Vian Ruma, a 30-year-old opponent of a geothermal project on Flores Island, was found dead under circumstances his family and allies say point to foul play. His death highlights Indonesia’s long and worsening record of attacks on environmental defenders. Under President Prabowo Subianto, cases of threats and attacks on environmental human rights defenders have more than doubled in 2025. by Hans Nicholas Jong
Conservation news
Death of activist critical of geothermal project raises alarm in Indonesia
JAKARTA — The mysterious death of Vian Ruma, a 30-year-old activist opposing a geothermal project on Flores Island, has intensified calls for str...
 #news #environment
The daily destruction of nature’s carbon stores is happening right before our eyes, as forests are ravaged by catastrophic wildfires and vast tracts of wildlands are cleared for agriculture. But even greater stores of carbon lie hidden beneath our feet, and they too are under threat. Preserving the ecosystem services of this subterranean environment is crucial to meeting global net zero commitments. by Claire Asher
Conservation news
Soil carbon: Crucial ally or potential threat to net-zero commitments?
The daily destruction of nature’s carbon stores is happening right before our eyes, as forests are ravaged by catastrophic wildfires and vast tra...
 #news #conservation #soil #biodiversity #carbon
A new study has found that the Mekong River’s largest freshwater fish are shrinking in size, with critically endangered species like the giant catfish and giant barb now averaging less than half their historical size. Overfishing, habitat loss, dam construction, sand mining, pollution and climate change are driving the decline. Scientists warn the trend mirrors global declines in large freshwater species. by Anton L. Delgado
Conservation news
Shrinking Mekong megafish underlines risks to the river, study finds
The megafish of the Mekong River are shrinking, a new study has found. In the most comprehensive analysis of species size in Southeast Asia’s Low...
 #news #fishing #endangeredspecies
A recently published study on Kanzi the bonobo found that he was able to track the location of people familiar to him, even when they were out of sight and could recognize the individual voices of his caretakers, a skill that has never before been tested in bonobos. Similar abilities to track groupmates have been observed in vervet and howler monkeys, but only one other great ape is known to share the bonobos’ tracking ability: humans. by Bobby Bascomb
Conservation news
Bonobos keep track of groupmates even when they can’t see them, study finds
Bonobos can track groupmates even when out of sight, a new study finds. Kanzi, a famously intelligent bonobo who died in March 2025, identified fam...
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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. Indonesia’s enforcement gaps also allow repeat offenders to continue operating unchecked, profiting from the very land they were banned from using. by Hans Nicholas Jong
Conservation news
How Indonesian companies dodge fines for forest & peatland fires
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s courts have ordered plantation companies to pay more than 21 trillion rupiah ($1.3 billion), an amount 28 times the envir...
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For a long time, manta rays were considered a single species. In 1868, Australian Museum director Gerard Krefft suggested a second species, though, it was only in 2009 that a paper confirmed the reef manta ray as a valid species distinct from the giant oceanic manta ray. A recent study has now confirmed - there’s a third species of manta ray gracefully gliding through the seas. by Shreya Dasgupta
Conservation news
Third manta ray species confirmed in western Atlantic
There’s a third species of manta ray gracefully gliding through the seas, a recent study has confirmed. Researchers have named the newly describe...
 #news #oceans #mantaray #newspecies