location: Sumatra

location: Sumatra

Social media activity version | Lean version

A flood of logs post-Cyclone Senyar leaves Padang fishers out of work
- Flash floods in late November swept timber and mud from upstream forests into coastal waters around Padang, blocking access to the sea and cutting off the livelihoods of hundreds of fishers.
- Fishers say massive floating logs have damaged boats and halted daily incomes, forcing many families to rely on credit to meet basic needs.
- Marine scientists warn that suspended sediment and decaying timber threaten coastal ecosystems by blocking sunlight, disrupting food chains and degrading water quality.
- Environmental groups link the disaster to illegal logging and weak forest governance upstream, calling for stronger law enforcement, national disaster status and urgent government action.

Tsunami veteran rescue elephants mobilized for Indonesia cyclone disaster relief
- The number of people killed by flash floods after Cyclone Senyar made landfall over Sumatra on Nov. 26 increased to 1,059 on Dec. 18. In Pidie Jaya district, on the north coast of the semi-autonomous region of Aceh, officials assigned a team of four rescue elephants, veterans of the recovery operation after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in Aceh.
- The Aceh conservation agency said the elephants were uniquely able to help remove fields of logs carried down valleys by the worst flash floods to hit the region in years, with the scale of debris fields impassable to heavy machinery.
- “They are trained and experienced elephants,” the head of Aceh’s conservation agency told Mongabay, while emphasizing that officials went to great lengths to ensure the Sumatran animals’ welfare.
- At least one Sumatran elephant was presumed killed in flash floods caused by Cyclone Senyar, after residents in a village neighboring the rescue elephants’ workplace discovered the animal’s body Nov. 29.

Tapanuli orangutan, devastated by cyclone, now faces habitat loss under zoning plans
- A proposed zoning overhaul in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province could strip legal protections from nearly a third of the Batang Toru ecosystem, threatening the last remaining habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
- The proposal came just before a powerful cyclone triggered floods and landslides that may have killed or displaced dozens of Tapanuli orangutans and severely damaged thousands of hectares of forest.
- The changes would weaken scrutiny of mining and plantation projects, including a planned expansion of a nearby gold mine, by removing the area’s “provincial strategic” designation.
- Conservationists say rolling back protections now would be a “nail in the coffin” for the species, calling for emergency protections and expanded conservation measures to prevent population collapse.

Orangutans rescued from the wildlife trade undergo intensive re-training to return to the wild
NORTH SUMATRA, Indonesia — Welcome to jungle school, where orphaned orangutans are learning the basics for survival that they will need for life in the wild. At the Orangutan Information Centre (OIC) in North Sumatra, vets and biologists are rehabilitating orangutans who have been confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade. Once they have mastered the […]
Sumatra’s ‘natural’ disaster wasn’t natural: How deforestation turned a rare cyclone catastrophic
- Cyclone Senyar was an unusually rare event for Sumatra, but the scale of destruction cannot be explained by weather alone. Decades of deforestation, mining, plantations, and peat drainage left watersheds unable to absorb intense rainfall, turning extreme weather into a mass-casualty disaster.
- Forest loss and land conversion have systematically weakened Sumatra’s natural defenses. The island has lost millions of hectares of forest since 2001, increasing runoff, destabilizing slopes, and amplifying floods and landslides when heavy rain hits.
- Peatland drainage has created a hidden, compounding flood risk. Canals dug for plantations dry and compact peat soils, causing land subsidence and transforming once water-retentive landscapes into low-lying areas prone to chronic inland and coastal flooding.
- Rising exposure, not just rising hazards, is driving future risk. Urban expansion into floodplains and degraded catchments means that even rare storms now endanger more people and infrastructure, locking much of Sumatra into a cycle of disaster unless land-use governance changes.

Sumatran flood disaster may have wiped out a key Tapanuli orangutan population, scientists fear
- As many as 35 critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans — 4% of the species’ total population — may have been wiped out in the catastrophic floods and landslides that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra recently, scientists warn, after the discovery of a carcass.
- Satellite and field evidence show massive destruction of the western block of the Batang Toru ecosystem, with thousands of hectares of steep forest slopes destroyed — an “extinction-level disturbance” for the world’s rarest great ape.
- Conservationists have lost contact with monitored orangutans in the disaster zone, raising fears more individuals were killed or displaced as feeding areas and valleys were obliterated.
- The tragedy has renewed calls to safeguard the Batang Toru ecosystem by halting industrial projects and granting it stronger protection, as climate-driven disasters escalate across Sumatra.

Death toll rises in Sumatra flood catastrophe as gov’t moves to protect Batang Toru forest
- The number confirmed killed following the most fatal flooding to hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra for decades increased to almost 1,000 on Dec. 9.
- On Dec. 6, Indonesia’s Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq suspended companies operating in the badly affected Batang Toru ecosystem, an old-growth Sumatran rainforest home to the Tapanauli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), the world’s most endangered species of ape.
- The chief executive of Mighty Earth praised the move, saying reducing deforestation was critical to avoiding a repeat of the disaster.
- In the week beginning Dec. 8, first responders in three provinces continued work in challenging terrain to recover the dead and rescue the injured two weeks after a rare cyclone, named Senyar, made landfall over Indonesia’s largest island.

Already disappearing, Southeast Asia’s striped rabbits now caught in global pet trade
- Rare, elusive and little-known to science, two species of striped rabbits are endemic to Southeast Asia: Sumatran striped rabbits from Indonesia and endangered Annamite striped rabbits from the Vietnam-Laos border region.
- Both species are threatened by habitat loss and illegal snaring, despite having protected status in their range countries.
- In recent months, authorities have seized at least 10 live rabbits smuggled from Thailand on commercial flights to India, highlighting the first known instance of these rabbits being trafficked internationally for the pet trade.
- Conservationists say this trend is alarming, given that the two species are on the brink of extinction. They urge range countries to add the two species to CITES Appendix III, the international wildlife trade convention, and to work with Thai authorities to establish a conservation breeding program with the seized rabbits.

Study maps whale shark stranding hotspots in Indonesia, highlights conservation needs
- A new study has identified whale shark stranding hotspots in Indonesia and linked them to seasonal ocean conditions, offering scientists a clearer picture of when and where risks are highest.
- The researchers found that most strandings involved juveniles and often occurred during upwelling seasons; they highlighted that human pressures such as fishing gear, ship traffic and pollution may further increase the danger.
- The study calls for stronger rescue networks, better community training, and international cooperation to improve survival rates and protect these migratory animals across the region.

Scientists call for stronger action to save Indonesia’s vanishing seagrass meadows
- Marine experts at the Indonesian Seagrass Symposium in Bali warned that seagrass ecosystems — vital for carbon storage, biodiversity and coastal protection — remain largely overlooked in national policy and conservation efforts.
- Seagrass coverage in Indonesia has fallen from around 30,000 km2 in 1994 to about 8,000 km2 today, with losses driven by pollution, mining, coastal development and sedimentation that reduces water clarity and habitat quality.
- Indonesia holds some of the world’s most extensive remaining seagrass meadows, estimated to store more than 30 million metric tons of CO2, making their protection crucial for both national and global climate goals.
- Scientists and conservation leaders urged stronger data collection, funding and institutional capacity to support restoration, monitoring and community participation, positioning Indonesia as a potential leader in seagrass conservation.

One man’s mission to rewild a dying lake
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. From a hillside overlooking Lake Toba, the vast volcanic basin at the heart of Sumatra, Wilmar Eliaser Simandjorang looks down on what he calls both a blessing and a warning, reports Sri Wahyuni for Mongabay. Once the first […]
Indonesia retiree rewilds world’s largest volcano lake as church demands plantation closures
- In 2005, career civil servant Wilmar Eliaser Simandjorang became the first district leader of Samosir, home to Lake Toba, the largest lake in Indonesia and largest volcanic lake in the world.
- After retiring, Wilmar devoted his time to building grassroots networks to rewild parts of Lake Toba, while advocating for greater environmental protection in the Sumatran upland.
- In 2013, Wilmar declined to accept the Wana Lestari prize awarded by Indonesia’s government, citing what he saw as shortcomings in government initiatives to manage the land.
- This year, the largest Batak church, the Batak Protestant Christian Church (HKBP), made a public call for the region’s largest plantation company, PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL), to be shut down.

New cluster of Tapanuli orangutans discovered in Sumatra peat swamp
- Researchers have confirmed that the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, previously thought to live only in Sumatra’s Batang Toru forest, also inhabits a peat swamp forest 32 kilometers (20 miles) away in the Lumut Maju village forest.
- DNA analysis of fecal samples verified the Lumut Maju apes as Tapanuli orangutans, marking the first confirmed record of the species outside Batang Toru.
- The discovery highlights the conservation value of nonprotected peat swamps, which are rapidly being cleared for oil palm plantations, threatening the orangutans’ survival.
- Conservationists warn that the isolated Lumut Maju population, likely fewer than 100 individuals, may not be viable long term unless habitat protection or relocation strategies are implemented.

Indonesia eyes seagrass zoning for blue carbon; experts urge community benefits
- Indonesia is moving to designate 17 seagrass habitats as national strategic areas for blue carbon, a plan that promises climate and community benefits but raises concerns over safeguards.
- The fisheries ministry says the zoning will help cut emissions, protect marine ecosystems and boost coastal livelihoods, with seagrass storing carbon far more effectively than rainforests.
- Experts welcome the initiative but warn it must avoid privatization, ensure fair benefit-sharing and guarantee transparent governance to prevent conflicts and elite capture.
- With Indonesia holding 11.5% of the world’s seagrass meadows, scientists stress the urgency of protection as the ecosystems vanish globally at alarming rates.

Indonesia aims to redraw UNESCO site boundaries to allow geothermal projects
- Indonesia is proposing to redraw the boundaries of a UNESCO World Heritage rainforest, excluding two degraded areas, in order to free up geothermal potential in the region.
- Geothermal, which draws from the country’s volcanic geography, is an energy technology the government is aggressively promoting as the country moves away from fossil fuels.
- The area was declared a World Heritage Site in 2004 for its immense biodiversity: more than 10,000 plant species, 200 mammals and 580 birds, including critically endangered Sumatran orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants.
- The site is already on UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list due to deforestation, illegal logging, encroachment and road building; environmentalists warn that geothermal development risks worsening pressures on a forest ecosystem already in decline.

Censured Sumatra coal plant blamed for sickening children in Indonesia’s Bengkulu
- A 2×100 megawatt coal power plant established by Chinese state-owned enterprise, Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), incurred environmental penalties in 2023 from Indonesia’s environment ministry for dumping fly ash into a protected marine area off the city of Bengkulu in Sumatra.
- Residents of Teluk Sepang in 2019 formed a grassroots organization to advocate for clean air while holding to account PowerChina’s Indonesian affiliate, PT Tenaga Listrik Bengkulu.
- Data from a local clinic in Teluk Sepang showed a large share of young people living in the shadow of the coal plant suffer from respiratory diseases.

Global brands join drive for deforestation-free palm oil in Indonesia’s Aceh
- Major brands including Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever have launched the Aceh Sustainable Palm Oil Working Group to align with a new road map for deforestation-free palm oil in the Indonesian province.
- Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, is home to the Leuser Ecosystem and other critical habitats, but has lost nearly 42,000 hectares (104,000 acres) of forest since 2020, much of it driven by expansion of oil palm plantations.
- The initiative aims to boost the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, protect high conservation value forests, and help producers comply with new global rules like the EU Deforestation Regulation.
- While the plan has drawn international backing, civil society groups stress its success depends on ensuring accountability, transparency and sustained pressure to halt illegal deforestation.

Pulp and paper giant APP moves closer to regaining FSC stamp despite pending review
- The Forest Stewardship Council has allowed Asia Pulp & Paper — “one of the world’s most destructive forestry companies” — to resume its remedy process toward regaining certification it lost in 2007 for deforestation and land conflicts.
- Watchdog groups say the decision is premature because a legal review of APP’s links to Paper Excellence/Domtar, the biggest pulp and paper company in North America, is still unfinished.
- Critics warn the move could erode trust, enable greenwashing, and expose communities in conflict with APP-linked companies to further harm.
- NGOs are calling for the remedy process to be paused until the review is completed and for full transparency on corporate ownership and compliance.

How Indonesian companies dodge fines for forest & peatland fires
- While Indonesia’s courts have fined plantation companies more than $21 trillion rupiah ($1.3 billion) for forest and peatland fires, almost none of that money has been collected.
- This fuels a cycle of impunity where fires continue to flare up in concessions already found guilty by court.
- In a common pattern, companies found guilty of burning forests either shield their assets, declare bankruptcy or exploit loopholes to avoid paying.
- Indonesia’s enforcement gaps also allow repeat offenders to continue operating unchecked, profiting from the very land they were banned from using.

World Orangutan Day: Ongoing threats & habitat loss haunt these great apes
Despite years of research into their complex behavior and intelligence, orangutans remain critically endangered on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, where they’re endemic. Mongabay has extensively covered the threats they face from habitat degradation and what studies say about how human activities affect them. This World Orangutan Day, on Aug. 19, we take a […]
NASA satellites show surge in Indonesia hotspots as 2025 fires send smoke to Malaysia
- NASA satellite data show a dramatic uptick in fire hotspots across Indonesia, with smoke from Sumatra detected in Malaysia in late July.
- The July spike follows early warning signs in May and June, with most fires detected in peatlands and fire-prone agricultural areas, raising alarms over worsening air quality, public health, and environmental damage.
- Activists warn the 2025 fire season could be one of the worst in recent memory, rivaling past disaster years.
- The crisis unfolds a decade after Indonesia’s 2015 fire disaster, which burned 2.6 million hectares, caused an estimated 100,000 premature deaths, and triggered a regional haze crisis affecting Singapore and Malaysia.

As Indonesia reclaims forests from palm oil, smallholders bear brunt of enforcement
- Indonesian authorities have reclaimed 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of forest from illegal oil palm plantations under a militarized crackdown, but critics say it disproportionately targets Indigenous communities and smallholders while sparing large corporations, deepening land inequality.
- Much of the reclaimed land is being handed over to state-owned plantation company PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara, raising concerns that private monopolies are being replaced by a state one, with some communities pushed into profit-sharing schemes critics call exploitative.
- In biodiversity-rich Tesso Nilo National Park, thousands of families are being forcibly evicted, while powerful figures like a local legislator evade sanctions, highlighting a two-tiered policing system.
- Activists are calling for a new forestry law to address outdated legislation, protect Indigenous land rights, mandate ecological restoration, and close legal loopholes that allow corporate violators to avoid accountability.

Civil society challenges Indonesian deregulation law over rights and environment
- Indonesia’s controversial Job Creation Law is facing new legal challenges from civil society groups who say it weakens environmental protections and human rights.
- One lawsuit targets provisions that restrict public involvement in environmental impact assessments and remove key legal tools for opposing harmful projects.
- A second lawsuit challenges special privileges granted to large-scale infrastructure projects, accusing the law of facilitating forced evictions and land grabs.
- A case study cited in the legal battle is the Rempang Eco City project, which residents say has displaced Indigenous communities without their consent and through the use of violence.

Burning, burying and banning: Indonesia’s cities struggle to manage their garbage
- Indonesia’s garbage crisis is growing, with illegal dumping and unmanaged waste threatening communities, tourism, and ecosystems — as seen in the unsanctioned disposal of nearly 200 truckloads of trash near a popular beach in Yogyakarta.
- Despite a 2008 law banning open dumping, enforcement has long been delayed, but as of April 2025, the central government has officially ordered the closure of 343 landfills and threatened jail time for noncompliant local officials.
- Local governments are scrambling to comply, with some cracking down on illegal dumping, promoting waste sorting, or offering cash incentives — though problems like corruption, poor infrastructure, and public resistance to waste separation persist.
- Experts say lasting solutions require public cooperation, better funding, and consistent enforcement, as Indonesia struggles to change long-standing attitudes and behaviors toward waste management.

Hope and frustration as Indonesia pilots FSC’s logging remedy framework
- Indonesia is the first test case for the Forest Stewardship Council’s new remedy framework, which allows logging firms to regain ethical certification by addressing past environmental and social harms.
- However, NGOs have found serious flaws in the process, including lack of consent, rushed assessments, and exclusion of many affected Indigenous communities.
- The process also faces backlash over poor transparency, intimidation of Indigenous rights activist, and allegations of undisclosed corporate ties to ongoing deforestation.
- Some communities see the framework as a rare chance to reclaim land and rights — but only if it becomes truly fair and accountable.

Listings of Indonesian islands renew fears of privatization for coastal communities
- Listings of Indonesian islands on a foreign real estate site have sparked concerns about privatization, prompting the government to block the site domestically and clarify that islands cannot be sold to foreign entities under national law.
- Officials said the listings were likely aimed at attracting investment, not outright sales, but critics warn such practices enable control over island and offshore areas, often displacing fishers and triggering land conflicts.
- A 2021 regulation allows foreign investors to lease small islands for up to $1,900 per km² per year, and a government portal launched in 2024 streamlines permits for islands smaller than 2,000 km², accelerating commercialization.
- Watchdogs say 254 small islands have already been privatized, often without adequate oversight, and warn that unchecked investment could jeopardize fisher livelihoods and national sovereignty over maritime territories.

Mentawai’s primates are vanishing. One hunter is trying to save them.
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the jungles of Siberut Island, the cries of the bilou once echoed freely. Now, they’re harder to hear. Siberut is the largest of the Mentawai Islands, an archipelago off western Sumatra, Indonesia, where a battle is unfolding […]
Pay-to-release program reduces shark deaths, but backfires in some cases
- A pay-to-release program for threatened sharks and rays significantly reduced bycatch in Indonesia, with 71% of wedgefish and 4% of hammerheads released alive; but it also led some fishers to intentionally catch these species to claim incentives.
- Unequal payments across regions (ranging from $1 to $135 per fish) and the absence of national protective laws have complicated conservation efforts in key fishing areas like East Lombok and Aceh Jaya.
- A rigorous randomized controlled trial revealed unintended consequences: wedgefish mortality dropped by just 25%, while hammerhead mortality rose by 44% due to incentive-driven targeting.
- Local NGO KUL, which runs the program, has revised it to limit payouts and promote gear swaps, aiming to better align conservation outcomes with fisher livelihoods in the world’s top shark- and ray-catching nation.

A fragile win as Indonesia cancels high-risk mine permit after court ruling
- Indonesia’s environment ministry has finally revoked a permit for a controversial zinc-and-lead mine in earthquake-prone Dairi district, following a Supreme Court ruling and years of community protests over safety and environmental risks.
- The court last August found the mine’s planned tailings dam posed unacceptable dangers due to high seismic activity, landslide risk, and unstable terrain; experts called the location one of the worst possible sites for such a project.
- The revocation sets a legal precedent by confirming that environmental approvals under Indonesia’s deregulation law can be challenged in court, strengthening public access to environmental justice.
- Despite the ruling, concerns persist that developer PT Dairi Prima Mineral may seek a new permit, as similar cases have seen revoked projects revived; activists urge the government and China, a key investor, to respect the court decision.

After years of silence, Indonesia moves to assess its iconic wildlife
- Indonesia, home to critically endangered orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinos, has gone nearly two decades without official updates on the populations of some key species.
- Under the previous forestry minister, population surveys and conservation plans were shelved or retracted, and relationships with conservation organizations were often tense.
- Under new leadership, the ministry has signaled that initiating wildlife surveys and publishing population and habitat viability analyses (PHVAs) are key priorities, and surveys of several key species are already underway.
- While welcoming pro-science statements from environment authorities, conservationists caution that data remain alarmingly deficient for many species, and that updating surveys is time-consuming and expensive — a particular concern given recent cuts to the ministry’s budget.

Wildlife crime crackdown in jeopardy worldwide after US funding cuts
- In 2019, Malawi dismantled the Chinese-led Lin-Zhang wildlife trafficking syndicate, a major win in its fight against the illegal wildlife trade, thanks in part to funding from the U.S. government.
- The Trump administration’s recent slashing of international development funds, however, threatens these gains, leaving frontline enforcers and conservation programs without critical support.
- NGOs across Africa and Southeast Asia, running initiatives from sniffer rat programs to antipoaching patrols, tell Mongabay they’re struggling to fill the funding gap.
- Experts warn that without urgent alternative, and sustainable, sources of funding, heavily trafficked species like elephants, rhinos and tigers could face accelerated declines.

Indigenous conservationists lead the fight to save Mentawai’s endangered primates
- Five of the six nonhuman primate species found in the Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands have traditionally been hunted; traditional beliefs forbid killing the sixth, Kloss’s gibbon, or bilou.
- With widespread deforestation and the erosion of traditional practices that governed hunting behavior, all of the islands’ primates are now endangered or critically endangered.
- Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai, a grassroots, Indigenous-led organization, is working with communities to protect primates within the framework of Indigenous Mentawai customs.

Sumatran tiger protection needs more patrols, tougher penalties, study finds
- A new study on Sumatran tiger conservation in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park underscores that poaching remains the top threat, despite extensive patrols and antitrafficking efforts over the past decade.
- Researchers found that while patrols removed hundreds of snares and law enforcement increasingly pursued criminal charges, poaching rates remained high and tiger populations continued to decline in some areas.
- Despite stricter conservation laws and improved prosecution rates, the financial rewards of poaching still outweigh the penalties, limiting the deterrent effect on poachers and traffickers.
- The study recommends increasing patrols in high-risk areas, improving community engagement in law enforcement, and providing alternative livelihoods to reduce the economic lure of poaching.

Indonesia court hands down ‘heaviest sentence’ yet for tiger poacher in Sumatra
A court in Indonesia has sentenced a man to five years in prison for the killing of a critically endangered Sumatran tiger in September last year in North Sumatra province. “As far as I know, it’s the heaviest sentence ever imposed for crimes involving protected wildlife in Indonesia,” Iding Achmad Haidir, chair of the Sumatran […]
Critically endangered Sumatran elephant found dead near Leuser; cause uncertain
LANGKAT, Indonesia — A critically endangered Sumatran elephant was found dead April 4 on the border of the Gunung Leuser National Park in Sumatra’s Langkat district, officials said. The elephant was male, around 10 years old, and weighed no more than 2 tons. Officials said they believe the individual had been dead for several days […]
Illegal trafficking of siamang gibbons is a concerning and underreported crisis (commentary)
- As authorities have continued to criminalize great ape trafficking, “small apes” like gibbons, which are also coveted by the illegal pet trade and whose trade is also lucrative, are likely to see an increasing threat to their long-term survival if nations don’t act to protect them too, a new op-ed states.
- Of all gibbon species, the siamang is the most trafficked, making it one of the most, if not the most trafficked ape species, as highlighted by a recent siamang trafficking bust at a major Indian airport.
- “Urgent action is needed to combat this ongoing crisis before the song of the siamang and other gibbons vanishes from the forests of Sumatra,” the author argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Snared, skinned, sold: Brutal March for Indonesia’s Sumatran tigers
- Police in Indonesia charged at least 11 people in the month of March with wildlife crimes after a tiger was butchered in Riau province and alleged traffickers were found with body parts in the semiautonomous province of Aceh.
- In West Sumatra province, conservation officials successfully trapped a young female tiger whose leg had previously been amputated, likely in a snare trap.
- Sumatran tigers are a critically endangered subspecies of tiger and fewer than 400 are believed to remain in the wild.

Indonesia’s peatlands face growing flood risks amid widespread degradation
- Nearly half of Indonesia’s peatlands are vulnerable to flooding due to degradation from exploitation, with 6 million hectares (15 million acres) — twice the size of Belgium — highly at risk.
- Peatland drainage, subsidence and fires have significantly reduced the water retention capacity of these carbon-rich ecosystems, leading to inland and coastal flooding, particularly in Sumatra and Borneo.
- Despite efforts to curb exploitation, industrial activities continue to degrade peatlands, with 33% of peat hydrological units overlapping with concessions for oil palms and pulpwood plantations.
- National and international policies, like the EU Deforestation Regulation, fail to fully address peatland degradation as a form of deforestation, prompting calls for stricter regulations and corporate accountability.

Indonesians suing pulpwood firms over haze face intimidation, seek human rights protection
- A group of South Sumatran residents suing three pulpwood companies for recurring haze pollution has sought protection from Indonesian human rights commission, citing intimidation, including bribes and threats.
- The lawsuit highlights violations of the right to a healthy environment, as recurring fires on company concessions have caused severe air pollution, harming residents’ health, education and livelihoods.
- The case, which seeks both financial compensation and environmental restoration, is now in the evidentiary stage after mediation failed, and could set a precedent for corporate responsibility in Indonesia’s recurring haze crisis.
- Despite the threats, plaintiffs like Yeyen say they remain committed to the fight for justice and environmental protection, emphasizing the need for corporate accountability and a healthier future for all Indonesians.

Sumatran culinary heritage at risk as environment changes around Silk Road river
- Research shows that landscape changes across the Musi River Basin in Indonesia’s South Sumatra province risks food security across the river delta as fish stocks diminish and protein availability declines, including in the provincial capital, Palembang.
- Some fish traders and artisans in the city of 1.8 million worry culinary culture in Palembang is becoming endangered as rising sedimentation in the Musi River threatens the freshwater snakehead murrel fish.
- Reporting in March, during the fasting month of Ramadan, showed prices of food staples made from this fish increasing sharply from previous months as demand surged for fast-breaking events.

Indonesia’s Indigenous Akit community faces exploitation & land loss (commentary)
- For the Akit tribe of Sumatra and countless other Indigenous communities, their land is more than what provides their livelihoods. Rather, it is their past, present, and future, and more than that, it is like their body, a new op-ed explains.
- But the Akit community has steadily seen rights to its territory eroded, as the land continues to fall into the possession of private companies.
- “Respecting Indigenous self-determination is not just a matter of justice, but a journey to a more resilient future,” the authors argue.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Global outcry as petitioners demand no mining expansion in orangutan habitat
- Nearly 200,000 people have signed a petition urging U.K. multinational Jardine Matheson to halt the expansion of the Martabe gold mine in Indonesia’s Batang Toru Forest, home to the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
- Agincourt Resources, a subsidiary of Jardine’s Astra International, plans to clear up to 583 hectares (1,441 acres) of forest for a new mining waste facility, which conservationists warn will push the Tapanuli orangutan closer to extinction and harm other protected species.
- Environmental groups accuse Jardines of misleading sustainability claims and the Indonesian government of failing to enforce conservation laws, despite awarding Agincourt a “green” compliance rating.
- Protesters have demanded Jardines adopt a “no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation” (NDPE) policy for its mining operations and provide clarity on conflicting deforestation figures and the compliance of its expansion plan with its approved permits.

Indonesian watchdog demands prosecution for environmental crime ‘cartels’
- Indonesia’s largest environmental group, Walhi, has filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, accusing 47 companies in the palm oil, mining and forestry sectors of corruption and environmental destruction, allegedly causing 437 trillion rupiah ($26.5 billion) in state losses.
- Walhi identified 18 forms of corruption, including government officials altering forest status to legalize deforestation, granting permits for illegal concessions, and accepting bribes to ignore violations.
- Notable examples include a palm oil company that allegedly cleared 1,706 hectares (4,215 acres) of forest in Aceh province before obtaining an environmental permit, and nickel mining in North Maluku that has devastated marine ecosystems.
- The AGO has confirmed receipt of Walhi’s complaint, and said that it will pursue allegations of corruption in those cases; however, it noted that any environmental violations would fall under the jurisdiction of other agencies.

Tragedy haunts community on shore of Sumatra’s largest solar farm
- A joint venture between Indonesia’s state-owned electricity utility PLN and Saudi developer ACWA Power says it remains on track to build Sumatra’s largest floating solar power array on Lake Singkarak by 2027.
- The renewable energy project’s managers face a difficult task on the ground getting local community members on board with the project, given lingering memories of a flash flood 25 years earlier linked to a hydroelectric plant.
- Local fishers told Mongabay Indonesia they also fear the installation of solar panels on the lake’s surface will impact the stocks of the fish they rely on as their primary source of income.
- Indonesia has set ambitious renewable energy goals to meet its international climate change commitments, but several energy transition projects are creating new land conflicts and cases of displacement across the world’s fourth most populous country.

Illegal seabed dredging surges as Indonesia resumes sand exports
- Reports of unauthorized seabed dredging have surged following Indonesia’s decision to resume sea sand exports in 2023, raising environmental concerns and exposing weak marine law enforcement.
- Officials argue that removing sediment helps ocean health and prevents land buildup, but experts and activists warn the policy contradicts marine conservation efforts and lacks transparency.
- Dredging threatens mangroves, coral reefs, and fish populations, with projected losses to fishing communities far outweighing state revenue and corporate profits.
- Experts urge the government to reinstate the export ban, conduct thorough environmental impact assessments, and allocate funds for ecological restoration and affected communities.

Volunteer radio station brings old media to remote Sumatran tiger habitat
- A volunteer radio station established by environmental nonprofits and staffed by local community members is bringing news and entertainment to villages around Bukit Rimbang Baling Wildlife Sanctuary, a Sumatran tiger habitat in Indonesia’s Riau province.
- Young volunteers at the station interned at a radio station on Java Island, where they learned to broadcast and repair transmitters in the remote Sumatran forest, which is inaccessible by road and has almost no cellphone service.
- The radio station offers a means for young people in disparate communities to share ideas and information on the economy and environment.

Unchecked illegal trawling pushes Indonesia’s small-scale fishers to the brink
- Small-scale fishers in Indonesia face declining catches as illegal trawlers deplete fish stocks in near-shore waters, violating exclusion zone regulations.
- Trawling, a destructive fishing method banned in certain areas, is widely practiced due to weak law enforcement, with local authorities citing budget constraints for lack of patrols.
- The impact on traditional fishers has been severe, with daily catches and incomes plummeting, leading to economic hardship, job changes and social issues, such as increased poverty and divorce rates.
- Fishers and advocacy groups are calling for stricter enforcement of fishing laws and government action to protect small-scale fishers’ rights and livelihoods.

Surge in legal land clearing pushes up Indonesia deforestation rate in 2024
- Indonesia’s deforestation increased in 2024 to its highest level since 2021, with forest area four times the size of Jakarta lost; 97% of this occurred within legal concessions, highlighting a shift from illegal to legal deforestation.
- More than half of the forest loss affected critical habitats for threatened species like orangutans, tigers and elephants, particularly in Borneo and Sumatra.
- Key industries driving deforestation include palm oil, pulpwood, and nickel mining, with significant deforestation in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua; a new pulp mill in Kalimantan in particular may be driving aggressive land clearing.
- Despite an existing moratorium on new forest-clearance permits, there’s no protection for forests within existing concessions, allowing continued deforestation, and spurring calls for stronger policies to safeguard remaining natural forests.

Mother of 2 jailed in Sumatra as wildfires dragnet continues to catch small farmers
- A court in Jambi province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has sentenced a local woman to one year and four months in prison for using fire to clear farmland, a traditional practice among smallholder farmers.
- Indonesia’s laws technically allow small farmers to use controlled burning in certain circumstances, but conflicting regulations and government crackdowns have led to harsh penalties for individuals like Dewita.
- A 2023 Mongabay investigation found that more than 200 farmers across Indonesian Borneo had been convicted for land burning since the country’s 2015 wildfire crisis, highlighting systemic targeting of smallholders.
- While hundreds of small farmers have been prosecuted for land burning, large plantation companies responsible for far more extensive fires rarely face criminal charges.

Coming to a retailer near you: Illegal palm oil from an orangutan haven
- A surge of deforestation for oil palm plantations in a Sumatran orangutan reserve means top consumer brands may be selling products with illegal oil palm in them, a new report says.
- Rainforest Action Network (RAN) says satellite imagery shows much of the deforestation in Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve occurred from 2021 onward.
- That means any palm oil produced from plantations established on land cleared during that time would be banned from entering the European market under the EU’s antideforestation regulation (EUDR).
- Brands such as Procter & Gamble and palm oil traders like Musim Mas have responded to the findings by dropping as suppliers the mills alleged to be processing palm fruit from the deforested areas.

Indonesian scientist under fire for revealing extent of illegal tin mining
- An Indonesian forensic scientist whose testimony has proved crucial in securing rulings against environmental violators faces a third potential lawsuit.
- A complaint filed with police alleges that Bambang Hero Saharjo lacked competence to assess the damages in an illegal tin laundering case, which he calculated had caused more than $16 billion in environmental damages.
- Bambang’s testimony has led to several convictions in court, including for the CEO of Indonesia’s biggest tin miner.
- Prosecutors have defended his assessment, and activists say the campaign against him is a systematic attempt to silence him from speaking out against environmental crimes.

On Indonesia’s unique Enggano Island, palm oil takes root in an Indigenous society
- Formed millions of years ago in the Indian Ocean by a process independent of tectonic collision, Indonesia’s Enggano Island is now home to many unique species and a diverse Indigenous society of subsistence farmers.
- Since the early 1990s, developers have sought to obtain control over large parts of the island, but encountered staunch opposition from its six Indigenous tribes.
- Today, PT Sumber Enggano Tabarak, which has been linked to the billionaire-owned London Sumatra group, is seeking to establish an oil palm plantation over 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres).
- Civil society researchers and Indigenous elders say the island lacks sufficient freshwater to provide irrigation to both the community and an industrial oil palm plantation, and that a plantation at scale risks catalyzing an ecological crisis.

Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
- Tesso Nilo National Park was created to protect one of the largest remaining tracts of lowland forest on the island of Sumatra, and as a refuge for threatened wildlife such as critically endangered Sumatran tigers and elephants.
- Despite being declared a National Park in 2004 and expanded in 2009, Tesso Nilo has experienced continued deforestation in recent years, largely driven by the proliferation of oil palm plantations.
- Satellite data show Tesso Nilo lost 78% of its old growth rainforest between 2009 and 2023.
- Preliminary data for 2024, coupled with satellite imagery, show continued forest loss this year.

As Sumatra loses mangroves to oil palms, local fishers also suffer
- Interviews in Kwala Langkat, a fishing village in Indonesia’s Langkat district, along the Malacca Strait, suggest fisheries incomes have collapsed after local elites ripped out a mangrove ecosystem to establish a new oil palm plantation.
- In June, Mongabay reported that police had arrested three residents of Kwala Langkat village in connection with alleged criminal damage to a structure used on the oil palm plantation.
- More than a third of the world’s population today lives within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of the coast, a more than 50% increase in absolute terms compared with 30 years ago.

Thousands of birds seized in massive Indonesian bird-trafficking bust
- More than 6,500 illegally trafficked birds were seized from a truck at a port in the Indonesian island of Sumatra last month in what activists believe to be the largest seizure of trafficked bird’s in the nation’s modern history.
- The birds, which included 257 individuals from species protected under Indonesian law, are believed to have been captured across Sumatra and were bound for the neighboring island of Java, where songbirds are sought as pets and for songbird competitions.
- The birds were all found alive, and have since been checked by a veterinarian and released back to “suitable natural habitats.”
- Local NGO FLIGHT says more than 120,000 Sumatran trafficked songbirds were confiscated from 2021 to 2023, a number that likely represents just a fraction of those captured and sold.

Indonesian mother imprisoned for protesting palm oil factory next to school
- Gustina Salim Rambe, a mother from North Sumatra province, was sentenced in October to more than five months in prison following a demonstration against a palm oil factory built adjacent to two schools in Pulo Padang village.
- Representatives in Indonesia’s national Parliament had urged police to apply principles of “restorative justice” rather than criminalize Gustina.
- Civil society advocates pointed to separate regulations and laws that should protect from prosecution people who speak out against alleged environmental abuses.
- From 2019-24, Amnesty International recorded similar cases affecting 454 civil society advocate in Indonesia.

Canopy bridges serve a lifeline for Sumatra’s tree-dwelling primates
- An NGO is working with local authorities in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province to build canopy bridges for primates to safely cross roads that fragment their forest habitats.
- Pakpak Bharat district has seen rapid growth of new roads to improve communities’ access to schools and hospitals, with the trade-off being that many of these roads disrupt wildlife connectivity.
- The bridges, designed to meet the needs of different species, have been used by various wildlife, though not yet the critically endangered orangutans that the designers had in mind, and are monitored regularly through camera traps and maintenance checks.
- Conservationists highlight the bridges’ role in preventing inbreeding among isolated populations and sustaining the ecosystem’s biodiversity, with hopes to expand the initiative across Sumatra.

Orangutan conservation and communication: Gary Shapiro’s half-century journey from zoos to the wilds of Borneo
- Gary Shapiro’s work on orangutan cognition and communication spans five decades, beginning with his pioneering studies teaching sign language to ex-captive orangutans in Borneo.
- His research evolved into a lifelong commitment to orangutan conservation, leading him to co-found organizations like Orangutan Foundation International, focusing on protecting orangutans and their rainforest habitats from logging and palm oil plantations.
- Shapiro advocates for “orangutan personhood,” emphasizing their intellectual and emotional capacities, and calls for global action to save both the orangutans and their critical habitats amidst the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises.
- Shapiro recently spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler about his work and the state of orangutans in the wild.

Sumatra citizen lawsuit seeks accountability for haze-causing fires
- Three companies that manage pulpwood plantations in Indonesia are facing a citizen lawsuit over repeated fires on their concessions that have been blamed for illnesses and other disruptions.
- The companies are located in South Sumatra province and are all suppliers to Asia Pulp & Paper, the largest pulp and paper producer in Indonesia.
- In the lawsuit, residents of areas affected by haze from the fires say they want the companies to know that “what they are doing is wrong because it damages our families and the environment.”
- Citizen lawsuits are increasingly being used by communities across Indonesia to hold companies accountable for environmental damage, amid rising dissatisfaction with the inability of law enforcement to crack down on serial violators.

For Indonesian oil palm farmers, EU’s deforestation law is another top-down imposition
- By the end of this year, exporters of products derived from palm oil and six other agricultural commodities to Europe will be required to comply with the newly enacted EU Regulation on Deforestation Free Products, or EUDR.
- The law requires exporters to prove the commodities were not produced on recently deforested land, and that their supply chains are free of human rights abuses and environmental violations.
- Experts say compliance will likely be a struggle for small farmers, who sell their crops through chains of intermediaries, and who often lack clear land titles even on long-settled land.
- During reporting in Indonesia’s North Aceh province, oil palm smallholders told Mongabay they weren’t even aware of the EUDR, let alone prepared to comply with it.

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