https://news.mongabay.com/list/indonesia/ 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/indonesia/ 32 32 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/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/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/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/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 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/on-jakartas-vanishing-shoreline-climate-change-seen-abetting-child-marriages/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/on-jakartas-vanishing-shoreline-climate-change-seen-abetting-child-marriages/#respond 28 Sep 2023 08:08:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273686 - On Jakarta’s northern coastline, child marriage is common in fishing communities responding to inflationary pressures and declining stocks of fish in near-shore waters.
- Janah, now 23, fears she lacks the agency to break a cycle that saw her married at the age of 16.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/on-jakartas-vanishing-shoreline-climate-change-seen-abetting-child-marriages/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/experts-slam-massive-discount-in-fines-for-indonesian-palm-oil-billionaire/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/experts-slam-massive-discount-in-fines-for-indonesian-palm-oil-billionaire/#respond 27 Sep 2023 10:14:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273677 - The country’s highest court of appeal upheld the initial conviction of Surya Darmadi for conspiring with a local official to illegally obtain licenses for his oil palm plantation, but cut his fines from $2.7 billion to just $144 million.
- Experts who testified in Surya’s prosecution say the latest ruling sets a bad precedent for future law enforcement against corruption and environmental crimes in the country.
- And without fines, they warn, there can be no efforts to recover the carbon-rich and biodiverse peat ecosystems in Sumatra that Surya’s plantations destroyed.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/experts-slam-massive-discount-in-fines-for-indonesian-palm-oil-billionaire/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/as-fires-threaten-indonesian-forests-actions-like-agroforestry-promotion-are-needed-commentary/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/as-fires-threaten-indonesian-forests-actions-like-agroforestry-promotion-are-needed-commentary/#respond 25 Sep 2023 16:56:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273616 - Alongside the usual causes, fire has also become a significant driver of deforestation: since 2001, fires have accounted for 10% of forest loss, and this trend is currently intensifying amid the El Niño weather phenomenon, which brings drier conditions.
- “Promoting and supporting agroforestry, alongside other sustainable land use practices, can be a powerful step toward preserving Indonesia’s forests, mitigating climate change, and safeguarding the well-being of both local communities and the global environment,” a new op-ed via the country’s Ministry of Finance argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/as-fires-threaten-indonesian-forests-actions-like-agroforestry-promotion-are-needed-commentary/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/delay-of-indonesias-energy-transition-plan-a-chance-to-get-public-input/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/delay-of-indonesias-energy-transition-plan-a-chance-to-get-public-input/#respond 25 Sep 2023 15:10:41 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273615 - The JETP investment plan was supposed to be published on Aug. 16, but has been delayed until the end of this year.
- Observers of the energy sector see the delay as an opportunity for the government to involve the public more in the drafting process to ensure justice for all people in the effort to transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy.
- Funding for the $20 billion JETP has been pledged by the G7 group of industrialized nations plus Denmark and Norway.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/delay-of-indonesias-energy-transition-plan-a-chance-to-get-public-input/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/deforestation-for-palm-oil-continues-in-indonesias-orangutan-capital/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/deforestation-for-palm-oil-continues-in-indonesias-orangutan-capital/#respond 22 Sep 2023 16:59:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273592 - While new plantations appeared to have not been established yet along the new canal channels, there is a mosaic of illegal oil palm around the locations of the new canal, indicating a future development of palm oil.
- As new canals continue to be dug, deforestation has also picked up, reaching 372 hectares (919 acres) in the first six months of 2023, a 57% increase from the same period in 2022.
- RAN has called on global brands like Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever to address the development of new canals and illegal plantations as their supply chains are tainted with illegal palm oil from the wildlife reserve.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/deforestation-for-palm-oil-continues-in-indonesias-orangutan-capital/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/fisherwomen-fight-plan-for-coastal-salt-farms-on-indonesias-madura-island/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/fisherwomen-fight-plan-for-coastal-salt-farms-on-indonesias-madura-island/#respond 22 Sep 2023 03:51:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273501 - In 2009, the local government issued land titles on 73 hectares (180 acres) of land along the coast of Tapakerbau hamlet in Gersik Putih, and all of it was to become salt farms.
- The fishers say the plan could jeopardize their fishing jobs and the sustainability of the marine ecosystem on which they have for generations depended for their livelihoods, and they say they believe the salt ponds have exacerbated the flooding there in recent years.
- The protest in Sumenep is one of many against plans for the development of coastal aquaculture in Indonesia, a country that has the world’s second-longest coastline.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/fisherwomen-fight-plan-for-coastal-salt-farms-on-indonesias-madura-island/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/investors-over-islanders-as-indonesia-uses-force-to-push-development-project/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/investors-over-islanders-as-indonesia-uses-force-to-push-development-project/#respond 21 Sep 2023 16:38:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273528 - Security forces have cracked down hard on the protesters, raising concerns about human rights violations, including the use of rubber bullets and tear gas at a middle school.
- The government has justified its response and its insistence on pushing the project through, saying it’s of strategic national importance and that the investors must be accommodated.
- Critics have pointed out that the government previously championed local residents’ rights when it came to disputes like these, and that the U-turn shows preferential treatment for “big capital” over local communities.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/investors-over-islanders-as-indonesia-uses-force-to-push-development-project/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/protected-areas-a-boon-for-vertebrate-diversity-in-wider-landscape-study-shows/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/protected-areas-a-boon-for-vertebrate-diversity-in-wider-landscape-study-shows/#respond 15 Sep 2023 17:51:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273377 - The researchers say their findings back up the U.N.’s 30×30 target to protect 30% of Earth’s lands and waters by 2030.
- The findings indicate that larger reserves result in more spillover of biodiversity benefits into surrounding landscapes. The authors call on governments to invest in expanding larger reserves over the proliferation of smaller ones.
- Conservationists say that while expanding protected area coverage is part of the solution, serious investment in management and resourcing for existing protected areas is a matter of urgency to ensure they are not simply “paper parks.”
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/protected-areas-a-boon-for-vertebrate-diversity-in-wider-landscape-study-shows/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/el-nino-leads-to-more-fires-and-toxic-air-pollution-in-indonesia/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/el-nino-leads-to-more-fires-and-toxic-air-pollution-in-indonesia/#respond 15 Sep 2023 17:40:44 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273374 - Official data show a fourfold increase in hotspots up to September, compared with the same period last year.
- Residents in some major cities like Palembang have fallen ill due to toxic smog from the fires.
- Carbon-rich peatlands, which have been protected and partly restored through government policies and measures, are also burning, with more than 14,000 hotspots detected in peat landscapes in August alone.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/el-nino-leads-to-more-fires-and-toxic-air-pollution-in-indonesia/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/kelloggs-latest-to-freeze-indonesian-supplier-over-palm-oil-violations/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/kelloggs-latest-to-freeze-indonesian-supplier-over-palm-oil-violations/#respond 14 Sep 2023 14:59:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273357 - It joins the likes of Hershey’s, PepsiCo and Nestlé, which all stopped buying palm oil from AAL following a 2022 report alleging land grabbing, environmental degradation, and the criminal persecution of environmental and human rights defenders.
- AAL has denied the allegations and launched an independent investigation, but has not yet taken steps to remedy the harm allegedly done.
- Activists say the investigation unfairly puts the onus on local communities to prove their allegations against AAL, and have called on other consumer goods companies and investors to stand up to AAL.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/kelloggs-latest-to-freeze-indonesian-supplier-over-palm-oil-violations/feed/ 0