Yesterday The Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation unveiled an ambitious plan to protect and connect 50 percent of the world’s land area as part of a broader effort to curb global warming,…
A team of biologists and computer scientists plan to map a global “safety net” for Planet Earth. The mapping effort, to be led by Washington, D.C.-based non-profit research organization RESOLVE…
Across the swath of vertebrate lifeforms that inhabit Earth, scientists have a pretty good idea about where most of the known land mammals, birds and amphibians live. That makes identifying…
Colombia is home to more bird species than any other country on Earth. It’s also well-known for a long-simmering conflict that has only recently begun to cool. Now, a pair…
Few people get to witness the breadth and wonder of underwater life, from coral to kelp to fish and sea anemones. SCUBA divers gain a unique view of not only…
JAKARTA — Not everyone supports the Indonesian government’s decision to publish information on the location of fishing boats in its waters, via data mapping platform Global Fishing Watch, accessible to…
A multi-national research team combined four diverse data sets to understand where migratory birds are most vulnerable to human activity and to identify priorities for protecting long-distance migrants in the…
JAKARTA -- Indonesia, a country known for its annual forest and peat fires, is overhauling its peatland management policies, an effort triggered by the great fires of 2015. 2015 was…
KAPUAS HULU, Indonesia -- Mateus Liung headed to the Tanjung village hall just as dusk started to gather. A walking stick in his right hand supported his now-fragile legs. A…
How many species are living on Earth at this moment in time? Ask a few different scientists and you may get drastically different answers. Most estimates range from 3-10 million…
Habitat loss, over-hunting and climate change are just a few of the human-induced changes to the Earth that biologists say are driving the planet’s “sixth mass extinction.” Research has shown…
This is My Backyard (TIMBY) digital tools support safe reporting and story-telling for addressing conflict-prone issues around the globe.
Researchers compared historical elephant movement corridors to current corridors from GPS data to determine the impact of human encroachment on elephants’ movement patterns in northern Tanzania.
Why track wild animals? How do wildlife biologists know where animals go and the resources they use? They watch them over sometimes extended periods. For millennia, people have watched animals…
Borneo– it is a name that evokes images of a faraway island, resplendent with tall trees, thick jungle, diverse cultural traditions, and many strange and wonderful animals, including proboscis monkeys,…
ASOLOKOBAL, Indonesia — Laurensius Lani’s footsteps can be heard at dawn alongside the traditional honay thatched-roof houses of the Baliem Valley, here in the archipelago country’s eastermost Papua province. This…
The Earth is losing species at a rate about a hundred times faster than historical (also called "background") levels. For specific groups, that number is higher still, with research indicating…
Indonesia’s highest court on Thursday ordered President Joko Widodo’s administration to hand over detailed maps of land on which oil palm companies have been licensed to operate, adding momentum to…
Greenpeace will appeal a Jakarta court’s ruling against its freedom of information request directed at the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, setting up an encounter between the NGO and…
Map for Environment is a free online open-source mapping platform that offers spatial data, tools, and hosting to encourage a wider environmental community to produce maps and increase transparency in decision-making.
When a large swath of the Ross Sea in Antarctica earned marine protected area (MPA) status late last year, becoming the world’s largest MPA, it was hailed as an ocean…
JAKARTA — The archipelagic country of Indonesia has revised upward the official count of its islands, from 13,466 to 14,572. The former figure was submitted in 2012 to the last UN…
Global Forest Watch analysis tools allow users without a GIS to assess forest loss or gain for countries, parks, or other areas.
Global trade has made it easier to buy things. But our consumption habits often fuel threats to biodiversity -- such as deforestation, overhunting and overfishing -- thousands of miles away.…
JAKARTA — The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry is going to court over a successful freedom of information request by Greenpeace, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle…
Indonesia’s peat restoration agency is advocating for greater foreign investment to fill an expected funding shortfall in the government's plan to rehabilitate more than 2 million hectares of peat across…
The MAAP project integrates a range of satellite imagery and analysis tools to detect and disclose deforestation across the Peruvian Amazon.
Indonesia’s campaign to establish a single map of land-use claims and internal borders in the archipelagic country is getting a boost from the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based thinktank with…
What do lipstick, detergent and instant noodles have in common? They all contain palm oil. Half of every packaged product stocking supermarket shelves can be traced back to a ruthless…
Malaysia’s limestone hills, or karsts, have been described as “arks of biodiversity,” but they’re facing intense pressures from mining and other human activities. Limestone is a vital resource for the…
