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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/southeast-asia/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:49:21 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Southeast Asia environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/southeast-asia/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Deadly wildfires leave Borneo wildlife scrambling for fresh water</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/deadly-wildfires-leave-borneo-wildlife-scrambling-for-fresh-water/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/deadly-wildfires-leave-borneo-wildlife-scrambling-for-fresh-water/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 06:50:53 +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/20/2026/10/09063906/092005381-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332036</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Disasters, El Nino, Endangered Species, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wildfires in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, are leaving wildlife without fresh water as ponds turn brackish and forest pools dry up, driving animals into villages and toward the coast. Residents and conservation groups are responding by providing water, rescuing affected animals and treating them as smoke and fires continue to affect their habitat. Preliminary findings by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Wildfires in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, are leaving wildlife without fresh water as ponds turn brackish and forest pools dry up, driving animals into villages and toward the coast. Residents and conservation groups are responding by providing water, rescuing affected animals and treating them as smoke and fires continue to affect their habitat. Preliminary findings by NGO Yayasan Planet Indonesia recorded at least 16 dead animals, including silvered langurs (Trachypithecus cristatus), long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus, an endangered primate found only on Borneo), from early August through late September amid an intense fire season in coastal Kubu Raya, a district in West Kalimantan. That compares to 13 dead non-fish animals recorded during nearly six years of SMART patrols — a system for monitoring wildlife and threats in the forest — in the area, from September 2020 through June 2026, with most deaths attributed to natural causes or left unexplained. As freshwater pools dried up and village ponds turned brackish, Planet Indonesia found dehydrated wildlife moving closer to homes and the coast in search of water. “We have never had findings like this before,” said Adam Miller, co-founder of Planet Indonesia, in a statement sent to Mongabay. The NGO has worked alongside the village institutions in Kubu Raya since 2017. “When the mangroves lose their fresh water, the animals die,” Miller said. A long-tailed macaque found dead on Sept. 14 by SMART patrol team. Image courtesy of Yayasan Planet Indonesia. On Sept. 20, a patrol found a silvered&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/deadly-wildfires-leave-borneo-wildlife-scrambling-for-fresh-water/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/deadly-wildfires-leave-borneo-wildlife-scrambling-for-fresh-water/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332036</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘A few are afraid of the chicks’: Preparing Thailand’s rescued leopard cats for life in the wild</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 17:30:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Norman Bermúdez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07165523/leopard-cat-release-25-of-26-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331841</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Cats, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Cute, Environment, Governance, Habitat, Mammals, Research, Science, Small Cats, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rehabilitation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KHON KAEN, Thailand &#8211; A wildlife officer holds a leopard cat cub in one hand, its entire body small enough for her fingers to wrap around its torso. With the other hand, she feeds it formula milk from a syringe. This is the latest rescue at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s rescue center [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KHON KAEN, Thailand &#8211; A wildlife officer holds a leopard cat cub in one hand, its entire body small enough for her fingers to wrap around its torso. With the other hand, she feeds it formula milk from a syringe. This is the latest rescue at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s rescue center in Khon Kaen, northeastern Thailand, which rehabilitates and ultimately releases dozens of lost and injured leopard cat cubs every year. Behind the officer, 15 larger leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis), rescued as young cubs months earlier, pace around inside their cages. They look a lot like domestic cats, only slightly more slender and with sharply defined markings on their fur; unlike domestic cats, they bare their teeth and growl whenever a human walks past. Nine of the cats, between 8 and 9 months old, will be released in the forest that afternoon. The other six, a younger cohort, will take their place in the center’s specialized behavioral rehabilitation pens, where they will spend two months practicing their climbing and hunting skills in preparation for life in the wild. Leopard cats are small wild felines common across much of Asia. The IUCN classes them as least concern, though experts believe populations are increasingly vulnerable to hunting and habitat loss. Highly adaptable to changing landscapes, leopard cats often live close to farms and villages. In northeastern Thailand, females are frequently found raising their litters in sugarcane fields. The tall leaves offer shelter from the sun, but proximity to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331841</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The Indonesians facing El Nino’s fires have lessons to teach us (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-indonesians-facing-el-ninos-fires-have-lessons-to-teach-us-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-indonesians-facing-el-ninos-fires-have-lessons-to-teach-us-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 14:17:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Akane Nishimura]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/22123507/borneo-Dayak-fire-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331681</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Impact Of Climate Change, Peatlands, Pollution, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In October 2006, I was supposed to be starting my dissertation research on tropical reforestation in Indonesia. Instead, I found myself in the forests of Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan helping locals to fight fires with brooms, backpack pumps, and hoses connected to hand-dug water wells. It was an ‘all hands-on deck’ moment [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In October 2006, I was supposed to be starting my dissertation research on tropical reforestation in Indonesia. Instead, I found myself in the forests of Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan helping locals to fight fires with brooms, backpack pumps, and hoses connected to hand-dug water wells. It was an ‘all hands-on deck’ moment for the local NGO I was working with then — Friends of Nature, People and Forests (FNPF) — including Basuki Santoso, FNPF’s Kalimantan program manager, alongside Adut and Isam, who were teenagers at the time. On our first night of firefighting, we slept in the forest on a raised platform that would later become part of a field station. I was awoken in the middle of the night by a sun bear rifling through our makeshift kitchen about 20 feet away. I sat frozen, watching this wild animal who was fleeing the fires while everyone else slept soundly. It was a surreal and humbling moment. Twenty years ago, these severe forest and peatland fires were due to a dangerous combination of El Niño-induced drought, slash-and-burn agriculture and other land clearing, and the grass-fire cycle. Much of Southeast Asia was left choking on the haze, and that was a weak El Niño year. Firefighting in Indonesia often requires resourcefulness as well as resilience and fortitude. Image courtesy of Basuki Santoso. History keeps repeating itself, and it’s hard to watch. Experts say we are now facing a Super El Niño. For the past three months, millions of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-indonesians-facing-el-ninos-fires-have-lessons-to-teach-us-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-indonesians-facing-el-ninos-fires-have-lessons-to-teach-us-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331681</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia threatens prison time for unauthorized downloads of forest data</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesia-threatens-prison-time-for-unauthorized-downloads-of-forest-data/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesia-threatens-prison-time-for-unauthorized-downloads-of-forest-data/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 02:59:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dyna RochmyaningsihPhilip Jacobson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/05121818/orangutan-indonesia-maps-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331637</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Communication, Conservation Technology, Controversial, data, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Governance, Law, Law Enforcement, Mapping, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s government is imposing new restrictions on access to geospatial data, raising concerns among researchers and activists that it will suppress environmental science and advocacy work in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. For around a month, visitors to an interactive mapping platform maintained by the Ministry of Forestry have been greeted with a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s government is imposing new restrictions on access to geospatial data, raising concerns among researchers and activists that it will suppress environmental science and advocacy work in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. For around a month, visitors to an interactive mapping platform maintained by the Ministry of Forestry have been greeted with a pop-up legal notice warning that the information is “view-only” and that anyone who “downloads” or “extracts” it without the ministry’s written permission “will be prosecuted” under the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions, or ITE, Law. Anyone who wants to use the once freely accessible platform, known as SIGAP, must first agree to “terms and conditions” stating that the relevant articles in the ITE Law “carry penalties of up to 9 years in prison and/or a fine of up to Rp 3 billion [$170,000],” the notice says. On Sept. 21, the ministry’s Directorate General of Forestry Planning posted a video to Instagram outlining a new application process that requires prospective users to disclose their research aims and submit supporting documents. Doni Prabowo, the department’s head of forest monitoring and geospatial information, told Mongabay that restrictions were needed because geospatial data had been uncontrolled for a long time, creating opportunities for manipulation and illegal trading of the country’s precious information. “What if somebody manipulates the data and says certain areas are not protected forest [when they really are]? It could be dangerous,” Doni said by phone. He said he’d heard of the ministry’s geospatial data being listed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesia-threatens-prison-time-for-unauthorized-downloads-of-forest-data/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesia-threatens-prison-time-for-unauthorized-downloads-of-forest-data/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331637</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘There could be local extinction’: The fight to protect Indonesia’s orangutans as El Niño fuels fires</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/there-could-be-local-extinction-the-fight-to-protect-indonesias-orangutans-as-el-nino-fuels-fires/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/there-could-be-local-extinction-the-fight-to-protect-indonesias-orangutans-as-el-nino-fuels-fires/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Oct 2026 11:08:46 +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/20/2026/09/09065841/Orangutan-Sampurna1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331642</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Critically Endangered Species, Disasters, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Great Apes, Landscape Restoration, Mammals, Orangutans, Peatlands, Primates, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Restoration, Solutions, Threats To Rainforests, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Fires burning within rainforests that contain more than half of the world’s critically endangered Bornean orangutan population have prompted scientists and experts to call for urgent action in response to the escalating fires across Indonesia. The warning comes as Indonesia faces a severe fire season fueled by strong El Niño conditions, with conservationists [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Fires burning within rainforests that contain more than half of the world’s critically endangered Bornean orangutan population have prompted scientists and experts to call for urgent action in response to the escalating fires across Indonesia. The warning comes as Indonesia faces a severe fire season fueled by strong El Niño conditions, with conservationists scrambling to rescue wildlife trapped in burning landscapes. Fires are burning in rainforests that contain 13 of the 20 largest remaining populations of Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Shaded and outlined areas show current IUCN Extant (resident) orangutan range in Kalimantan. Image courtesy of the Orangutan Conservation Initiative. Red circles show individual satellite detections overlapping current IUCN Extant (resident) orangutan range. As of Sept. 22, the Ministry of Forestry reported that 100 wildlife, including 53 Bornean orangutans, had been rescued. Rescuers have found some orangutans suffering severe physical injuries after escaping the fires. In Central Kalimantan, an approximately 4-year-old orangutan named Novita was found trapped in a burning area near Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan province with serious burns on all four hands and feet, according to local news Betahita. She was later taken to a rehabilitation center for treatment. In locations where orangutans are surrounded by fire and have nowhere to go, they can “literally burn alive,” said Borneo Nature Foundation (BNF) CEO Anton Nurcahyo. The risk may be particularly high for females with young, Anton told Mongabay. Their tendency to remain in established home ranges can be a disadvantage during fires, while females&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/there-could-be-local-extinction-the-fight-to-protect-indonesias-orangutans-as-el-nino-fuels-fires/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/there-could-be-local-extinction-the-fight-to-protect-indonesias-orangutans-as-el-nino-fuels-fires/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331642</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Vietnam’s fishers face rising costs, declining catches and a contested sea</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/vietnams-fishers-face-rising-costs-declining-catches-and-a-contested-sea/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/vietnams-fishers-face-rising-costs-declining-catches-and-a-contested-sea/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2026 18:01:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Minh L Tran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/02130412/vietnamese-fishers-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331508</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Culture, Economics, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Oceans, Resource Conflict, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[QUANG NGAI, Vietnam — When diesel prices in Vietnam hit an all-time high in March, Vo Huu Viet, a fisherman with more than 30 years at sea in Quang Ngai province in Central Vietnam, did something he rarely does. He stayed on shore. “The catch is simply not enough to make up for the labor of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[QUANG NGAI, Vietnam — When diesel prices in Vietnam hit an all-time high in March, Vo Huu Viet, a fisherman with more than 30 years at sea in Quang Ngai province in Central Vietnam, did something he rarely does. He stayed on shore. “The catch is simply not enough to make up for the labor of four men,” Viet said. Docking the aging wooden boat he inherited from his father means he, his wife, his crew and their families had to do other work, such as hauling heavy goods for other people, to make ends meet. Viet was hardly alone. In fishing ports around Vietnam, thousands of boats stayed docked for months as the fuel crisis made sea-bound trips unprofitable. The hike in fuel prices, fishers told Mongabay, didn’t just raise the cost of diesel — it raised the cost of everything else that supports a fishing boat, from ice to food. From March 1 to April 21 of this year, fishing activities around Vietnam fell 18.9% compared with the same time last year, from the nonprofit vessel-tracking platform Global Fishing Watch. For energy-intensive trawlers, the drop was 31%. As fuel prices spiked in Vietnam, fishing boats spent fewer hours on the water. Graphic by Andrés Alegria/Mongabay. Fuel is not the only pressure. Declining fish stocks — the result of years of unsustainable and illegal fishing, compounded by climate change — along with international pressures to tighten fishing enforcement and the growing presence of Chinese vessels add to the strain. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/vietnams-fishers-face-rising-costs-declining-catches-and-a-contested-sea/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331508</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wildlife traffickers are now targeting Indonesia’s critically endangered maleo birds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/wildlife-traffickers-are-now-targeting-indonesias-critically-endangered-maleo-birds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/wildlife-traffickers-are-now-targeting-indonesias-critically-endangered-maleo-birds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2026 11:33:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/30140203/Maleo-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331261</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, Indonesia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Governance, Illegal Trade, Research, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Maleos, black-and-white birds that stand 60 centimeters (2 feet) tall with a distinctive splash of blue, orange and yellow on their faces, roam Sulawesi’s thick tropical jungles. But when it&#8217;s time to lay their eggs, they arrive at communal nesting grounds: Sandy beaches heated by the sun or the earth’s geothermal energy. There, they dig [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Maleos, black-and-white birds that stand 60 centimeters (2 feet) tall with a distinctive splash of blue, orange and yellow on their faces, roam Sulawesi’s thick tropical jungles. But when it&#8217;s time to lay their eggs, they arrive at communal nesting grounds: Sandy beaches heated by the sun or the earth’s geothermal energy. There, they dig burrows with their webbed blue feet, lay their eggs and disappear. After a couple of months, the younglings hatch and, miraculously, are ready to fly within a few hours. This is an iconic bird on Sulawesi, serving as the official faunal mascot of Central Sulawesi province and of the Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park. Once considered widespread on Sulawesi, maleos (Macrocephalon maleo) are now on the brink of extinction, classified as critically endangered. Their numbers have dwindled to just 4,000-7,000 breeding pairs, mainly because their forest habitat is disappearing and they are targeted by poachers. Since 1983, the birds have lost more than two-thirds of their 149 nesting grounds as residential and commercial development takes over sandy riverbanks and beaches, and habitat is ravaged by mines and sliced by roadways. Maleo eggs are considered a delicacy, so people raid nests, and fewer chicks are born to replenish the population. But now, illegal trade in live maleos is emerging as a new and serious threat to their survival, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Asian Ornithology. These birds are trafficked to serve the booming demand for exotic pets. Researchers documented three seizures&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/wildlife-traffickers-are-now-targeting-indonesias-critically-endangered-maleo-birds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/wildlife-traffickers-are-now-targeting-indonesias-critically-endangered-maleo-birds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331261</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As fires spread, Indonesia’s rubber growers draw on traditional ways to fight back</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-fires-spread-indonesias-rubber-growers-draw-on-traditional-ways-to-fight-back/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-fires-spread-indonesias-rubber-growers-draw-on-traditional-ways-to-fight-back/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2026 11:13:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Taufik Wijaya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/02110440/Seorang-warga-tengah-memadamkan-api-di-Talang-Turunan-Gajah-dengan-menggunakan-peralatan-sederhana.-Foto-Muha-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331495</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, South Sumatra, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate, Culture, Disasters, El Nino, Environment, Extreme Weather, Farming, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Industrial Agriculture, Plantations, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PENUKAL ABAB LEMATANG ILIR, Indonesia — Sumanti raced her motorcycle past the rubber trees as flames spread through the dry brush. No one had picked up the phone as the wildfire continued to grow out of control on Sept. 5. “The fire is already approaching our land,” Sumanti, 30, cried out as she drove past [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PENUKAL ABAB LEMATANG ILIR, Indonesia — Sumanti raced her motorcycle past the rubber trees as flames spread through the dry brush. No one had picked up the phone as the wildfire continued to grow out of control on Sept. 5. “The fire is already approaching our land,” Sumanti, 30, cried out as she drove past a bystander, her voice cracking as she pressed on to find her family. Within half an hour, Sumanti’s relatives had encircled the fire with 35-liter (9-gallon) canisters of water and a sprayer, the kind the family ordinarily used to disperse fertilizer over the soil. The family of four worked together, scrambling back and forth for hours to haul water from the partially dried-out swamp among the rubber trees. For two hours, they battled to hold back the flames, but the fire kept cracking through the bamboo and brush. A paye in Tanjung Era, PALI Regency, has dried up. A paye is a source of clean water located amidst forests and plantations. Image by Muhammad Akbar/Mongabay Indonesia. Economic damage Sumanti belongs to one of six families who depend on rubber trees and latex production in Talang Turunan Gajah, a hamlet in the village of Tempirai here in South Sumatra province. As in much of Sumatra and Borneo, the six families here find themselves on the frontline of a wildfire crisis intensified by the El Niño weather phenomenon, as fires spread across the region. Smoke from Indonesia’s wildfires has crossed borders into Malaysia and Singapore, leading to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-fires-spread-indonesias-rubber-growers-draw-on-traditional-ways-to-fight-back/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-fires-spread-indonesias-rubber-growers-draw-on-traditional-ways-to-fight-back/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331495</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s new peatland agency faces questions over what it will do differently</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesias-new-peatland-agency-faces-questions-over-what-it-will-do-differently/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesias-new-peatland-agency-faces-questions-over-what-it-will-do-differently/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2026 04:19:12 +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/20/2026/08/25175923/AP26223596463482-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331364</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation Solutions, Disasters, Ecosystems, Extreme Weather, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Landscape Restoration, Mangroves, Marine, Peatlands, Restoration, Solutions, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In 2016, following the most devastating land and forest fires in its recorded history the previous year, the Indonesian government set up an agency to restore peatlands, among the worst-hit biomes during the disaster. A decade later, following the most devastating land and forest fires since the 2015 season, the current government has [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In 2016, following the most devastating land and forest fires in its recorded history the previous year, the Indonesian government set up an agency to restore peatlands, among the worst-hit biomes during the disaster. A decade later, following the most devastating land and forest fires since the 2015 season, the current government has once again set up an agency to restore peatlands — prompting questions over what impact, if any, this new body will have. The National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency, or BPGMN, was announced by Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni following a meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta on Sept. 24 between President Prabowo Subianto and a group of 22 experts. Like the earlier Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM) established by Prabowo’s predecessor, Joko Widodo, which was shuttered in December 2024, the new agency will report directly to the president and be staffed by scientists and professionals, according to Raja Juli. For some observers, that begs the question of why Prabowo didn’t renew the BRGM’s mandate and instead let it expire, and what the BPGMN will do differently. “The BPGMN must not stop at changing the institution’s name,” said Uli Arta Siagian, national campaign coordinator for Walhi, Indonesia’s biggest environmental advocacy group. “The experience of the BRGM, which was disbanded at the end of 2024 after operating for nearly a decade, shows that changing the institutional structure does not automatically guarantee better governance. “The BPGMN must have a mandate, authority, success indicators, and working&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesias-new-peatland-agency-faces-questions-over-what-it-will-do-differently/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/indonesias-new-peatland-agency-faces-questions-over-what-it-will-do-differently/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331364</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Myanmar’s polluting mines selling to China through Thai companies</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/myanmars-polluting-mines-selling-to-china-through-thai-companies/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/myanmars-polluting-mines-selling-to-china-through-thai-companies/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2026 02:04:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/30171109/IMG_0238-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331322</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Crime, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Environment, extractives, Fish, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Gold Mining, Governance, Health, Illegal Mining, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Public Health, Rivers, Trade, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[UMPHANG, Thailand — At 8 a.m. on June 26, at least 13 double-trailer trucks were lined up at the Pheung Khleung border crossing in northern Thailand — one of the few places where minerals can be legally transported overland from Myanmar into Thailand. Tensions were running high under the sun. The border gate had not [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[UMPHANG, Thailand — At 8 a.m. on June 26, at least 13 double-trailer trucks were lined up at the Pheung Khleung border crossing in northern Thailand — one of the few places where minerals can be legally transported overland from Myanmar into Thailand. Tensions were running high under the sun. The border gate had not yet opened and irate mineral merchants were yelling at reporters, demanding that no photos be taken. The previous day, the Thai military personnel that oversee the cross-border mineral trade had granted Mongabay permission to document the hundreds of tons of antimony expected to be delivered from Myanmar’s Karen state to Thailand’s Tak province, some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of the city of Mae Sot. Reporters were forbidden from photographing soldiers’ involvement in the trade or the minerals themselves. It wasn’t until 10 a.m. that the border gates opened and the first truck from Karen state bearing antimony, a silvery mineral used in bullets, bombs, armor, semi-conductors and other defense, aerospace and tech industries, crossed into Thai territory. Bars of processed antimony were hoisted from Myanmar trucks into Thai trucks at the Pheung Khleung border crossing in June 2026. Image by Gerald Flynn / Mongabay. A crane, followed by a parade of battered trucks, rolled over from Myanmar and instantly workers from both sides frantically began attaching hoisting cables to 1-ton bags of what reporters were told was antimony ore and stacked bars of antimony ingot. Drivers sheltered from the heat as bags and bars&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/myanmars-polluting-mines-selling-to-china-through-thai-companies/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/myanmars-polluting-mines-selling-to-china-through-thai-companies/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331322</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Philippine eagle habitat study maps mining risks and conservation priorities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippine-eagle-habitat-study-maps-mining-risks-and-conservation-priorities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippine-eagle-habitat-study-maps-mining-risks-and-conservation-priorities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2026 18:18:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/30154948/05_Philippine-eagle-of-Barangay-Cabuaya-Mati-City-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331291</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Mapping, Mining, Raptors, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study mapping the likely nesting habitats of the iconic Philippine eagle in its main stronghold warns that the threat of habitat loss — a key driver of its disappearance across much of its range — still looms large for the critically endangered species. The study, published in Bird Conservation International, shows that approved [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study mapping the likely nesting habitats of the iconic Philippine eagle in its main stronghold warns that the threat of habitat loss — a key driver of its disappearance across much of its range — still looms large for the critically endangered species. The study, published in Bird Conservation International, shows that approved mining concessions overlap with 41% of highly suitable nesting habitat and 65% of its core areas in eastern Mindanao, the Philippines’ southernmost and second-largest island. Only about 35% of the highly suitable habitat identified across the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor falls within protected areas. Indigenous ancestral domains separately overlap with 65% of core high-quality nesting habitat. (The figures do not necessarily represent the same areas, the study notes.) “This study turns nearly four decades of field observations, nest records, GPS tracking and satellite information into something people can actually use,” study co-author Christopher J.W. McClure, vice president for global science at U.S.-based NGO The Peregrine Fund, said in a Sept. 24 statement issued by the Philippine Eagle Foundation. “It helps us see where surveys and safeguards are needed most before important habitat is changed,” McClure added. Juan Carlos Gonzalez, an ornithologist and curator for birds at the Museum of Natural History at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, who wasn’t involved in the research, said the findings are concerning because Philippine eagles (Pithecophaga jefferyi) already have limited suitable habitat inside protected areas and also persist in Indigenous-managed forests. “Both represent the last stronghold for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippine-eagle-habitat-study-maps-mining-risks-and-conservation-priorities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/philippine-eagle-habitat-study-maps-mining-risks-and-conservation-priorities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331291</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite a drop in deforestation in 2025, forest losses pile up in the Mekong</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/despite-a-drop-in-deforestation-in-2025-forest-losses-pile-up-in-the-mekong/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/despite-a-drop-in-deforestation-in-2025-forest-losses-pile-up-in-the-mekong/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Sep 2026 02:05:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/12064247/Garment-Deforestation_Mongabay_Andy-Ball_Story-3-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330522</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Community Forests, Conservation, Deforestation, Deforestation Alert System, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Policy, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Monitoring, Primary Forests, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Over the course of 2025, the Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined 746,168 hectares (1.8 million acres) of tree cover, an area roughly equivalent to the size of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, according to Mongabay’s analysis*. Data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory at the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Over the course of 2025, the Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined 746,168 hectares (1.8 million acres) of tree cover, an area roughly equivalent to the size of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, according to Mongabay’s analysis*. Data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory at the University of Maryland, in partnership with Global Nature Watch (GNW) — formerly Global Forest Watch — shows that of the total 746,168 hectares of tree cover lost, more than 154,000 hectares (380,000 acres)  was primary forest. Mongabay’s analysis found that just shy of 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of the total were lost from the region’s protected areas. While these numbers may paint a bleak picture for the Mekong’s forests, the rate of regional deforestation has dropped by almost 25% from that recorded by GNW in 2024, continuing a decline that, according to the data, began in 2023. Fewer wildfires, higher rainfall, stricter law enforcement and lower market rates for commodities could all factor into a drop in the Mekong’s deforestation rate for 2025 when compared to 2024. However, experts warn that short-term drops do not always represent a broader trend in deforestation. Every country in the Mekong saw a fall in deforestation rates from 2024 to 2025, but each still grapples with a range of challenges to protecting the region’s remaining forests. Data from 2025 shows a drop in deforestation recorded across Mekong nations, but much of the tree cover lost last year was lost inside&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/despite-a-drop-in-deforestation-in-2025-forest-losses-pile-up-in-the-mekong/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/despite-a-drop-in-deforestation-in-2025-forest-losses-pile-up-in-the-mekong/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330522</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia passes agrarian reform law amid concerns over land protections</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesia-passes-agrarian-reform-law-amid-concerns-over-land-protections/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesia-passes-agrarian-reform-law-amid-concerns-over-land-protections/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Sep 2026 13:18:01 +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/20/2023/09/21161207/IMG-20230907-WA0029-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331043</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Reform, Land Rights, Land Use Change, Law, Resource Conflict, and Social Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s parliament has passed a law intended to resolve long-running land conflicts and curb land concentration, but civil society groups say provisions in the final draft could limit redistribution, leave state-controlled land difficult to challenge and expose some land occupants to criminal charges. The House of Representatives, known as the DPR, approved the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s parliament has passed a law intended to resolve long-running land conflicts and curb land concentration, but civil society groups say provisions in the final draft could limit redistribution, leave state-controlled land difficult to challenge and expose some land occupants to criminal charges. The House of Representatives, known as the DPR, approved the Agrarian Reform Regulation Law on Sept. 22, after lawmakers and the government agreed on the bill the previous day. The law establishes a framework for resolving structural conflicts over agrarian land ownership, restoring land rights and redistributing land, among other aims. The final enacted text has not yet been made publicly available, leaving some details of how the law will operate unclear. The debate over the efficacy and the implementation of the law comes amid a long-standing pattern of land disputes in Indonesia. The Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA), an advocacy group, reportedly recorded 3,234 agrarian conflicts affecting 7.4 million hectares (18.3 million acres) and 1.8 million households between 2015 and 2024. KPA and other advocates have argued that many conflicts arise from overlapping government authority, land allocations and competing claims involving communities, companies and state institutions. Indigenous communities, farmers and fisherfolk can be affected when their customary or livelihood areas overlap with concessions, state-designated land or infrastructure projects. The new law is intended to address what lawmakers describe as fragmented authority and regulations that have complicated conflict resolution. The parliament said the bill’s provisions include land-use planning and controls, mechanisms for resolving conflicts and restoring&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesia-passes-agrarian-reform-law-amid-concerns-over-land-protections/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331043</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Singapore&#8217;s plan to merge several islands could wipe out coral reefs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/singapores-plan-to-merge-several-islands-could-wipe-out-coral-reefs/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/singapores-plan-to-merge-several-islands-could-wipe-out-coral-reefs/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Sep 2026 08:49:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robin Hicks]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/28012336/aa.-Bluespotted-ribbontail-ray-Pulau-Hantu-2017-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330946</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Culture, Development, Ecosystems, Environment, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Islands, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Traditional People, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SINGAPORE — “For seven thousand years, Singapore has changed around these reefs,” says Debby Ng, a Singaporean biologist who studies the city-state’s shrinking coastal and marine habitats. “They are still here.” Despite colonization, war, shipping and industrialization, reefs a few kilometers south of Singapore’s gleaming shoreline have endured. “It would be a tragedy if we [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SINGAPORE — “For seven thousand years, Singapore has changed around these reefs,” says Debby Ng, a Singaporean biologist who studies the city-state’s shrinking coastal and marine habitats. “They are still here.” Despite colonization, war, shipping and industrialization, reefs a few kilometers south of Singapore’s gleaming shoreline have endured. “It would be a tragedy if we were to lose them now — in peacetime, at the height of our prosperity, when we possess more knowledge and capacity to protect them than any generation before us,” Ng tells Mongabay. At a National Day rally on Aug. 23, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced plans to merge a cluster of islands sprawled across a few thousand hectares of seascape into a new “western island” for advanced manufacturing, energy and defense. No timeline for the western island project was given. Wong said reclamation would take place “over the coming decades” and that plans were being studied carefully. But the announcement has alarmed Singapore’s marine conservation community, which says the project could affect some of the country’s most biodiverse waters. The islands include Pulau Semakau, which houses Singapore’s offshore landfill, and Pulau Bukom, home to an oil refinery, as well as Pulau Sudong and smaller islands including Pulau Hantu, Pulau Jong and Pulau Sebarok. The area is estimated to contain some 590 hectares (1,460 acres) of coral reefs — about 60% of the total in Singapore — along with 22% of the city-state’s seagrass meadows and 5% of its mangroves. Black sun coral (Tubastraea micranthus), Singapore.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/singapores-plan-to-merge-several-islands-could-wipe-out-coral-reefs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330946</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil’s tropical forest fund races to raise $2.7 billion before deadline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/brazils-tropical-forest-fund-races-to-raise-2-7-billion-before-deadline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/brazils-tropical-forest-fund-races-to-raise-2-7-billion-before-deadline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 17:43:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carla Ruas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24114238/I.-Orange-winged-amazon-Amazona-amazonica-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330616</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Latin America, South America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Finance, Forests, Funding, Governance, Politics, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A historic billion-dollar rainforest pledge can collapse if global donors fail to act by December.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a new investment fund launched at COP30 by Brazil, has attracted about $7.3 billion in initial sponsor capital. The initiative aims to compensate tropical forest countries for preserving forest areas. But despite recent pledges, the fund remains short of its $10 billion fundraising goal for the end of 2026. After the 2025 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Belém, TFFF received a wave of political support, with over 60 nations endorsing its launch declaration and five countries announcing investments. Since then, the pace of financial commitments has been slower. Only Luxembourg and the U.K. have made government pledges this year, totaling around $600 million, while the nonprofit The Nature Conservancy committed another $5 million. The fund has now less than four months to raise $2.7 billion and meet its target. The $10 billion benchmark is especially important because Norway’s $3 billion pledge — part of that total — will only be released once the goal is met. “I’m in a period of anticipation right now, but also optimistic that we’ll get there,” Carlos Rittl told Mongabay. Rittl is the director of public policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and has contributed to TFFF’s environmental design. “There is no indication that the system itself is in doubt. But for countries to sign checks, the rules need to be very clear.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attend the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. Image by © UN&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/brazils-tropical-forest-fund-races-to-raise-2-7-billion-before-deadline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330616</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia&#8217;s geothermal push runs into local fears at Mount Ungaran</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 13:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Triyo Handoko]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24124550/7488ea4d-a47b-4173-8648-2d577f41d37a-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330698</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Alternative Energy, Conflict, Conservation, Energy, Energy Security, Energy Transition, Environment, Geothermal Energy, Human Rights, Natural Resources, Protests, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Communities living near Mount Ungaran in Indonesia’s Central Java province have slammed plans to revive a geothermal power project there, saying it could threaten water supplies and farming livelihoods. The latest opposition follows a decision in August by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources allowing the state-owned electricity utility, PLN, to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Communities living near Mount Ungaran in Indonesia’s Central Java province have slammed plans to revive a geothermal power project there, saying it could threaten water supplies and farming livelihoods. The latest opposition follows a decision in August by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources allowing the state-owned electricity utility, PLN, to conduct geothermal exploration and development at Mount Ungaran. Local opposition to the plans began in 2008, shortly after the ministry first designated Ungaran, an active volcano, as a geothermal working area. The latest decision has revived the long-running dispute between the government and local communities. Rahman, coordinator of the Semarang Menggugat Alliance (ASM), said communities around Mount Ungaran depended on farming and local water sources, and feared the project could affect both. “We can already make a living from farming,” Rahman, a resident of Bawen subdistrict, said in early September. “If geothermal development goes ahead, we are concerned that our water sources could decline or become polluted, affecting agriculture.” Mount Ungaran’s peak as seen from the Tanggul Lawang hiking trail. Image by Triyo Handoko/Mongabay Indonesia. Indonesia sits in one of the most seismically active zones in the world, which gives it massive potential to generate electricity from geothermal energy: an estimated 23.2 gigawatts, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The ministry describes Indonesia as having the world’s largest geothermal resource potential, ahead of countries including the United States and the Philippines. But the country’s total installed geothermal capacity&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330698</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Planned US tech hub in Philippines hit over environmental and Indigenous land concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 22:04:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Michael Beltran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23152143/Protest-at-grand-hyatt-and-clashes-with-police-21-of-25-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330602</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Artificial Intelligence, Business, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Land Conflict, Law, Protests, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived at the Grand Hyatt Manila on Sept. 10 to address hundreds of foreign business representatives assembled for the Luzon Economic Corridor investors’ forum. Outside the hotel, hundreds of demonstrators had also gathered, carrying signs that read “No to Pax Silica!” The scene reflected both the government’s ambitious [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived at the Grand Hyatt Manila on Sept. 10 to address hundreds of foreign business representatives assembled for the Luzon Economic Corridor investors’ forum. Outside the hotel, hundreds of demonstrators had also gathered, carrying signs that read “No to Pax Silica!” The scene reflected both the government’s ambitious plans to ride the artificial intelligence wave, and deep ambivalence in civil society. Police confronted the crowd, shoving them with riot shields and batons on the street outside the hotel lobby. Activists say police injured at least 27 protesters and arrested five. Police, meanwhile, reported minor cuts and injuries to 16 personnel. Protester Jona Yang, from the activist-scientist group AGHAM, said she was negotiating with the police to cool tensions when they arrested her. “We want the Marcos government and investors to see the outrage all of this has caused,” Yang told Mongabay. “They’re taking away our resources and our lands.” Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) investors’ forum on Sept. 10. Image by Michael Beltran for Mongabay. Pax Silica The Luzon Economic Corridor, or LEC, is an economic initiative focused on the Philippines’ biggest island, begun in 2024. Pax Silica, the U.S.-led global pact for an AI and semiconductor supply chain not reliant on China, includes the LEC. In April 2026, Washington and Manila announced plans to build a 1,620-hectare (4,000-acre) high-tech manufacturing hub in the Central Luzon region. Pax Silica has become a lightning rod for political and environmental&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330602</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Logging still threatens Bornean forest once envisioned as an Indigenous-led peace park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-still-threatens-bornean-forest-once-envisioned-as-an-indigenous-led-peace-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-still-threatens-bornean-forest-once-envisioned-as-an-indigenous-led-peace-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 16:52:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Danielle Keeton-Olsen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/26192853/20230826_085717-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330551</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Malaysia, Sarawak, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Business, Conservation, Forest Products, Forestry, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Law, Logging, Protected Areas, and Timber]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A conservation park that Indigenous communities from the Malaysian state of Sarawak believed they could co-manage and self-govern has been transformed into a timber concession and stripped of critical tree cover, according to a recently published report. A group of civil society organizations based in Malaysia and abroad launched the report, “Plundering the Baram Peace [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A conservation park that Indigenous communities from the Malaysian state of Sarawak believed they could co-manage and self-govern has been transformed into a timber concession and stripped of critical tree cover, according to a recently published report. A group of civil society organizations based in Malaysia and abroad launched the report, “Plundering the Baram Peace Park,” with a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 27, calling on other NGOs and the Malaysian government to recognize the logging of primary forest as well as alleged irregularities in the process of granting the concession and informing affected communities. The report, led by Swiss-based nonprofit Bruno Manser Fonds with participation from other NGOs, also raises concern that the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), an international organization that aims to promote sustainable use of forests, has continued funding projects in the region, even after the 2024 collapse of a coalition between Indigenous community members, the Sarawak government, and civil society. A fragile coalition The Upper Baram Forest Area was initially proposed as a community-led conservation project, an idea going back more than 15 years. From 2009 to 2024, the area was proposed to be conserved as the Baram Peace Park, with Indigenous villages and the Sarawak forest department working together to protect the forest. The project gained steam in 2021 after the forest department submitted a project proposal to the ITTO and raised a total of $1.4 million to develop a park program in cooperation with 32 Indigenous Penan, Kenyah, Kelabit, and Saban&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-still-threatens-bornean-forest-once-envisioned-as-an-indigenous-led-peace-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330551</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As fires spread in Indonesia, Bornean orangutans run out of forest to flee</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-fires-spread-in-indonesia-bornean-orangutans-run-out-of-forest-to-flee/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-fires-spread-in-indonesia-bornean-orangutans-run-out-of-forest-to-flee/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 05:21:56 +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/20/2026/09/09065744/Orangutan-kalimantan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330531</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Business, Climate, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critically Endangered Species, Disasters, El Nino, Endangered Species, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forest Products, Forestry, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Great Apes, Mammals, National Parks, Orangutans, Parks, Primates, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As fires continue to engulf large swaths of forest in Indonesian Borneo, orangutans have increasingly fewer places to flee, with fires either surrounding them or eliminating the forest on which they depend. Fires are spreading across a connected but heavily fragmented forest landscape and the habitat of critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As fires continue to engulf large swaths of forest in Indonesian Borneo, orangutans have increasingly fewer places to flee, with fires either surrounding them or eliminating the forest on which they depend. Fires are spreading across a connected but heavily fragmented forest landscape and the habitat of critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in West Kalimantan, including Gunung Palung National Park and the Mendawak Biodiversity Corridor. Gunung Palung National Park is one of the most important remaining strongholds for the Central Bornean orangutan, supporting a population historically estimated at around 2,500 animals and hosting one of the world’s longest-running studies of wild orangutans. Its importance derives from both its population size and its unusually diverse forest habitats, which support long-term ecological research and a range of other species. The adjacent Mendawak Biodiversity Corridor has a complementary role. Although it is not yet a continuous or fully secured corridor, it encompasses additional orangutan habitat outside the national park and provides a framework for maintaining, restoring and reconnecting forest patches across a fragmented landscape. Despite their ecological importance, both areas have been burning during this year’s dry season, as an exceptionally strong El Niño has contributed to hot and dry conditions across Indonesia. A Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Photo by Rhett A. Butler National park on fire Spatial analysis by technology consultancy TheTreeMap shows that hotspots started appearing in Gunung Palung National Park on Aug. 27. TheTreeMap has also identified hotspots that appear to overlap with the park’s core zone,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-fires-spread-in-indonesia-bornean-orangutans-run-out-of-forest-to-flee/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330531</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tourism has the potential to reverse coral decline at Bali travel hotspot: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tourism-has-potential-to-slow-coral-decline-at-bali-travel-hotspot-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tourism-has-potential-to-slow-coral-decline-at-bali-travel-hotspot-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2026 02:01:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/21153916/Image-by-Anett-SzasziOcean-Image-Bank-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330326</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Coral Reefs, Development, Ecotourism, Fishing, Funding, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Rehabilitation, Research, Restoration, Solutions, Tourism, and Travel]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sanur is where tourism took off in Bali. A coastal town overlooking the Lombok Strait where the Pacific Ocean flows into the Indian Ocean, artists and travelers began frequenting its shores in the 1920s. Today, the local economy still depends on income from visitors seeking its sun-kissed sands and cozy waters that hold the promise [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sanur is where tourism took off in Bali. A coastal town overlooking the Lombok Strait where the Pacific Ocean flows into the Indian Ocean, artists and travelers began frequenting its shores in the 1920s. Today, the local economy still depends on income from visitors seeking its sun-kissed sands and cozy waters that hold the promise of encounters with all manner of tropical marine life. But new research indicates all is not well with Sanur’s precious marine ecosystems. Its coral reefs are steadily degrading, despite multiple efforts to rehabilitate them by planting coral fragments or building artificial reefs. The recent study, published in Ocean &amp; Coastal Management, found reef restoration initiatives in Sanur often take place without first addressing the primary drivers of coral decline, such as sediment runoff and wastewater discharge. “People see the visible impact on the coral reef, so they feel it’s urgent to do something about it there,” study lead author Min Chung, a master’s student at the University of Tokyo, told Mongabay in an interview. “But in reality, and efficiency wise, it&#8217;s obviously more effective to address the more fundamental drivers [of coral loss].” By analyzing reef health data and interviews with 18 stakeholders who have influence over the use and management of Sanur’s reefs, Chung and her colleagues identified complex and competing interests between many different groups, from government agencies, local authorities and community organizations to academics, fishers and tourism operators. “There are differing views on how to preserve coral reefs and the role tourism&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tourism-has-potential-to-slow-coral-decline-at-bali-travel-hotspot-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tourism-has-potential-to-slow-coral-decline-at-bali-travel-hotspot-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330326</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How freediving helps Indonesia&#8217;s Bajau preserve traditions and conserve marine life</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Sep 2026 18:18:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maddy Bolt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/21115236/Bajau-PELITA-member-Well-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330277</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Nusa Tenggara]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Culture, Education, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Indigenous Peoples, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[POTO TANO, Indonesia — Mahari sits at the front of the boat, cigarette in hand, surveying the conditions of the waters off Poto Tano, a small fishing community on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. As ketua, the leader of this group of Bajau octopus fishers, Mahari decides which tool they will use today. He silently [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[POTO TANO, Indonesia — Mahari sits at the front of the boat, cigarette in hand, surveying the conditions of the waters off Poto Tano, a small fishing community on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. As ketua, the leader of this group of Bajau octopus fishers, Mahari decides which tool they will use today. He silently surveys the waters while the rest of the group sits back and waits for his cue. The Bajau people are an Indigenous ethnic group spanning Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Traditionally living mostly on boats, Bajau people have harvested from the sea through traditional freediving for generations. In Sumbawa, a recent ban on dives assisted by an air compressor, a dangerous diving technique that provides the diver with continuous air, means these traditional methods have become more valuable than ever. With the right skills, freediving can be gentler on both the environment and the body than more destructive modern practices. Through expeditions like this one, Mahari and the other fishermen in his community work in cooperation with local NGOs to ensure this knowledge is passed to new generations. Day octopus (Octopus cyanea). Image by © Stergios Vasilis via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). &#8216;Pocong time&#8217; Depending on current and water visibility, Bajau fishers typically use one of two methods to catch octopus. If there is low visibility or a strong current, they will use a “shell” tool adorned with hooks, which they let go in the water and trail behind their boat. If there is better&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330277</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Five orangutans found in India face long road back home to Indonesia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/five-orangutans-found-in-india-face-long-road-back-home-to-indonesia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/five-orangutans-found-in-india-face-long-road-back-home-to-indonesia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2026 11:26:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Junaidi Hanafiah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/18111302/Orangutan-Sumatera-baby-swinging-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330216</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, Indonesia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Great Apes, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Orangutans, Trade, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ACEH, Indonesia — The five infant orangutans found roaming a woodland in India’s Odisha state earlier this month may have been trafficked across several international borders — and now face a long journey home through the different legal and bureaucratic systems of India and Indonesia, conservationists say. “This starts with hunting in the wild, separating [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ACEH, Indonesia — The five infant orangutans found roaming a woodland in India’s Odisha state earlier this month may have been trafficked across several international borders — and now face a long journey home through the different legal and bureaucratic systems of India and Indonesia, conservationists say. “This starts with hunting in the wild, separating babies from their mothers, and transporting them across various regions, then selling them or keeping them as exotic pets,” said M. Indra Kurnia, director of conservation at the Sumatran Orangutan Lestari Foundation–Orangutan Information Center (YOSL-OIC). The five youngsters were found on Sept. 8 by locals near the Bichitrapur forest area in Balasore district, Odisha, a state on India’s east coast formed out of the ancient Kalinga region. Authorities are investigating how the animals came to be there, and the possible involvement of an international wildlife trafficking network. Only Indonesia and Malaysia have native orangutan populations, with the Indonesian island of Sumatra around 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) across the Indian Ocean from Odisha. The Bornean species lives in Indonesia and Malaysia, while the Sumatran and Tapanuli species are found only in Indonesia. “We mustn’t just see this as a local case in the country where the animals were found,” Indra said. This infant Sumatran orangutan is being cared for at the Sumatra Rescue Alliance (SRA) primate center Besitang district, North Sumatra. The infant is a victim of the illegal wildlife trade. Image by Junaidi Hanafiah/Mongabay Indonesia. Questions over wildlife smuggling route This isn’t the first time&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/five-orangutans-found-in-india-face-long-road-back-home-to-indonesia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/five-orangutans-found-in-india-face-long-road-back-home-to-indonesia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330216</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tapanuli orangutans face mining, landslides, and fire threats — with no recovery plan</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tapanuli-orangutans-face-mining-landslides-and-fire-threats-with-no-recovery-plan/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tapanuli-orangutans-face-mining-landslides-and-fire-threats-with-no-recovery-plan/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2026 04:14:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/19202130/Tapanuli-Orangutan-Pongo-tapanuliensis-by-Safira-Arda-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330177</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Corporations, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Disasters, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Extreme Weather, Gold Mining, Governance, Great Apes, Landslides, Mammals, Mining, Natural Resources, Orangutans, Primates, Tropical Deforestation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Nearly a year after what scientists describe as one of the most severe ecological shocks ever documented for the world’s rarest great ape species, there is still no coordinated recovery strategy for Tapanuli orangutans, even as mining resumes, future development plans remain active, and a strong El Niño introduces a new threat. That [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Nearly a year after what scientists describe as one of the most severe ecological shocks ever documented for the world’s rarest great ape species, there is still no coordinated recovery strategy for Tapanuli orangutans, even as mining resumes, future development plans remain active, and a strong El Niño introduces a new threat. That broader concern over the survival of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) has been sharpened by recent satellite imagery showing fresh ground disturbances inside the concession for Indonesia&#8217;s Martabe gold mine, which overlaps with the ape’s habitat. Disputed disturbances The disturbances appeared as swaths of treeless and disturbed earth between June 13 and June 23 on steep rainforest hills around the Ramba Joring pit in Batang Toru, North Sumatra province, according to Planet satellite imagery reviewed by Mongabay. The area is part of an ecosystem that supports the largest known population of the Tapanuli orangutan. Researchers estimate that 716 Tapanuli orangutans remain in Batang Toru, with the population split across three increasingly fragmented subpopulations, leaving the species with little demographic margin for additional losses. A high-resolution AirBus image of the ground disturbance in Martabe gold mine in June 2026. Image courtesy of Mighty Earth. Mighty Earth, a U.S.-based environmental organization, describes the features as landslides associated with mine development. Agincourt Resources, which operates the Martabe mine, disputes that characterization, saying the June disturbance resulted from material movement following blasting carried out within its planned operational area. The blasting, the company said, was planned with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tapanuli-orangutans-face-mining-landslides-and-fire-threats-with-no-recovery-plan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tapanuli-orangutans-face-mining-landslides-and-fire-threats-with-no-recovery-plan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330177</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mekong’s Irrawaddy dolphins find cautious hope amid a river in crisis</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mekongs-irrawaddy-dolphins-find-cautious-hope-amid-a-river-in-crisis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mekongs-irrawaddy-dolphins-find-cautious-hope-amid-a-river-in-crisis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2026 20:59:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Eung Sea]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/17123401/WWF-Cambodia01-dolphin-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329840</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Conservation, Culture, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Fishing, Freshwater, Illegal Fishing, Mammals, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAMPI, Cambodia — At nine in the morning, the sun beats down on the Mekong River as Heang Koeurn turns off the motor of his boat and bobs on the water. He has done this every morning for 11 years, and he still leans forward the same way when he waits: elbows on his knees, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAMPI, Cambodia — At nine in the morning, the sun beats down on the Mekong River as Heang Koeurn turns off the motor of his boat and bobs on the water. He has done this every morning for 11 years, and he still leans forward the same way when he waits: elbows on his knees, eyes scanning the water for a gray curve to break the surface. Finally, he spots what he’s looking for: Irrawaddy dolphins, the river’s sole cetaceans. Just meters away, a boat carries about half a dozen foreign tourists who squint and point as, one after another, the dorsal fins of a group of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) crest above the water. “Irrawaddy dolphins are very important for our community,” Koeurn says, drifting his boat slowly on the water. “People here can make more income from tourists by driving them to see the beauty of Irrawaddy dolphins.” But the Mekong River, a lifeline for millions of people across Southeast Asia, is in ecological crisis, threatening the survival of Irrawaddy dolphins — and with it the livelihoods and traditions of communities along the river. Every morning, boat driver Heang Koeurn takes tourists for dolphin sightseeing at Kampi pool. Image by Eung Sea for Mongabay. Habitat in tatters The Mekong River cuts through northern Stung Treng province along Cambodia’s border with Laos, where deep pools shelter unique aquatic species such as the giant freshwater stingray. The Kampi pool, a 60-meter- (nearly 200-feet-) deep stretch of the river in Cambodia’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mekongs-irrawaddy-dolphins-find-cautious-hope-amid-a-river-in-crisis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329840</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rescuers race against time as fires ravage orangutan habitat inside Indonesian oil palm concession</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-race-against-time-as-fires-ravage-orangutan-habitat-inside-indonesian-oil-palm-concession/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-race-against-time-as-fires-ravage-orangutan-habitat-inside-indonesian-oil-palm-concession/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2026 06:18:41 +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/20/2021/11/11091303/GP0STU10T_Medium_res-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330015</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Business, Climate, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critically Endangered Species, Crops, El Nino, Extreme Weather, Fires, Great Apes, Mammals, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Primates, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Conservationists are racing to rescue orangutans from a fire-ravaged peat-swamp forest inside an RSPO-certified oil palm concession in West Kalimantan, with smoke still rising and the ground remaining dangerously hot. The 657-hectare (1,623-acre) forest, designated as a High Conservation Value (HCV) area inside PT Kayung Agro Lestari (KAL), is home to around 60 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Conservationists are racing to rescue orangutans from a fire-ravaged peat-swamp forest inside an RSPO-certified oil palm concession in West Kalimantan, with smoke still rising and the ground remaining dangerously hot. The 657-hectare (1,623-acre) forest, designated as a High Conservation Value (HCV) area inside PT Kayung Agro Lestari (KAL), is home to around 60 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), one of three orangutan species in the world and the only one found on the island of Borneo, according to conservationists. The forest was also used in October 2015 to release four orangutans rescued by the Yayasan International Animal Rescue Indonesia (YIARI), a Borneo-based NGO working to establish and maintain sustainable orangutan populations. Nearly 11 years after four orangutans were released there, the peat-swamp forest that provided their habitat has itself been almost completely affected by fire, according to satellite analysis by technology consultancy TheTreeMap. This animation shows the progression of fire within and around the PT Kayung Agro Lestari concession in Ketapang (yellow lines), West Kalimantan, between 8 August and 12 September 2026. The sequence shows how fires progressively burned the HCV forests (turning from dark green to dark red) over the course of several weeks. Image courtesy of TheTreeMap/Nusantara Atlas. The analysis indicates that one of the major fires began on Aug. 8 along a canal at the edge of the oil palm plantation in Ketapang district, before spreading westward into the HCV forest. Conservationists are working to rescue orangutans still believed to be in the area. Some animals&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-race-against-time-as-fires-ravage-orangutan-habitat-inside-indonesian-oil-palm-concession/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-race-against-time-as-fires-ravage-orangutan-habitat-inside-indonesian-oil-palm-concession/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330015</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Southeast Asia, residents grapple with life under Indonesia’s wildfire haze</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-southeast-asia-residents-grapple-with-life-under-indonesias-wildfire-haze/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-southeast-asia-residents-grapple-with-life-under-indonesias-wildfire-haze/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2026 04:05:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Choo Ching YeeIrfan MaulanaKrismes Santo HalohoOliver Samson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/17023732/Asap-Pontianak-Tursih-1-1200x800-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329910</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Brunei, Central Kalimantan, Global, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peninsular Malaysia, Philippines, Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Climate, Climate Change, Disasters, El Nino, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Impact Of Climate Change, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KUALA LUMPUR — Video editor Mohamad Haazim has lost count of how many times he refreshes Malaysia’s Air Pollutant Index (API) website every day to check air quality in the city where he lives. It’s been hovering between “unhealthy” and “hazardous” in recent weeks. Haazim, who asked to be identified only by his given names for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KUALA LUMPUR — Video editor Mohamad Haazim has lost count of how many times he refreshes Malaysia’s Air Pollutant Index (API) website every day to check air quality in the city where he lives. It’s been hovering between “unhealthy” and “hazardous” in recent weeks. Haazim, who asked to be identified only by his given names for privacy reasons, lives in Kuching, the capital of Malaysia’s Sarawak state. It is known as one of the cities with the cleanest air quality in the country, but since last month, Kuching has earned a dubious distinction of being the world’s “most polluted major city,” according to IQAir, a Swiss-based air quality technology company. The culprit? Smog from Indonesia’s wildfires. “It has deeply disrupted my daily routine,” Haazim said of the haze. “Outdoor routines are completely on hold; morning and evening walks are out of the question.” An avid marathon runner, Haazim no longer runs five times a week outdoors. “I am now down to just two indoor runs,” he told Mongabay last week. At home and at work, he said he ensures windows are shut tight, with air purifiers running at full blast. Kuching riverside in the city center is shrouded in thick haze in Kuching, Sarawak state, Malaysia, on Sept. 4, 2026. Image by AP Photo/Xpin Voon. He can’t forget his long drive home from Lawas, a Sarawak town located between Sabah and Brunei, on Aug. 31. “The haze became much thicker as we went back to Kuching,” he said. “As we arrived&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-southeast-asia-residents-grapple-with-life-under-indonesias-wildfire-haze/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329910</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishers bear deep costs of plastic pollution in Vietnam, but could help turn the tide</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/fishers-bear-deep-costs-of-plastic-pollution-in-vietnam-but-could-help-turn-the-tide/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/fishers-bear-deep-costs-of-plastic-pollution-in-vietnam-but-could-help-turn-the-tide/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2026 08:40:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/16081601/Banner-Repairing-fishing-nets-in-coastal-Vietnam.-Image-courtesy-of-3SIP2C-project-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329844</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Health, Marine, Oceans, Plastic, Pollution, Solutions, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Plastic bags and bottles, aquaculture feed bags, nylon netting and ropes don’t sound like the makings of a healthy fishing haul. However, nets replete with these items are a near-daily reality for the majority of fishers interviewed by researchers during a recent study in Vietnam. Plastic waste causes small-scale fishers in Vietnam to lose an [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Plastic bags and bottles, aquaculture feed bags, nylon netting and ropes don’t sound like the makings of a healthy fishing haul. However, nets replete with these items are a near-daily reality for the majority of fishers interviewed by researchers during a recent study in Vietnam. Plastic waste causes small-scale fishers in Vietnam to lose an average of $3,421 per vessel, per year, in lost fishing time, reduced catch efficiency and damaged gear, the study assessing the economic impacts of plastic debris on fishing livelihoods found. This represents a 10-25% reduction in the annual income of vessel owners. Fishers interviewed for the study reported that they had significantly increased their fishing efforts in recent years in response to the combined pressures of overexploited fish stocks and plastic pollution. “Before, 6-7 hauls were enough [to turn a profit],” one interviewee told the researchers. “Now it takes 20-25 hauls.” The study also highlights how fishers could play a significant role in solutions tackling the plastic pollution crisis, including through “fishing for litter” programs that pay fishers modest financial incentives to bring back plastic bycatch for disposal and processing on land. “When you see firsthand the sheer volume of [plastic waste] in Southeast Asia, and how it directly impacts people’s lives and livelihoods, it crystallizes very clearly why we need to address this,” study co-author Michel Kaiser, a professor of fisheries conservation at Heriot-Watt University in the U.K., told Mongabay in an interview. “Fundamentally, turning off the source of the plastic is key, but&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/fishers-bear-deep-costs-of-plastic-pollution-in-vietnam-but-could-help-turn-the-tide/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329844</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wildfires on doorstep of Indonesia’s new capital as environmental and health crisis flares</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/wildfires-on-doorstep-of-indonesias-new-capital-as-environmental-and-health-crisis-flares/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/wildfires-on-doorstep-of-indonesias-new-capital-as-environmental-and-health-crisis-flares/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Sep 2026 11:50:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Niken D. Sitoningrum]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/15113817/834BDB3B-70D3-4E4D-BE7A-21166F05BFE3-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329765</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities, Climate, Climate Change, Development, Disasters, El Nino, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Impact Of Climate Change, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PENAJAM PASER, Indonesia — Indonesia’s escalating wildfire crisis has reached the outskirts of Nusantara, the new capital city under construction as the world’s fourth-most-populous country seeks to transplant its political heartland from a flood plain in Java to the island of Borneo. Fires in mid-September burned 30 to 40 kilometers (19 to 25 miles) from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PENAJAM PASER, Indonesia — Indonesia’s escalating wildfire crisis has reached the outskirts of Nusantara, the new capital city under construction as the world’s fourth-most-populous country seeks to transplant its political heartland from a flood plain in Java to the island of Borneo. Fires in mid-September burned 30 to 40 kilometers (19 to 25 miles) from the perimeter of government buildings. The fires were reported at Wonotirto, near the main toll road, and at Bukit Tengkorak in the Bukit Soeharto protected forest. These wildfires were in the outer zone designated for Nusantara, authorities in the new capital said, but had stopped short of the construction site of the government complex. “Hopefully, it won&#8217;t reoccur,” Danis H. Sumadilaga, Nusantara authority spokesperson, said in a Sept. 9 statement. “We will have to conduct monitoring and patrols to ensure this fire doesn&#8217;t happen again.” On Sept. 14, forestry minister Raja Juli Antoni traveled to inspect the fires, along with the head of Indonesia’s disaster management agency and the lead of Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), the agency overseeing the new city, one of the world’s largest construction sites. Helicopters carrying giant buckets of water buzzed overhead as the officials surveyed the fragile landscape skirting the city. “It’s there again — where’s Manggala Agni?” the minister said, referring to the state fire brigade after spotting a suspected fire burning in the hills. “They need to get there, along with colleagues — there’s smoke again. “Please coordinate with the firefighters, army, police,” Raja Juli Antoni said on Sept. 14.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/wildfires-on-doorstep-of-indonesias-new-capital-as-environmental-and-health-crisis-flares/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329765</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kathmandu Resolution calls for Asia-wide leadership on conservation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/katmandu-resolution-calls-for-asia-wide-leadership-on-conservation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/katmandu-resolution-calls-for-asia-wide-leadership-on-conservation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Sep 2026 17:29:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sayan Banerjee]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/09151101/Image-1.image_jpeg-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329664</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Environment, and Governance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[There is perhaps no other continent on earth that possesses as diverse an ecosystem, biodiversity and cultural diversity as Asia. Yet, biodiversity conservation in Asia is in constant crisis, due to uneven development after gaining independence from Euro-American colonization, capital intensive infrastructure growth with worsening inequality, heavy dependence on natural resources at different scales, from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[There is perhaps no other continent on earth that possesses as diverse an ecosystem, biodiversity and cultural diversity as Asia. Yet, biodiversity conservation in Asia is in constant crisis, due to uneven development after gaining independence from Euro-American colonization, capital intensive infrastructure growth with worsening inequality, heavy dependence on natural resources at different scales, from household to nation, high population density and distribution that overlaps with spaces with endangered wildlife, illegal trade in endangered species, and finally, war, genocide, militarization and political conflict. Conservationists in Asia, therefore, have a difficult mandate for the continent’s future: To tackle the biodiversity, climate, and cultural crisis at a much faster rate. Yet, the conservation space is strictly dominated by researchers and practitioners, donors and funders, policymakers and other intellectuals based in Western knowledge production systems. To cater to this, almost 500 conservationists, majorly from Asian countries assembled in Kathmandu, Nepal, during the first week of June for the 6th Conservation Asia Congress. The conference was organized by the Asia region of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), in partnership with the Nepal chapter of SCB and a Nepal-based community-centric organization, Burhan Community Regeneration and Conservation Foundation (BCRCF). Under the theme &#8220;Harmonizing Biodiversity and Human Well-being in Asia,&#8221; the Congress united global experts, early-career researchers, and community leaders to address the critical intersection of nature conservation, community stewardship, and evidence-based policy. Almost 500 conservationists largely from Asian countries assembled in Kathmandu during the first week of June for the 6th Conservation Asia Congress. Image&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/katmandu-resolution-calls-for-asia-wide-leadership-on-conservation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/katmandu-resolution-calls-for-asia-wide-leadership-on-conservation-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329664</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Biodiversity corridor payments boost household incomes in Vietnam’s Annamite mountains</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/biodiversity-corridor-payments-boost-household-incomes-in-vietnams-annamite-mountains/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/biodiversity-corridor-payments-boost-household-incomes-in-vietnams-annamite-mountains/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Sep 2026 02:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/13113754/Banner_Original_WW1304086-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329528</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community Forests, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Forest Fragmentation, Fragmentation, Funding, Governance, Habitat, Indigenous Peoples, Payments For Ecosystem Services, Protected Areas, Research, Sustainable Forest Management, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Conservationists say connecting existing protected areas through biodiversity corridors is vital in many landscapes to prevent further loss of species and habitats. Yet the households living inside conservation areas often face stark financial tradeoffs associated with lost access to resources, sometimes making new designations controversial. A recent study from the rugged mountains of central Vietnam, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Conservationists say connecting existing protected areas through biodiversity corridors is vital in many landscapes to prevent further loss of species and habitats. Yet the households living inside conservation areas often face stark financial tradeoffs associated with lost access to resources, sometimes making new designations controversial. A recent study from the rugged mountains of central Vietnam, however, suggests that biodiversity corridors can bring significant economic benefits to the households who live inside them. The study, published in Conservation Science and Practice, analyzed interviews with 120 families living in four villages in Quang Nam and Thua Thien provinces within the Annamite mountain range to find out how financial incentives tied to two biodiversity corridors connecting isolated protected areas affected people’s lives and livelihoods. Households inside biodiversity corridors earned substantially more, mainly from conservation-linked payments, than those outside them. However, they also made less money from forest resources due to greater restrictions on how they could use their land. The researchers say their findings underscore how conservation-linked payments and other longer-term benefits from living near flourishing forests, such as water purification, healthy pollinator populations and conservation-based jobs, can help communities recoup income they once derived from forest exploitation. “By providing regular financial benefits from forest protection, programs like PFES [Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services] create incentives for communities to maintain forest cover and reduce pressures on critical habitats,” study lead author Nguyen Van Tri Tin, a conservation scientist at Southern Cross University in Australia at the time of the study, told Mongabay in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/biodiversity-corridor-payments-boost-household-incomes-in-vietnams-annamite-mountains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329528</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A clownfish’s last stand</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-clownfishs-last-stand/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-clownfishs-last-stand/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Sep 2026 00:11:51 +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/20/2026/09/13221234/clownfish-illustration-16x9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329552</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Coral Reefs, Development, Infrastructure, Marine, Oceans, and Seagrass]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Twenty years ago, scientist and Mongabay board member Debby Ng joined a team documenting life at Terumbu Bayan, a coral reef south of Singapore that was about to be reclaimed. There she encountered a pair of false clownfish living in an anemone. The mother was unusually aggressive, even for a species known to be feisty. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Twenty years ago, scientist and Mongabay board member Debby Ng joined a team documenting life at Terumbu Bayan, a coral reef south of Singapore that was about to be reclaimed. There she encountered a pair of false clownfish living in an anemone. The mother was unusually aggressive, even for a species known to be feisty. She repeatedly charged Debby, a diver thousands of times her size, biting her several times. Then Debby saw what she was protecting: a brood of eggs. She could already see tiny eyes through the thin membranes. Eyes of the brood of false clown anemonefish. Photographed by Debby Ng in 2006. Soon an alarm sounded, calling Debby and the other scientists out of the water. From the dive boat, they watched the first barges tip rock and fill directly into the channel, sending a plume of sediment through the shallows where they’d been swimming minutes earlier. The team had salvaged some of the hard corals and a tiger-tail seahorse, but there was only so much they could move. The smaller animals, including shrimp and nudibranchs, had to be left behind along with topshells that sat in crevices and cowries with eggs attached to the reef. Debby still remembers that clownfish. False clown anemonefish parents. Photo by Debby Ng. I first wrote about the dive last year in Requiem for a Clownfish. It resurfaced for me recently after The Woke Salaryman adapted the account into a comic. In August, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that several islands&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-clownfishs-last-stand/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Javan rhinos survive eruption in Indonesia, but single habitat leaves species vulnerable</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/javan-rhinos-survive-eruption-in-indonesia-but-single-habitat-leaves-species-vulnerable/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/javan-rhinos-survive-eruption-in-indonesia-but-single-habitat-leaves-species-vulnerable/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2026 01:33:57 +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/20/2023/10/06081629/Fk7E_IMG_20231005_174838-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329426</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Asian Rhinos]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Environment, In-situ Conservation, Javan Rhinos, Mammals, Megafauna, Rhinos, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s critically endangered Javan rhinos appear to be safe despite an ongoing eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau near their last remaining habitat, conservation authorities said. Ardi Andono, head of Ujung Kulon National Park, home to the world’s only wild population of Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus), said on Sept. 7 that the rhinos’ habitat had been [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s critically endangered Javan rhinos appear to be safe despite an ongoing eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau near their last remaining habitat, conservation authorities said. Ardi Andono, head of Ujung Kulon National Park, home to the world’s only wild population of Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus), said on Sept. 7 that the rhinos’ habitat had been minimally affected by vibrations and noise from Anak Krakatau, which began erupting on Sept. 4. Mount Anak Krakatau, an active volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, lies about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the park on Java’s southwestern tip, and its recent eruption sent ash across parts of both islands, disrupting air travel and prompting some schools and fishing activities to halt. “The Javan rhinos remained safe and still appear normal,” Ardi told Mongabay in a WhatsApp message, adding that his park rangers continue to stand on guard. A female calf of the Javan rhinoceros with her mother. Image courtesy of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The number of Javan rhinos remaining in the wild is disputed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates the current minimum population of Javan rhinos at about 50, a figure used by conservation groups such as Save the Rhino International, while Indonesia’s forestry ministry puts the population at 87 to 100. The government’s figures have previously faced scrutiny after a 2023 investigation by Indonesian environmental group Auriga Nusantara found that rhinos not seen by camera traps for years, including some later&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/javan-rhinos-survive-eruption-in-indonesia-but-single-habitat-leaves-species-vulnerable/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329426</doi>				</item>
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