location: Asia

location: Asia

Social media activity version | Lean version

For drought relief, Cordilleran women in the Philippines rely on seed saving
- As El Niño and climate change bring drought to the northern Philippines, farmers say the value of local heirloom seeds shines through.
- Farmers say these seeds, cultivated through generations, show greater resilience to drought and heat than commercial hybrid seeds promoted by the government.
- A network of seed savers, spearheaded by rural women, is working to revitalize the traditional practices of saving seeds, combining traditional agricultural knowledge with modern documentation processes.

Undercover in a shark fin trafficking ring: Interview with wildlife crime fighter Andrea Crosta
- Worldwide, many of the key players in wildlife trafficking are also involved in other criminal enterprises, from drug smuggling to human trafficking and money laundering.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Andrea Crosta, founder of Earth League International, talks about the group’s new report on shark fin trafficking from Latin America to East Asia and the concept of “crime convergence.”
- International wildlife trafficking, including the illegal trade in shark fins, is dominated by Chinese nationals, Crosta says.
- Since smuggling routes often overlap and criminal groups frequently work together across borders, Crosta calls for field collaboration among countries and law enforcement agencies to fight wildlife crime, the world’s fourth-largest criminal enterprise.

NZ funding helps Indigenous farmers in Indonesia protect forests, boost incomes
- Two Indigenous villages in Indonesian Borneo have received initial funding of nearly $15,000 from the New Zealand government to improve their livelihoods while protecting their ancestral forests.
- Residents of the Dayak villages of Setawar and Gunam mostly grow oil palms, but also still rely on their ancestral forests for making medicinal herbs, producing handicrafts and carrying out traditional rituals.
- The funding, channeled through the Farmers For Forest Protection Foundation (4F), will go toward programs such as training and deployment of forest guards, forest management support, and implementation of good agricultural practices.

New database unveils the role of Asian hornbills as forest seed dispersers
- Equipped with bulky beaks and impressive wingspans, hornbills are vital long-distance seed dispersers in tropical forests. But while a lot is known about the eating habits of hornbills, many mysteries still remain.
- A new study has compiled an open-source, publicly available database of Asian and New Guinean hornbill frugivory and seed dispersal research.
- The new resource aims to help researchers, students and conservation organizations pinpoint knowledge gaps so that they can target their efforts and limited resources.
- The new frugivory database could also prove useful for reforestation projects, many of which increasingly recognize the importance of planting food plants to attract natural seed dispersers, which in turn helps to further regenerate the forest.

On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Indigenous women in Indonesian Borneo often have to combine domestic responsibilities with food cultivation, known as behuma in the dialect of the Dayak Pitap community in South Kalimantan province.
- Swidden agriculture relies on burning off discarded biomass before planting land in order to fertilize soil and limit pest infestations. But a law enforcement campaign to tackle wildfires has seen criminal prosecutions of at least 11 Borneo women for using fire to grow small-scale food crops from 2018-2022.
- Dayak women and several fieldworkers say the practice of burning is safe owing to cultural safeguards against fires spreading that have been passed down families for centuries.
- Indonesia’s 2009 Environment Law included a stipulation that farmers cultivating food on less than 2 hectares (5 acres) were exempt from prosecution, but Mongabay analysis shows prosecutors and police have pressed charges against small farmers using other laws.

Hold my ointment: Wild orangutan observed healing wound with medicinal plant
- Researchers observed a wild orangutan in Sumatra treating a facial wound with a plant known for its healing properties, marking the first documented case of such behavior in a wild animal.
- The adult male Sumatran orangutan was observed chewing on the plant Fibraurea tinctoria, which has pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects, and rubbing the resultant ointment on the wound, which later healed without infection.
- This finding supports the idea that orangutans might self-medicate, demonstrating their cognitive abilities and drawing parallels to human practices.
- Conservationists have welcomed the finding, highlighting its significance for understanding forest biodiversity and the urgency of protecting orangutan habitat amid declining populations and persistent threats.

Bangladesh island’s switch from solar power to fossil fuels threatens birds
- The Bangladesh government recently converted off-grid Nijhum Dwip Island in the Bay of Bengal into an on-grid locality powered by fossil fuel-fired plants, posing a threat to the country’s second-largest mangrove forest.
- The island’s inhabitants had depended on individual solar-run power, and the government planned to install a mini solar grid for an uninterrupted power supply a few years back.
- Instead, the government has facilitated the construction of a 15 megawatt heavy-fuel-run power plant at Hatiya, the subdistrict headquarters of Nijhum Dwip, under the ‘100% Reliable and Sustainable Electrification Project,’ which seems to be a reverse transition from renewable to fossil fuel-based electrification.
- Nature conservationists believe that due to the connection to the national grid, human activities will increase around the forest and endanger the already cornered wildlife of the national park on the island.

Indonesia civil society groups raise concerns over proposed Borneo nuclear reactor
- Indonesia’s largest environmental advocacy group, Walhi, staged demonstrations in Jakarta and West Kalimantan province to raise awareness about a proposed nuclear power plant in West Kalimantan’s Bengkayang district.
- In 2021, a U.S. agency signed a partnership agreement with Indonesia’s state-owned power utility to explore possibilities for a reactor in the province. Survey work is currently being conducted to determine the project’s viability and safety.
- Some environmental groups have questioned the merit of the plan on safety grounds and the availability of alternative renewable sources.

Latest palm oil deforester in Indonesia may also be operating illegally
- The biggest deforestation hotspot for palm oil in Indonesia is located on a small island off the southern Borneo coast, new data show.
- Up to 10,650 hectares (26,317 acres) of forest — one-sixth the size of Jakarta — were cleared from 2022-2023 inside the concession of PT Multi Sarana Agro Mandiri (MSAM), part of the influential Jhonlin Group.
- Activists say the company’s operations may be illegal, given the questionable process through which it obtained its permits.
- However, law enforcers have ignored calls to investigate, and previous efforts by journalists to expose the group’s business practices have led to their criminal prosecution on hate speech charges.

Final cheetah conservationists freed in Iran, but the big cat’s outlook remains grim
- In April, the last four cheetah conservationists from the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation jailed in 2018 for alleged espionage were released from prison in Tehran; four of their colleagues had been released earlier, while one had died in custody.
- The case had a chilling effect on scientific collaboration and efforts to save the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), which is today found only in Iran, with fewer than 30 believed to remain in the wild.
- The cheetah faces a range of threats, chief among them vehicle collisions: some 52% of cheetah deaths in Iran are due to road accidents.
- Saving the species will require a comprehensive and coordinated effort, and international scientific cooperation is crucial — but conservation work has been hampered by complex geopolitical dynamics, including sanctions.

Ridiculously rare photo catches Asian caracal swimming a river in India
- A tourist took a surprising photo of a caracal, a medium-sized cat, fording a river in India.
- What makes the photo doubly unusual is that India’s caracals aren’t known for swimming — and the cat was supposed to be extinct in the region.
- Once an important species culturally in India, caracals are now endangered, according to the IUCN Red List.
- The cat is also imperiled because it often occurs outside protected areas, inhabiting less-valued grasslands.

On foot and by drone, radio tracking helps rehabilitate pangolins in Vietnam
- Conservation NGO Save Vietnam’s Wildlife is employing radio tracking to follow rehabilitated pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, even in difficult terrain and when the animals burrow underground.
- Tracking these pangolins on foot and using a novel radio telemetry drone has not only allowed the organization to assess the survival of released pangolins, but also improved the team’s knowledge of the secretive animals’ behaviors and habitat needs.
- However, this radio-tracking work is vulnerable to funding challenges, as the expectation that conservation work result in published papers can make it difficult to find long-term funding for basic equipment like radio tags.

Experts highlight importance of ‘prebunking’ to combat climate disinformation
- For journalists covering climate change and other complex issues, battling disinformation is a major challenge.
- Disinformation experts use a method called “prebunking” to reveal deceptive techniques and guard against manipulation; it’s a proactive approach, rooted in inoculation theory in psychology, which encourages critical thinking in the face of false information.
- However, the method faces cultural obstacles in some countries such as Bhutan; communication professionals say journalists and local communities should receive training so they are informed about climate science and other relevant subjects in order to fight disinformation.

Saving Asia’s fishing cat means protecting threatened wetland habitat
- Fishing cats are uniquely adapted to life in wetlands, possessing a double-layered coat that serves as a water barrier and insulation, partially webbed feet, ears that plug when submerged, and a curious call reminiscent of a duck.
- Spread across Asia, this small wild cat species faces myriad threats, including habitat loss, hunting and retaliatory killings, road kill, and more. Considered vulnerable across its range, the felid is also elusive and underresearched, with many knowledge gaps about its distribution and ecology.
- Conservationists are working across its range to raise the profile of this wildcat, reduce threats and understand the species. Linking its protection to equally threatened wetlands is vital, they say. Initiatives such as the Fishing Cat Project in India have achieved success in making this cat the face of these habitats.
- Multiple conservation and research projects operate in Asia under the banner of the Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance, a cooperative model that provides funding lifelines and enables international collaboration to protect this small cat.

Desperation sets in for Indigenous Sumatrans who lost their forests to plantations
- The seminomadic Suku Anak Dalam Indigenous people have lived in two areas of what is now Jambi province on Indonesia’s Sumatra island for generations, but an influx of plantation interests has shrunk the customary territory available to their society.
- More than 2,000 Suku Anak Dalam have lost their land to oil palm and rubber plantations, which have also led to a loss of the native trees from which community members collect forest honey to sell.
- Several Suku Anak Dalam interviewees said state-owned rubber plantation company PT Alam Lestari Nusantara had failed to properly compensate them for their land.
- The company did not respond to several requests for comment.

Bangladeshi farmers find zucchini’s high yields & low costs palatable
- Though long considered “foreign” to Bangladeshi farmers, zucchini squash is now cultivated among growers who value its high productivity, lower production cost and short growing time.
- Farmers living in dry regions and river islands prefer to cultivate this vegetable, where watering the plant is an issue.
- Bangladesh Agricultural Extensions expects more zucchini squash cultivation in the coming days based on farmers’ enthusiasm and growing local demand in the market.

From polling stations to weather stations, the heat is on in India (commentary)
- Parts of India are facing a heatwave, for which the heat in the state of Kerala is a curtain raiser. Kerala experienced its first recorded heatwave amid the ongoing election campaign.
- Heatwaves, droughts and floods do not distinguish along political lines. If the destruction is across board, the mitigating action also has to be across political lines, writes Mongabay-India’s Managing Editor, S. Gopikrishna Warrier, in this commentary.
- Climate change poses economic, social and political challenges, influencing election discourse and policy agendas.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Indonesian company defies order, still clearing peatlands in orangutan habitat
- Indonesian Pulpwood producer PT Mayawana Persada is continuing to clear peatlands on critical Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) habitat, despite a government order to stop clearing.
- An NGO coalition analysis found that 30,296 hectares (74,900 acres) of peatland, including 15,560 hectares (38,400 acres) of protected lands, had been converted as of March; 15,643 hectares (38,700 acres) of known Bornean orangutan habitat were cleared between 2016 and 2022.
- Conservationists are calling on the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to revoke the company’s permits.

Rights groups call for greater public input in ASEAN environmental rights framework
- Civil society and Indigenous rights groups are calling for greater public participation and transparency in the drafting process of what they say could be a pivotal agreement to protect environmental rights and defenders in Southeast Asia.
- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) declaration on environmental rights was initially envisioned as a legally binding framework, but the scaling back of the level of commitment to a nonbinding declaration has raised concerns among observers.
- Groups are calling for an extension of the public consultation period, which lasted for only one month, and greater commitments to address key issues in the region, such as strengthening Indigenous rights, access to environmental information and justice, and clarifying mechanisms for resolving transboundary development impacts.
- If the treaty remains non-legally binding, its ultimate success will depend largely on the political will of each separate ASEAN state and on the continued efforts of civil society to hold their governments accountable.

In a Himalayan Eden, a road project promises opportunity, but also loss
- In Nepal’s sacred Tsum Valley, Buddhist community members are conflicted about the ongoing construction of a road that will pass through the region.
- The Tsum Valley is one of the few, if not last, remaining beyul, or sacred valleys, governed by customary and Buddhist laws, where humans and wildlife have lived together in harmony for more than a millennium.
- The valley has maintained its religious and cultural traditions that have conserved biodiversity and its cultural uniqueness due to its remote location.
- The road is part of a government project that aims to connect every town across the country, bringing economic development and government services closer to remote mountainous communities.

As plastic talks wrap up in Canada, fishers in Indonesia count the costs
- Fishers in the Thousand Islands archipelago off the Jakarta coast have reported extensive economic losses due to the scale of plastic waste littering their seas.
- Declining catch volume and costly repairs to boat engines are cited as drags on productivity, with one fisher telling Mongabay that his family now earns less than a decade earlier.
- Negotiators convened by the U.N. hope to conclude an international agreement in November that would limit the hundreds of millions of tons of plastic produced around the world each year.

Pro-business parties accused of holding back Indonesia’s Indigenous rights bill
- Pro-business political parties in Indonesia have deliberately stalled the passage of an Indigenous rights bill for more than a decade, lawmakers and activists allege.
- These parties fear ceding control of natural resources to Indigenous communities by giving them land rights, they add.
- Lawmakers trying to push the bill through have identified the PDI-P and the Golkar Party as the main opponents of the bill, but others say it’s the entire ruling coalition: seven parties that control 82% of seats in parliament.
- Indigenous activists say the bill is urgently needed to formalize Indigenous land rights and stop the hemorrhaging of customary lands and forests to commercial, industrial and infrastructure projects.

Indonesia resumes lobster larvae exports despite sustainability, trade concerns
- The Indonesian government will resume a controversial policy of exporting lobster larvae, initially just to Vietnam, in exchange for investment in its own lobster-farming industry.
- The ban has met with controversy since it was introduced in 2016; a subsequent attempt to lift it failed after the fisheries minister at the time was arrested for taking bribes to issue export permits.
- The current minister says the lifting this time around is based on pragmatic considerations, with law enforcement efforts failing to stop the smuggling of lobster larvae.
- Critics say the move will benefit Vietnam more than it will Indonesia, given that the former’s far more advanced lobster-farming industry generates far more value from the sale of mature lobsters than Indonesia ever could from the sale of larvae.

Rocky rollout for Bangladesh’s ambitious solar-powered irrigation plans
- Nearly half of irrigation costs in Bangladesh are due to irrigation, and the diesel pumps that currently power irrigation networks are responsible for 1.6% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
- To address both issues, the government is rolling out a nationwide program to gradually replace these diesel pumps with solar-powered ones, aiming to slash irrigation-related emissions by 0.8 million metric tons by 2030.
- It also says that given that irrigation use is concentrated in the non-monsoon months, the surplus energy generated by the pumps the rest of the time can be fed into the grid, providing up to 480 gigawatt-hours of clean energy a year.
- In pilot programs, however, farmers have expressed concern over the reliability of the solar pump systems, especially for water-intensive crops such as rice and corn, and have also noted that their irrigation costs remain the same.

Owl conservationist Raju Acharya wins Whitley Award in hat trick for Nepal
- Raju Acharya, a Nepali conservationist, won the Whitley Award for his owl conservation efforts, marking the third consecutive win for Nepal.
- Acharya’s work focuses on challenging stereotypes and advocating for owl conservation in Nepal, despite facing societal stigmas and challenges.
- He plans to use the prize money of 50,000 pounds ($62,600) to enhance conservation initiatives in central Nepal, targeting law enforcement training and community engagement.

Multilateral development banks must prioritize clean & community-led energy projects (commentary)
- Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), governments, and corporations across 160 countries consider or approve more than one investment per day in the energy sector.
- Despite commitments to tackle the climate crisis, many of these investments support the fossil fuel industry, while others invest in false clean energy solutions like hydropower which often cause harm to local communities.
- “To achieve a just energy transition, MDBs and governments must prioritize sustainable renewable energy models that empower communities and ensure inclusive energy access,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Indigenous Philippine village rejects gold mine, cites flawed consultation
- Itogon-Suyoc Resources Inc. (ISRI), one of the Philippines’ oldest mining firms, is seeking permission to mine gold from the mountains of Itogon, a municipality in the mineral-rich, majority Indigenous north of the country.
- Mining on Indigenous land requires a consultation process, and Itogon communities rejected the company’s application in 2022, citing concerns including water contamination and loss of access for traditional mining activities. The company applied for a new round of consultations in 2023, which resulted in an agreement to allow mining in the area.
- Elders from Dalicno, the village that will be most affected if the mining proceeds, say they weren’t informed about the 2023 consultations. The agreement has yet to receive final approval due to irregularities including a lack of photographs or attendance sheets to prove that community consultations actually took place.
- Proponents of the mine say those opposing it do so only out of self-interest, while ISRI says existing small-scale mining in the area is more environmentally degrading than the company’s planned operations.

Mangrove forestry only sustainable when conservation zones respected: Study
- The need to preserve mangroves and the ecosystem services they sustain, while also providing for the social and economic needs of the people who depend on them, is one of coastal conservation’s greatest conundrums.
- New research based on long-term data from a mangrove production forest in Malaysia suggests that, in some cases, it is possible to reconcile mangrove protection with resource needs — but only when the correct management is implemented and enforced.
- The study highlights the need for well-protected conservation areas within forest production landscapes to boost natural forest regeneration, sustain wildlife and balance overall levels of carbon storage.
- The authors also warn that management models that seek to maximize profits at the expense of such sensitive conservation areas could undermine the resilience of the overall landscape and diminish sustainability over time.

In Bangladesh, olive ridley turtles break 4-year record with 53% increase in eggs
- Bangladesh has seen the highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs this year, a conservationist group says.
- The olive ridley’s main nesting ground is different islands of the country’s southeastern district, Cox’s Bazar, in the Bay of Bengal.
- The key reasons behind the success are extensive conservation action across beaches and an awareness program among local people.
- Conservationists say they believe success might decline if the current pace of tourism and related infrastructure development is not checked, as they appear to disturb ecosystems.

Flocking together may create birds of a feather, study finds
- Surveys of several sites, including Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, show that the lesser necklaced laughingthrush may be physically mimicking a larger species, the greater necklaced laughingthrush, for benefit.
- Findings suggest the benefits for the smaller bird include no longer needing to be vigilant for predators when foraging for food, as the bigger bird does this job.
- Previous reports show the lesser necklaced laughingthrush is already known for vocal mimicry, where it produces the call of another bird.
- Mimicry among various species potentially serves as an evolutionary strategy for protection and foraging benefits.

Nepal govt bypasses parliament to allow commercial projects in protected areas
- Nepal’s government has issued a controversial ordinance bypassing parliament to enable foreign investment in various sectors, including protected areas.
- The ordinance coincides with Nepal’s Investment Summit, facilitating projects like cable car routes and hotels within national parks.
- Details of the ordinance remain undisclosed, but it reportedly amends laws governing protected areas, allowing construction in previously restricted zones.
- Critics have expressed concern over the potential long-term consequences, questioning the impact on conservation efforts and local communities.

Warming climate threatens to worsen air quality in already polluted Kathmandu
- In the period between winter and spring each year, Kathmandu faces severe air pollution that affects thousands of residents with health problems like burning eyes, respiratory discomfort, and even death.
- Local sources like vehicle emissions and construction dust, compounded by Kathmandu’s geography, are the main drivers of the pollution, and rising global temperatures threaten to worsen the situation.
- Changes in weather patterns, including reduced rainfall and prolonged dry periods are among the changes that could make air pollution an even more severe problem than it already is.
- Wildfires, both natural and human-induced, contribute significantly to air pollution in Kathmandu, especially during the transition period between weather systems, which could become longer due to rising temperatures.

Borneo and Sumatra megaprojects are carving up clouded leopard forests
- Massive infrastructure projects currently underway on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra are set to severely erode forest connectivity across key habitats of the Sunda clouded leopard.
- Two major highway networks and the relocation of Indonesia’s capital city to Borneo will further fragment the domain of the arboreal predator that has already experienced steep population declines in recent decades due to the expansion of oil palm and poaching.
- Experts say the findings will help to target conservation actions, but they add that road design standards and development planning processes remain woefully inadequate in the region.
- The authors call for improved development strategies that seriously consider sustainability and include data-based environmental assessments and mitigation measures, such as wildlife crossings and avoidance of sensitive ecosystems.

It’s tough to be a wild orchid: Interview with conservation biologist Reshu Bashyal
- Conservation biologist Reshu Bashyal highlights gaps in Nepal’s implementation of CITES regulations, leading to ineffective protection measures.
- Nepal’s transition to a federal system has brought challenges and opportunities for orchid conservation, with local communities often unaware of conservation needs.
- Protected areas struggle to prioritize plant conservation alongside charismatic megafauna, while road construction further fragments orchid habitats.
- Bashyal emphasizes the importance of raising awareness about the significance of wild plants and updating inventories to guide conservation efforts.

A single gang of poachers may have killed 10% of Javan rhinos since 2019
- A poaching case currently being heard in an Indonesian court has revealed that at least seven Javan rhinos were killed from 2019-2023 for their horns.
- The world’s sole remaining population of Javan rhinos lives in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park, with official population estimates standing at around 70 individuals.
- A single suspect has been arrested and indicted in the case, with three alleged accomplices still at large.
- The revelation from the recent indictment raises questions about security at the park, most of which has been closed off to the public since September 2023 over poaching concerns.

Navigating the rise in conflicts between humans and fishing cats in Bangladesh
- In Bangladesh, rapid village expansion shrinks wetlands, forcing fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus) closer to humans. This triggers human-cat conflicts occurring every two weeks, with over half of them ending in a cat’s death.
- The main reason for the killings is fear. Locals often mistake fishing cats for tigers and feel threatened. Social pressure to participate in killings and revenge for livestock losses (often caused by other animals) further fuel the conflicts.
- Despite ongoing threats like infrastructure projects that fragment habitats, some hope exists. Government awareness campaigns and dedicated nongovernmental efforts are educating communities and finding solutions to promote peaceful coexistence with fishing cats.

Indigenous community fights to save its lands on Indonesia’s historic tin island
- The Lanun Indigenous community of Indonesia’s Belitung Island have responded to increasing environmental damage by building their capacity in skills such as advocacy and mediation.
- At issue is the growth in illegal mining and forest clearing by the plantation industry on land that the Lanun consider to have long been theirs.
- In 2021, UNESCO announced this area of Indonesia would become an international geopark, which required joint applications by government and local communities to conserve a landscape of global significance.

Forest officer’s killing highlights Bangladesh authorities’ waning power
- The recent killing of a forest officer by illegal quarriers in Bangladesh has raised questions about the effectiveness of law enforcement amid intensifying encroachment into protected forests.
- Sajjaduzzaman, 30, was struck by the quarriers’ truck after confronting them for digging up a hillside in the southern district of Cox’s Bazar.
- Attacks on forest officers by people illegally logging, quarrying, hunting or carrying out other forms of natural resource extraction are a long-running problem, with around 140 officers attacked over the past five years.
- Experts have called for a more coordinated approach from various government law enforcement agencies to support the Forest Department in keeping encroachers out of protected areas.

Warming seas push India’s fishers into distant, and more dangerous, waters
- Many of India’s more than 4 million fishers are sailing beyond the country’s exclusive economic zone into the high seas in search of a better catch.
- Rising sea surface temperatures, overfishing near the shore, and the destruction of reefs have decimated nearshore fisheries, forcing India’s fishers farther out to sea where they face greater risk.
- A common danger they run is straying into the waters of another country, which can lead to their boats being seized and the crew being jailed or even killed.
- The Indian government has issued policies to protect and recover nearshore fish stocks, even as it encourages fishing in the high seas.

Nepal’s tigers & prey need better grassland management: Interview with Shyam Thapa
- Researcher Shyam Thapa, who recently completed his Ph.D. in ecology, highlights flaws in traditional grassland management methods, particularly in Bardiya National Park.
- Thapa’s findings suggest the need for improved grassland management to enhance the health and numbers of tiger prey species.
- He emphasizes the importance of tailored management approaches based on grassland functionality.
- Implementing his study’s recommendations could potentially increase herbivore numbers in tiger habitats, reducing human-wildlife conflicts, Thapa says.

Activists file last-gasp suit as Indonesia fails again to pass Indigenous bill
- Lawyers for Indonesia’s main Indigenous alliance have initiated legal proceedings against the government for its failure to pass a long-awaited bill on Indigenous rights.
- The suit seeks to compel Indonesia’s parliament to expedite passage of the bill, which has remained deadlocked for more than a decade amid intransigence by elected representatives.
- “It still needs to be discussed,” a senior parliamentarian from the Golkar party said earlier this month.
- However, few expect any progress over the next few months, with a new parliament to be sworn in on Oct. 1 and a new president on Oct. 20.

Uttarakhand limits agricultural land sales amid protests & tourism development
- Following widespread protests, Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has issued orders to district magistrates to deny permission to sell agricultural lands to those outside the state.
- With just 14% of its land designated for agriculture and more than 65% of the population relying on agriculture, calls for legislation to safeguard residents’ land rights have intensified.
- With a lack of comprehensive, updated land records, monitoring the usage of farmlands for nonagricultural purposes has become challenging.
- Lack of employment opportunities and resources as well as shifting weather patterns and climate change have pushed numerous farmers to sell their land holdings.

Bangladesh uses satellite transmitters on saltwater crocodiles in Asia’s first
- On March 13, the Bangladesh forest department tagged satellite transmitters on two saltwater crocodiles for the first time in Asia and released them in the Sundarbans waters.
- So far, four saltwater crocodiles — three from captivity and one from the wild — have been tagged and the preparation is in place to tag more.
- The forest department has already started collecting data using the satellite transmitters to understand the crocodile’s habits in this ecosystem and identify nesting its hotspots, ecology, mortality rate and habitat range.
- Experts say the satellite data will play an important role in crocodile conservation in Bangladesh, where the species is critically endangered, and will help the authorities make proper conservation management plans to protect it.

Study challenges use of charismatic wildlife as umbrella species for conservation
- A new study from Indonesia’s Leuser forests challenges the traditional use of charismatic “umbrella species” like tigers and rhinos to represent ecosystem biodiversity.
- Researchers found that focusing on these well-known species neglects other important wildlife and may not accurately represent overall biodiversity.
- Instead, the study proposes a data-driven approach using camera-trap data to identify the most suitable umbrella species based on their association with higher levels of community occupancy and diversity.
- The study identified the sambar deer and Sunda clouded leopard as better umbrella species than tigers and rhinos in the Leuser Ecosystem, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive approach to wildlife conservation that includes multiple species, not just the most charismatic ones.

New calf, same threats: Javan rhinos continue to reproduce despite perils
- Recent camera-trap images of a Javan rhino calf, estimated to be 3-5 months old in March, demonstrate that the species continues to reproduce despite being beset by challenges.
- The species is confined to a single habitat, and while its population is officially estimated at more than 70 individuals, a report last year cast doubt on those figures, alleging that 18 of those rhinos had not been spotted on camera for years.
- The peninsula of Ujung Kulon National Park, where all Javan rhinos live, has been closed to all visitors since September 2023 after poaching activity was detected.

In Philippines’ restive south, conflict is linked to reduced biodiversity
- Mindanao, the Philippines’ second largest island group, has a troubled history of conflict dating back to the Spanish colonial era in the 16th century.
- A recent study of Mindanao found that higher levels of both state and non-state conflict correlated with reduced biodiversity and forest cover.
- The security problems associated with conflict also mean there are gaps in knowledge about the biodiversity of conflict-affected areas, and difficulties in implementing and monitoring programs to protect natural resources.

Indonesian capital project finally gets guidelines to avoid harm to biodiversity
- Beset by criticism over its environmental and social impacts, the controversial project of building Indonesia’s new capital city in the Bornean jungle has finally come out with guidelines for biodiversity management.
- The country’s president has hailed the Nusantara project as a “green forest city,” but just 16% of its total area is currently intact rainforest.
- The new biodiversity master plan outlines a four-point mitigation policy of avoiding harm, minimizing any inevitable impacts, restoring damaged landscapes, and compensating for residual impacts.
- The master plan considered input from experts, but several didn’t make it into the final document, including a call for the mitigation policy to extend to a wider area beyond the Nusantara site.

Sumatra villages count cost of deadly river tsunami swelled by illegal logging
- Several days of extreme rainfall beginning March 7 triggered fatal flash flooding across Indonesia’s West Sumatra province, resulting in at least 30 deaths and devastating villages on the fringe of Kerinci Seblat National Park.
- Deforestation upstream of the affected areas has exacerbated the risk of landslides and flash floods, according to officials.
- The Indonesian Forum for the Environment, a national civil society organization, called for government action to address illegal logging and land management practices to prevent future disasters.

Hyundai ends aluminum deal with Adaro Minerals following K-pop protest
- The South Korean auto company Hyundai has ended its 2022 agreement for procuring aluminum for its electric vehicles from Adaro Minerals, which plans to build 2.2 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants to power its aluminum smelter.
- The decision follows campaigns coordinated by Kpop4Planet, a climate movement led by K-pop fans who protested Hyundai’s business with Adaro.
- Climate group Market Forces has estimated Adaro’s coal plants would emit 5.2 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year, and activists say Hyundai would be pushed further from reaching its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.
- The campaign collected more than 11,000 petition signatures from K-pop fans in 68 countries.

Protected areas bear the brunt as forest loss continues across Cambodia
- In 2023, Cambodia lost forest cover the size of the city of Los Angeles, or 121,000 hectares (300,000 acres), according to new data published by the University of Maryland.
- The majority of this loss occurred inside protected areas, with the beleaguered Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary recording the highest rate of forest loss in what was one of its worst years on record.
- A leading conservation activist says illegal logging inside protected areas is driven in part by demand for luxury timber exports, “but the authorities don’t seem to care about protecting these forests.”
- Despite the worrying trend highlighted by the data, the Cambodian government has set an ambitious target of increasing the country’s forest cover to 60% by 2050.

On the trail of Borneo’s bay cat, one of the world’s most mysterious felines
- The bay cat, named for its brownish-red coat, is arguably the most elusive of all the world’s wildcats. And among the most endangered.
- The bay cat is the only feline endemic to Borneo. Researchers — some of whom have never seen the cat in the wild — say it is potentially threatened by habitat loss and killings by locals, with accidental snaring another possible major cause of loss.
- But the biggest threat may be ignorance. In order to better protect this species, researchers urgently need to figure out: Why is it so rare? And why is it vanishing?
- Jim Sanderson, the world’s leading expert on wildcats, suggests research on the bay cat should focus on why it’s so uncommon, what is causing its decline, and how to reduce those threats. Then conservationists can make a viable plan to protect it.

Conservationists welcome new PNG Protected Areas Act — but questions remain
- In February 2024, Papua New Guinea’s parliament passed the Protected Areas Bill, first introduced two decades ago, into an act, which aims to establish a national system of protected areas to achieve the conservation target of protecting 30% of PNG’s territory by 2030.
- The act lays out a legal framework for working with customary landowners in the country to earmark protected areas, establishes regulations to manage these areas and provides provisions for alternative livelihoods to forest-dependent communities.
- The act also mandates the establishment of a long-term Biodiversity and Climate Task Fund, which communities can access to implement their management plans and conservation objectives.
- While conservationists say the act is a good step toward protecting biodiversity, they raise concerns about its implementation and whether the promised benefits of protected areas will reach landowning communities.

Rainwater reserves a tenuous lifeline for Sumatran community amid punishing dry season
- Kuala Selat village lies on the coast of Indragiri Hilir district on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
- In the first half of the year, residents of the village arrange buckets and drums to collect rainwater to meet their daily needs.
- They will then stockpile water to last through the dry months from June-September, but a longer dry spell has led to an acute shortage of water.
- Residents say they believe the water crisis in the village was linked to bouts of diarrhea, and that many fled the village during an outbreak.

Research links deforestation in Cambodia to stunting in kids, anemia in women
- An analysis of public health data in Cambodia has found increased rates of malnutrition among children born in areas where deforestation had recently occurred.
- It also found that pregnant women in these areas were more likely to suffer from anemia, a condition that often correlates with incidences of malaria.
- Cambodia has lost nearly 30% of its forest cover this century, while more than 30% of its children under 5 have stunted growth due to malnutrition.
- The study illustrates how deforestation and the ecological disruptions it causes can compound previously existing rural health issues.

In Java Sea, vigilantism and poverty rise as purse seine fishing continues
- Fishing communities on small islands in the Java Sea and farther afield have long complained that large purse seine vessels are encroaching on traditional fishing grounds.
- On Sembilan Island, between the islands of Java and Borneo, local fishers have resorted to vigilantism due to what they say is inaction by authorities to prevent fishing with the purse seine, known locally as cantrang.
- The head of the local fisheries department told Mongabay Indonesia that fishers would see a crackdown against the boats.

Unseen and unregulated: ‘Ghost’ roads carve up Asia-Pacific tropical forests
- A new study indicates that significant networks of informal, unmapped and unregulated roads sprawl into forest-rich regions of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
- Slipping beneath the purview of environmental governance, construction of these “ghost roads” typically precede sharp spikes in deforestation and represent blind spots in zoning and law enforcement, the study says.
- The authors underscore that the relentless proliferation of ghost roads ranks among the gravest of threats facing the world’s remaining tropical forests.
- The findings bolster a growing momentum toward the development of AI-based road-mapping systems to help conservation biologists and resource managers better keep track of informal and illegal road networks and curb associated deforestation rates.

Forests in Vietnam’s Central Highlands at risk as development projects take priority
- Lâm Đồng province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands plans to delist an area of forest a quarter the size of the country’s biggest city, Ho Chi Minh City, in a bid to legalize farmland that’s currently zoned as forest.
- But an analysis of district- and city-level plans indicates an additional area more than half as large, most of which is natural forest, is also slated to be converted for a series of projects and infrastructure to serve socioeconomic development.
- More than three-quarters of that additional forest conversion will go toward mining projects, compared with a fraction of a percent that will be allocated for the use of ethnic minority communities.
- The forest delisting raises another concern: for every hectare of forest it converts, Lâm Đồng must reforest a hectare elsewhere — triple if it’s natural forest — and the province simply doesn’t have enough land available to do that.

In highly urbanized Japan, city farmers are key to achieving organic goal
- The Japanese government aims to convert at least 25% of all its farmland to organic by 2050, a significant jump from just 0.5% in 2020.
- Researchers found that urban and semi-urban farmers in Tokyo tend to adopt environmentally friendly practices more often than rural farmers, in response to a more environmentally conscious populace, a greater number of organic food stores and restaurants, and freedom from pressure to conform with farming practices in rural communities.
- Japan’s urban farmers are also more likely to diversify their business, such as by engaging in direct sales and creating hands-on farming events or volunteer opportunities, strengthening their ties with the local community.
- Despite positive steps, agricultural land in Tokyo continues to shrink, mirroring a trend in declining biodiversity. Advocates say continued efforts will be needed to preserve and make the best use of the capital’s urban farms.

Maluku bone collector unearths troubling consequence of coastal abrasion
- Due to runaway global demand for sand used in construction, coastal communities say mining of their beaches for sand is accelerating the damage done by waves and wind.
- On Indonesia’s Seram Island, the arrival of a sand mining company has stimulated demand for the commodity, but may have introduced environmental risks.
- The United Nations says around 50 million metric tons of sand is produced every year, while a separate study shows costal erosion is set to “radically redefine” the world’s coastlines this century.

As fires ravaged Indonesia in 2023, some positive trends emerged, data show
- Indonesia’s 2023 fire season saw 1.16 million hectares (2.87 million acres) of land and forest go up in flames, and while this was five times higher than in 2022, experts highlight a positive trend.
- The fires were exacerbated by an intense El Niño weather system, unlike in 2022; the last time similar conditions prevailed, in 2019, the area affected by fires was much larger, suggesting fire mitigation efforts may be working.
- Most of the burning occurred in scrubland and areas of degraded forest rather than in intact forests, meaning greenhouse gas emissions from the burning were also much lower than in 2023.
- But a worrying trend highlighted by the numbers is that severe fires are now occurring in four-year cycles, intensified and exacerbated by the impacts of a changing climate.

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