Indonesian dam raises questions about UN hydropower carbon loophole
A company attending the COP25 climate summit says its dam will reduce Indonesia’s carbon emissions, but current science says tropical dams are greenhouse gas emitters.
Analysis: The Tanah Merah project is a bellwether for Jokowi’s permit review
This article was co-published with The Gecko Project. When Indonesian government officials received a credible allegation that the permits underpinning a giant oil palm plantation project in Papua province had…
Our fires weren’t as bad as in the Amazon, Indonesian officials claim
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has attempted to downplay the scale of its land and forest fires this year by saying things weren’t as bad as in the Amazon or…
COP25: Laura Vargas inspires with power of faith in defense of forests
Even as delegates to COP25, the Madrid climate summit, sidestep the environmental and human rights goals of the Paris Agreement, a godly 71-year-old woman steps up.
Indonesia to capture 3 wild Sumatran rhinos to add to breeding population
EAST LAMPUNG, Indonesia — Officials in Indonesia say they hope to capture three Sumatran rhinos from the wild for a recently expanded sanctuary where experts are carrying out breeding attempts…
Revealed: Government officials say permits for mega-plantation in Papua were falsified
This article was co-published with The Gecko Project. Indonesian government officials have alleged that permits underpinning a multi-billion dollar plantation project in Papua province were falsified, leading to the criminal…
Newly spotted calves boost Javan rhino population to 72
JAKARTA — The global population of the critically endangered Javan rhinoceros has increased to 72 after four new calves were spotted in the past several months. Rhino experts have welcomed…
Time is running out for Southeast Asia
On Nov. 23, the last Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) in Malaysia died. Named Iman, she’d lived in captivity in the Malaysian state of Sabah in Borneo for just over five…
Paper and fast fashion fan the flames burning Indonesia’s peat: Report
JAKARTA — The toxic haze that swept across large swaths of Southeast Asia this year from forest and land fires in Indonesia could become a common phenomenon if two of…
In Indonesia, a tourism village holds off a nickel mine — for now
TANGKENO, Indonesia — Teenagers pound cowhide drums to dancers weaving their feet between bamboo stalks on this stage beneath the stars. It’s the island of Kabaena’s annual indigenous culture festival,…
Sumatra’s dwindling forests face extra pressure from a major highway project
JAKARTA — In Indonesia’s Sumatra, which has lost much of its forests over the decades, a major highway project running the length of the island is poised to speed up…
Indonesia zoning plan hurts fishers, favors coal and oil, activists say
JAKARTA — Environmental activists in Indonesia have slammed a proposed zoning plan for coastal areas in eastern Borneo that they say will hurt the livelihoods of local fishing communities in…
Follow the permits: How to identify corruption red flags in Indonesian land deals
This story was co-published with The Gecko Project. When Rita Widyasari, the former head of Kutai Kartanegara district in Indonesian Borneo, was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year…
Indonesian officials charged in $1.6m bribes-for-permits scheme
JAKARTA — Anti-corruption investigators in Indonesia have charged two government officials for allegedly taking $1.6 million in bribes to grant permits for oil palm plantations spanning just over half the…
Indonesian man jailed for smuggling 7,000 ‘living fossil’ horseshoe crabs
MEDAN, Indonesia — A court in Indonesia has sentenced a boat captain to 15 months in prison for attempting to smuggle thousands of horseshoe crabs out of the country to…
Indonesia ‘must stop building new coal plants by 2020’ to meet climate goals
JAKARTA — Indonesia must stop building new coal-fired power plants by 2020 if it wants to do its part to cap global warming under the targets of the Paris climate…
Indonesia’s new fisheries minister may go easy on trawl nets, poachers’ boats
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s new fisheries minister looks set to unwind hard-fought reforms implemented by his predecessor, in a series of moves critics say will favor large-scale fishing companies over small…
In Indonesia, a project meant to boost livelihoods has left locals behind
BITUNG, Indonesia – Animals and humans alike have been caught by surprise the excavators, roads and factories that have appeared in the last few years in this port city in…
South Korea funding coal plants overseas that would be banned at home
JAKARTA — A quick scan of social media trending topics in Southeast Asia reveals K-pop to be the flavor of the moment. But the highly polished and cannily choreographed girl…
Audio: How listening to individual gibbons can benefit conservation
On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast we speak with Dena Clink, a scientist studying individuality and variation within Bornean gibbon calls. She’s here to play us some of the…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Iran sentences eight conservationists convicted of spying
- Watchdog denounces arrests of four anti-mining activists in Indonesia
- Activists fighting for their lands swept up in Philippines crackdown
Indonesias forest guardians
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
Amazon infrastructure
- Brazil works behind scene to greenlight Manaus-Boa Vista transmission line
- Yanomami Amazon reserve invaded by 20,000 miners; Bolsonaro fails to act
- Amazon infrastructure puts 68% of indigenous lands / protected areas at risk: report
Asian rhinos
- Indonesia to capture 3 wild Sumatran rhinos to add to breeding population
- Newly spotted calves boost Javan rhino population to 72
- Malaysia’s last Sumatran rhino dies, leaving Indonesia as the final refuge
