The sheer number of Chinese-funded dams pose a substantial risk to biodiversity. And yet, environmental regulation of these projects has serious flaws.
Dutch supervisors oversaw the local coolies in the tobacco warehouse in Deli Medan North Sumatra, 1897.
www.nationaalarchief.nl
Slave trading was widely carried out during the Dutch colonial period in Indonesia. Widespread racism and slavery occurred in plantations managed by colonial companies.
Forest fires break out in Indonesia every year from land clearing using fires.
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We have developed an online tool to help authorities identify which areas they should focus on for reducing forest fires and haze in order to maximize overall health benefits.
As Amazon fires rage, Indonesia faces similar issues with peat fires that have been burning for several weeks in parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Ministry of Environment and Forestry
A balanced research program should focus on good and rational peat management efforts that minimise environmental impacts, and on water regulation that reduces the risk of fire.
Avoiding fires in Indonesia’s peatlands should be a common goal of everyone involved.
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Indonesian peatlands are important to many people: farmers, bureaucrats, businesspeople, and conservationists. But preserving this value for everyone will mean listening to everyone’s concerns.
Lida Ajer cave - a small but well decorated front entrance.
Julien Louys
The evidence of a much earlier presence of humans in Indonesia was found more than 100 years ago. But only now has the age of the fossil teeth been accurately dated.
Sumatra’s tigers are among the species that will benefit from a new land-clearing moratorium in Leuser’s forests.
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The Leuser ecosystem in northern Sumatra is home to some of the world’s rarest and best-loved animals. Thanks to a new government moratorium on land clearing, conservationists have enjoyed a big win.
Forest fires, often the result of land clearing, are becoming a major issue for Indonesia and its neighbours.
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The world’s rainforests are still being slashed and burned at a dizzying rate to make consumer products. But now there are signs of real political will, especially in Asia, to rein in the destruction.