“Why did I come to Jakarta?” Herman said, returning the question as bicycles whizzed by in the early morning heat. “It’s simple. I am masyarakat adat.” Hailing from Tanah Luwu…
Since August 3, peat fires in Indonesia’s westernmost Aceh province have blanketed some areas in a choking haze, sickening hundreds of people and forcing at least one school to close.…
agle stood on the bank of the Kapuas River. He rolled a small stone over and over in his right hand. He wore black spandex shorts, a black t-shirt with…
On July 23 the local police headquarters in the Sumatran province of Riau released SP3 notices related to 15 companies that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry had listed in…
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…
A wildlife reserve and surrounding areas on Indonesia’s main western island of Sumatra were declared the country’s newest national park on Friday, part of the festivities for World Environment Day.…
The Indonesian government on Friday bestowed the annual Adipura Awards to 143 cities and districts across the country. The awards, conceived as an incentive for local governments to commit to…
From the shore, the fish farmers looked on as soldiers dismantled their floating cages. These community-owned tilapia farms had been the main source of income in Sualan — a village…
In April, Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo declared a moratorium on new licenses to establish palm oil plantations, a decision welcomed by advocates for the environment and indigenous rights. More…
Indonesia will have to address a number of inconsistencies between its climate policies and some of its sector development plans if it wants to cut emissions in line with its…
Satellites on Wednesday recorded 145 fire-linked hotspots over Indonesia’s main western island of Sumatra, down from 245 on Sunday, according to the country’s disaster management agency. It’s a far cry…
A landmark environmental pledge by the world’s largest palm oil producing companies folded on Friday following a threat by Indonesia’s anti-monopoly agency to investigate the group for cartel-like practices. The…
ndonesia’s Ogan Komering Ilir was an epicenter of last year’s disastrous forest and peatland fires. It is one of four districts in which the newly created Peatland Restoration Agency is…
An Indonesian soldier was arrested for wildlife trafficking in Sumatra on Saturday in the latest indication of military involvement in organized crime. The man and a civilian were intercepted in…
Judges in Indonesia’s Bengkulu this week handed down the harshest sentence ever for tiger trafficking in the country, imprisoning a man for four years and fining him 60 million rupiah…
In May, the Indonesian government announced that nearly half of the peatlands protected under a 2011 forestry moratorium have actually been damaged or converted. Last week, the forestry ministry said…
Last year’s forest and peatland fire catastrophe is a memory now. But it may have claimed another life this week, with the passing of one of Indonesia’s foremost advocates for…
This is an update to our "Tracking Jokowi" project. Last year's summary: 9 months in, how has Indonesian president Jokowi fared on the environment? In 2014, Joko Widodo became Indonesia’s…
The Indonesian forestry ministry is on board with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo’s plan to ban new oil palm permits, and has rejected all outstanding requests to establish plantations in the…
A conflict between an indigenous group in Borneo and a major palm oil company is the subject of a new documentary by one of Indonesia’s most accomplished directors. The film depicts…
The prospects for greater international collaboration in the effort to prevent another Southeast Asian haze crisis hit a bump in the road this week, with Jakarta taking umbrage at Singapore’s threat…
Environmental groups have raised concerns that Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s planned moratorium on new oil palm and mining concessions will have limited impact without hawkish enforcement by local governments…
Earlier this year, in the central highlands of Indonesia’s star-shaped Sulawesi island, thousands of Indonesians toasted a civil rights triumph years in the making. Their victory — the passage of…
A major heatwave caused by the ongoing El Niño weather phenomenon continued across Malaysia this week after fires and haze pollution damaged air quality and sent temperatures soaring as high…
Asia Pulp & Paper’s (APP) plans to operate a giant mill in South Sumatra later this year have raised some uncomfortable questions about the veracity of the conglomerate’s lauded no-deforestation…
Another tiger has died at Indonesia's infamous Surabaya Zoo, once again bringing attention to the negligence, mismanagement and corruption that has plagued the institution. Zoo veterinarian Irmanu Ommy said the…
Reactions to Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s recently announced plan to ban new oil palm and mining permits were generally positive on Friday, with activists reminding him that the devil is…
Another supplier of Indonesia’s second-largest pulp and paper company has had its operations suspended by the government for its role in last year’s devastating wildfires. PT Rimba Lazuardi (RL), a…
Smog from forest fires and hotspots continued to threaten air quality in parts of Indonesia's Sumatra on Friday as local authorities waited for the mid-April rainy season to arrive. The…
The death of an endangered Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) in Indonesian Borneo earlier this week sent the wildlife conservation community into deep mourning and raised questions about whether the animal…