Can a new DNA test save the world’s rarest turtle?
It might sound hyperbolic to say that finding even one female turtle can revive an entire species. However, nothing could be truer for the critically endangered Yangtze softshell turtle, a…
Vietnam News
Protecting peatlands and mangroves could halve Southeast Asia’s land-use emissions
JAKARTA — Southeast Asia’s peatlands and mangroves store immense amounts of carbon, yet they’re rapidly disappearing. A new study finds that conserving and restoring these ecosystems could cut the region’s…
Mammals, birds in Vietnam’s rare coastal forests revealed by camera traps
In 2019, scientists rediscovered a species of miniature deer long lost to science within the dry coastal forests of southern Vietnam’s Nui Chua National Park. A victim of snaring, the…
Vietnam grapples with ‘alarming popularity’ of online illegal wildlife trade
A new investigation by wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC has uncovered an “alarming” slew of online adverts offering illegal wildlife products for sale in Vietnam, despite pledges from multiple platforms…
Southeast Asia in review: 2024
2024 was a year marked by a COP climate summit so dismal that many governments and analysts questioned whether the annual meetings are even worth holding. While world leaders failed…
Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys were found in only two places on Earth. Now it’s one
Conservationists searching for Vietnam's critically endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, one of the world's most threatened primates, have found no sign of the species in one of the two forest patches…
Photos: Top new species from 2024
A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific…
Internet crackdown shrinks already constrained room for activism in Vietnam
For Thảo, a journalist based in Hanoi, online reports from Vietnamese internet users were key to her and her colleagues’ coverage of Typhoon Yagi and its aftermath. The storm, the…
Greater Mekong serves up 234 new species in a year, from fanged hedgehog to diva viper
The dense tropical forests, isolated mountain peaks and limestone karst caverns of the Greater Mekong region yielded a remarkable 234 new-to-science species in 2023, according to a new report compiled…
Vietnam’s mammals need conservation within and outside their range: Study
Many species of mammals, either extinct in the wild or teetering close to it, have been successfully restored to parts of their range: the scimitar-horned oryx in northern Africa, black-footed…
A key driver of decline, can wild orchid collectors change their ways?
Orchids, known for their flamboyant petals, deceptive mimicry and fascinating lifestyles, have captivated biologists and horticulturists for centuries. With nearly 30,000 described species, they form one of the plant kingdom’s…
Gibbons found to perform dance routines akin to ‘the robot,’ but why?
Gibbons are famed for their graceful agility high in the forest canopy. Swinging effortlessly from branch to branch, their bodies spilling through the trees, the small apes seem to defy…
In the battle against plastic pollution, Asia’s informal workers are critical allies (commentary)
Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, a waste worker from Binh Dinh, Vietnam, has worked in the waste collection industry for four decades. She has spent every day at the landfill –…
Influential Vietnamese environmentalist released from prison two years early
In a surprise move, the well-known environmental advocate Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng was released from prison in Vietnam on Saturday. Hồng was sentenced on Sept. 28, 2023, to three years…
SE Asia renewables firms fall short on policies to protect environmental defenders
Widely regarded as a solution for climate change, renewable energy projects are booming in Southeast Asia. Installed solar and wind energy capacity across the 10 member states of the Association…
In Vietnam, environmental defense is increasingly a crime
Until recently, the Hanoi-based nonprofit where Hưng works as a legal advocate distributed its research online, freely circulating information it intended to support policies on climate change and other environment…
As a medicine, study finds rhino horn useless — and potentially toxic
Fancy a taste of your own toenails? That’s what vendors in Vietnam or China could say when offering powdered rhino horn. This coveted “trophy” is made up of keratin, the…
In choice of mangroves or livelihood, Vietnam shrimp farmers choose the latter
Shrimp farming is a leading driver of mangrove deforestation the world over. As demand for the sweet crustaceans boomed over the past few decades, swaths of vital coastal forests were…
Can Vietnam’s forests survive the spread of acacia and eucalyptus plantations? (commentary)
Vietnam is a mountainous country, with three-quarters of its land area covered by mountains and hills. However, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, forest cover was…
Will the Mekong and Salween pay the price of China’s energy transition?
The energy sector is the single largest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, spurring plans the world over to transition the sector away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. While…
Banks backing Mekong hydropower failing on due diligence, report reveals
Major banks operating in Thailand and Vietnam aren’t doing enough to address the environmental and human rights consequences of their investments in large-scale hydropower dams along the Mekong River, according…
On foot and by drone, radio tracking helps rehabilitate pangolins in Vietnam
When the organization Save Vietnam’s Wildlife receives a pangolin rescued from the wildlife trade, it can take months to remind the scaly, housecat-sized mammal how to be a pangolin again.…
Indonesia resumes lobster larvae exports despite sustainability, trade concerns
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government is resuming a controversial policy of exporting lobster larvae — the latest chapter in an eight-year saga that began over concerns for wild lobster stocks…
Forests in Vietnam’s Central Highlands at risk as development projects take priority
LÂM ĐỒNG, Vietnam — In 1991, Trần Văn Ry migrated from his home in northern Vietnam to Lâm Đồng in the country’s Central Highlands. Along with hundreds of other migrants,…
Island-building and overfishing wreak destruction of South China Sea reefs
States jostling for territorial dominance in the South China Sea have inflicted untold damage on the marine environment, according to a new investigation by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI)…
Spotted softshell turtle release boosts reptile conservation in Vietnam
Vietnam’s struggling population of spotted softshell turtles received a helping hand in December 2023 when researchers released 50 captive-bred hatchlings into a freshwater lake in a northern province. Now, new…
Smaller population estimate underscores urgency of saving Cao-vit gibbon
The Cao-vit gibbon is one of the most critically endangered apes in the world, with its entire population living in a single patch of protected forest on the border between…
Culture of harassment persists for women in Southeast Asia’s conservation space
During a 2020 field trip to a rural area in Vietnam, Hoa (not her real name), then working for a conservation-focused nonprofit, visited local authorities to discuss forest management. Vietnamese…
Tien Hai reserve saved from development in win for nature in Vietnam
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a decision this month to fully retain Tien Hai Nature Reserve, in a rare example of environmental protection winning over development in the…
Hydropower in doubt as climate impacts Mekong Basin water availability
Shifting monsoonal climate patterns that affect the availability of water in the Mekong River Basin are raising questions among experts about the sustainability of hydropower as a long-term energy solution…
Indonesia offers lobster larvae exports to Vietnam in exchange for investment
JAKARTA — Indonesia is offering resume direct exports of lobster larvae to Vietnam in exchange for investment in lobster farming and easing up on Vietnamese boats fishing illegally in its…
A Mekong island too tiny for industrial farming now points to Vietnam’s future
CON CHIM, Vietnam — Off the coast of Vietnam's Tra Vinh province lies Con Chim, a tiny stretch of land where the wind sweeps in off the water, weaving through…
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
- Indonesia seeks alternative funding as USAID freeze delays marine conservation efforts
- Funerary practices in Fiji protect marine areas while honoring the deceased
- Tourists are back at this Instaworthy Philippine town, but can its sewage system keep up?
- Study suggests algal blooms disorient whales, putting them in danger
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
- 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
- Peruvian logger loses FSC label after latest clash with isolated Mashco Piro
- A national park and its rangers in Bolivia endure persisting road construction, illegal mining
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
