location: Southeast Asia

location: Southeast Asia

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Indigenous communities in eastern Indonesia revive systems for marine protection
Across the small islands of eastern Indonesia that lie within the Wallacea region, one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity regions, coastal communities are reviving ancient customary systems to safeguard marine ecosystems from destructive fishing and habitat loss. This movement is the centerpiece of Jejak Wallacea, a recent documentary highlighting how local empowerment can succeed […]
Rights groups renew call to free jailed Cambodian environmental activists
- Dozens of Cambodian and international civil society organizations have renewed calls for the release of five imprisoned activists from Mother Nature Cambodia, 700 days after they were jailed on charges widely viewed by rights groups as retaliation for their environmental activism.
- The activists were among 10 Mother Nature Cambodia members sentenced in 2024 to between six and eight years in prison for offenses including plotting against the government and insulting the king; a planned appeals hearing has now been postponed indefinitely.
- Supporters say the activists are being held in harsh conditions in prisons scattered across Cambodia, while repeated bail requests have been denied and families face significant financial and emotional burdens to visit them.
- The case has become a symbol of broader pressure on environmental defenders and civil society in Cambodia, with campaigners urging the government to free the activists ahead of the Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh later this year.

Bengal tigers in Cambodia? Reintroduction plan raises questions
- Cambodia’s plan to reintroduce tigers to the Cardamom Mountains, decades after their local extinction, has sparked debate over ecological readiness, governance, and community impact.
- The tigers are expected to be brought from India, prompting questions about their ability to adapt to different prey and landscapes, with experts warning that prey density in the Cardamom Mountains may simply be too low to support tigers in the long term.
- Snaring, targeted hunting, deforestation and infrastructure projects such as hydropower dams continue to threaten wildlife and tiger habitat in Cambodia.
- Residents of rural villages near the planned tiger release area say they have not been informed of plans to bring tigers into the forests that they rely on for their livelihoods.

Solar power brings energy to rural Indonesia, but inequality remains
In the remote, over-the-water village of Muara Enggelam in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, the introduction of reliable solar energy has become a catalyst for female entrepreneurship and economic stability. Historically cut off from basic services and reliant on expensive, noisy diesel generators that ran only from dusk to dawn, the village underwent a transformation starting in […]
Survivors sue Indonesian government over response to catastrophic Sumatra floods
- Survivors of the deadly late-2025 Sumatra floods and landslides have sued the Indonesian government, arguing the disaster was not solely a natural event but an “ecological disaster” worsened by decades of deforestation, watershed degradation, weak environmental enforcement, and inadequate disaster preparedness.
- The plaintiffs say authorities failed to act on repeated warnings from Indonesia’s meteorological agency before Cyclone Senyar struck, and criticize the government for not declaring a national emergency, which they argue hindered disaster response and recovery efforts.
- Environmental groups and researchers point to extensive forest loss and the expansion of plantations, mining and other concessions across Sumatra’s watersheds as factors that increased flooding and landslide risks during extreme rainfall events.
- Through the lawsuit, victims are seeking environmental audits, restoration of forests and watersheds, stronger disaster-mitigation measures, and a court ruling that could establish government accountability for environmental governance failures linked to large-scale disasters.

In Java, a women’s collective is helping save gibbons through forest-inspired textiles
- A group of women in Indonesia’s West Java province have become skilled printers on fabric using motifs derived from various plant species found in their local environment.
- Last year, Indonesian primatologist Rahayu Oktaviani received an award in recognition of her organization’s work with Java’s silvery gibbon, which included formation of the grassroots printing collective.
- The most recent assessment estimates fewer than 4,500 Javan gibbons remain in the wild, with half of the world’s Javan gibbon population living in the national park contiguous to the site of the Ambu Halimun initiative.

Global sand demand is outpacing nature’s ability to replenish it, UN says
The global sand mining industry removes around 50 billion metric tons of material each year, outpacing the rate at which sand replenishes through the slow geological processes of weathering, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. According to a report by the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), the demand for sand is expected to grow by 45% by 2060 […]
27 Moon Bears rescued from illegal Laos bile farm
In what was described as the largest bear farm rescue in Southeast Asia, authorities in Laos in conjunction with the international NGO Free the Bears freed 27 Asiatic black bears from a foreign-owned illegal bear bile farm in Laos. All 27 rescued bears were transferred to the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary, operated by Free the […]
What is happening to Thailand’s famous giant nets
SONGKHLA LAKE, Thailand — Jampen tends her Yo Yak lift nets and grandkids amid vanishing Luk Bre fish. As pollution threatens this ancestral tradition, villagers join researchers to build fish shelters, map routes with GIS, and innovate processing. Can local wisdom and science revive a fading way of life? Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover […]
Loopholes undermine palm oil industry’s antideforestation pledges
- More than a decade after the palm oil industry adopted “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) commitments, new satellite data show forest clearing for palm oil in Indonesia persists, with more than 31,000 hectares (nearly 77,000 acres) lost in 2025.
- Campaigners say deforestation increasingly slips through structural gaps in the system, including incomplete traceability, fragmented smallholder supply chains, and loopholes that allow companies linked to forest clearing to continue selling into supposedly deforestation-free markets.
- Investigators cite cases in Indonesia, the top producer of the commodity, as examples of how palm fruit from deforestation-linked plantations can still enter global supply chains through third-party mills and opaque ownership structures.
- Analysts warn these unresolved weaknesses could create major problems for compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will require firms to prove commodities sold in the EU are not linked to recent deforestation.

Luxury yacht maker Sunseeker pleads guilty to violating a US environmental law
Luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker has pleaded guilty to violating a U.S. environmental law by using illegally sourced teak from Myanmar on two of its yachts imported into the U.S. The U.K.-based Sunseeker International Limited, which describes itself as “the world’s leading brand for luxury motor yachts,” along with its U.S. subsidiary pleaded guilty on May […]
Building bridges for human-wildlife coexistence: Interview with Yap Jo Leen
- Conservationist Yap Jo Leen launched the Langur Project Penang after witnessing dusky langurs, an endangered monkey she was studying for her Ph.D. research, getting struck by vehicles on Malaysia’s Penang Island.
- Since 2019, her group has built three canopy bridges made from repurposed fire hoses to help langurs and other tree-dwelling wildlife safely cross busy roads, with no recorded langur roadkill deaths at the first bridge site since its installation.
- The project combines wildlife conservation with citizen science and environmental education, training volunteers to track langur movements, collect ecological and social data, and work with local communities to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
- Yap says the long-term goal is not simply to build more wildlife bridges, but to foster a broader culture of coexistence and community stewardship for urban wildlife across Malaysia.

Indonesia seizes mercury shipment bound for illegal mines in the Philippines
- Inspectors at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port found hundreds of individual containers of mercury hidden in carpets in a shipment bound for the Philippines in late April.
- Mercury is used in the so-called artisanal and small-scale mining sector to separate gold particles from ores recovered at illegal mines. However, the heavy metal is a severe neurotoxin that causes developmental disorders in children as well as devastating cognitive and physical impairments in adults.
- Pollution from mining has contaminated rivers, crops and fisheries, with studies linking exposure to serious health risks and reporting suggesting increased incidences of malaria transmission.
- Experts say the all-time high price of gold reached this year is driving more people to illegal mining sites, undermining international efforts to restrict the use and trade of mercury.

The most underfunded climate opportunities may be at sea
- At the Philanthropy Asia Summit’s “Sea Change” panel on ocean-climate solutions in Asia, speakers highlighted a mismatch between the ocean’s importance to the climate transition and the tiny share of philanthropic funding directed to ocean-climate work.
- Ocean philanthropy has long focused on conservation, fisheries, and coastal livelihoods, but climate change is now threatening many of those gains while also making the ocean central to mitigation through offshore wind, cleaner shipping, blue carbon, and coastal resilience.
- Philanthropy cannot finance offshore wind farms or the decarbonization of global shipping, but it can play a catalytic role by funding policy design, marine spatial planning, community engagement, technical research, coordination, and local capacity.
- Some of the strongest opportunities for funders lie in Asia, where offshore wind, ports, shipbuilding, shipping routes, and coastal communities converge, and where early philanthropic support can help make large-scale transitions faster, more inclusive, and more credible.

‘Same dangerous project’: Fury after Indonesia revives disputed mine
- Indonesia’s environment ministry has reapproved a controversial zinc and lead mine in North Sumatra, less than a year after the Supreme Court forced it to revoke the project’s earlier environmental approval over disaster-risk concerns.
- The revised environmental assessment replaces a proposed tailings dam with a plan to bury mining waste underground, but critics and independent experts say the mining company cannot realistically bury all of its waste and will still require a dangerous aboveground storage facility.
- Residents, activists and legal advocates argue the new approval is legally flawed because it relies on a framework already annulled by the Supreme Court, and say the company failed to conduct meaningful public consultation or provide key documents to affected communities.
- Communities opposing the mine say previous company activities have already caused environmental damage, flooding and water disruptions, and vow to continue fighting a project they fear could threaten lives and farmland in the earthquake-prone region.

What drives the trafficking of gibbons? Conservationists shed light on demand
As gibbon seizures reached a record high in 2025, conservationists warn that dismantling the illegal trade requires a deep understanding of the diverse motivations driving consumer demand, contributor Ana Norman Bermúdez reports for Mongabay. In 2025, authorities confiscated 336 gibbons between January and August alone, representing approximately 20% of all recorded seizures since 2016, according […]
Nine killed at illegal mine in latest Sumatra landslide tragedy as gold surge continues
- A mining accident in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province buried 12 miners on May 14, nine of whom were killed, following a period of heavy rain.
- The disaster is the latest fatal accident at an unpermitted mining site in the interior of Sumatra in recent years, with officials and civil society analysts saying the sustained high price of gold, which at the time of writing was threefold higher than six years ago, is drawing more people to illegal mines.
- Walhi, Indonesia’s largest environmental NGO, said at least 48 people were killed in West Sumatra, one of Indonesia’s 38 provinces, in the last 15 years.
- The green group said the true number could be much higher owing to the remote nature of the illegal industry.

Norlan Pagal, fisherman and guardian of Tañon Strait, died on May 14th, aged 56
- Norlan Pagal spent more than a decade defending the waters of Tañon Strait from illegal fishing.
- He survived dynamite, beatings and a 2015 ambush that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
- From his wheelchair, he continued watching the sea with binoculars and reporting violations to patrols.
- His work helped inspire other fishers to protect their waters and earned him recognition as an Ocean Hero.

Thai island community rallies to protect beloved dugongs, revive declining seagrass
- Seagrass beds around the island of Koh Libong in Thailand’s Andaman Sea have died off in recent years, part of wider nationwide declines scientists say have multiple, complex causes.
- The seagrass shortage has devastated the island’s once famed dugong population, jeopardizing tourism businesses and impacting the island community who have long protected them.
- Locals frustrated by slow government seagrass recovery plans are working with researchers and conservation groups to build citizen science skills and trial seagrass restoration techniques.
- Signs of hope are emerging, with recent surveys recording more dugongs in local waters, prompting local leaders to call for increased public awareness and enforcement of protections.

New animals discovered in Cambodian caves
Scientists have discovered at least 11 new species in Cambodia’s karst ecosystems — dramatic landscapes of caves and rocks that create isolated habitats. These new species, as well as other endangered animals in the region highlight the importance of protecting these rare ecosystems.
In Malaysia, a bridge helps endangered langurs and humans coexist
In Malaysia’s Penang state, conservationists and residents are collaborating to reduce conflict between humans and endangered dusky langurs displaced by urban development and habitat loss. The Langur Project Penang built a canopy bridge to help langurs safely cross a busy road and access more habitat, reducing time spent in residential areas and lowering complaints from […]
Smallholders are not the weak link in forest protection (commentary)
- Smallholders are often treated as risks in deforestation-free supply chains, writes Aida Greenbury, yet many are also among the people with the strongest reasons to keep forests standing.
- Greenbury argues that standards, traceability rules and buyer requirements can push costs onto farmers who lack the maps, documents, legal recognition and market access needed to comply.
- She says forest protection will work only if companies, donors, governments and NGOs make long-term commitments to smallholders, including support for land rights, incentives, better yields and trusted local institutions.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

On Southeast Asia’s largest lake, locals wield tech to defend the flooded forest
- Communities living around Cambodia’s Tonle Sap are using a combination of natural and technological solutions to help protect the lake and its surrounding forests from fires.
- A community savings initiative funds patrol teams, which respond to satellite alerts and have stopped more than 50 wildfires.
- Local residents are also restoring the forest by growing native trees in community nurseries.
- Threatened wildlife are returning as a result of these efforts: the fishing cat has been spotted for the first time in 10 years in the restoration area.

Tiremakers ready to roll with EUDR, but repeated delays frustrate industry
- Tire manufacturers, major consumers of natural rubber, say they’re ready for the implementation of the EU’s antideforestation regulation, or EUDR, and lament its repeated delays.
- Natural rubber supply chains are notoriously complex, with 85% of natural rubber coming from 6 million smallholders, and the rubber passing through numerous intermediaries before being turned into tires.
- Ensuring EUDR compliance throughout natural rubber supply chains remains challenging; European tire industry representatives also point to ongoing problems with the information system and due diligence requirements in downstream supply chains.
- The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber, made up of industry, civil society and producers, promotes sustainability within the natural rubber supply chain and supports smallholders.

Indonesia’s nickel boom linked to rising illness and worker harm, reports find
- A newly published report by Indonesia’s human rights commission, Komnas HAM, includes new evidence of environmental and public health harms caused by the nickel mining industry in eastern Indonesia.
- Mongabay Indonesia has previously reported on increases in respiratory disease recorded by health workers in a community alongside the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park in North Maluku province.
- The Komnas HAM human rights report also includes data showing high rates of respiratory disease around the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park in Central Sulawesi province.
- A separate report published by a labor nonprofit focusing on interviews with workers showed many knew of colleagues who had died suddenly, while reports of suicide were common.

Timor green pigeon could go extinct without immediate action, study finds
The extremely rare Timor green pigeon has fewer than 500 individuals left in the wild, according to a recent study. Researchers say its extinction risk must be revised from endangered to critically endangered. The fruit-eating Timor green pigeon (Treron psittaceus), known for its distinctive mango-green plumage, is “endemic to Timor, Rote and adjacent satellite islands” […]
Philippine fishing and Indigenous communities wary of clean energy boom in Marcos stronghold
- The Philippines is currently highly dependent on fossil fuels for energy generation, but the government has committed to reaching 50% renewables by 2050.
- The resulting energy boom — especially in Ilocos North, the president’s home province — has seen an influx of foreign investment, but also raised questions about who will bear the costs of the country’s energy transition.
- Fishers in Ilocos Norte say they worry that wind energy projects in their traditional fishing grounds will disrupt marine life and fishing routes.
- Inland, the Masamuyao Isneg Yapayao tribal council is trying to stop the expansion of a solar farm that officials say failed to obtain the tribe’s consent.

19,000 Great Pyramids a year: Report flags unsustainable rate of sand mining
- A new analysis of global sand extraction indicates the industry is removing roughly 50 billion metric tons a year, a pace that far outstrips natural replenishment.
- Experts say the loss of sand from landscapes, river deltas, and coastal zones threatens ecosystems, livelihoods and many processes on which life depends.
- Although the sand mining industry is operating at unsustainable levels, experts say measures exist to lessen its impact.
- Solutions include coordinated governance, stronger monitoring and long-term, cross-border planning.

In Thailand, burned sugarcane plantations become traps for leopard cat cubs
- Every crop burning season, dozens of leopard cat cubs are admitted to a wildlife rescue center in northeastern Thailand as fires tear through the sugarcane plantations where the cats shelter and hunt.
- Since 2023, admissions have risen sharply, from around 10 per year to between 40 and 65, likely driven by a combination of habitat fragmentation, high fire activity and a higher number of rescues due to a wildlife hotline introduced in 2019.
- This season’s survival rate was around 80% — markedly higher than in previous years. Fewer cubs arrived with severe burns, possibly linked to recent government regulations on agricultural burning.
- But researchers say fires reflect a deeper problem: Habitat fragmentation and climate change are pushing leopard cats into agricultural landscapes where they face compounding threats, including not just fires but also human-wildlife conflict, disease and the illegal wildlife trade.

Solar brings power to women entrepreneurs in Borneo, but rural energy inequality remains
- In the village of Muara Enggelam, East Kalimantan province, the arrival of affordable and reliable renewable energy has sparked a flurry of new businesses, some started by women who were previously unable to fulfil their economic ambitions.
- The remote village in Indonesian Borneo received its first installation of solar energy in 2015 following an allocation from Indonesia’s energy ministry.
- The electricity capacity remains limited, but households have been able to start small businesses selling food and drinks, while mobile internet has expanded market access via social media platforms.
- However, across the archipelago of 270 million people, the energy transition appears to have stalled in rural villages using solar, which a report authored by civil society organizations Celios and Greenpeace attributes largely to government fossil fuel subsidies.

At world’s largest shark conference, scientists warn of a grim outlook across the board
- Hundreds of researchers and conservationists met in Colombo from May 4-8 for Sharks International, held once every four years.
- Major topics at the conference included the trade in shark and ray meat, reducing shark bycatch, and the use of new technologies in conservation.
- Participants also highlighted innovative programs that encourage community-based conservation, and grappled with the contentious topic of closing fisheries to aid recovery of threatened species.

In eastern Indonesia, communities revive customary systems to protect the seas
- A new documentary, “Jejak Wallacea,” highlights how coastal communities across eastern Indonesia are reviving customary marine management systems to protect ecosystems threatened by destructive fishing, turtle hunting and habitat loss.
- Communities featured in the film use locally rooted approaches including seasonal fishing closures, turtle hatcheries, mangrove restoration, customary sanctions and community patrols to manage reefs, fisheries and coastal forests.
- Conservation groups behind the project say community-led systems rooted in Indigenous and local knowledge can succeed where top-down conservation models and formal protected areas alone often fall short.
- The initiatives have helped protect species including sea turtles, dugongs and thresher sharks, but organizers say long-term success depends on stronger government recognition and support for community-based conservation.

Wetland destruction blamed for rise in croc attacks on Indonesia’s Bangka Island
The destruction of coastal wetlands for illegal tin mining and oil palm plantations is to blame for a surge in crocodile attacks on people on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, residents say. Mongabay Indonesia contributor Taufik Wijaya reported that in February this year, a 40-year-old fisherman was killed by a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in the Menduk […]
New study explores how reforestation could help Java’s leopards survive
- A new study finds that strategically restoring degraded forests could help reconnect fragmented habitat for the endangered Javan leopard, giving the species more room to move across densely populated Java.
- Researchers created the first islandwide model of habitat connectivity for the species, showing how targeted reforestation could help offset some of the barriers created by roads, railways and urban development.
- Conservationists say isolated leopard populations face increasing risks from habitat loss, human conflict, disease and inbreeding, with only an estimated 320 Javan leopards remaining in the wild.
- Experts caution that the model still needs to be tested with real-world tracking data, but say reconnecting forests will be essential for the long-term survival of Java’s last apex predator.

Paying people to see wildlife: Inside a $1-per-hectare conservation experiment in Borneo
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Stop telling people to protect wildlife. Start paying them instead. That’s the idea in a new experiment in Kapuas Hulu district, in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, which is testing whether conservation can be made to work with local […]
Indonesia should avoid controversial programs to fund conservation (commentary)
- Protecting nature is often a struggle due to funding gaps, which governments across developing countries are struggling to close.
- While officials may pursue plans to fund conservation with programs like carbon credits, as in the case of Way Kambas National Park in Indonesia, these may ironically impact critical habitats for threatened species.
- “Indonesia should not be overconfident that it can close the gap by using controversial programs,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Conservationists fear fires could erase years of orangutan habitat recovery
- Fires have burned part of a restoration site being prepared for orangutan habitat in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, raising fears that another severe fire season could undo years of recovery work.
- The restoration project, led by the government, Yayasan IAR Indonesia and local communities, has replanted about 300 hectares (740 acres) with 150,000 trees to help keep critically endangered orangutans out of nearby farms.
- Conservationists say the fires, likely sparked by nearby land clearing for oil palm, spread rapidly through dry peat and scrub vegetation, despite the area still being in the rainy season.
- With severe El Niño conditions forecast later this year, conservation groups warn they lack sufficient resources to fully prepare for another major fire season like the devastating 2015 crisis.

Dangerous arsenic levels detected in Thailand’s Mekong mainstream for first time
- Thai authorities have detected dangerous levels of arsenic contamination in sediment from the Mekong River mainstream and three of its tributaries in the country’s north.
- The contamination has been widely linked to a surge in unregulated mining, including for rare earth minerals, upstream in Myanmar’s Shan state.
- Experts warn that toxic heavy metals could threaten aquatic ecosystems, fisheries and the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on the Mekong Basin.
- Regional coordination and monitoring remain limited, with the Mekong River Commission lacking authority over key upstream areas in Myanmar and China.

The world’s great deltas are sinking — and with them, a global food system
- The Mekong Delta is sinking. Projections indicate that 90% of this life-sustaining landform could disappear by 2100 due to human-driven factors such as groundwater pumping and sediment capture by dams, compounding the effects of sea-level rise.
- The Mekong is just one of 40 of the world’s large river deltas threatened by high subsidence rates coupled with rising sea levels, according to a 2026 global study. Among the 19 river deltas seeing the most significant widespread subsidence are those on the Mekong, Nile, Chao Phraya, Ganga-Brahmaputra, and Mississippi rivers.
- As the world’s great deltas sink, humanity loses rich, irreplaceable agricultural lands, fisheries, urban areas and exceptional biodiversity — much of which will not be salvageable beyond a certain point. Delta loss poses a significant threat to global food security, and an existential threat to often impoverished delta communities.
- Delta subsidence can be slowed and even reversed by implementing well-understood mitigation strategies, say experts, by replacing hydropower dams with alternative energy, reducing sand mining and groundwater extraction, and altering agricultural practices. But these solutions are hampered by economics and lack of political will.

A 10-year whale shark satellite study helps create new protected area in Indonesia
- Fishers and scientists joined together in Indonesia for a 10-year study to protect whale sharks (Rhincodon typus).
- The bagan fishers’ unique relationship with the endangered whale sharks enabled scientists to satellite tag the fish.
- The data from the decade-long study revealed previously unknown migration routes, feeding grounds and a whale shark nursery.
- The data will be used to help create a marine protected area designed for whale sharks.

Cambodia tested waters amid pollution claims; months later, still no public results
- Following local Indigenous Brao reports of health issues stemming from water since gold mining began in the area in 2023, Cambodian authorities tested water and sediment from the O’Ta Bouk River in February.
- To date, no results of water, sediment or fish sampling has been made public, despite experts urging more comprehensive testing and communities languishing in uncertainty over the safety of the river.
- All of this is taking place in Virachey National Park, one of Cambodia’s oldest and most remote protected areas, home to many endangered species, where the Cambodian government awarded an 18,900-hectare mining exploration license to a politically connected company.
- Brao fishers who live along the banks of the O’Ta Bouk River say there are no fish in the water, which they attribute to persistent problems linked to pollution; farmers who use the O’Ta Bouk’s waters for irrigation question whether to plant another year’s crops.

RJ Nichole Ledesma, chronicler of unsettled ground on Negros Island, was killed last month. He was 30.
- A 30-year-old journalist was killed while reporting on renewable energy’s impact on farming communities in Negros Island.
- RJ Nichole Ledesma focused on land, labor, and displacement, documenting stories rarely covered by national media.
- Ledesma’s reporting examined how projects—from solar farms to plantations—reshaped the lives of farmers and fisherfolk.
- His death is contested; his work offers a clearer record of the communities he chose to follow.

Indonesia busts wildlife trafficking ring targeting Komodo dragons
Police in Indonesia have announced the dismantling of what they say is a major wildlife trafficking network largely targeting the world’s largest lizard species. Authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the alleged syndicate, which was involved in trafficking endemic Indonesian species, particularly juvenile Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis), an endangered and protected species, to […]
Singapore’s population of Raffles’ banded langur has doubled
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a forest reserve on the edge of Singapore, volunteers spend hours scanning the canopy for a primate they may not see. The exercise points to a simple constraint of conservation in a dense city: most habitats are […]
Saline intrusion in Mekong Delta leaves farmers and scientists at odds
- Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is increasingly facing saltwater intrusion, as sea levels rise, land subsides and the river’s natural cycles are disrupted by dams and irrigation infrastructure.
- A growing scientific consensus says Vietnam must learn to adapt to salt water rather than trying to engineer its way out of the problem; this perspective was officially integrated into Vietnam’s public policy with the 2017 Resolution 120.
- In practice, however, hard infrastructure like sluice gates are popular at the local level and continue to be built.
- Progress implementing Resolution 120 has also slowed due to 2025 administrative reforms that restructured ministries and re-drew provincial boundaries in the delta.

In Indonesia, a schoolboy moves mountains on waste as government targets reform
- At just 12 years old, Syazwan Luftan Riady started a grassroots nonprofit of young people in East Java province focused on environmental protection.
- Now a second-year student at a prominent university in Indonesia, Luftan is also the protagonist of a children’s book and has received recognition from a U.S. organization for his campaigning work.
- The United Nations Environment Programme notes that Indonesia generates 3.2 million metric tons of plastic waste every year, the second most in the world after China.
- Indonesia’s president, Prabowo Subianto, announced in February a “war on waste” and is overseeing construction of 33 new electricity generation projects fueled by household waste. The president has also called for a volunteer army of schoolchildren to help clean up the country’s beaches and rivers.

Laos can do more to mitigate chemical pollution of rivers flowing into Vietnam (analysis)
- Rapid expansion of rare earth and gold mining in Laos is contaminating river systems that flow into Vietnam, putting millions of downstream users at risk.
- Toxic runoff, particularly arsenic, poses a “silent” threat as it bioaccumulates over time, with serious long-term impacts on human health, fisheries and food security.
- Weak enforcement and the lack of a dedicated Laos-Vietnam monitoring framework leave these shared rivers vulnerable, highlighting the urgent need for stronger cross-border cooperation and safeguards.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Species thought extinct for thousands of years ‘rediscovered’ thanks to Indigenous knowledge
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On a remote peninsula in Indonesian Papua, a species long thought extinct by scientists has been confirmed to survive. The evidence did not come from a formal survey. It began with conversations with Tambrauw elders, who described a […]
Indonesia escalates ‘war on waste’ with criminal probe into Jakarta landfill disaster
- On March 8, seven sanitation workers were killed at Southeast Asia’s largest landfill, the Bantargebang dump site east of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital city.
- The country’s environment minister at the time, Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, told Mongabay that criminal charges against a former environment agency lead for the capital could be followed by charges against other civil servants.
- The criminal investigations into the former environment Jakarta and also in Bali were announced two months after President Prabowo Subianto announced a “war on waste” amid revived plans to build incinerators capable of turning millions of tons of household waste into electricity.

Saving crocodiles from extinction
Community-led efforts are helping revive and save Siamese crocodiles from the brink of extinction. Siamese crocodiles are native to Southeast Asia and considered guardians of the wetlands by many communities. However, their population declined drastically due to hunting and habitat loss as a result of which they have been declared a critically endangered species. In […]
On World Tapir Day, data gaps cloud future of Malaysia’s tapirs
Asia’s only tapir species still remains understudied in Malaysia, researchers at the Wildlife Conservation Society say. Recent findings from Thailand suggest that some forest complexes there may hold more Malay, or Asian tapirs (Tapirus indicus) than previously estimated. However, across the border in Malaysia, experts warn that the endangered species faces an uncertain future, complicated […]
Deforestation is surging in Indonesia
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Indonesia’s forests, long held up as a case of tentative progress, are again under pressure. New analysis shows deforestation rose sharply in 2025, reversing several years of decline and returning to levels not seen in nearly a decade, […]
Endangered civet faces local extinction in Cambodian sanctuary
The large-spotted civet is an endangered small carnivore found in pockets of forest across Southeast Asia. Now, a new study suggests the nocturnal mammals are heading toward local extinction in Cambodia’s Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS), once considered a global stronghold for the species. The study, published in Pacific Conservation Biology, analyzed a decade of camera-trap […]
Investigators eye organized crime links in 3-ton pangolin scale haul at Jakarta port
- Customs officers in Jakarta planned to conduct interviews this month in connection with the seizure of more than 3 metric tons of pangolin scales, which inspectors found in a shipping container bound for Cambodia in late February.
- Mongabay Indonesia visited the address registered to the company exporting the container, but it appeared to be a shopfront, while its contact numbers registered in a government database were inactive.
- Indonesian authorities continue to make more pangolin scale seizures: This month, a Navy vessel intercepted a Vietnam-flagged cargo boat off the northwest coast of Java found to be carrying 780 kg (1,720 lbs) of scales.

Wetland destruction for mining, oil palm tied to crocodile attacks in Indonesia
- Bangka-Belitung, an island province located to the north of Sumatra Island, accounted for more than a quarter of the world’s tin production five years ago.
- Satellite analysis shows that this globally significant mining industry has come at extensive environmental cost: Bangka-Belitung lost 36% of its old-growth forest between 2002 and 2024, besides the deforestation incurred in the 20th century.
- In 2024, Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office announced the country’s largest ever criminal corruption case, after investigators uncovered collusion with the state-owned tin miner, PT Timah, and illegal mining operators on Bangka.
- Meanwhile, local wildlife charities say deforestation of the coastal wetland on the west of Bangka Island, which was inhabited by humans at least as far back as the 7th century, may be to blame for the rise in human-wildlife conflicts afflicting local populations.

Singapore to halt sourcing and breeding dolphins
Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa will stop sourcing wild dolphins for its aquarium and is suspending its captive-breeding program, according to insiders, reports Mongabay contributor Robin Hicks. Anbarasi Boopal, former co-chief executive of Singapore animal welfare charity Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), said this was a positive step. However, she called for transparency about […]
Citizen science helps reconnect Singapore treetops for elusive leaf-eating langurs
- Singapore’s fragmented forests are home to a small population of Raffles’ banded langurs, one of the world’s most threatened primates.
- Citizen scientists are helping conservationists protect the arboreal species across the island’s densely urbanized landscape.
- By collecting long-term and consistent data in known strongholds, volunteers have identified langur food plants and movement corridors, boosting efforts to enrich and reconnect their habitats.
- The citizen science program has also built public awareness of the elusive species, one of only three primates left in Singapore, an outcome experts hope will rouse wider support for biodiversity protection amid intense development pressure.

Elephants adjust what they eat in altered habitats, signaling growing pressure
Asian elephants are adapting to rapidly changing landscapes by diversifying their diets — a sign of resilience, but also a warning about the pressures reshaping their habitats, according to a recent study from Malaysia. Researchers collected feces from wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) across two distinct landscapes in Peninsular Malaysia: one with primary and secondary […]
Fossil fuel subsidies and high costs stall energy transition across rural Indonesia
- Research by the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) and Greenpeace shows the number of villages across Indonesia using solar energy among households declined by more than a quarter between 2021 and 2024.
- The authors of the Village Energy Transition Index said adoption of renewable energy in villages may reflect high installation costs and government subsidies for fossil fuels.
- Significant regional inequality exists between Java and other wealthier regions compared with the east of Indonesia, where solar potential energy is greater and where more rural communities would benefit from the technology.
- Anecdotal testimony indicates installations of basic photovoltaic systems often do not last long due to difficulties and costs associated with repairing units after a component fails, a particular challenge in coastal areas where salt corrosion is a factor.

To tackle trafficking in gibbons, experts probe what drives demand
- As gibbon trafficking reaches record highs, conservationists say reducing demand is critical to tackling the illegal trade.
- But motivations for wanting to buy a gibbon vary widely between buyer communities, which means the solutions must be tailored accordingly, experts say.
- Surveys of people who voluntarily surrendered gibbons to a sanctuary in Malaysia found that most cited as motivation a love of animals or desire for their children to have an animal to play with.
- In India, by contrast, a sanctuary manager says gibbons are coveted as status symbols, and most arrive at the center via confiscation rather than voluntary submission.

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