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Forest illegally cleared for oil palm in Riau Province. Photo by Rhett A Butler

Indonesia says 4 million hectares of plantation, mining lands reclaimed in crackdown

Hans Nicholas Jong 14 Jan 2026
Tame Sumatran elephants were brought in to help clean up flood-affected residential areas in Meunasah Bie village, Meurah Dua district, Pidie Jaya.

A catastrophe that might offer a glimpse of hope for Indonesia (commentary)

Aida Greenbury 11 Jan 2026
A community settlement in Pidie Jaya Regency, destroyed by flooding.

Indonesia launches sweeping environmental audits after Sumatra flood disaster

Hans Nicholas Jong 7 Jan 2026
In this aerial photo taken using a drone, people are seen making their way on a muddy road at a village affected by a flash flood in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. Photo credit: AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara

After Cyclone Senyar, Indonesia probes whether development amplified scale of disaster

Hans Nicholas Jong 6 Jan 2026
Rainforest in Brunei in 2025. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

The year in rainforests 2025: Deforestation fell; the risks did not

Rhett Ayers Butler 26 Dec 2025

A flood of logs post-Cyclone Senyar leaves Padang fishers out of work

Jaka Hendra Baittri 20 Dec 2025
The presence of Sumatran elephants is intended to help transport wood left over from the flood.

Tsunami veteran rescue elephants mobilized for Indonesia cyclone disaster relief

Junaidi Hanafiah 19 Dec 2025

Tapanuli orangutan, devastated by cyclone, now faces habitat loss under zoning plans

Hans Nicholas Jong, Achmad Rizki Muazam 18 Dec 2025
Izzy Sasada and orangutan

Orangutans rescued undergo re-training to return to the wild

Izzy Sasada, Sam Lee 17 Dec 2025
Survivors inspect clothings they salvaged at a village affected by a flash flood in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

Sumatra’s ‘natural’ disaster wasn’t natural: How deforestation turned a rare cyclone catastrophic

Rhett Ayers Butler 15 Dec 2025
A mother and infant Tapanuli orangutan were directly sighted in the Lumut Maju peat swamp forest in North Sumatra. Image by Junaidi Hanafiah/Mongabay-Indonesia.

Sumatran flood disaster may have wiped out a key Tapanuli orangutan population, scientists fear

Hans Nicholas Jong 12 Dec 2025
Men stand on logs swept away by flash flood in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Dec. 2.

Death toll rises in Sumatra flood catastrophe as gov’t moves to protect Batang Toru forest

Achmad Rizki Muazam, Ayat S. Karokaro, Taufik Wijaya 9 Dec 2025
An Annamite striped rabbit in a breeding facility in Thailand.

Already disappearing, Southeast Asia’s striped rabbits now caught in global pet trade

Spoorthy Raman 25 Nov 2025

Study maps whale shark stranding hotspots in Indonesia, highlights conservation needs

Basten Gokkon 18 Nov 2025

Scientists call for stronger action to save Indonesia’s vanishing seagrass meadows

Basten Gokkon 5 Nov 2025
Wilmar Eliaser Simandjorang

One man’s mission to rewild a dying lake

Rhett Ayers Butler 3 Nov 2025
Wilmar Eliaser Simandjorang

Indonesia retiree rewilds world’s largest volcano lake as church demands plantation closures

Sri Wahyuni 17 Oct 2025

New cluster of Tapanuli orangutans discovered in Sumatra peat swamp

Junaidi Hanafiah 17 Oct 2025

Indonesia eyes seagrass zoning for blue carbon; experts urge community benefits

Basten Gokkon 7 Oct 2025

Indonesia aims to redraw UNESCO site boundaries to allow geothermal projects

Hans Nicholas Jong 30 Sep 2025
Dust on the floors of residents’ houses in Teluk Sepang, Bengkulu.

Censured Sumatra coal plant blamed for sickening children in Indonesia’s Bengkulu

Elviza Diana 1 Sep 2025

Global brands join drive for deforestation-free palm oil in Indonesia’s Aceh

Hans Nicholas Jong 22 Aug 2025

Pulp and paper giant APP moves closer to regaining FSC stamp despite pending review

Hans Nicholas Jong 20 Aug 2025

How Indonesian companies dodge fines for forest & peatland fires

Hans Nicholas Jong 19 Aug 2025
Banner image of an adult and baby orangutan at Betung Kerihun National Park in Indonesian Borneo, by Sabar Minsyah via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

World Orangutan Day: Ongoing threats & habitat loss haunt these great apes

Kristine Sabillo 19 Aug 2025

NASA satellites show surge in Indonesia hotspots as 2025 fires send smoke to Malaysia

Hans Nicholas Jong 13 Aug 2025

As Indonesia reclaims forests from palm oil, smallholders bear brunt of enforcement

Hans Nicholas Jong 30 Jul 2025

Civil society challenges Indonesian deregulation law over rights and environment

Hans Nicholas Jong 28 Jul 2025
A woman sits under a tree surrounded by dry waste in East Java.

Burning, burying and banning: Indonesia’s cities struggle to manage their garbage

Jeff Hutton 23 Jul 2025

Hope and frustration as Indonesia pilots FSC’s logging remedy framework

Hans Nicholas Jong 22 Jul 2025
Small islands in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo credit: Rhett Ayers Butler. 

Listings of Indonesian islands renew fears of privatization for coastal communities

Basten Gokkon 8 Jul 2025
Dami Tateburuk sits in the Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai house.

Mentawai’s primates are vanishing. One hunter is trying to save them.

Rhett Ayers Butler 9 Jun 2025

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