No respite for Indonesia’s Raja Ampat as nickel companies sue to revive mines
JAKARTA — A stormy saga over nickel mining in one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the world appears to be far from over, even after the Indonesian government…
Pollution News
‘It’s our garden’: PNG villages fight to prevent mine waste dumping in the sea
Three communities in Papua New Guinea are waiting for the country’s Supreme Court to decide whether their concerns about the dumping of mine waste in the sea near their homes…
Climate futures: What’s ahead for our world beyond 1.5°C of warming?
This story is the first article of a two-part Mongabay mini-series exploring possible climate futures. Read Part One. Humanity stands at a critical juncture in the climate emergency: As countries…
Climate futures: World leaders’ failure to act is pushing Earth past 1.5°C
This story is the first article of a two-part Mongabay mini-series exploring possible climate futures. Read Part Two. The last two years brought record-shattering temperatures globally and a whirlwind of…
New study dismisses Amazon River runoff as primary cause of sargassum blooms
A recent study suggests that ocean changes are the primary nutrient source for sargassum blooms since 2011, challenging previous hypotheses.
Indonesia halts most nickel mining in Raja Ampat, but allows one controversial permit
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has revoked four out of five nickel mining permits in the Raja Ampat archipelago following a public outcry over mining in one of the world’s…
Rare earth rush in Myanmar blamed for toxic river spillover into Thailand
CHIANG RAI, Thailand — Just days before the water fights were set to erupt across Chiang Rai for Songkran — Thailand’s New Year celebration, held every April and known for…
Pushback grows against nickel mining in Indonesian marine paradise of Raja Ampat
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has suspended nickel mining in the Raja Ampat archipelago, citing multiple environmental violations by companies operating in the ecologically sensitive islands. The move follows viral…
When our oceans can’t breathe, a sea change is needed (commentary)
When wildfires rage across landscapes, smoke fills our skies and chokes our lungs. It makes headlines, emergency measures are triggered, and communities rally to respond. We act because we can…
EU appetite for EVs drives new wave of deforestation in tropical forests
Brazil, which accounts for large reserves of nickel, graphite, rare earths, lithium and niobium, would be one of the most affected countries.
On remote Indonesia karst outpost, Indigenous farmers fear the silence of the yams
BANGGAI ISLANDS, Indonesia — Dewdrops cling to weeds in the Banggai archipelago as Deslin Kalaeng grasps a large round root vegetable from the ancient karst. “That’s the Banggai yam,” she…
Police in Indonesia’s Halmahera Island charge 11 farmers in latest nickel flashpoint
EAST HALMAHERA, Indonesia — Police in Indonesia’s North Maluku province arrested 27 people and charged 11 of them with weapons offenses and commercial obstruction in late May following conflict with…
US pioneers restoration of deep water corals damaged by country’s worst oil spill
In the twilight depths of the Gulf of Mexico, about as deep down as a football field is long, U.S. Navy divers carefully snip small branches of corals with gloved…
With areca leaves and rice bran, Bangladesh replaces single-use plastic tableware
Bangladeshi people love to throw a party, as the disposable tableware industry has increasingly seen. They get together or organize social gatherings often, be it to celebrate festivals or go…
Central Java villages take fast fashion to the cleaners at Indonesia’s Supreme Court
SUKOHARJO, Indonesia — Sarmi recalls the unusual blight that fell over Gupit village around 2017, when doves and finches appeared to vanish from the sky. “With pollution that acrid and…
Brazil bets on macaúba palm to make renewable diesel and aviation biofuel
Macaúba palm, also known as macaw palm, grows all over the Americas. Now, a drive by the Brazilian government to incentivize the decarbonization of the transportation and aviation sectors has…
Study finds fast traffic noise is infuriating Galápagos warblers
When Leon Hohl and Alper Yelimlieş landed in the Galápagos in 2022 to volunteer in a decades-old nest survey project, they expected to look for Darwin finches and their babies.…
As Indonesia phases out coal, what happens to people & environments left behind?
JAKARTA — As Indonesia, one of the world’s biggest polluters, plans to retire its fleet of coal-fired power plants to tackle climate change, one critical question is being overlooked: What…
As renewable diesel surges, sustainability claims are deeply questioned
Renewable diesel is a biofuel made from vegetable oils and animal fats touted by proponents as an almost miraculous “drop-in” transition fuel able to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions while…
A migrating flycatcher returning to the same Sri Lankan garden sparks interest in birders
COLOMBO — As October drew to a close last year, ardent birdwatcher Moditha Kodikarachchi eagerly awaited a special guest in his garden — a migratory Asian paradise flycatcher. Since 2021,…
At the U.N., mining groups tout protections for Indigenous peoples
This story is published through the Indigenous News Alliance. In mid-April, the Trump administration cleared the way for a controversial copper mine proposed for western Arizona. The mine would destroy…
Science lays out framework to assess climate liability of fossil fuel majors
As billion-dollar climate disasters pile up, and world leaders fail to act against global warming, lawsuits on behalf of impacted states, cities and other government entities have increased in number…
Dredging and pollution threaten fishing in the Niger River
BAMAKO — Bourama Traoré and his brother, now aged 20 and 29, grew up along the banks of the Niger River. Their daily routine has always been simple: cast their…
Indonesia’s gas bet poses risks for economy, health and climate
JAKARTA — Experts have lambasted Indonesia’s heavy push toward natural gas, saying it risks locking the country into fossil fuel dependency under the guise of clean energy, dealing immense damage…
Protected parks in peril as Republic of Congo ramps up oil drilling
The Republic of Congo’s recently announced plans to double oil production over the next three years puts it “fatally at odds” with its own stated goals for a clean energy…
Wood pellet maker Drax denied pollution permit after small town Mississippi outcry
Jimmy Brown has lived less than a mile from the Drax wood pellet manufacturing plant in the tiny town of Gloster in Amite County, Mississippi, since it opened in 2016.…
Landslide deaths again highlight safety failures in Indonesia’s nickel industry
JAKARTA — A deadly landslide in an Indonesian industrial park has reignited concerns over poor safety and environmental standards in the country’s booming nickel sector, a key supplier of battery…
In Brazil’s Jequitinhonha valley, communities share how to reduce lithium mining impacts
ARAÇUAÍ, Brazil — It’s a sunny, cloudless morning in the Poço Dantas when a sudden loud blow shakes the ground of Maria Aparecida’s* house. A few kilometers away, a cloud…
Oil companies have downplayed extent of spills in Gulf of Mexico, investigation finds
One morning in early April 2024, Elías Naal Hernández set out with his fishing net to try his luck in the waters of Isla Aguada, off the coast of southeastern…
Armed groups and junta profit as toxic mines devour southern Myanmar
In July 2024, Maung Tu, 40, a manager at a mining company, purchased a betel nut farm of 2.4 hectares, or 6 acres, near the southern tip of Myanmar for…
Indonesia defies global coal retreat with captive plant boom
JAKARTA — As much of the world shutters coal power plants and shelves new proposals, Indonesia is bucking the trend — adding the third-highest volume of coal capacity globally in…
New EU plastic pellet rules greeted with caution
A coalition of leading European environmental groups has cautiously welcomed a “landmark” agreement by lawmakers in Brussels on new rules aimed at curbing a major source of microplastic pollution in…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Narco airstrips beset Indigenous communities in Peruvian Amazon
- 15 illegal narco-trafficking airstrips found near Peru Indigenous communities
- Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
- Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
Oceans
- Samoa’s new marine spatial plan protects 30% of the country’s ocean
- Tuna fishing devices drift through a third of oceans, harming corals, coasts: Study
- Indigenous Bajo suffer child deaths & toxic sludge amid green energy push
- Southeast Asia’s fisheries thrive despite decades of overfishing warnings: Study
Amazon Conservation
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal in the Amazon faces bumpy road ahead
- New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches
- Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns
- ‘We need white men on our side to save the Amazon from destruction,’ 92-year-old Indigenous Chief Raoni says
Land rights and extractives
- Indigenous Bajo suffer child deaths & toxic sludge amid green energy push
- ‘Colombia’s Amazon peoples provide solutions’: Interview with José Homero Mutumbajoy
- Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
- Brazil sets a date to remove illegal miners from Munduruku land, more details await
Endangered Environmentalists
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
- Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
- Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
Conservation Effectiveness
- How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
