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Two women explore a work of installation art at the Rainforest Youth Summit 2025 in Kuching, Sarawak state, Malaysia, in this undated photo.

Environment premium

Malaysia to host youth summit, music fest in Sarawak rainforest

The Malaysian state is set to host a three-day summit that puts young people at the center of environmental action, followed by one of Southeast Asia's best-known events: a three-day celebration of world music and cultural heritage.

2 weeks ago

Environment

Trap, neuter, release: Jakarta battles cat-astrophic stray numbers

Numbering as many as 1.5 million by some counts -- about one for every ten human inhabitants of the sprawling Indonesian capital -- street cats are ubiquitous and, for the most part, doted on. ...

3 weeks ago

Environment

Deadly Sumatra floods wiped out at least 7% of rare orangutan population, report says

The cyclone-induced floods and landslides killed at least 1,200 people and damaged around 300,000 homes, with environmental groups blaming the extent of the damage on the rapid deforestation of Sumatra island. ...

4 weeks ago

The Latest

Smoke rises from a derailed cargo train in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 4, 2023. The train accident sparked a massive fire and evacuation orders, officials and reports said Saturday.

Americas

Residents near toxic US train derailment told water 'safe' to drink

The cargo train derailment sparked a massive fire and triggered the release of toxic fumes, including from vinyl chloride, a colorless gas deemed carcinogenic by the US National Cancer Institute.

3 years ago

A Garrrochero, horse rider, uses a pole to spin a bull during a Corraleja, in Arjona, in Bolivar state on March 20, 2015.

Art & Culture premium

Colombia's bull fighting custom under fire for animal abuse

Colombia's bull-fighting is hugely popular, but some politicians want it banned and have submitted a bill to parliament looking to do so.

3 years ago

Water reflects the sunlight in a mangrove forest in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Aug. 13, 2022.

Academia premium

The (not so) impossible task of archiving Indonesia's mega biodiversity

Revealing and recording all of Indonesia’s mega biodiversity thoroughly is of course a very complicated task.

3 years ago

Workers collect plastic waste as they clean up Kuta Beach near Denpasar, Bali, on Jan. 6.

Academia

How much plastic are we ingesting?

Measuring microplastics in humans is challenging, but researchers already have preliminary figures.

3 years ago

A general view of the city of Skopje, seen through polluted air on Jan. 30, 2019, one of the most polluted cities in Europe.

Academia

With cash infusion, developing nations boost sun-dimming research

Stepping into a "minefield" about how to slow global warming, scientists in developing nations have won new funds to study whether dimming sunshine by mimicking volcanic eruptions can be a sufficiently safe way to temporarily cool a hotter planet.

3 years ago

Branching staghorn coral grows on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, Australia, on October 25, 2019.

Asia & Pacific

Australia denies permission for coal mine near Great Barrier Reef

The Central Queensland Coal owned mine is in the Styx Coal Basin, just off the coast of central Queensland.

3 years ago

This undated handout photograph released on January 14, 2021 by the University of Barcelona shows an underwater view of a Posidonia Oceanica seagrass meadow in the Mediterranean Sea.

Environment

Protecting 30 percent of oceans a huge challenge for the planet

How do we go from protecting eight percent of marine areas to 30 percent in less than 10 years? This question is at the heart of a global forum in Canada this weekend.

3 years ago

Monarch butterfly cluster is seen as they overwinter in Eucalyptus trees in a protected area inside Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California on January 26, 2023.

Environment premium

Endangered monarch butterflies face perilous storm

As devastating storms pounded California, nature lovers feared for endangered monarch butterflies that winter there as part of a seemingly magical migration pattern.

3 years ago

This handout picture taken and released on August 1, 2021 by the Jakarta Government shows a Sumatran tiger locked up in a cage at the Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, after Indonesian officials announced it was one of two tigers recovering from the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Archipelago

Sumatran tiger captured in Aceh after second human attack

It comes after two separate tiger attacks in the same Sumatran town over the past week left at least four people seriously injured.

3 years ago

This handout photograph released by The University of Queensland on January 31, 2023, shows a northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) at Alyangula, Northern Territory, Australia on May 22, 2019.

Environment

Relentless sex drive may threaten survival of quolls

For male northern quolls, sex is a death sentence.

3 years ago

This photo taken on December 22, 2022 shows Lalita 'Nan' Putchim, marine biologist and specialist in coral biology, taking a photo of an outbreak of yellow-band disease on coral formations off the coast of Samae San island in the coastal Thai province of Chonburi.

Entertainment

Politics, cash, fame: what motivates climate change deniers

Experts interviewed by AFP outlined six key things that motivate people to deny climate change or seek to delay action.

3 years ago

This file photo taken on September 27, 2022 shows a flooded St. Mark's square and St. Mark's basilica in Venice following an 'Alta Acqua' high tide event.

Environment

Climate disinfo surges in denial, conspiracy comeback

Popular topics included the false claims that CO2 does not cause climate change or that global warming is not caused by human activity, said Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD), a coalition of campaigners, in a report.

3 years ago

Vehicles pass along a road that cuts through an oil palm plantation in Pangkalan Banteng, West Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan, as seen in this aerial photo taken on Nov. 7, 2022.

Society premium

EU's green policy a priority for ASEAN

The EU's ambassadors to Indonesia and ASEAN emphasized that the bloc would continue to pursue diplomatic means to establish productive and sustainable cooperation in Southeast Asia.

3 years ago

Environment premium

Venice recruits next generation in flooding fight

As rising waters fuel fears that Venice may one day be entirely submerged, local children are being educated on how to protect the lagoon.

3 years ago

Smokestacks at the Suralaya coal-fired power plant belch fumes into the skies above Cilegon, Banten, on Sept. 21, 2018.

Academia

3 ways Indonesia could make 2023 a turning point in its clean energy transition

As we enter 2023, Indonesia should focus on more radical action for its energy transition.

3 years ago

This picture taken on June 26, 2022 shows Musimin preparing to plant orchids in the forest at the foot of Mount Merapi in Sleman, Yogyakarta. Orchids in hand and a bamboo ladder on his shoulder, farmer Musimin scans the forest at the foot of Indonesia's most active volcano to point out clusters of the indigenous flowers he has been salvaging for years.

Society premium

Indonesia receives $103.65 million climate change, biodiversity fund

Indonesia has received US$ 103.65 million of funding allocated for programs related to biodiversity, climate change and land degradation from the multilateral environmental fund Global Environment Facility.

3 years ago

South African influencer Masego Morgan poses for a portrait at a Vintage shop in Simon's Town on December 15, 2022.

Environment premium

Sustainable influencers take on fast fashion

Content creators are promoting sustainable fashion online and seeking to expose the environmental damage caused by huge fashion firms like Shein, H&M and Zara.

3 years ago

Vehicles vs. emission: Pictured is traffic on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, on Jan. 5. According to a new study by Greenpeace Indonesia and the Resilience Development Initiative (RDI), Jakarta generated 22.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2020. (JP/Sylviana Hamdani)

Science & Tech

Jakarta aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050

Both Jakarta’s government and its people join hands to reduce carbon emissions in the city.

3 years ago

This handout photo taken on Jan. 16, 2023 and released by Morowali Police shows police taking up positions after two workers, including a Chinese national, were killed at a nickel-smelting plant in North Morowali, Sulawesi, after a riot broke out during a protest over labor conditions.

Archipelago premium

Police probe deadly clash at nickel smelter

Police are investigating a protest over labor safety that turned violent at a nickel-smelting factory in Central Sulawesi’s North Morowali regency on Saturday, which left at least two workers dead, including a foreign national.

3 years ago

Coal is moved from barges onto a truck at the Karya Citra Nusantara Port in North Jakarta on Jan. 13, 2022.

Regulations premium

Coal gasification ‘no easy feat’, say industry players

Zero-percent coal royalty may not suffice to answer Indonesia coal downstream ambitions with said there were many unnoticed challenges that the government may need to take into account.

3 years ago

An oil palm plantation in Pangkalan Banteng in the Central Kalimantan regency of West Kotawaringin is seen from the air on Nov. 7, 2022.

Society premium

Environmentalists slam RI-Malaysia palm oil pledge

Environmentalists have criticized Indonesia and Malaysia’s pledge to fight “discrimination” against palm oil, saying it puts the countries’ commitment to halting deforestation into question.

3 years ago

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (left) and President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo attend a honour guard ceremony at the presidential palace in Bogor, West Java on January 9, 2023.

Regulations premium

Malaysia says it could stop palm oil exports to EU after new curbs

Commodities Minister Fadillah Yusof said Malaysia and Indonesia would discuss the law, which bans sale of palm oil and other commodities linked to deforestation unless importers can show that production of their specific goods has not damaged forests.

3 years ago

A fisherman throws his net in the lagoon in Aneho, Togo, on November 3, 2022. Togo and Benin authorities participate in a joint project called WACA (West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project) as climate change and human actions have been causing coastal erosion in many countries in Africa.

Environment

Scientists sound alarm as ocean temperatures hit new record

The world's oceans, which have absorbed most of the excess heat caused by humanity's carbon pollution, continued to see record-breaking temperatures last year.

3 years ago

This picture taken on March 7, 2022 shows a diver swimming amongst the coral on the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of the Australian state of Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef has again been hit with

Academia

There is no livable planet without the ocean

The private sector can play a massive role in driving and catalyzing the changes that are needed to rebuild and regenerate an ailing ocean.

3 years ago

Economy

Indonesia and Malaysia agree to fight "discrimination" against palm oil

The comments by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo followed a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was making his first overseas trip since being elected last November.

3 years ago

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo looks over a wildlife crossing at the Pekanbaru-Dumai toll road on Jan. 5. There are six wildlife crossings along the 131-kilometer-long toll road to help wildlife such as Sumatran elephants roam safely in their habitat.

Archipelago premium

Govt to build more wildlife crossings in infrastructure development

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said more wildlife crossings would be constructed across the archipelago in order to reduce disruption to wildlife conservation and protected species.

3 years ago

Handout recent picture released on November 11, 2019 by ADAPTUR (a proyect of cooperation project between Mexico and Germany implemented by the German Cooperation for Sustainable Development (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ), the Mexican Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR), the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the National Commission for Areas Natural Protected (CONANP) and the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC)) showing a coral off-Mexico's Quintana Roo State, affected by a disease known as white syndrome, which is different from coral bleaching, and more deadly. The majestic range of reds, yellows and violets of the reefs of the Mexican Caribbean are turning into a deadly white, thing which has scientists desperate to understand and combat the mysterious disease that is spreading south along the Meso-American Reef System. White syndrome destroys the coral’s tissue completely turning these colourful organisms into inert skeletons of calcium carbonate.

Environment

Coral bleaching causing 'unnecessary' fish fights

With the future of the world's coral reefs threatened by climate change, a team of researchers studied how a mass bleaching event affected 38 species of butterflyfish.

3 years ago

A rainbow forms over the Ulu Baram rainforest in the Miri interior, eastern Malaysian Borneo state of Sarawak, on Dec. 13, 2007.

Academia

The need for better protection of Malaysia’s forests

Learning from past experience, the government moves to fortify existing legislation to prevent exploitation and destruction of rainforests.

3 years ago

A firefighter tries to douse a forest fire in Senunuk village in Kapuas Hulu regency, West Kalimantan, which abuts Malaysia, on Aug. 10.

Society premium

Higher forest fires risk as Indonesia heads to potentially dry 2023

The government is expecting that this year will be drier compared to the past three years, which might translate to higher risk of forest fires than the previous years.

3 years ago