JAKARTA The Indonesian government has recognized community claims to ancestral forests in the Sumatran province of Aceh for the first time in history. In September, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry issued legal recognition to 22,549 hectares (55,700 acres) of ancestral forests in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra. These forests are managed […]
JAKARTA The Indonesian fisheries ministry is considering once again allowing exports of lobster larvae, a controversial policy that landed the former minister in jail for corruption. The ministry says resuming exports will be important for boosting the livelihood of fishers across the country. Exports were halted in 2016 to prevent the overharvesting of wild […]
JAKARTA Nearly half of oil palm plantations in Indonesia’s Riau province, the heartland of the commodity’s production, is illegal, according to a new report. The report was published by a coalition of NGOs based in Sumatra called Eyes on the Forest (EoF). Using spatial analysis of Riau’s palm oil landscapes, based on government maps […]
JAKARTA Indonesia has just launched its first carbon emissions trading market in a bid to fight climate change. The Southeast Asian country is one of the world’s top 10 greenhouse gas emitters, with a bulk of its emissions coming from the burning of coal to generate power. To fight climate change, Indonesia has pledged […]