Mongabay-indonesia News

Police in Indonesia’s Aceh province are investigating the killings of three critically endangered Sumatran elephants, as conflicts with humans led to a series of elephant deaths across the province last…

Labora Sitorus, a former police officer accused of running a nearly $150 million illegal logging ring in Indonesian New Guinea, faces charges of money laundering, illegal logging and fuel smuggling,…

Indonesia’s president spoke out against the killing of a critically endangered Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) last week, using his Twitter account to urge local authorities to take action in…

Corruption and mismanagement in Indonesia’s forest sector have cost the government billions of dollars in losses in recent years, including over $7 billion in losses from 2007-2011, Human Rights Watch…

A baby elephant held hostage by villagers in Indonesia’s Aceh province was finally handed over to authorities on June 27. Villagers had been taking care of two elephant calves –…

Illegal palm oil expansion inside Indonesia’s Tesso Nilo National Park is threatening protected forests and the reputation of two companies who claim to be sources of sustainably-produced palm oil, says…

An orangutan in Indonesia’s Aceh province died last Thursday after being beaten by residents of a local village attempting to capture the animal. The case casts a tragic spotlight on…

Last month, Indonesia’s indigenous people won the right to manage their own customary forests after a landmark Constitutional Court ruling struck down a law that had previously given the central…

As forest fires on the island of Sumatra continue to blanket parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore with a thick haze, a coalition of civil society groups has called on…

A coalition of anti-corruption and environmental NGOs has urged Indonesia’s anti-graft body to investigate cases of corruption in the natural resources sector. Corruption linked to the forestry, mining and plantation…

As Indonesia’s controversial Jatigede dam project moves closer to completion, West Java residents whose homes are set to be flooded for the planned 4,973-hectare reservoir brought their complaints to Jakarta,…

Plant’s carbon emissions will top that of entire country of Myanmar and will threaten local livelihoods, environmental groups say. Indonesia will go ahead with construction of what is set to…

Four workers were found dead and 10 rescued after the collapse of a tunnel at Freeport-McMoran’s Grasberg mine in the highlands of Indonesia’s Papua province on Tuesday. The rescue team…

Pulp and paper giant Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) has launched a $7 million ecosystem restoration project to restore and protect over 20,000 hectares of peat forest in Indonesia’s…

A new UN report exposes serious flaws in Indonesia’s forest governance, serving as a wake up call to policy makers aiming to conserve forests in the country, which boasts the…

Court orders Aceh governor to reverse decision to cancel palm oil concession in protected peatlands Court orders Aceh governor to reverse decision to cancel palm oil concession in protected peatlands…

State-sponsored environmental center urges governor to protect the area, which contains the oldest cave paintings in Southeast Asia Steep towers and rock formations jut out of the Borneo rainforest, sitting…

Moody investigation confirms allegations of palm oil company land grabs An independent investigation has shown that First Resources Ltd, a palm oil plantation company and member of the Roundtable on…

Illegal logging in the heart of Indonesia’s Gunung Palung National Park may be putting one of the country’s last remaining lowland forests at risk. The park, located in Indonesia’s West…

Forestry minister says Indonesia will renew forest conversion moratorium, however activists fear possible lapse in the policy could lead to wave of new concessions Indonesia’s forestry minister has again said…

Indonesian lawmakers criticized the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for its inability to stop deforestation in Sumatra, accusing the group of trying to destroy Indonesia’s reputation abroad and hurting…

North Sumatra villagers demand farmers be released, customary land be returned, after 16 arrested in conflict with TPL, a plantation company affiliated with APRIL. Protesting community members. Photo by Sapariah…

School-age children working in an oil palm plantation in Sintang, West Kalimantan. Photo: Hovek PT Sinar Sawit Andalan (PT SSA), a palm oil plantation company in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province,…

Rainforest in Borneo. Photo by Rhett A. Butler The creation of a new province, North Kalimantan, on Indonesian Borneo, has dramatically reduced the primary forest area in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan…

The Indonesian Forum for Agrarian Justice was formed to address agrarian and natural resource conflict. Photo: Sapariah Saturi. Academics have called on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to resolve agrarian…

Editor's note: PT Sinar Sawit Andalan (SSA) has strongly denied these accusations and says it has no company policy to employ children. SSA adds that its policy also applies to…

Forest clearing for an oil palm plantation. Local thugs, allegedly linked to an oil palm plantation company, attacked a group of villagers in Indonesia’s Gorontalo province on the island of…