu/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/illegal-sea-fence-pik2-tangerang-kohod-agung-sedayu/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Mar 2025 13:05:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Irfan MaulanaM Ambari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/21104132/Pagar-Desa-Kronjo-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294833</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Jakarta, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Cities, Coastal Ecosystems, Conflict, Development, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Infrastructure, Mangroves, Marine, Oceans, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA/TANGERANG, Indonesia — Joy was mending his nets when a reporter from Mongabay Indonesia visited him last October in the fishing village of Ketapang in Tangerang district, on the northwestern outskirts of Jakarta. He said he planned to go out to sea later that afternoon. But to do so, he’d have to run a gauntlet [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA/TANGERANG, Indonesia — Joy was mending his nets when a reporter from Mongabay Indonesia visited him last October in the fishing village of Ketapang in Tangerang district, on the northwestern outskirts of Jakarta. He said he planned to go out to sea later that afternoon. But to do so, he’d have to run a gauntlet of bamboo piles driven into the shallow seabed, forming a fence visible from the beach where his and other fishers’ boats were moored. Joy said he’d previously seen on TV a fisherman being barred from entering that part of the water because the area appeared to be privately owned by a property developer. “At night, it&#8217;s hard to see, and boats end up hitting them. The waves make it difficult to steer, and when boats drift here, they crash into the bamboo and get damaged,” Joy told Mongabay Indonesia. The bamboo fencing adds to the pressures facing Joy and other local fishers, who already have to deal with declining fish stocks in the waters off the northern Java coast. And it’s not just the Ketapang fishers. Bamboo piles have also been installed off the coast of neighboring Kohod village, making it difficult for small-scale fishers to go out to sea, and further reducing their income. Some have even stopped fishing altogether, while in another nearby village, Muara, the fishers can’t go out on the water anymore. The sea fence, as it’s become known in the Indonesian media, began taking shape in early 2024, and by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/illegal-sea-fence-pik2-tangerang-kohod-agung-sedayu/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294833</doi>				</item>
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