https://news.mongabay.com/list/asia/ Environmental science and conservation news Mon, 09 Oct 2023 08:43:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/asia/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/communities-track-a-path-of-destruction-through-a-cambodian-wildlife-sanctuary/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/communities-track-a-path-of-destruction-through-a-cambodian-wildlife-sanctuary/#respond 09 Oct 2023 04:23:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273942 - Routine patrols by local activists and community members have painstakingly documented the site of each logged tree in the supposedly protected area, even as these community patrols have been banned by the authorities.
- Mongabay reporters joined one of these patrols in April, where a run-in with rangers underscored complaints that the authorities crack down harder on those seeking to protect the forest than on those destroying it.
- A government official denied that the logging was driven by commercial interests, despite evidence to the contrary, instead blaming local communities for cutting down trees to build homes.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/communities-track-a-path-of-destruction-through-a-cambodian-wildlife-sanctuary/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/cambodia-bars-green-activists-from-traveling-to-accept-international-award/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/cambodia-bars-green-activists-from-traveling-to-accept-international-award/#respond 06 Oct 2023 18:06:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274059 - Long Kunthea, Phun Keo Reaksmey and Thun Ratha are with the group Mother Nature Cambodia, which last month was named a winner of the Right Livelihood award for its “relentless” activism against environmental destruction in the country.
- The three are currently under court supervision following early release from jail in a case related to their activism, which means they can’t travel abroad.
- Mother Nature Cambodia’s founder says the government has put itself in a “lose-lose situation” by barring them, as the incident has both garnered international scrutiny and revealed the shrinking space for civil society in Cambodia.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/cambodia-bars-green-activists-from-traveling-to-accept-international-award/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/world-bank-still-backs-coal-in-asia-despite-climate-claims-report-reveals/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/world-bank-still-backs-coal-in-asia-despite-climate-claims-report-reveals/#respond 05 Oct 2023 18:36:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273991 - The multilateral lender committed in 2013 to cease its involvement with coal, and more recently pledged to align its investments with the Paris Agreement.
- The investigation from environmental and economic watchdogs shows that the World Bank’s private lending arm holds stakes in client banks that are funding at least 39 coal developments throughout China, Indonesia and Cambodia.
- The report highlights the case of the planned Jambi 2 development in Sumatra, an “unwanted and unneeded” venture that the report says would severely impact the health, quality of life and livelihoods of affected communities already suffering the impacts of intensive coal development in the area.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/world-bank-still-backs-coal-in-asia-despite-climate-claims-report-reveals/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/wasnt-us-fire-hit-indonesia-claims-as-malaysia-chokes-on-poor-air-quality/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/wasnt-us-fire-hit-indonesia-claims-as-malaysia-chokes-on-poor-air-quality/#respond 05 Oct 2023 15:04:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273982 - Air quality in Kuala Lumpur and other parts of Malaysia have worsened in recent days, with more than a dozen regions recording unhealthy air quality.
- Indonesian officials have denied that fires in their jurisdiction are to blame, and accused their Malaysian counterparts of misreading the data.
- Indonesia dismissed that same source of data in 2019, however, when fires in Sumatra and Borneo also spread to Malaysia and Singapore.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/wasnt-us-fire-hit-indonesia-claims-as-malaysia-chokes-on-poor-air-quality/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesian-children-locked-out-of-school-as-el-nino-haze-chokes-parts-of-sumatra-kalimantan/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesian-children-locked-out-of-school-as-el-nino-haze-chokes-parts-of-sumatra-kalimantan/#respond 05 Oct 2023 14:04:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273958 - Air pollution on Oct. 5 in one area of Palangkaraya far exceeded the level at which air quality is classified dangerous to human health.
- The government of Jambi province has closed schools until Oct. 7, after which it will review whether to reopen for in-person teaching.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesian-children-locked-out-of-school-as-el-nino-haze-chokes-parts-of-sumatra-kalimantan/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/logging-route-cut-into-cambodias-prey-lang-from-think-biotechs-concession/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/logging-route-cut-into-cambodias-prey-lang-from-think-biotechs-concession/#respond 05 Oct 2023 04:40:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273887 - The road originates in the concession of Think Biotech, a company previously implicated in forestry crimes, but its director denies being involved in the new road.
- The road had advanced 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) into the ostensibly protected Prey Lang before authorities ordered a crackdown — one that activists say was just for show and targeted only small-time loggers.
- Community groups and activists say Prey Lang’s forests are being decimated at alarming rates, with satellite data showing nearly the same amount of forest cover loss in the past five years as in the previous 18.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/logging-route-cut-into-cambodias-prey-lang-from-think-biotechs-concession/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesian-islanders-draws-line-in-sand-as-dubai-style-reclamation-nears/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesian-islanders-draws-line-in-sand-as-dubai-style-reclamation-nears/#respond 05 Oct 2023 01:11:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273891 - The community has staged seven demonstrations this year to press their opposition to the ongoing development, which they warn will decimate their near-shore fisheries.
- The provincial government has previously said the island’s population will not be required to move, and that Lae-Lae will derive economic benefits from the development.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesian-islanders-draws-line-in-sand-as-dubai-style-reclamation-nears/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/small-wins-for-indigenous-malaysian-activists-in-dispute-with-timber-giant/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/small-wins-for-indigenous-malaysian-activists-in-dispute-with-timber-giant/#respond 04 Oct 2023 16:33:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273865 - In September, Samling agreed to withdraw a lawsuit it filed against SAVE Rivers, a local NGO that publicized concerns about the company’s treatment of people living in and around two areas under the company’s management.
- Samling also lost certification for its Ravenscourt Forest Management Unit, one of the areas of concern in its lawsuit against SAVE Rivers.
- Activists in Sarawak say they will continue in their fight to empower Indigenous communities questioning Samling and other industrial giants’ plans for their land and resources.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/small-wins-for-indigenous-malaysian-activists-in-dispute-with-timber-giant/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesia-kei-sustainable-fishing-coastal-communities-marine-protected-area-mpa/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesia-kei-sustainable-fishing-coastal-communities-marine-protected-area-mpa/#respond 04 Oct 2023 15:44:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273852 - That’s the finding of a new study by local researchers, who found that the majority of respondents said they were also willing to contribute a token annual payment for the upkeep of such an MPA.
- The researchers have proposed the MPA to the local government and council, and say they hope that if it’s accepted, it could serve as a template for other MPAs in the region.
- The waters around the Kei Islands are blessed with some of the richest fish stocks in Indonesia, but destructive fishing practices and the impacts of climate change are threatening the age-old fishing tradition here.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesia-kei-sustainable-fishing-coastal-communities-marine-protected-area-mpa/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesias-mandalika-project-a-litany-of-violations-for-indigenous-sasak/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesias-mandalika-project-a-litany-of-violations-for-indigenous-sasak/#respond 04 Oct 2023 15:17:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273890 - According to the report by local and international NGOs, the project has impoverished the communities, who have been forced to resettle far from their coastal homes without being properly consulted from the beginning.
- Despite the numerous human rights violations, the project’s main funder, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the project’s developer, the state-owned Indonesian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), insist to conclude the resettlement process in September.
- Activists have called on the AIIB and ITDC to not rush the process without properly consulting with affected communities and remedying the rights violations they’ve suffered and continue to suffer.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesias-mandalika-project-a-litany-of-violations-for-indigenous-sasak/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/sumatran-rhino-birth-is-rare-good-news-for-species-sliding-to-extinction/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/sumatran-rhino-birth-is-rare-good-news-for-species-sliding-to-extinction/#respond 03 Oct 2023 08:41:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273783 - The new birth brings the captive population of the species to 10; estimates put the wild population at 34-47 individuals, making Sumatran rhinos one of the world’s most endangered species.
- Each new calf born in captivity signals hope that the species will persist for another generation, but serious problems remain: All of the captive males are closely related, plans to capture more rhinos have stalled, and the existing wild populations are slowly disappearing.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/sumatran-rhino-birth-is-rare-good-news-for-species-sliding-to-extinction/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesia-village-forms-coast-guard-to-shield-octopus-in-mentawai-islands/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesia-village-forms-coast-guard-to-shield-octopus-in-mentawai-islands/#respond 03 Oct 2023 05:52:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273771 - Global demand for octopus is expected to outpace supply over the medium term, implying higher dockside prices for many artisanal fishers, if stocks can be managed sustainably.
- Maintenance of local fishing grounds also offers crucial nutritional benefits for remote coastal communities in the Mentawais, where rates of child stunting exceed Indonesia’s national average.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesia-village-forms-coast-guard-to-shield-octopus-in-mentawai-islands/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/endangered-formosan-black-bears-caught-in-taiwanese-snaring-crisis-commentary/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/endangered-formosan-black-bears-caught-in-taiwanese-snaring-crisis-commentary/#respond 02 Oct 2023 15:47:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273772 - This species is endemic to Taiwan and considered endangered, with about 200 to 600 of them left.
- “Do national park and forestry officials have a grasp on just how serious the snaring situation is in this country, of how many snares are out there, who is setting them, and how to combat it?” the op-ed asks.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/endangered-formosan-black-bears-caught-in-taiwanese-snaring-crisis-commentary/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesias-peatland-restoration-claims-in-question-as-fires-flare-up/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesias-peatland-restoration-claims-in-question-as-fires-flare-up/#respond 02 Oct 2023 14:37:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273776 - But this claim has come into question following an increase in the number of hotspots in peatlands, including inside oil palm concessions that had burned in past years and went up in flames again this year.
- An investigation by The Gecko Project found the government appeared to have inflated the figure of 3.7 million hectares, with the actual figure derived from the government’s own methodology closer to 2.7 million hectares (6.7 million acres).
- Fires on carbon-rich peatlands are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions from Indonesia, which in turn is one of the world’s biggest emitters.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/indonesias-peatland-restoration-claims-in-question-as-fires-flare-up/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/conservationists-urge-caution-as-nepal-to-gift-more-rhinos-to-china/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/conservationists-urge-caution-as-nepal-to-gift-more-rhinos-to-china/#respond 30 Sep 2023 09:11:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273759 - Conservationists say orphaned rhino calves raised in human contact are best for this purpose.
- Separating rhino calves from their mothers should be the last option, conservationists say.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/conservationists-urge-caution-as-nepal-to-gift-more-rhinos-to-china/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/bollore-blacklisted-over-alleged-rights-violations-on-plantations-in-africa-and-asia/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/bollore-blacklisted-over-alleged-rights-violations-on-plantations-in-africa-and-asia/#respond 29 Sep 2023 19:46:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273752 - Bolloré failed to act to resolve accusations of human rights abuses committed by its subsidiary, Socfin, around oil palm and rubber plantations in West Africa and Southeast Asia, the Swiss Association for Responsible Investments (SVVK-ASIR) determined.
- Investigators commissioned by Socfin recently found credible claims of sexual harassment, land disputes and unfair recruitment in Liberia and Cameroon; field visits to other sites will take place later this year.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/bollore-blacklisted-over-alleged-rights-violations-on-plantations-in-africa-and-asia/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/return-of-the-wolf-to-nepals-himalayas-may-threaten-snow-leopards/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/return-of-the-wolf-to-nepals-himalayas-may-threaten-snow-leopards/#respond 29 Sep 2023 14:47:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273739 - New research shows that naur tend to exhibit greater vigilance in areas where both wolves and snow leopards are present, while lowering their guard somewhat when no wolves are around.
- Conservationists say the growing wolf presence threatens snow leopards through direct competition for food and through stressing out, and weakening, naur populations.
- Snow leopards already face pressure from common leopards and tigers, which are moving further uphill in response to both human threats and a changing climate.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/return-of-the-wolf-to-nepals-himalayas-may-threaten-snow-leopards/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/habitat-loss-drove-long-tailed-macaques-extinct-in-bangladesh-experts-say/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/habitat-loss-drove-long-tailed-macaques-extinct-in-bangladesh-experts-say/#respond 29 Sep 2023 13:44:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273734 - From an estimated 253 of the monkeys in 1981, the population plunged to just five individuals in 2010, then three in 2012, before it was declared extinct in the country in 2022.
- Experts attribute this trend to the clearing of mangroves for shrimp farms, farmland, refugee camps, and settlements.
- Though one of the most widely distributed monkey species in the world, the long-tailed macaque faces severe threats throughout its range, and since 2020 has seen its conservations status progressively worsen from least concern to vulnerable to endangered.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/habitat-loss-drove-long-tailed-macaques-extinct-in-bangladesh-experts-say/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/vietnamese-environmentalist-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison-for-tax-evasion/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/vietnamese-environmentalist-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison-for-tax-evasion/#respond 28 Sep 2023 22:37:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273732 - Hong is now the fifth prominent Vietnamese environmentalist to be charged with tax evasion. Activists say the country’s vaguely worded tax laws are weaponized by the government to punish people deemed as threats to authority.
- In related news, activists say Ngo Thi To Nhien, executive director of the Hanoi-based Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition Social Enterprise, was detained by police Sept. 15, though the arrest has not yet been officially announced and it is not yet clear what charges she faces.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/vietnamese-environmentalist-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison-for-tax-evasion/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/sumatran-province-hangs-on-for-late-rain-as-el-nino-fires-bring-heat-and-sickness/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/sumatran-province-hangs-on-for-late-rain-as-el-nino-fires-bring-heat-and-sickness/#respond 28 Sep 2023 16:46:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273723 - In Palembang city, new respiratory infections will likely soon eclipse the total diagnosed in 2022.
- Meteorology officials expect the monsoon to begin in parts of Sumatra and Borneo islands in October, but warn dry conditions will persist in much of Indonesia until November.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/sumatran-province-hangs-on-for-late-rain-as-el-nino-fires-bring-heat-and-sickness/feed/ 0