Sustainable Indonesia

27/06/2026

This used to be one of the oldest rainforests on Earth.

Some estimates place Borneo’s rainforest origins deep in the Cretaceous period, around the time dinosaurs still moved through tropical worlds. The Andes, by contrast, reached anything close to their modern height much later, through the long tectonic upheavals of the Cenozoic era. That is the scale of the contrast. An ancient forest system, measured in tens of millions of years, being remade within the span of a few human generations. And in the last forty years, a single cultivated tree, the African oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, has replaced enormous stretches of it.

A forest older than the mountains:

The dipterocarps that dominate Borneo’s lowlands are giants. Individual trees can rise above the canopy like living towers, and the family they belong to, Dipterocarpaceae, has been the structural backbone of Southeast Asian rainforest for tens of millions of years. That continuity matters. Unlike the forests of Europe or North America, which were repeatedly scraped back and reshaped by Pleistocene ice sheets, much of Borneo’s tropical forest history belongs to a far older ecological timeline. Its lineages, soils, fungi, birds, mammals, insects, and canopy architecture developed through deep time. That is the system being cleared, in rectangular blocks, for rows of a single tree.

The plantation that replaced it:

Oil palm arrived in Southeast Asia from West Africa as an ornamental in the 19th century and became a commercial crop in the 20th. Today Indonesia and Malaysia produce most of the world’s palm oil, and Borneo, split between Indonesian Kalimantan, Malaysian Sabah and Sarawak, and the small sultanate of Brunei, carries a large share of the plantations.

Satellite investigations and environmental reporting have repeatedly shown that clearing for palm oil in Indonesia has continued even after the industry’s No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation pledges became a public standard. The problem is not only direct clearance by a branded company. It is also the way cleared land can move through intermediaries and eventually enter supply chains with its origin blurred.

The substitution is brutally simple. A hectare that once held a dense mix of tree species, birds, mammals, insects, epiphytes, fungi, and canopy layers becomes a hectare of one species, planted in grids roughly nine metres apart, harvested on a short commercial rotation.

Silicon Canals Editorial Team | 26 June 2026 | | Continue reading:

Borneo's lowland dipterocarp rainforest is roughly 130 million years old — older than the Andes — yet decades of oil palm expansion have replaced vast stretches of it with rows of a single cultivated tree.

25/06/2026

On the brink of extinction, the Javan green magpie gets a conservation lifeline

Teetering on the brink of extinction, Indonesia’s Javan green magpie may have a conservation lifeline after national and international conservation NGOs launched an action plan to preserve it in the wild.

Javan green magpies (Cissa thalassina) are endemic to the upland forests of West Java province, but have been assessed as critically endangered, with as few as 50 of the birds remaining in the wild. Habitat loss and poaching for the songbird trade have greatly reduced their numbers and led to local extinctions in some areas.

“Very few have ever been recorded in the wild,” says Andrew Owen, head of birds at Chester Zoo in the U.K. “The fact that the Javan green magpie is now so rare is also a reason why some people want to catch them and keep them.”

In recent years, the Javan green magpie has barely appeared in markets, experts say, though that’s likely due to its increasing rarity in the wild. Surveys carried out between 2018 and 2021 across 12 previously inhabited sites recorded no birds, raising the alarm. “We must assume that excessive trade has pushed this once reasonably widespread but perhaps never common species to the very brink of extinction,” the authors wrote in a 2023 study.

Mongabay | by Sean Mowbray | 24 June 2026 | Continue reading:
https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/news.mongabay.com/2026/06/on-the-brink-of-extinction-the-javan-green-magpie-gets-a-conservation-lifeline/amp/?amp_js_v=0.1&_gsa=1 =1

19/06/2026

Ecological vegetation mapping reveals what land-use planning has missed—and what finer-scale thinking could save

The lowland rainforests of Borneo are some of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Surveys have found over 700 tree species in a single ten-hectare plot — a figure comparable to the tree diversity of entire continents. These forests are home to unique animals like the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), the Bornean clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) and the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), and are recognized as a living carbon density hotspot.

Yet an ecological vegetation map developed by scientists at Landscape Alliance, formely known as the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), has revealed for the first time just how scarce these forests are becoming. In the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, intact lowland forest on well-drained mineral soil was estimated to make up about a third of land cover in 1950. The new map shows that in 2024, it covered just 8.3% of the province.

FORESTSNEWS by Monica Evans | 17 Jane 2026 | Continue reading:

The lowland rainforests of Borneo are some of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Surveys have found over 700 tree species in a single...

16/06/2026

A Student Just Made a Pen From One Bamboo Stalk. No Factory Needed.

We don’t usually stop to think about pens. They show up in our bags, our drawers, the bottom of every tote we own, and when the ink runs out, they quietly end up in a landfill. That’s the mundane life cycle of the humble ballpoint, and most of us have just accepted it. Which is exactly why Shoot, a bamboo writing instrument designed by Sarthak Prajapati, feels like a quiet rebuke dressed up as a very beautiful object.
Prajapati is an Industrial Design undergraduate at the National Institute of Design in Assam, India, and Shoot is his entry in the 2026 Green Product Award, currently shortlisted as a finalist in the Consumer Goods category. At first glance, it’s a precision pen carved from a single piece of bamboo. But the more you learn about how it was made and why, the more it becomes a kind of design manifesto condensed into something you can hold in your hand.

By Ida Torres | Designer: Sarthak Prajapati | 14 June 2026 | Continue reading:
https://www-yankodesign-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.yankodesign.com/2026/06/13/a-student-just-made-a-pen-from-one-bamboo-stalk-no-factory-needed/amp/?amp_js_v=0.1&_gsa=1 =1

21/05/2026

WORLD OCEAN DAY 2026 • 23 May :
"One Action for a Sustainable Ocean"

In celebration of World Ocean Day 2026, Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment/Environmental Control Agency is organizing community-based clean-up activities on 23 May 2026 in Pramuka Island, Kepulauan Seribu, Jakarta, in cooperation with COBSEA, Regional Capacity Center for Clean Seas (RC3S), COBSEA's Regional Activity Centre on Marine Litter, and other government, NGO and local partners. The activities will engage approximately 1,000 participants, including local communities, through dive, snorkeling and island clean-ups to raise awareness and strengthen collective action to prevent marine litter and plastic pollution.

COBSEA is supporting the activity as a partner through its ongoing collaboration with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention, helping strengthen outreach and community engagement on marine litter and plastic pollution prevention.

In celebration of World Ocean Day 2026, Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment/Environmental Control Agency is organizing community-based clean-up activities on 23 May 2026 in Pramuka Island, Kepulauan Seribu, Jakarta, in cooperation with COBSEA, Regional Capacity Center for Clean Seas (RC3S), COBSEA...

05/04/2026

Climate Degradation:
After this year’s report was released, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, “Earth is being pushed beyond its limits while every key climate indicator is flashing red, Earth’s energy imbalance — the gap between heat absorbed and heat released — is the highest on record. Our planet is trapping heat faster than it can shed it.”

The consequences, he added, “are written into the daily lives of families struggling as droughts and storms drive up food prices, in workers pushed to the brink by extreme heat, in farmers watching crops wither, and in communities and homes swept away by floods. Our addiction to fossil fuels is destabilizing both the climate and global security.”

Accelerating the transition to renewable energy would “deliver climate security, energy security and national security,” he said. “Today’s report should come with a warning label — climate chaos is accelerating and delay is deadly. The way ahead must be grounded in science, common sense, and the courage to act.”

Continue reading:
https://cleantechnica-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/cleantechnica.com/2026/04/04/climate-degradation-will-have-consequences-for-hundreds-and-thousands-of-years/?amp=1&_js_v=0.1&_gsa=1 =1

13/02/2026

Researchers investigating the sudden disappearance of rainforest apes expected predators or poachers were responsible. Cameras and trackers revealed a far more extraordinary sight: a formerly captive orangutan standing confidently among gorillas, chimps, macaques, and baboons, guiding them through the forest with deliberate movements. Rather than fleeing, the animals appeared to recognize his leadership, gathering safely under his watchful presence.

The orangutan, released just a year prior after a research lab closure, demonstrated unprecedented social coordination. Isolated in captivity, he had adapted in the wild, transforming past trauma into strategic leadership that ensured the safety of multiple species. This behavior challenges assumptions about ape intelligence, social hierarchy, and adaptability.

Experts say the observation provides insight into interspecies communication and the resilience of primates after human intervention. Beyond survival, it underscores how rehabilitated animals can positively influence broader ecosystems when given the chance to reclaim natural roles.

Source / Credit:
Field research footage and primatology reports, Southeast Asian rainforest studies, 2026.

13/02/2026

Forests are known for their fantastic ability to lock carbon away, absorbing 7.6 billion tonnes of CO2 every year. But are they more effective carbon sinks than the ocean?

Coastal and marine habitats like coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass meadows are all known as “blue carbon” ecosystems because they are so good as sequestering carbon. Living organisms also store carbon in their bodies, locking it way on the seafloor when they die and their carcasses sink.

A single whale can capture as much carbon as thousands of trees but animals don’t have to be huge to have an impact. Each year tiny crustaceans called krill capture 20 million tonnes of carbon while plankton lock away 50 billion tonnes.

By Melissa Hobson | February 13, 2026 | Continue reading:

Forests store a remarkable amount of carbon, but which stores more – forests or oceans?

09/02/2026

WATER RESOURCES || Indonesia, like many fast-developing nations including India, is grappling with a deepening water crisis driven by both human pressures and climate-induced impacts. Despite being home to more than 1,000 river basins, a majority of Indonesian households continue to face serious challenges in accessing safe drinking water and sanitation. Water resource management remains constrained by high levels of contamination, excessive dependence on groundwater, declining water retention capacity, and inadequate wastewater management systems.

Water governance in Indonesia is formally anchored in Law No. 17 of 2019, which establishes the state’s responsibility to protect water rights and ensure that conservation, utilization, and water damage control serve public prosperity. This framework is reinforced by Law No. 30 of 2024, which strengthens provisions for surface and groundwater use, licensing, and sustainable management. Indonesia has adopted an Integrated Water Resources Management approach structured around River Basin Territories, intended to coordinate water allocation across agriculture, energy, and human consumption.

The Ministry of National Development Planning leads water governance alongside the ministries responsible for public works, public housing, environment, and agriculture. Yet, despite the presence of an IWRM framework, persistent tensions between development priorities and hydrological realities reveal the limitations of implementation. The challenge lies not in the absence of policy, but in the fragmented and uneven ex*****on of integrated approaches that must balance immediate food security needs with long-term environmental sustainability.

CounterView | 9 February 2026 | by Alejandra Amor, Mansee Bal Bhargava | | Continue reading:

News Blog

08/02/2026

Indonesia’s Environment Ministry has designated two villages in East Kalimantan as official Conservation Villages to safeguard the critically endangered Mahakam Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), a rare freshwater species found only in the Mahakam River.

The announcement was made on Saturday by ministry official Rasio Ridho Sani, who emphasized that the dolphin is not only a protected species but also a vital indicator of the river’s ecological health.

“Preserving its habitat must be a collective effort involving government, businesses, universities, NGOs, and local communities,” he said, delivering remarks on behalf of Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq during a working visit to the Mahakam Marine Conservation Area.

The newly designated villages — Muhuran in Kota Bangun Sub-district and Sabintulung in Muara Kaman Sub-district — join Pela Village, which had previously received conservation status.

ANTARA | 8. February 2026 | | Continue reading:

https://en-antaranews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/en.antaranews.com/amp/news/403478/indonesia-names-new-conservation-villages-to-protect-mahakam-dolphins?amp_js_v=0.1&_gsa=1 =1