Mongabay series: Indonesian coal

“We stayed quiet for a while because after the customary fine they never came back," said Markus, deputy head of the village council in Ongko Asa, a traditional Dayak village…

JAKARTA — Dolphins haven’t had it easy in Bali, a resort island in Indonesia that’s massively popular with tourists. They’re often held captive in chlorinated pools for traveling circuses; a…

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Fishermen and environmental activists in Indonesia are demanding accountability after a barge spilled 7,000 tonnes of coal off the Sumatra coast, polluting beaches, damaging coral and…

PADANG BIRAU, Indonesia: It’s been more than two months since Rasid has felt safe sleeping in his bedroom. Ever since a crack appeared in the wall, he’s slept in his…

SAMARINDA, Indonesia — Rahmawati, a homemaker, remembers being ill on a December day in 2014, at her home in Samarinda, the capital of the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, when…

JAKARTA — In 2013, Bob Effendi was at a turning point. He wanted to leave the oil company he was working for. He had growing concerns about climate change and…

As it seeks to diversify its sources of fuel, India is looking to get in on the ground floor of coal mining in previously unexploited deposits in Indonesian Papua. In…

JAKARTA —Demand for energy in China and Indonesia continues to drive the resurgence of the latter’s coal industry, setting back efforts in both countries to shift to a greater share…

Away from the frenetic tourism development that has taken over the beaches of southern Bali, the Indonesian resort island’s northern coast remains largely rural and agrarian. Per capita income here…

JAMBI, Indonesia — Sitting on a plank balanced over what remains of the Sungumai River, Halimah dug out handfuls of sand from the riverbed, trying to create enough depth to…

Residents of villages in Indonesian Borneo who have long complained that a coal company is polluting local waterways have won their first victory in court, but activists say the sanctions…

JAKARTA — Indonesia, the world’s fifth-biggest carbon emitter, has significantly scaled back its electricity output plans to boost the share of renewables, but will remain heavily reliant on coal. The…

Residents of the last district in South Kalimantan still free of mining and palm oil say they will fight to protect their villages, even as new laws smooth the path for mining companies.

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — The government of Indonesia’s Aceh province will reject applications for new mineral and coal-mining projects in the region for another half year, in a bid to…

JAKARTA – It was supposed to be about cracking down on the illegal wildlife trade, as traffickers move online. But a conservation bill now making its way through Indonesia’s parliament…

SAMARINDA, Indonesia — Officials in Indonesia’s coal-rich province of East Kalimantan have announced the revocation of more than 400 mining permits, as part of ongoing efforts to clean up the industry.…

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s picturesque Wakatobi islands are so remote that the electricity only comes on at night. A thousand miles to the west, meanwhile, there’s so much power surging into…

JAKARTA — A district chief from Indonesian Borneo has been named a corruption suspect over the issuance of an oil palm plantation permit, opening the door for law enforcers to…

JAKARTA — Signs that Indonesia is heading for an oversupply of electricity have prompted renewed calls from activists for the government to cut back plans to build more coal-fired power…

A court in Indonesia has once again ruled in favor of coal mining companies whose licenses were revoked by the South Sumatra Provincial Government. A series of lawsuits by coal…