Papua court ruling a win for local government, Indigenous groups against palm oil
JAKARTA — A court in Indonesia has rejected a bid by two palm oil companies to have their permits restored after they were scrapped by local authorities for a litany…
Law Enforcement
Indonesian official busted over alleged bribe for palm oil permit
PEKANBARU, Riau — Anti-corruption investigators in Indonesia’s palm oil heartland have arrested a local official for allegedly taking bribes from a palm oil company in exchange for extending its business…
Palm oil firm that dried out its land held not liable for fires that followed
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s highest court has upheld a ruling declaring a palm oil company not responsible for fires in its concession, in a verdict that boils down to the company…
Acquittal of Indonesian villagers protesting pollution marks rare win against SLAPP
JAKARTA — A court in Indonesia has acquitted six villagers in a dispute against a tapioca factory, ruling that the criminal charges, allegedly brought at the behest of the company,…
West Papua revokes quarter of a million hectares of land from palm oil
JAKARTA — Palm oil licenses covering concessions twice the size of Los Angeles have been rescinded by the local government in Indonesia’s West Papua province due to violations by the…
JBS, other Brazil meatpackers linked to devastating Pantanal fires, Greenpeace says
In a new report, Greenpeace has linked major Brazilian meat processors JBS, Marfrig and Minerva to cattle ranchers that satellite data indicate were responsible for setting fires in Brazil’s Pantanal…
Peatland on fire again as burning season starts in Indonesia
JAKARTA — Fires have flared up in at least 10 provinces in Indonesia, with some of the burning occurring in peatlands. The burning, including in protected forests, marks the start…
Report: WWF knew about rights abuses by park rangers, but didn’t respond effectively
In March 2019, Buzzfeed News published the first of a series of articles tying international conservation giant WWF to violent and severe human rights abuses allegedly committed by park rangers…
Indonesia’s omnibus law a ‘major problem’ for environmental protection
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government is trying to downplay the potential environmental fallout from a recently passed slate of deregulation, prompting criticism from experts. Foreign investors have joined domestic groups…
Shark fin trafficking ring busted as trade ban comes into effect in Florida
U.S. authorities say they’ve broken up a conspiracy to traffic shark fins in and out of Florida by a company based in California, where their sale and export is banned…
Two deaths, zero accountability: Indonesia’s mining pits claim more lives
SAMARINDA, Indonesia — On Sept. 6, five teenagers went together to a man-made lake in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province, carved out of a coal-mining pit that had been abandoned and…
Is that ivory from an elephant or a nut? A new guide shows how to tell
Governments and businesses looking to crack down on the illegal ivory trade have a new tool in their hands, courtesy of WWF, TRAFFIC, and the CITES Secretariat. For the first…
Indonesian case highlights potential for long-term harms of corruption
JAKARTA — A corruption scandal now unfurling in Indonesian Borneo is shedding light on how high-level bribery in infrastructure projects poses long-term threats to the community and the environment. The…
Activists challenge Indonesia deregulation bill that threatens environment
JAKARTA — Activists in Indonesia have filed a legal challenge to stop legislation that would dismantle environmental protections in favor of facilitating business. A coalition of civil society groups filed…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Endangered chimps ‘on the brink’ as Nigerian reserve is razed for agriculture, timber
- Agricultural frontier advances in Nicaraguan biosphere reserve
- ‘Rampant forest destruction’ wracks reserve as cattle ranching advances in Brazilian Amazon
- ‘Unprecedented’ fires in Madagascar national park threaten livelihoods and lemurs
Oceans
- As climate change melts Antarctic ice, gentoo penguins venture further south
- In hot water: Ocean warming hits another record high on climate change
- Guinea-Bissau turtle hatchery addresses unusual problem of too many eggs
- The thick of it: Delving into the neglected global impacts of human waste
Amazon Conservation
- Josefina Tunki: ‘If we have to die in defense of the land, we have to die’
- Global ayahuasca trend drives deforestation in Brazil’s Acre state
- Oil highway bears down on uncontacted Indigenous groups in Ecuador’s Yasuní
- French deforestation database pressures Brazilian soy traders to clean up supply chain
Land rights and extractives
- Amazon to Alps: Swiss gold imports from Brazil tread a legal minefield
- Analysts point to logging and mining to explain Solomon Islands unrest
- Philippine groups slam ‘cruel Christmas gift’ as open-pit mining ban is lifted
- Josefina Tunki: ‘If we have to die in defense of the land, we have to die’
Endangered Environmentalists
- Death threats and friction with military force Guatemalan rangers to flee
- Amazon mining threatens dozens of uncontacted Indigenous groups, study shows
- The Kichwa woman fighting drug traffickers and loggers in the Peruvian Amazon
- Rights groups demand end to Cambodia’s persecution of green activists
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- From Flores to Papua: Meet 10 of Indonesia’s mangrove guardians
- Why I stand for my tribe’s forest: It gives us food, culture, and life (commentary)
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
Conservation Effectiveness
- Young forests can help heal tropical aquatic ecosystems: Study
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- ‘Bad science’: Planting frenzy misses the grasslands for the trees
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- In Laos, a ‘very dangerous dam’ threatens an ancient world heritage site
- Bali’s new highway project sparks concerns about agriculture and conservation areas
- Deforestation notches up along logging roads on PNG’s New Britain Island
- Plantations and roads strip away Papua’s forests. They’re just getting started
