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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<title>West Kalimantan environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/west-kalimantan/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Community programs linked to lower forest loss in Indonesia’s Borneo during COVID-19</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2026 02:03:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/12215106/kalbar_drone_190946a_sungai_utik-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Biodiversity, Community Development, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, COVID-19, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Loss, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Illegal Logging, Logging, NGOs, Pandemics, Protected Areas, Reduced Impact Logging, Research, Solutions, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Villages in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan saw less forest loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when conservation groups provided health and livelihood support, a new study has found, suggesting social safety nets can help protect forests during economic crises. The peer-reviewed study, published last month in Lancet Planetary Health, suggests forest loss in West Kalimantan province on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Villages in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan saw less forest loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when conservation groups provided health and livelihood support, a new study has found, suggesting social safety nets can help protect forests during economic crises. The peer-reviewed study, published last month in Lancet Planetary Health, suggests forest loss in West Kalimantan province on the Indonesian part of Borneo fell sharply during the pandemic, as weak timber demand and travel restrictions made logging less profitable and harder to carry out. At the same time, villages with access to alternative livelihoods and other support were less reliant on forests for income, the paper adds. The researchers say their study is among the first to combine household surveys with detailed satellite data to examine how the pandemic affected rural livelihoods and forest loss in the same communities, offering a closer look at how economic shocks and social support can influence pressure on tropical forests. “As the pandemic started, we expected economic hardships to cause illegal logging to increase again,” Skylar Hopkins, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University and the lead author for the new study, said in a statement. Mapping deforestation trends Before the pandemic, average forest loss was 52% lower in NGO-affiliated villages than in unaffiliated villages, the study finds. Indonesia has the world’s third-largest tropical forest area, a major store of biodiversity and carbon, long threatened by logging, agricultural expansion and fires. The researchers surveyed 10 villages in West Kalimantan in late 2021: six communities supported by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327673</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s wildfire season surges as haze spreads into Malaysia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesias-wildfire-season-surges-as-haze-spreads-into-malaysia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesias-wildfire-season-surges-as-haze-spreads-into-malaysia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2026 14:23:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/13132905/image0-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326174</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Malaysia, Sarawak, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Disasters, El Nino, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forest Destruction, Global Environmental Crisis, Great Apes, Mammals, Monkeys, Orangutans, Pollution, Primates, Rainforest Destruction, Threats To Rainforests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Haze from fires in Indonesian Borneo has drifted across the border into the Malaysian portion of the island, pushing air pollution there to “very unhealthy levels” and causing school closures. On Aug. 12, Sarawak’s Tebedu district, near the Indonesia-Malaysia border, recorded an air pollution index (API) exceeding 200, considered “very unhealthy,” prompting the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Haze from fires in Indonesian Borneo has drifted across the border into the Malaysian portion of the island, pushing air pollution there to “very unhealthy levels” and causing school closures. On Aug. 12, Sarawak’s Tebedu district, near the Indonesia-Malaysia border, recorded an air pollution index (API) exceeding 200, considered “very unhealthy,” prompting the government to close six schools and shift classes online. IQAir, a Swiss-based air quality technology company, ranked Kuching, the capital of Malaysia’s Sarawak state, as the most polluted major city in the world on Aug. 11. Air quality map of Southeast Asia on Aug. 11, 2026. Image courtesy of IQAir. According to Malaysia’s Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS), 11 areas in Sarawak recorded unhealthy API readings on Aug. 11, up from eight on Aug. 9. The worsening air quality in Sarawak comes as fires intensify in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, which neighbors the Malaysian state. The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), which monitors and assesses wildfires and transboundary haze in the Southeast Asia region, observed smoke drifting from West Kalimantan into western Sarawak across several days in July. A map from the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) showing haze coverage and wind direction in the southern ASEAN region on Aug. 11, 2026. Image courtesy of ASMC. As haze blanketed parts of West Kalimantan, authorities in the provincial capital, Pontianak, have suspended schools indefinitely and shifted classes online. Fires also affected parts of Sumatra. Haze from the western Indonesian island has historically drifted north to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesias-wildfire-season-surges-as-haze-spreads-into-malaysia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesias-wildfire-season-surges-as-haze-spreads-into-malaysia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326174</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Flames reach edge of orangutan rehabilitation center, with fire season set to intensify</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/flames-reach-edge-of-orangutan-rehabilitation-center-with-fire-season-set-to-intensify/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/flames-reach-edge-of-orangutan-rehabilitation-center-with-fire-season-set-to-intensify/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Aug 2026 10:41:25 +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/20/2026/08/07103831/Kebakaran-Rangkong-22-July_20260722_-MUFID_0434-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325527</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Extreme Weather, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Great Apes, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Mammals, Orangutans, Primates, Rehabilitation, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rehabilitation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A wildfire that reached the edge of an orangutan rehabilitation center in western Borneo is highlighting how Indonesia&#8217;s intensifying fire season threatens not just forests and wildlife, but also the conservation work taking place within them. The fire stopped just short of the facility run by the nonprofit organization YIARI, where more than [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A wildfire that reached the edge of an orangutan rehabilitation center in western Borneo is highlighting how Indonesia&#8217;s intensifying fire season threatens not just forests and wildlife, but also the conservation work taking place within them. The fire stopped just short of the facility run by the nonprofit organization YIARI, where more than 60 critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) are undergoing rehabilitation after being rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and habitat loss. The fire broke out on July 22 about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the center in Sungai Awan Kiri village, Ketapang district, West Kalimantan province. Thick smoke blanketed the area as nearly 100 personnel from government agencies, the military, police and YIARI fought for hours to stop the flames before they reached the facility. &#8220;The fire reached the boundary of the rehabilitation center&#8217;s land,&#8221; YIARI CEO Karmele Llano Sánchez told Mongabay. Aerial view of the fire that broke out on July 22, 2026, about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from YIARI&#8217;s orangutan rehabilitation center in Sungai Awan Kiri village, Ketapang district, West Kalimantan province. Image courtesy of YIARI. She said the incident highlighted the importance of being prepared for fires. “If we had not responded quickly, part of our rehabilitation center might already have been destroyed by the fire,” Llano Sánchez said. Satellite imagery of the fire that broke out on July 22, 2026, about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from YIARI&#8217;s orangutan rehabilitation center in Sungai Awan Kiri village, Ketapang district, West Kalimantan province. Red&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/flames-reach-edge-of-orangutan-rehabilitation-center-with-fire-season-set-to-intensify/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325527</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Lawmakers seek rights probe into Indigenous conflict at Indonesian timber firm</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/lawmakers-seek-rights-probe-into-indigenous-conflict-at-indonesian-timber-firm/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/lawmakers-seek-rights-probe-into-indigenous-conflict-at-indonesian-timber-firm/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jul 2026 10:23:36 +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/20/2024/03/27180141/Screenshot-2024-03-28-010118-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322966</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Biodiversity, Business, Conflict, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Forest Products, Forestry, Great Apes, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Law, Mammals, Orangutans, Peatlands, Primates, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Social Conflict, Tropical Deforestation, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesian lawmakers have called for a government fact-finding probe into a long-running conflict between an Indigenous community in Borneo and an industrial timber company linked to one of Indonesia&#8217;s largest recent deforestation cases. The call came at the end of a parliamentary hearing in Jakarta on June 30, where lawmakers said testimony presented [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesian lawmakers have called for a government fact-finding probe into a long-running conflict between an Indigenous community in Borneo and an industrial timber company linked to one of Indonesia&#8217;s largest recent deforestation cases. The call came at the end of a parliamentary hearing in Jakarta on June 30, where lawmakers said testimony presented during the session strengthened indications of alleged structural and systematic human rights violations in the conflict. Responding to the hearing, Indonesia&#8217;s Ministry of Human Rights said it would conduct a more comprehensive review of the case, including field monitoring and coordination with other government agencies, as it prepares to investigate allegations of human rights violations linked to the conflict between PT Mayawana Persada and the Dayak Kualan community in Ketapang district, West Kalimantan province. The Dayak Kualan community alleges the company&#8217;s concession overlaps with its customary lands and forests, and that Mayawana proceeded to clear the area without obtaining its meaningful consent. Despite the community&#8217;s longstanding objections, Mayawana razed lands and forests that the Dayak Kualan community says form part of its customary territory, according to Tarsisius Fendy Sesupi, the customary chief of Lelayang, one of the Indigenous hamlets overlapped by the concession. &#8220;The company never sought the community&#8217;s agreement. It simply moved in and cleared everything,&#8221; he said at a recent press conference in Jakarta. In cases where community members agreed to relinquish their land, they did so under pressure and received only 1.5 million rupiah (about $83) per hectare, or $34 per acre,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/lawmakers-seek-rights-probe-into-indigenous-conflict-at-indonesian-timber-firm/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322966</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Pulp and paper giant APRIL&#8217;s supplier choices put FSC remedy process to the test</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/pulp-and-paper-giant-aprils-supplier-choices-put-fsc-remedy-process-to-the-test/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/pulp-and-paper-giant-aprils-supplier-choices-put-fsc-remedy-process-to-the-test/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jun 2026 04:12:34 +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/20/2026/06/23034155/signal-2026-06-01-105626_002-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321620</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Kalimantan, Global, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Certification, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forest Products, Forestry, Forests, Industry, International Trade, Land Use Change, Logging, Pulp And Paper, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Threats To Rainforests, Trade, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Pulp and paper giant APRIL&#8217;s recent decision to lower its deforestation commitments and source wood from two companies associated with extensive recent forest loss has created a new challenge for its relationship with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), with environmental groups urging the world&#8217;s leading forestry certifier to terminate the already suspended reassociation [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Pulp and paper giant APRIL&#8217;s recent decision to lower its deforestation commitments and source wood from two companies associated with extensive recent forest loss has created a new challenge for its relationship with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), with environmental groups urging the world&#8217;s leading forestry certifier to terminate the already suspended reassociation process. In late May, APRIL announced it was reviewing its decade-old Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP) 2.0 and lowering its deforestation cutoff date from 2015 to Dec. 31, 2020. The move allows Indonesia&#8217;s second-largest pulp and paper producer to source wood from PT Industrial Forest Plantation (IFP) and PT Mayawana Persada (Mayawana), two companies that have experienced some of the country&#8217;s largest recent forest losses. APRIL said the decision was necessary to address fibre shortages after the Indonesian government revoked the operating permits of four of its long-term suppliers earlier this year, affecting around 15% of its wood supply in Riau Province. According to data from the forest-monitoring platform Nusantara Atlas, together, IFP and Mayawana lost nearly 80,000 hectares (197,684 acres) of forest­­­­­ — an area almost half the size of London — between 2015 and 2024, including more than 54,000 hectares (133,436 acres) after 2020. This is more than any other forestry companies in Indonesia. Deforestation in the concession of PT Mayawana Persada, September 2020–April 2024 © Earthsight. Image source: Sentinel-2 via Copernicus Browser Environmental groups have criticized the move, arguing that it weakens a longstanding no-deforestation safeguard and sends a message that companies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/pulp-and-paper-giant-aprils-supplier-choices-put-fsc-remedy-process-to-the-test/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321620</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pulp and paper giant APRIL adds major deforesters as suppliers after revising sustainability policy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/pulp-and-paper-giant-april-adds-major-deforesters-as-suppliers-after-revising-sustainability-policy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/pulp-and-paper-giant-april-adds-major-deforesters-as-suppliers-after-revising-sustainability-policy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Jun 2026 15:12:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/15111219/DJI_0028-min-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321412</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Kalimantan, Global, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, EUDR, Forest Products, Forestry, Forests, Great Apes, Habitat Loss, Law, Orangutans, Primates, Pulp And Paper, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Supply Chain, Timber, timber trade, Trade, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Pulp and paper giant APRIL made recent changes that are concerning to environmental groups. These changes include suspending and reviewing its flagship sustainability policy, lowering its deforestation commitments, and sourcing wood from two companies responsible for some of Indonesia&#8217;s largest recent forest losses. The company, part of the Singapore-headquartered Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Pulp and paper giant APRIL made recent changes that are concerning to environmental groups. These changes include suspending and reviewing its flagship sustainability policy, lowering its deforestation commitments, and sourcing wood from two companies responsible for some of Indonesia&#8217;s largest recent forest losses. The company, part of the Singapore-headquartered Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group, the world’s largest manufacturer of viscose rayon, said the changes are needed to align its policies with international standards and secure fiber supplies following the loss of several long-term suppliers. Environmental groups, however, said the move weakens a key safeguard that APRIL has long cited as evidence of its no-deforestation commitments. The controversy centers on APRIL&#8217;s decision to add Indonesian concessions PT Industrial Forest Plantation (IFP) and PT Mayawana Persada (Mayawana) as its wood suppliers, integral to manufacturing viscose. Both companies, based on Kalimantan, have experienced extensive forest loss in recent years and have been repeatedly criticized by environmental groups. Previously, RGE and its subsidiaries, including APRIL, pledged not to source wood from plantations linked with deforestation since 2015. It is a pledge the company had reportedly broken. Its new corporate promise lowers the cutoff date to 2020, drawing sharp criticism from environmental groups. APRIL said IFP began delivering wood fiber to the company in May 2026. However, vessel-tracking data reviewed by Mongabay indicated that at least five barges carrying timber from the vicinity of IFP&#8217;s operations in Central Kalimantan were tracked traveling to Futong Port in Riau between mid-March and mid-April. Futong serves&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/pulp-and-paper-giant-april-adds-major-deforesters-as-suppliers-after-revising-sustainability-policy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321412</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Conservationists fear fires could erase years of orangutan habitat recovery</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/conservationists-fear-fires-could-erase-years-of-orangutan-habitat-recovery/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/conservationists-fear-fires-could-erase-years-of-orangutan-habitat-recovery/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 May 2026 10:34:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318990</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, El Nino, Fires, Forests, Great Apes, Landscape Restoration, Mammals, Orangutans, Peatlands, Rainforests, Reforestation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Fires have burned part of a decade-long orangutan habitat restoration site in Indonesian Borneo, raising fears among conservationists that another severe fire season could wipe out years of recovery efforts before the dry season has even fully begun. A decade ago, Yayasan IAR Indonesia (YIARI), the Indonesian affiliate of International Animal Rescue, began [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Fires have burned part of a decade-long orangutan habitat restoration site in Indonesian Borneo, raising fears among conservationists that another severe fire season could wipe out years of recovery efforts before the dry season has even fully begun. A decade ago, Yayasan IAR Indonesia (YIARI), the Indonesian affiliate of International Animal Rescue, began restoring degraded orangutan habitat in Pematang Gadung village in Ketapang district, West Kalimantan province, after villagers repeatedly reported orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) entering farms and eating crops. The incursions were driven by habitat loss. Large parts of the surrounding forest had already been degraded, including during Indonesia’s catastrophic 2015 fire season, when more than 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of land in and around the village were burned. Since then, YIARI, together with the government and local communities, have worked to restore the damaged landscape by planting trees that provide food for orangutans, with the hope that if enough food is available in the forest, the critically endangered apes will stop venturing into farmland. As of early 2026, the group had restored around 300 hectares (740 acres) with 150,000 trees, including fruit-bearing species favored by orangutans. Local community members planting trees at the restoration site of orangutan habitat in Pematang Gadung village in Ketapang district, West Kalimantan. Image courtesy of YIARI. The work is especially important because the remaining orangutan habitat in the area has become increasingly fragmented. Illegal gold mining operations now surround much of the forest, leaving wildlife confined to shrinking patches of habitat. “Once&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/conservationists-fear-fires-could-erase-years-of-orangutan-habitat-recovery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/conservationists-fear-fires-could-erase-years-of-orangutan-habitat-recovery/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318990</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>See an orangutan, take a photo, earn some money: A viable conservation model?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/see-an-orangutan-take-a-photo-earn-some-money-a-viable-conservation-model/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/see-an-orangutan-take-a-photo-earn-some-money-a-viable-conservation-model/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Apr 2026 22:54:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Linnea Hoover]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/10154758/orangutan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317580</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Great Apes, Mammals, Orangutans, Primates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Kapuas Hulu district in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, a pilot program is attempting to change how people living in Borneo perceive and engage with wildlife and wildlife conservation. KehatiKu, a play on the Indonesian words for “my heart” or “biodiversity,” was the brainchild of Borneo Futures, a scientific consultancy company, says biologist Erik Meijaard, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Kapuas Hulu district in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, a pilot program is attempting to change how people living in Borneo perceive and engage with wildlife and wildlife conservation. KehatiKu, a play on the Indonesian words for “my heart” or “biodiversity,” was the brainchild of Borneo Futures, a scientific consultancy company, says biologist Erik Meijaard, the consultancy’s managing director. Under the program, citizen observers are offered small payments for recording and reporting wildlife sightings, collecting around 175,000 records in around a year of operations. In a video interview, Meijaard says the project came about because he was frustrated with inefficiency in conservation. In 2022, Meijaard worked on a study analyzing 20 years of efforts to save orangutans. The study found that from 2000-19, nearly $1 billion was spent on orangutan conservation worldwide, even as around 100,000 orangutans were lost. By offering small payments directly to residents, Meijaard says KehatiKu has shown concrete successes at a fraction of the cost of normal conservation. Photograph of a Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) submitted by a KehatiKu citizen observer. Participants can earn Rp. 100,000 (about $5.84) for finding and photographing orangutans. Image courtesy of Borneo Futures. He estimates the program is spending less than $1 per hectare (2.5 acres) per year across the 200,000 hectares (494,210 acres) they are studying. For that money, they are both building community engagement and getting real-time data on multiple species ranging from common birds to rare and endangered species such as the flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps), Rhinoceros hornbill&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/see-an-orangutan-take-a-photo-earn-some-money-a-viable-conservation-model/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/see-an-orangutan-take-a-photo-earn-some-money-a-viable-conservation-model/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317580</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Palm oil clearing advances in Bornean orangutan habitat despite red flags</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/palm-oil-clearing-advances-in-bornean-orangutan-habitat-despite-red-flags/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/palm-oil-clearing-advances-in-bornean-orangutan-habitat-despite-red-flags/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Mar 2026 01:50:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/03/30124058/sabah_3937-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316314</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Biodiversity, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Forests, Mammals, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Plantations, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A palm oil company is ramping up its destruction of forests that are home to critically endangered orangutans in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on the island of Borneo, according to satellite imagery and government sources. In October 2025, Mongabay reported that PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR) had clear-cut 1,376 hectares (3,400 acres) of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A palm oil company is ramping up its destruction of forests that are home to critically endangered orangutans in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on the island of Borneo, according to satellite imagery and government sources. In October 2025, Mongabay reported that PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR) had clear-cut 1,376 hectares (3,400 acres) of forest between January and August 2025, based on satellite image analysis by Satya Bumi, an Indonesian environmental nonprofit. Prior to that, ESR had cleared no more than 195 hectares (482 acres) of forest. The company is operating within a 15,000-hectare (37,000-acre) oil palm plantation concession in Kapuas Hulu, a district in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province. Now, an updated analysis by Satya Bumi shows that ESR further accelerated its rainforest clearing in the final quarter of 2025, razing an additional 1,492 hectares (3,687 acres) of forest from October to December. It has now cleared a total of 3,063 hectares (7,569 acres) of forest within its concession, according to Satya Bumi. Map that shows deforestation in palm oil company PT Equator Sumber Rezeki&#8217;s concession in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. ESR’s concession overlaps with part of the Labian–Leboyan watershed, a wildlife corridor connecting Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum national parks — two of the last strongholds for the critically endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). The corridor and parks form part of the UNESCO-designated Betung Kerihun–Danau Sentarum Biosphere Reserve, whose forests sustain hundreds of species of wildlife, including sun bears, hornbills and giant rafflesia flowers. They also provide&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/palm-oil-clearing-advances-in-bornean-orangutan-habitat-despite-red-flags/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/palm-oil-clearing-advances-in-bornean-orangutan-habitat-despite-red-flags/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316314</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thousands of peat fires flare across Indonesia despite rainy season</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/thousands-of-peat-fires-flare-across-indonesia-despite-rainy-season/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/thousands-of-peat-fires-flare-across-indonesia-despite-rainy-season/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Feb 2026 06:40:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/12/28140328/firefighter-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314232</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Ecosystems, Environment, Fires, Forestry, Forests, Health, Peatlands, Planetary Health, Plantations, Pollution, Public Health, Rainforests, Rehabilitation, Restoration, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Satellite imagery recorded more than 5,000 fire hotspots on peatlands across Indonesia in January, despite the fact that much of the country remains firmly in the grip of the rainy season. Independent watchdog Pantau Gambut identified 5,490 hotspots within peatlands, perennially waterlogged ecosystems that store massive amounts of carbon dioxide. Official monitoring also [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Satellite imagery recorded more than 5,000 fire hotspots on peatlands across Indonesia in January, despite the fact that much of the country remains firmly in the grip of the rainy season. Independent watchdog Pantau Gambut identified 5,490 hotspots within peatlands, perennially waterlogged ecosystems that store massive amounts of carbon dioxide. Official monitoring also recorded an increase in fire hotspots, though using a different reporting method. Based on NASA Terra/Aqua satellite data, the Ministry of Forestry reported 110 hotspots nationwide in January 2026, up from 29 in January 2025 and 18 in December 2025. The two figures aren’t directly comparable, as they rely on different spatial filters and detection criteria. Pantau Gambut said the rise it recorded is concerning because it’s occurring during the wet season, which has been so intense this time around that it led to massive flooding in Sumatra in late 2025. The spike suggests fire risk in peat landscapes is no longer confined to the traditional dry season, but increasingly driven by degraded hydrology and land-use pressures, said Pantau Gambut campaigner Putra Saptian. Peat soil, which can be several meters deep, is made up of dead vegetation that, thanks to the waterlogged conditions, is only partially decomposed. In peat-rich areas across Sumatra and Borneo, logging and plantation companies have typically dug canals to drain the peat soil in preparation for cultivation, leaving behind vast swaths of highly flammable organic matter. Pantau Gambut recorded 1,824 hotspots inside the concessions of such companies in January, or a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/thousands-of-peat-fires-flare-across-indonesia-despite-rainy-season/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/thousands-of-peat-fires-flare-across-indonesia-despite-rainy-season/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314232</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On Indonesia’s longest river, a Borneo community passes crucial public health milestone</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/on-indonesias-longest-river-a-borneo-community-passes-crucial-public-health-milestone/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/on-indonesias-longest-river-a-borneo-community-passes-crucial-public-health-milestone/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Dec 2025 08:18:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anggita Raissa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/11142044/Ningsih-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311135</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Drinking Water, Environment, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Pollution, Public Health, Rivers, Sustainable Development, Waste, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SEKADAU, Indonesia — Children’s laughter skimmed over water the color of mud as mothers wrung laundry over banks where the Sekadau joins the Kapuas, the longest river in Indonesia. Local testimony along the Kapuas River, which flows 1,143 kilometers (710 miles) east to west from Borneo’s Müller Mountains out into the Natuna Sea, suggests this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SEKADAU, Indonesia — Children’s laughter skimmed over water the color of mud as mothers wrung laundry over banks where the Sekadau joins the Kapuas, the longest river in Indonesia. Local testimony along the Kapuas River, which flows 1,143 kilometers (710 miles) east to west from Borneo’s Müller Mountains out into the Natuna Sea, suggests this river — like many flowing across the world’s largest archipelagic country — may be losing prominence as a center of community life. “The river is dirtier now and no longer a gathering place like before,” an older resident told researchers from Tanjungpura University downriver in Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan province, for a study published in September. But here in Sekadau, the river remains central to daily life — a place to bathe, wash vegetables, and, until recently, to defecate. Research conducted on the Kapuas from 2020-2022 and published in the Journal of Aquaculture and Fish Health last year recorded double the legal limit of lead, a heavy metal pollutant that impairs neurological development — and 24 times the maximum coliform bacteria level for rivers permitted by Indonesia’s government. The study authors said the dangerous coliform level reflected the rapid population growth that has taken place in recent decades along the banks of the Kapuas. Some here in the village of Sekadau, the seat of an eponymous district on the Kapuas, say they hope the hardening of Borneo’s main arterial river can still be mended. From 2002-2024 West Kalimantan province lost one-fifth of its&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/on-indonesias-longest-river-a-borneo-community-passes-crucial-public-health-milestone/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/on-indonesias-longest-river-a-borneo-community-passes-crucial-public-health-milestone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311135</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Taboo against harming strangler fig spirits protects forests in Indonesian Borneo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/taboo-against-harming-strangler-fig-spirits-protects-forests-in-indonesian-borneo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/taboo-against-harming-strangler-fig-spirits-protects-forests-in-indonesian-borneo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Dec 2025 22:37:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/22221311/Copy-of-IMG_7244-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311796</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation and Religion]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Habitat, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Rainforests, Religions, Traditional Knowledge, Trees, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When a young boy went missing near his mother&#8217;s rice field in Indonesian Borneo, the entire village searched for him. After nearly a day, he was found near a large strangler fig tree. The boy insisted he hadn&#8217;t been hiding. Spirits living in the fig tree had called his name and lured him away, he [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When a young boy went missing near his mother&#8217;s rice field in Indonesian Borneo, the entire village searched for him. After nearly a day, he was found near a large strangler fig tree. The boy insisted he hadn&#8217;t been hiding. Spirits living in the fig tree had called his name and lured him away, he said, then prevented his mother from seeing him even as she walked around the tree looking for him. The family took him to a shaman, who confirmed the boy had been targeted by spirits dwelling in the strangler fig. To protect him from future encounters, they changed his name entirely. This story, shared with researcher Ditro Wibisono Wardi Parikesit during interviews with an Iban Indigenous community in Sungai Utik, West Kalimantan, illustrates a powerful belief among the community. Almost all (30 out of 32) community members considered large strangler figs to host supernatural entities that may be dangerous if disturbed. New research published in the journal Biotropica reveals that this belief system has measurable ecological benefits. Photo of the largest strangler fig recorded which found in the farmland area. It consists of three different species and stands more than 40 meters tall. Photo by Ditro Wibisono Wardi Parikesit Strangler figs grow by depositing their seeds in the canopy of another tree. Their aerial roots grow downward, surrounding and squeezing the host tree until eventually dies. Once the host dies and decays, a hollow root structure supports the fig tree above. When farmers in the Iban&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/taboo-against-harming-strangler-fig-spirits-protects-forests-in-indonesian-borneo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/taboo-against-harming-strangler-fig-spirits-protects-forests-in-indonesian-borneo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311796</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous Dayak sound alarm as palm oil firm razes orangutan habitat in Borneo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indigenous-dayak-sound-alarm-as-palm-oil-firm-razes-orangutan-habitat-in-borneo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indigenous-dayak-sound-alarm-as-palm-oil-firm-razes-orangutan-habitat-in-borneo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Dec 2025 04:01:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/28121816/bornean-orangutan-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310408</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critically Endangered Species, Culture, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Plantations, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAPUAS HULU, Indonesia — A palm oil company is rapidly clearing rainforest inside a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that’s home to orangutans and sun bears, adding to concerns over Indonesia’s efforts to curb deforestation. The company, PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR), is a subsidiary of the Jakarta-based First Borneo Group, owned by Indonesian tycoon Alexander Thaslim. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAPUAS HULU, Indonesia — A palm oil company is rapidly clearing rainforest inside a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that’s home to orangutans and sun bears, adding to concerns over Indonesia’s efforts to curb deforestation. The company, PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR), is a subsidiary of the Jakarta-based First Borneo Group, owned by Indonesian tycoon Alexander Thaslim. It has cleared nearly 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of rainforest since it began operating last year in Kapuas Hulu, a landlocked district deep in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo, near the border with Malaysia. ESR’s 15,000-hectare (37,000-acre) oil palm plantation concession overlaps with part of the Labian–Leboyan watershed, a wildlife corridor connecting Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum national parks — two of the last strongholds for the critically endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Conservationists estimate that as much as 80% of the concession area contains rainforest deemed of high conservation value, making it especially vital to protect. Orangutans inhabit about a quarter of the concession, according to a government-backed study from 2016. The corridor and parks form part of the Betung Kerihun–Danau Sentarum Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO in 2018. Its forests sustain hundreds of species of fish, birds and mammals, including rare hornbills and giant rafflesia flowers, and provide water, food and livelihoods for Indigenous Dayak communities whose cultures are deeply tied to the land. The location of PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR)&#8217;s palm oil concession in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, which overlaps with a UNESCO biosphere reserve. Despite the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indigenous-dayak-sound-alarm-as-palm-oil-firm-razes-orangutan-habitat-in-borneo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310408</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s most vulnerable push for nation’s first Climate Justice Bill</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesias-most-vulnerable-push-for-nations-first-climate-justice-bill/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesias-most-vulnerable-push-for-nations-first-climate-justice-bill/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2025 01:23:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/23012002/IMG_1666-2048x1150-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308157</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Kalimantan, North Maluku, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Environment, Human Migration, Human Rights, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Law, Migration, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — “Going to Dubai was an act of desperation,” says Muninggar, a 48-year-old former fish farmer from northern Java. “There were no jobs left in the village. If I wasn’t forced to, I wouldn’t have gone — my kids were still small.” Like many Indonesians on the frontlines of climate change, Muninggar has seen [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — “Going to Dubai was an act of desperation,” says Muninggar, a 48-year-old former fish farmer from northern Java. “There were no jobs left in the village. If I wasn’t forced to, I wouldn’t have gone — my kids were still small.” Like many Indonesians on the frontlines of climate change, Muninggar has seen erratic weather and rising temperatures destroy her livelihood, forcing her to migrate in search of a living. Her story echoes those of Indigenous farmers in Borneo and disabled fishers in eastern Indonesia, all facing the same reality: the climate crisis is deepening inequality and displacing those least responsible for it. Now, these communities are uniting to demand that climate justice be recognized as a constitutional right — part of a growing movement behind Indonesia’s first proposed Climate Justice Bill. Indonesia&#8217;s marginalized communities march to demand stronger climate action from the government in Jakarta in August 2025. Image courtesy of People&#8217;s Alliance for Climate Justice (ARUKI). Migrant workers Over the course of a few years, increasingly erratic weather devastated Muninggar’s fish ponds. “During the dry season, the seawater didn’t rise high enough, turning the pond water yellow. When that happened, the fish, shrimp and crabs died — I suffered total harvest failure,” she says. She took out a bank loan to stay afloat, but after five years of unpredictable weather and mounting losses, she was forced to close her pond, as were many of her neighbors. In September 2021, she chose to seek work abroad as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesias-most-vulnerable-push-for-nations-first-climate-justice-bill/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308157</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Americans’ love of RVs tied to destruction of orangutan habitat: Investigation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/americans-love-of-rvs-tied-to-destruction-of-orangutan-habitat-investigation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/americans-love-of-rvs-tied-to-destruction-of-orangutan-habitat-investigation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2025 11:03:21 +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/20/2019/08/14034755/kalteng_0891-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305644</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Kalimantan, North America, Southeast Asia, United States, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Industry, International Trade, Plantations, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Supply Chain, timber trade, Trade, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Global calls are mounting for RV companies in the U.S. to change their policies following new revelations that some of America’s best-selling RVs are built with plywood from the destruction of orangutan habitat in Indonesian Borneo. While companies like Winnebago say they’re now “working quickly to better understand the concerns raised,” environmentalists warn [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Global calls are mounting for RV companies in the U.S. to change their policies following new revelations that some of America’s best-selling RVs are built with plywood from the destruction of orangutan habitat in Indonesian Borneo. While companies like Winnebago say they’re now “working quickly to better understand the concerns raised,” environmentalists warn that corporate and regulatory inaction continues to drive the loss of Indonesia’s rainforests. Two reports — by U.K.-based NGO Earthsight and Indonesian environmental group Auriga Nusantara as well as U.S.-based campaign group Mighty Earth — trace how tropical timber from rainforest clearance in Indonesia enters the supply chains of leading U.S. RV makers, including Jayco, Winnebago and Forest River. The findings highlight governance gaps in Indonesia, where forest clearing for industrial concessions remains legal, and regulatory weaknesses in the U.S., whose laws prohibit illegal logging but not legal deforestation. Since the investigations were published, Mighty Earth has published a petition to urge RV companies to change their timber sourcing policies to exclude any wood from deforestation. The online petition seeks 1,500 signatures and so far has garnered more than 1,000. “Before it&#8217;s too late, it&#8217;s time to protect our rainforests, uphold the rights of Indigenous communities, and save the incredible animals that live there,” the petition says. “Tell RV CEOs: We demand that you only use deforestation-free and Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood in your supply chains and RV manufacture.” Tropical forest cleared by PT Indosubur Sukses Makmur in Borneo, January 2025. Image courtesy of Auriga /&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/americans-love-of-rvs-tied-to-destruction-of-orangutan-habitat-investigation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305644</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Indonesia reclaims forests from palm oil, smallholders bear brunt of enforcement</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-indonesia-reclaims-forests-from-palm-oil-smallholders-bear-brunt-of-enforcement/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-indonesia-reclaims-forests-from-palm-oil-smallholders-bear-brunt-of-enforcement/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2025 10:05:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/30093053/ac37d07e0ed471387f81e726cd66eba9-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303403</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, Jambi, Riau, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Conflict, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Law, Law Enforcement, Palm Oil, Plantations, Rainforests, Social Conflict, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia has launched a sweeping and militarized crackdown on illegal forest use, reclaiming millions of hectares of land — but civil society groups warn the campaign is displacing Indigenous peoples while sparing corporate offenders and entrenching land inequality. Under a regulation issued in January, President Prabowo Subianto established a task force to crack down on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia has launched a sweeping and militarized crackdown on illegal forest use, reclaiming millions of hectares of land — but civil society groups warn the campaign is displacing Indigenous peoples while sparing corporate offenders and entrenching land inequality. Under a regulation issued in January, President Prabowo Subianto established a task force to crack down on illegal activities inside forest areas, such as oil palm cultivation and mining. Illegal oil palm plantations alone occupy a combined 3.37 million hectares (8.33 million acres) of forests, or an area larger than Belgium, and account for a significant portion of palm oil output in Indonesia, the world’s top producer of the commodity. Since its launch in February 2025, the task force has reclaimed 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) and handed over nearly half that land to a state-owned plantation company, PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara. This potentially creates what could be the world’s largest state-owned palm oil company by land area, and risks replacing private land monopolies with a state-owned one, critics say. Critics say the regulation makes no distinction between large-scale corporate activities and those of local communities, including Indigenous peoples who have historically faced tenure conflicts due to unilateral forest area designations. As a result, the crackdown has displaced Indigenous and local communities, while shielding large corporations, and transferred land to Agrinas without due process, according to an analysis by the country’s largest environmental NGO, Walhi. Illegal road leading to an oil palm plantation in Indonesia. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. ‘Exploitative&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-indonesia-reclaims-forests-from-palm-oil-smallholders-bear-brunt-of-enforcement/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303403</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Orangutan habitat under siege as palm oil company clears forest in Borneo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/orangutan-habitat-under-siege-as-palm-oil-company-clears-forest-in-borneo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/orangutan-habitat-under-siege-as-palm-oil-company-clears-forest-in-borneo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Apr 2025 02:45:26 +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/20/2023/11/22043832/kalteng_0856-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298302</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Apes, Biodiversity, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forests, Great Apes, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, International Trade, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Plantations, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Supply Chain, Threats To Rainforests, Trade, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A palm oil company is gearing up to expand into critical orangutan habitat in Indonesian Borneo, raising alarms over the survival of the critically endangered great apes. PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR) is part of Jakarta-based First Borneo Group, which is currently one of the most active deforesters in Indonesia’s palm oil industry. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A palm oil company is gearing up to expand into critical orangutan habitat in Indonesian Borneo, raising alarms over the survival of the critically endangered great apes. PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR) is part of Jakarta-based First Borneo Group, which is currently one of the most active deforesters in Indonesia’s palm oil industry. ESR recently started clearing forest inside its 15,000-hectare (37,000-acre) concession in West Kalimantan province. An analysis by U.S.-based campaign group Mighty Earth found that more than 200 hectares (about 500 acres) of forest had been cleared in the far west of ESR’s concession between August 2024 and February 2025. Mapping analysis of deforestation in palm oil company PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR), part of First Borneo Group, in West Kalimantan. Image courtesy of Mighty Earth. And there are signs ESR plans to clear even more forest. The company is currently in the process of mapping the exact boundaries of its concession, which covers an area the size of Washington, D.C., and surveying the land to match physical terrain with legal land parcels, a process known as cadastral registration. This process typically precedes the issuance of a license known as the right to cultivate, or HGU, which is the final one in a series of permits needed before large-scale land clearing and plantation activity can begin. The issue with this is that the ESR concession consists of mostly intact, high-quality forest. Although First Borneo Group has never conducted an official assessment, conservationists estimate that at least&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/orangutan-habitat-under-siege-as-palm-oil-company-clears-forest-in-borneo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298302</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesian company defies order, plants acacia in orangutan habitat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/indonesian-company-defies-order-plants-acacia-in-orangutan-habitat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/indonesian-company-defies-order-plants-acacia-in-orangutan-habitat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Jan 2025 16:42:59 +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/20/2024/07/31135707/orangutan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292676</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Business, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Great Apes, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Orangutans, Peatlands, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian company responsible for the largest amount of deforestation, PT Mayawana Persada, has largely ceased clearing peatlands in the western part of Borneo. However, it has shifted focus to planting acacia trees on previously cleared peatlands, defying a government directive to halt activities and rehabilitate degraded land. Environmental activists warn that the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian company responsible for the largest amount of deforestation, PT Mayawana Persada, has largely ceased clearing peatlands in the western part of Borneo. However, it has shifted focus to planting acacia trees on previously cleared peatlands, defying a government directive to halt activities and rehabilitate degraded land. Environmental activists warn that the company’s actions pose ongoing threats to the critically endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), whose habitats overlap significantly with the concession. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry issued a directive on March 28, 2024, ordering Mayawana Persada to stop logging in its pulpwood concession and focus on restoring damaged peatlands. Despite this, the company has continued planting acacia trees on cleared peatlands, including in areas designated as protected. “The forestry ministry should act tougher by ordering Mayawana Persada to halt all activities and begin rehabilitating the damaged land,” said Andi Muttaqien, executive director of the environmental NGO Satya Bumi. Satellite imagery and field visits by Satya Bumi revealed young acacia trees planted in areas like Padu Banjar and Sungai Mata-Mata villages. Analysis in September 2024 also detected heavy machinery building canals in the Sungai Mata-Mata village, supporting further planting activities. Newly planted acacia trees in Mayawana Persada&#8217;s pulpwood concession in North Kayong, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on December 13, 2024. The age of the acacia trees indicate that the planting was done after the forestry ministry had ordered Mayawana Persada to halt activities, according to Restu Diantina Putri, a communication strategist from Satya Bumi who made the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/indonesian-company-defies-order-plants-acacia-in-orangutan-habitat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292676</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s oil palm smallholders get a boost in bid for sustainability</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/indonesias-oil-palm-smallholders-get-a-boost-in-bid-for-sustainability/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/indonesias-oil-palm-smallholders-get-a-boost-in-bid-for-sustainability/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2024 16:20:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/19115827/oil-palm-fertilizer-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284193</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, International Trade, Palm Oil, Plantations, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Sustainable Forest Management, Trade, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — NGOs working with Indonesian smallholder farmers have developed a set of guidelines aimed at helping oil palm farmers prove that their products are deforestation-free, allowing them a foothold in markets increasingly demanding sustainably produced goods. Launched on June 24, the deforestation-free smallholder toolkit, the first of its kind, is a participatory step-by-step guide [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — NGOs working with Indonesian smallholder farmers have developed a set of guidelines aimed at helping oil palm farmers prove that their products are deforestation-free, allowing them a foothold in markets increasingly demanding sustainably produced goods. Launched on June 24, the deforestation-free smallholder toolkit, the first of its kind, is a participatory step-by-step guide for smallholder groups to protect their forests and cultivate their lands in a sustainable manner. To implement the toolkit, smallholders will have to go through six steps, beginning with preparation and information dissemination, in which community members will receive explanations about the toolkit and how it benefits smallholder groups and villages. After that, the communities will map all the forests and land cover on their village lands. They’ll then identify which forest areas have high carbon stock (HCS) and high conservation value (HCV), such as ancestral lands and those rich in biodiversity. This step is crucial to distinguish forest areas that should be protected, from degraded areas that can be developed. At the end of the process, the communities will come up with integrated conservation and land-use plans, or ICLUP. These plans include details on how village and community lands will be used and managed. For instance, a village might decide that all HCS and HCV areas should be protected, while prescribing punishments for anyone who violates customary forest practices. It might also decide to practice ecological farming and agroforestry to sustain local livelihoods while protecting HCS and HCV forests at the same time. At&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/indonesias-oil-palm-smallholders-get-a-boost-in-bid-for-sustainability/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284193</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>NZ funding helps Indigenous farmers in Indonesia protect forests, boost incomes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/nz-funding-helps-indigenous-farmers-in-indonesia-protect-forests-boost-incomes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/nz-funding-helps-indigenous-farmers-in-indonesia-protect-forests-boost-incomes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2024 15:48:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/15154100/13-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282156</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Avoided Deforestation, Climate, Climate Change, Deforestation, Economics, Environment, Farming, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Nature-based climate solutions, Palm Oil, Plantations, Rainforests, Solutions, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Funding from the New Zealand government is helping Indigenous farmers in Indonesian Borneo improve their livelihoods while protecting their ancestral forests. The funding, channeled through the Farmers For Forest Protection Foundation (4F), will go toward programs such as training and deployment of forest guards, village-based customary forest management support, local forest regulation support, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Funding from the New Zealand government is helping Indigenous farmers in Indonesian Borneo improve their livelihoods while protecting their ancestral forests. The funding, channeled through the Farmers For Forest Protection Foundation (4F), will go toward programs such as training and deployment of forest guards, village-based customary forest management support, local forest regulation support, forest monitoring, and training in and implementation of good agricultural practices. The initial disbursement of NZ$24,800 ($14,900) has been allocated to the villages of Setawar and Gunam, in Sekadau and Sanggau districts, respectively, in West Kalimantan province. Setawar is home to around 400 hectares (nearly 1,000 acres) of customary forest, and Gunam 22 hectares (54 acres). While most of the villagers there as independent palm oil farmers, they still rely on their ancestral forests for various purposes, such as making medicinal herbs, producing handicrafts from rattan, building houses using timber from the forests, and carrying out traditional rituals. “The funding will have a big impact on protecting the remaining customary forest in Sanggau and Sekadau, and on the lives of the village communities,” Tirza Pandelaki, executive director of 4F, said in a statement. “They have been struggling for many years to protect the forests that are essential for their culture, livelihoods and spiritual wellbeing. We thank and appreciate the generous support from the New Zealand Head of Embassy Fund.” The villagers have been assisted by the association of Indonesian palm oil farmers, or SPKS, to produce palm oil without sacrificing their forests. They do this by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/nz-funding-helps-indigenous-farmers-in-indonesia-protect-forests-boost-incomes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-282156</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesian company defies order, still clearing peatlands in orangutan habitat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/indonesian-company-defies-order-still-clearing-peatlands-in-orangutan-habitat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/indonesian-company-defies-order-still-clearing-peatlands-in-orangutan-habitat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 May 2024 03:58:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/22043832/kalteng_0856-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=281855</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Business, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Conflict, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Great Apes, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Logging, Mammals, Orangutans, Peatlands, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s largest deforesting company has continued to clear peatland despite an order by the government for the firm to stop clearing rainforests. The company in question is pulpwood producer PT Mayawana Persada. Since 2016, the company has cleared more than 35,000 hectares (86,500 acres) of forests to establish monoculture pulpwood plantations — an [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s largest deforesting company has continued to clear peatland despite an order by the government for the firm to stop clearing rainforests. The company in question is pulpwood producer PT Mayawana Persada. Since 2016, the company has cleared more than 35,000 hectares (86,500 acres) of forests to establish monoculture pulpwood plantations — an area half the size of Singapore — in its concession in West Kalimantan province, sized at 136,710 hectares (337,800 acres). Activists noted that these clearances happened on critical orangutan habitat and carbon-rich peatlands. Some 30,296 hectares (74,900 acres) of peatland, with 15,560 hectares (38,400 acres) of them being protected, had been converted as of March 2024, according to an analysis by a coalition of NGOs. Map of peatland conversion in PT Mayawana Persada&#8217;s concession in West Kalimantan as of March 2024. The analysis also found clearance of 15,643 hectares (38,700 acres) of known habitat for the critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) from 2016-22. The case has attracted a public spotlight due to the sheer scale of the deforestation and the importance of the ecosystems in the concession for climate change and the survival of endangered wildlife. A recent report, which investigated Mayawana Persada’s activities, described it as “one of Indonesia’s biggest ongoing cases of deforestation” and linked the company to Singapore-based paper and palm oil conglomerate Royal Golden Eagle (RGE). RGE has denied any affiliation with Mayawana Persada, despite findings of shared key personnel, operational management connections and supply chain links. Numerous media and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/indonesian-company-defies-order-still-clearing-peatlands-in-orangutan-habitat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/indonesian-company-defies-order-still-clearing-peatlands-in-orangutan-habitat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-281855</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Report links pulpwood estate clearing Bornean orangutan habitat to RGE Group</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/report-links-pulpwood-estate-clearing-bornean-orangutan-habitat-to-rge-group/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/report-links-pulpwood-estate-clearing-bornean-orangutan-habitat-to-rge-group/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Mar 2024 18:18:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/22043832/kalteng_0856-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280348</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Business, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, Conflict, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Great Apes, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Peatlands, Plantations, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Sustainability, Sustainable Forest Management, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia is experiencing a resurgence in forest clearance due to the expansion of pulpwood and oil palm plantations, reversing years of declining deforestation associated with these two industries. And at the forefront of this new wave of deforestation is a single company identified in a report by a coalition of environmental NGOs that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia is experiencing a resurgence in forest clearance due to the expansion of pulpwood and oil palm plantations, reversing years of declining deforestation associated with these two industries. And at the forefront of this new wave of deforestation is a single company identified in a report by a coalition of environmental NGOs that include the Environmental Paper Network, Woods &amp; Wayside International and Rainforest Action Network. Since 2021, according to the report, pulpwood producer PT Mayawana Persada has converted 33,070 hectares (81,718 acres) of rainforest to monoculture pulpwood plantations — an area nearly half the size of Singapore — in the western part of Indonesian Borneo. Timelapse animation of deforestation within Mayawana Persada&#8217;s concession in West Kalimantan from 2021 to 2023. Image courtesy of Nusantara Atlas. The report describes it as “one of Indonesia’s biggest ongoing cases of deforestation,” occurring within a concession that largely overlaps with critical orangutan habitat and carbon-rich peatlands. Using data from forest monitoring platform Nusantara Atlas, run by technology consultancy TheTreeMap, the report found that more than 80% of the deforestation in the company’s concession in 2023 occurred in carbon-rich peat areas. Of this, more than 4,600 hectares (11,400 acres) took place in landscapes with a peat layer 3-7 meters (10-23 feet) deep, according to monitoring by Greenpeace Indonesia, another member of the coalition behind the report. These areas of deep peats are categorized as protected areas under Indonesian regulations, and thus should be off-limits to clearance and cultivation, Greenpeace Indonesia pointed out.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/report-links-pulpwood-estate-clearing-bornean-orangutan-habitat-to-rge-group/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280348</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Phantom deeds see Borneo islanders lose their land to quartz miners</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/phantom-deeds-see-borneo-islanders-lose-their-land-to-quartz-miners/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/phantom-deeds-see-borneo-islanders-lose-their-land-to-quartz-miners/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Mar 2024 17:00:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aseanty Pahlevi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/07134055/boats-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279631</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Fishing, Governance, Industry, Islands, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[GELAM ISLAND, Indonesia — Not long ago, Suparyanto discovered that his family home on a small island off the west coast of Borneo was to become a quartz mine. “I have never signed a land certificate or given power of attorney to anyone to manage my land on Gelam Island,” Suparyanto told Mongabay Indonesia. Suparyanto [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[GELAM ISLAND, Indonesia — Not long ago, Suparyanto discovered that his family home on a small island off the west coast of Borneo was to become a quartz mine. “I have never signed a land certificate or given power of attorney to anyone to manage my land on Gelam Island,” Suparyanto told Mongabay Indonesia. Suparyanto is not alone among former residents of Gelam. Mongabay Indonesia spoke with several families who said land on the island had been appropriated without their consent. Haryanto, a 35-year-old fisher, said he found out his land was gone after seeing his name on a list in the village office. The parcels of land were then transferred to mining operators controlled by Denny Muslimin, a parliamentary candidate for West Kalimantan province, records showed. Gelam is a 2,800-hectare (6,900-acre) island off the southwest coast of Borneo, at the confluence of the Java and Natuna seas. The island is currently uninhabited. However, Gelam was previously home to a community of traditional fishers like Haryanto and Suparyanto, who moved away to nearby islands to access schools, health care and other public services. Despite the migration, the island’s former residents continue to see Gelam as their home. Some families said they had received a token sum in cash, but were unaware why they had been paid. “We received 1 million rupiah [$64],” said Sumia, a resident of neighboring Cempedak Island, where many families moved from Gelam in order to access basic public services. “We have land and farmland in Gelam&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/phantom-deeds-see-borneo-islanders-lose-their-land-to-quartz-miners/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/phantom-deeds-see-borneo-islanders-lose-their-land-to-quartz-miners/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279631</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Traditional small farmers burned by Indonesia&#8217;s war on wildfires</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/traditional-small-farmers-burned-by-indonesias-war-on-wildfires/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/traditional-small-farmers-burned-by-indonesias-war-on-wildfires/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Dec 2023 00:00:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aseanty PahleviHans Nicholas JongM Rahim ArzaPhilip JacobsonYusie Marie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/12/12151433/editt-1-of-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276590</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Investigation and Jokowi Commitments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Crime, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Farming, Fires, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Green, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industrial Agriculture, Law, Law Enforcement, Mongabay Data Studio, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Politics, Rainforests, Slash-and-burn, Social Justice, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LIMBUNG, Indonesia — Tall brush has taken over the land that Sarijan farmed for decades here on the island of Borneo. At the height of Indonesia’s 2019 wildfire crisis, the now-62-year-old set a fire to clear this tiny plot outside his home of vegetation. He planned to fertilize the soil with ash and plant rice [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LIMBUNG, Indonesia — Tall brush has taken over the land that Sarijan farmed for decades here on the island of Borneo. At the height of Indonesia’s 2019 wildfire crisis, the now-62-year-old set a fire to clear this tiny plot outside his home of vegetation. He planned to fertilize the soil with ash and plant rice and chili. But Sarijan never saw his crops bear fruit — owing to his use of an agricultural method dating back thousands of years. Instead, he spent the next seven months behind bars, where he says he was assaulted by other inmates and extorted by prison officials. Today, the field sits unused. “There were beatings, and they extorted me for money,” Sarijan told Mongabay. “I got beaten so badly I was coughing up blood.” Sarijan is one of scores of Indonesians to be criminally prosecuted for burning land for agricultural purposes since President Joko Widodo vowed to prevent a repeat of the nation’s 2015 wildfire and air pollution crisis, Mongabay has found, based on an analysis of court records from Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. A large majority, like Sarijan, were small farmers cultivating 2 hectares (5 acres) or less. Few had legal representation, almost all were declared guilty, and dozens received prison sentences of at least three years. Sarijan cuts through the brush in the abandoned rice field. Image by Victor Fidelis Sentosa for Mongabay. The analysis shows regional law enforcers have turned to locking up slash-and-burn cultivators as a key tool for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/traditional-small-farmers-burned-by-indonesias-war-on-wildfires/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/traditional-small-farmers-burned-by-indonesias-war-on-wildfires/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/12/14001405/0ac98b67-3629-434f-a771-5e03aabd92ac-1.mp4" length="3618988" type="video/mp4" />
					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276590</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous Dayak ‘furious’ as RSPO dismisses land rights violation complaint</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indigenous-dayak-furious-as-rspo-dismisses-land-rights-violation-complaint/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indigenous-dayak-furious-as-rspo-dismisses-land-rights-violation-complaint/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Oct 2023 11:24:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/01142415/4-Palm-oil-plantations-in-West-Kalimantan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274714</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, agribusiness, Agriculture, Business, Certification, Conflict, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Culture, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Palm Oil, Plantations, Rainforests, Resource Conflict, Social Conflict, Sustainability, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — An Indigenous community in Indonesian Borneo that has waged a decades-long legal battle against a palm oil giant has slammed a decision to absolve the company of allegations of land rights violations. The Dayak Hibun community in Sanggau district, West Kalimantan province, had brought a complaint in 2012 to the Roundtable on Sustainable [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — An Indigenous community in Indonesian Borneo that has waged a decades-long legal battle against a palm oil giant has slammed a decision to absolve the company of allegations of land rights violations. The Dayak Hibun community in Sanggau district, West Kalimantan province, had brought a complaint in 2012 to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) against PT Mitra Austral Sejahtera (MAS), at the time owned by Malaysian palm oil company Sime Darby Plantation Bhd. The company had first arrived in the area in 1996, wielding a permit to the location, despite never having obtained the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the community. A subsequent permit, known as an HGU and issued in 2000, granted it an 8,741-hectare (21,600-acre) concession, which includes 1,400 hectares (3,460 acres) of ancestral Dayak Hibun land. The RSPO finally ruled on the complaint in August this year, dismissing it due to “insufficient evidence” that MAS had obtained its HGU permit irregularly. “A Company that has obtained a certificate of HGU means that the company has fulfilled all its obligations to the State,” the RSPO wrote in its decision. At a recent press conference in Jakarta responding to the decision, representatives for the Dayak Hibun slammed the RSPO for essentially ignoring the rights and pleas of the community. “We are very disappointed and furious with the RSPO,” said Redatus Musa, a community member. The Indigenous community of Dayak Hibun in Sanggau district, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Dayak Hibun website. Land sold or&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indigenous-dayak-furious-as-rspo-dismisses-land-rights-violation-complaint/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indigenous-dayak-furious-as-rspo-dismisses-land-rights-violation-complaint/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-274714</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deforestation surges in hotspot of critically endangered Bornean orangutans</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/deforestation-surges-in-hotspot-of-critically-endangered-bornean-orangutans/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/deforestation-surges-in-hotspot-of-critically-endangered-bornean-orangutans/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2023 05:45:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/06/04142026/sabah_3938-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274454</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Animals, Apes, Business, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Great Apes, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Logging, Mammals, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BALIKPAPAN, Indonesia — The deforestation rate has surged in a key habitat for critically endangered orangutans in Indonesian Borneo, with an area of forest 40 times the size of New York City’s Central Park cleared this year alone, independent monitoring shows. The habitat overlaps with the pulpwood concession of the company PT Mayawana Persada, which [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BALIKPAPAN, Indonesia — The deforestation rate has surged in a key habitat for critically endangered orangutans in Indonesian Borneo, with an area of forest 40 times the size of New York City’s Central Park cleared this year alone, independent monitoring shows. The habitat overlaps with the pulpwood concession of the company PT Mayawana Persada, which cleared 14,000 hectares (34,600 acres) of forest between January and August this year. That makes the company the largest deforester of any forestry concession holder in Indonesia this year, according to monitoring by the research consultancy Aidenvironment. In July alone, the company cleared 4,970 hectares (12,281 acres), the highest monthly deforestation figure, and more than the total land area cleared in the concession in the five years from 2016 to 2020. In total, Mayawana Persada has cleared 34,039 hectares (84,112 acres) of forest since 2016 —nearly twice the area of Washington, D.C. — out of its 136,710-hectare (337,818-acre) concession. Deforestation within Mayawana Persada&#8217;s concession in West Kalimantan from July to September 2023. Image courtesy of Aidenvironment. Mayawana Persada’s forest clearing has intensified in recent months despite increasing public scrutiny of the concession, which largely overlaps with critical orangutan habitat and carbon-rich peatlands. Nearly 65% of the concession is officially recognized as suitable habitat for the critically endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus); of the 14,000 hectares deforested this year, 13,000 hectares (32,100 acres) were areas identified as orangutan habitat. The trend has sparked alarm because the great apes already face “an extremely high risk of extinction&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/deforestation-surges-in-hotspot-of-critically-endangered-bornean-orangutans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-274454</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New farmers foundation supports deforestation-free products in Indonesia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/new-farmers-foundation-supports-deforestation-free-products-in-indonesia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/new-farmers-foundation-supports-deforestation-free-products-in-indonesia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Aug 2023 16:47:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/06/14131340/oil-palm-fertilizer-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=272000</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Farming, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Palm Oil, Plantations, Rainforests, Sustainability, Sustainable Forest Management, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A new foundation has been established to support Indonesian farmers in protecting forests and selling their sustainably produced products to the global market. The foundation, called the Farmers For Forest Protection Foundation (4F), was established by the association of Indonesian palm oil farmers, or SPKS. This makes 4F the only foundation platform in Indonesia [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A new foundation has been established to support Indonesian farmers in protecting forests and selling their sustainably produced products to the global market. The foundation, called the Farmers For Forest Protection Foundation (4F), was established by the association of Indonesian palm oil farmers, or SPKS. This makes 4F the only foundation platform in Indonesia to be formed by and for farmers. The idea behind the foundation comes from the increasing market demand for Indonesian products that are deforestation-free and sustainable, according to SPKS secretary-general Mansuetus Alsy Hanu, known by his nickname, Darto. The European Union, for instance, recently adopted a regulation that bans the trade of commodities, such as rubber and palm oil, that come from deforested areas and illegal sources. Therefore, there’s a great barrier between the global market, which increasingly demands sustainable products, and smallholders, who are often left to their own devices without much support, Darto said. “We want to break this great wall, which has limited the access of palm oil farmers who are conserving forests or farmers who don’t deforest to the global palm oil market,” he said during the launch of 4F on Aug. 1 in Jakarta. “We want to tear down this wall so that palm oil farmers who produce without deforesting could have access to the market.” But there’s a cost to produce commodities like palm oil sustainably. The SPKS estimated that to map, collect data and trace smallholders so they can have legal certificates, at least 200,000 rupiah (US$13) per&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/new-farmers-foundation-supports-deforestation-free-products-in-indonesia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/new-farmers-foundation-supports-deforestation-free-products-in-indonesia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-272000</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesian oil palm firm slapped with $61m fine for fires on its plantation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/indonesian-oil-palm-firm-slapped-with-61m-fine-for-fires-on-its-plantation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/indonesian-oil-palm-firm-slapped-with-61m-fine-for-fires-on-its-plantation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Aug 2023 14:36:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/17052106/fire-borneo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271678</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Air Pollution, Business, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Environment, Environmental Law, Fires, Forests, Law, Law Enforcement, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Plantations, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s highest court has upheld a $61 million fine against an oil palm company over massive fires on its plantation that razed an area seven times the size of New York City’s Central Park. On July 3, the Indonesian Supreme Court ordered plantation company PT Rafi Kamajaya Abadi (RKA) had previously been found [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s highest court has upheld a $61 million fine against an oil palm company over massive fires on its plantation that razed an area seven times the size of New York City’s Central Park. On July 3, the Indonesian Supreme Court ordered plantation company PT Rafi Kamajaya Abadi (RKA) had previously been found liable by lower courts for the burning that razed 2,560 hectares (6,326 acres) of its concession between 2018 and 2019 in Melawai district on the Bornean province of West Kalimantan. It was ordered to pay 920 billion rupiah in fines, a verdict that the Supreme Court upheld in a ruling handed down July 3. The burning occurred partly on peatlands, which destroyed the carbon-rich ecosystems beyond repair, emitted massive volumes of greenhouse gases, and generated a choking haze that affected communities living across a wide radius, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, which brought the lawsuit against the company. During the peak of the fires, in September 2019, smoke from burning vegetation and peat drifted far north into Malaysia’s Sarawak. Malaysian entities own 95% of RKA’s shares. Rasio Ridho Sani, the environment ministry’s director-general of law enforcement, welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling, calling it another success story in the government’s pursuit of “strict liability” for fires in the plantation industry. The 2009 Environmental Law stipulates that plantation firms are strictly liable for fires that occur on their land, even fires that start outside the concession boundaries. The concept of strict liability has since&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/indonesian-oil-palm-firm-slapped-with-61m-fine-for-fires-on-its-plantation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/indonesian-oil-palm-firm-slapped-with-61m-fine-for-fires-on-its-plantation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-271678</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Muslim women’s group to reopen oxygen homes if Indonesia wildfires intensify</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/muslim-womens-group-to-reopen-oxygen-homes-if-indonesia-wildfires-intensify/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/muslim-womens-group-to-reopen-oxygen-homes-if-indonesia-wildfires-intensify/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2023 23:49:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay Haze Beat]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/24234827/indonesia_20150815-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270906</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Jokowi Commitments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, El Nino, Environment, Fires, Forestry, Forests, Green, Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s oldest women’s Islamic organization will prepare volunteers in Kalimantan and Sumatra to open clean air sanctuaries, should a strengthening El Niño accelerate wildfires over the coming months. “We will make sure the LLHPB will protect our children, women, our network and the community around the forest fires to make sure they stay alive and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia’s oldest women’s Islamic organization will prepare volunteers in Kalimantan and Sumatra to open clean air sanctuaries, should a strengthening El Niño accelerate wildfires over the coming months. “We will make sure the LLHPB will protect our children, women, our network and the community around the forest fires to make sure they stay alive and stay healthy in this situation,” said Hening Purwati Parlan, the vice chair of ‘Aisyiyah’s environmental and disaster management wing, the Lembaga Lingkungan Hidup dan Penanggulangan Bencana (LLHPB). Indonesia’s first Islamic women’s organization was founded in 1917 to advocate for education rights for girls. Today ‘Aisyiyah, part of the Muhammadiyah Islamic organization, claims more than 4 million members across the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. In 2015, ‘Aisyiyah established its environmental arm, the LLHPB, to respond to environmental damage in the community and address harms from climate change, adding to existing gender initiatives in the community, such as prevention of child marriage. In 2022, while head of the LLHPB, Hening wrote a paper setting out the case for an “eco-jihad,” a spiritual struggle to confront climate change, among ‘Aisyiyah’s followers. “The impacts of climate change can no longer be handled as normal, there is a need to handle it with urgency,” Hening wrote, citing the Surah Al-A’raf, verses 56-58 in the Koran. Oxygen homes As wildfires burned through 3.1 million hectares (7.7 million acres) of land in Indonesia over the course of 2019, ‘Asiyiyah volunteers operated Rumah Oksigen (&#8220;Oxygen Homes&#8221;) equipped with air purifiers to aid the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/muslim-womens-group-to-reopen-oxygen-homes-if-indonesia-wildfires-intensify/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/muslim-womens-group-to-reopen-oxygen-homes-if-indonesia-wildfires-intensify/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-270906</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deforestation in Borneo threatens three endangered, endemic plant species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Apr 2023 04:00:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/07/07101725/kalbar_drone_190749-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267663</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Brunei, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Logging, Medicinal Plants, Mining, Plantations, Plants, Rainforests, Selective Logging, Trees, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The rampant deforestation for monoculture plantation and logging in western Indonesian Borneo has exacerbated the extinction risks of three plant species endemic to the island’s riparian lowland rainforests, a new study said. A group of Indonesian researchers has reported that three Bornean plant species, Vatica rynchocarpa, V. havilandii and V. cauliflora, found in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The rampant deforestation for monoculture plantation and logging in western Indonesian Borneo has exacerbated the extinction risks of three plant species endemic to the island’s riparian lowland rainforests, a new study said. A group of Indonesian researchers has reported that three Bornean plant species, Vatica rynchocarpa, V. havilandii and V. cauliflora, found in the lowland forest fragments along the upper Kapuas River in West Kalimantan province, were threatened by small-holder farming, industrial agriculture and timber extraction. These patches of riparian forests were unprotected, as they have been designated as “other-use” or APL, rendering them available for any development and most likely to see further deforestation, added the authors in their report published in the April issue of Journal for Nature Conservation. “I don’t think that this is first research on plant species in Borneo, but ours is the first population study on the three species which are threatened with extinction and one of them is very endemic, in their natural habitat,” Enggal Primananda, a forest researcher at Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) who is the lead author of the paper, told Mongabay in an interview. Indonesia&#8217;s West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo. Muara Sungai Landak is operating near the coast, not far from the provincial capital Pontianak. Image by TUBS via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Former lowland rainforest replaced with a monoculture plantation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Rhett Butler/Mongabay. Enggal said the population assessment of the three Vatica species from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-267663</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Severe malaria cases in rescued orangutans raises concerns for wild populations</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/severe-malaria-cases-in-rescued-orangutans-raises-concerns-for-wild-populations/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/severe-malaria-cases-in-rescued-orangutans-raises-concerns-for-wild-populations/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2022 05:27:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/10/19151603/orangutan-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=261669</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Atlantic Forest, Borneo, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Conservation, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Great Apes, Health, Mammals, Orangutans, Rainforests, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rahayu, a juvenile female orangutan, arrived at a rehabilitation center on the Indonesian part of Borneo island feverish, unresponsive and almost comatose, recounts Karmele Llano Sanchez, program director at International Animal Rescue’s Indonesia affiliate. Based on the symptoms, veterinarians suspected a severe case of cerebral malaria and began treatment. Though Rahayu made a full recovery, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Rahayu, a juvenile female orangutan, arrived at a rehabilitation center on the Indonesian part of Borneo island feverish, unresponsive and almost comatose, recounts Karmele Llano Sanchez, program director at International Animal Rescue’s Indonesia affiliate. Based on the symptoms, veterinarians suspected a severe case of cerebral malaria and began treatment. Though Rahayu made a full recovery, she never regained her eyesight. Researchers recently reported Rahayu’s case among other findings that confirm malaria can cause severe illness in orangutans, published in the Malaria Journal. “There [previously] was no scientific evidence that malaria was really an illness in orangutans,” Llano Sanchez, lead author of the paper, told Mongabay. Between 2017 and 2021, Llano Sanchez and her team sampled critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) at the IAR’s wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center in West Kalimantan province. Eighty-nine of the 131 orangutans they sampled tested positive for malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium pitheci. Malaria resulted in “moderate to severe illness” in 14% of the orangutans, confirming that serious illness can occur as a result of infection. Researchers found that 89 out of 131 orangutans tested positive for malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium pitheci. The research project was carried out in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the National Research and Innovation Agency. Image courtesy of IAR Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Rahayu’s case was somewhat of an outlier, Llano Sanchez said, and lies at the extreme of what severe illness can look like in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/severe-malaria-cases-in-rescued-orangutans-raises-concerns-for-wild-populations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-261669</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deforestation in Borneo threatens one in four orangutans, study says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-one-in-four-orangutans-study-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-one-in-four-orangutans-study-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jul 2022 15:10:48 +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/20/2021/02/26125422/kalteng_0906-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=258569</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Malaysia, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Great Apes, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Logging, Mining, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Rainforests, Selective Logging, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Habitat for up to a quarter of the known population of Bornean orangutans will disappear across the island of Borneo under predicted patterns of deforestation over the next decade, a new study warns. Scientists employed a deforestation trend model to project that 74,419 square kilometers (28,733 square miles) of forest — an area [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Habitat for up to a quarter of the known population of Bornean orangutans will disappear across the island of Borneo under predicted patterns of deforestation over the next decade, a new study warns. Scientists employed a deforestation trend model to project that 74,419 square kilometers (28,733 square miles) of forest — an area a tenth the size of Italy — would be lost between 2018 and 2032. This would result in the loss of habitat for 26,200 orangutans, out of a total current population of just over 100,000. The paper, published July 14 in the journal Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, based this projection on forest loss of 59,949 km2 (23,146 mi2) between 2000 and 2017 across Borneo. A Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Image by John C. Cannon/Mongabay. The island of Borneo is split between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, although it’s not certain that Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) still occur in the tiny kingdom of Brunei. Nearly 150,000 of these great apes died between 1999 and 2015, largely due to deforestation and killing, according to a 2018 study. That study also projected that habitat loss would lead directly to the total future loss of 45,300 orangutans between 2020 and 2050. “Essentially, we have improved the deforestation model and thus the projection for this study,” said Maria Voigt, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany and lead author of both the 2018 paper and the new study. She added that the previous habitat loss&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-one-in-four-orangutans-study-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-258569</doi>				</item>
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