TRENGGALEK/YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s second-largest Islamic organization faces a growing backlash following a decision to enter the coal mining industry, with more than 1,000 young Islamic activists from a mining…
JAKARTA — Islamic groups claiming more than 160 million followers across the world’s largest Muslim-majority country are set to operate coal mines, after Indonesia’s second-largest Islamic organization joined the country’s…
A widely criticized move by Indonesian President Joko Widodo to reform mining rules to bestow coal mining licenses on an allied religious organization is carving a rift between its executive…
PULANG PISAU, Indonesia — Bandi paddled through the black swamp, passing alongside banks of high brush outside Kalawa village here in the south of Borneo Island. The narrow canoe, known…
Southeast Asia’s endangered flat-headed cat is rarely seen or photographed, and not a lot is known about it, making conservation planning difficult. Using eDNA and other new tools may help change that.
KAMBIAYIN, Indonesia — Eka Karlina repeats a mantra to her Dayak Pitap ancestors as she runs her fingers through the soil, combing the field in Kambiayin village for weeds. “Hopefully…
JAKARTA — Civil society organizations in Indonesia staged protests in late April to raise awareness of a planned nuclear plant near Pontianak, capital of West Kalimantan province on the island…
Sunda clouded leopards spend most of their lives in the leafy shade of the forest canopy. Equipped with exquisite camouflage, superb climbing skills and outsize canines, they’re formidable arboreal predators.…
Few researchers have ever seen this elusive wildcat and it is known primarily from a few camera trap photos. Which raises the question: How do you conserve an endangered species about which we know almost nothing?
Young trees face significant challenges surviving in previously logged forests compared to intact forests, even in areas with active restoration efforts, according to a recent study. The findings, published in…
The state government of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo has reaffirmed its plans to proceed with an opaque nature conservation agreement despite concerns raised by the United Nations. Representatives of Sabah’s…
GELAM ISLAND, Indonesia — Not long ago, Suparyanto discovered that his family home on a small island off the west coast of Borneo was to become a quartz mine. “I…
JAKARTA — The construction of Indonesia’s new capital city on the island of Borneo may destabilize the current stable population of endangered proboscis monkeys, a study has warned. President Joko…
As Sarawak’s top officials plan three new hydropower dams, seemingly eager to export more electricity, some Indigenous residents of the Malaysian Bornean state are urging officials to slow down development…
Southeast Asia is home to the third-largest expanse of tropical rainforest in the world, making it a pivotal region for global efforts to address the biodiversity crisis and climate change.…
LIMBUNG, Indonesia — Tall brush has taken over the land that Sarijan farmed for decades here on the island of Borneo. At the height of Indonesia’s 2019 wildfire crisis, the…
The biggest timber firm in Malaysia’s Sarawak state has been able to maintain sustainability certification despite clearing forests for oil palm plantations and skipping steps in informing affected communities, according…
Tropical forests the world over are in trouble. Vast swaths have been razed to the ground, lost forever, and studies indicate that at least 10% of those that remain standing…
Only about 100,000 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) remain, less than half of their original numbers. People are killing the iconic orange apes at rates that could lead to their extinction…
SABAH, Malaysia — Although it’s early in the day, the sun is already beating down fiercely as we step off the boat onto the muddy banks of the Kinabatangan River…
Ely Marlina’s 2-year-old child began to cough as the wildfires enveloped Indonesia’s Ketapang district in the summer of 2019. The little one soon fell ill with an acute respiratory tract…
JAKARTA — Conservationists in Indonesia have announced the successful harvesting of egg cells from a female Sumatran rhino, a key step in an effort to breed the critically endangered species…
SABAH, Malaysia — The 3-year-old sun bear sits teddy bear-like in a secluded grassy glade in its rainforest enclosure. Its soft, densely furred belly vibrates as it sucks on one…
An experiment in Malaysian Borneo found that the more species of tree seedlings planted in a previously logged plot, the more the result later resembles an old-growth forest, with greater biomass and forest complexity.
Supporters of an embattled carbon deal in the Malaysian Bornean state of Sabah have publicly resumed efforts to bring the 2-million hectare (4.9 million-acre), 100-year agreement into force. "This initiative…
NORTH PENAJAM PASER, Indonesia — When an expectant mother is around three days from entering labor, the Suku Balik prepare a container out of coconut palm containing fruit, tobacco and…
Indonesia’s oldest women’s Islamic organization will prepare volunteers in Kalimantan and Sumatra to open clean air sanctuaries, should a strengthening El Niño accelerate wildfires over the coming months. “We will…
JAKARTA — Male orangutans that resettle to a new area appear to be imitating the behavior of local individuals in an effort to survive and find a future home range,…
Indonesia is readying a fleet of drones to launch over Nusantara, its new capital city, as part of efforts to protect the under-construction site in Borneo from wildfires, officials told…
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has warned of potentially dangerous weather conditions accelerating across the archipelago in the coming months, as the nation’s meteorology agency says more than half the country…
Beatboxing became popular in the 1980s, when Doug E. Fresh performed the style around the New York City hip-hop scene. However, the seeds of this vocal technique, which involves making…
A court in the Malaysian state of Sarawak announced May 15 that it will delay the hearing of a defamation suit filed by a logging conglomerate against Indigenous-led environmental rights…
