Tessa Toumbourou
Civil Society Takes on the Haze Crisis in Indonesia
April 20, 2016
Blog
The Indonesian province of Riau declared a state of emergency last month as haze from agricultural fires across Sumatra continued to envelope the region. The fires are the result of an early dry period, which comes all too quickly after last year’s extended dry season that saw agricultural fires burn over two million hectares of peatland mostly in… Read more
Indonesia: Achieving Gender Justice in Land and Forest Governance
May 20, 2015
Blog
Earlier In Asia articles have described how land-based and extractive industries – most significantly palm oil plantations, timber concessions, and mining operations – are quickly ravaging Indonesia’s remaining forests. Because these industries often affect women differently than they do men
Indonesia’s Forests Disappearing at Record Rates
February 25, 2015
Blog
In early November, less than one month after Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s inauguration, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, the newly installed Environment and Forestry minister, announced that the government would extend an existing moratorium on the issuance of new permits for logging in primary forests in an effort to halt deforestation. While environmentalists and concerned citizens alike certainly welcomed this news, the road ahead to improving forest and land governance in Indonesia is steep.
Indonesian Lawsuit Pushes Local Government to Regulate Massive Coal Mining Industry
October 15, 2014
Blog
In last week’s In Asia, I examined the growing environmental and social costs that the coal mining industry is having on Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province, home to 28 percent of Indonesia’s total coal reserves. Already, 6.6 million hectares have been allocated for mining across the province, and in the provincial capital…
Indonesia Now World’s Largest Exporter of Coal for Power Stations, But There Are Costs
October 8, 2014
Blog
Flying over Indonesia’s East Kalimantan, the closer we get to the provincial capital of Samarinda, the more bare patches emerge in the island’s lush forest cover. Exposed brown areas dotted with lurid green tailing ponds are telltale signs of the open pit coal mining voraciously consuming Kalimantan’s remaining forests.