Gemstone mining in Tincep village destroys forest

Tondano, Ekuatorial – Massive gemstone mining in Minahasa had taken its toll potentially damaging forest areas in Tincep village, Sonder district, Minahasa, Tincep head village, Rommy Dapu, said that villagers kept on hunting for gemstone and were difficult to be stopped. Up to Monday (6/7), local villagers have managed to dig at least to 20 […]

Oil palm expansion has taken its toll in Sorong district

Sorong, Ekuatorial – Due to massive oil palm plantation expansion, water scarcity hit Malalilis village of Klaili, Sorong district, said an activist, in Sorong, on Tuesday (5/5). “People are getting hard to find clean water as their village is located inside oil palm plantation. Forest cleared for oil palm. There’s no water in the village. […]

Lampung’s dilemma between energy and forestry

Bandarlampung, Ekuatorial – High Voltage Air Channels or SUTT development from Kemuning hill of North Lampung to Liwa and Krui in West Lampung got stalled due to forestry permit, said an official in Bandarlampung, on Thursday (16/4). “The 30 Megawatt channels covers 70 kilometers of area which passes through residents but also Bukit Barisan Selatan […]

Gemstone mining threatens Wonogiri protected forest

Solo, Ekuatorial – Recent high demand on gemstones is threatening environment in Wonogori forest of Central Java, due to traditional way of mining, said a local official on Thursday (2/4). At least three sub districts, — Kismantoro, Jatiroto, and Tirtomoyo –, are being targeted by local miners for Fire Opal stone which is claimed as […]

Indonesian Army gives green energy lamp for Acehnese

Aceh Timur, Ekuatorial – The Indonesian Army on Tuesday (17/3) installed environmentally-friendly lamps, stoves, and gas for poor people with limited access to electricity in East Aceh. The programs dubbed as People’s Army Energy Saving Lamps (Lentera), People’s Villages Supervisory Non-Commissioned Officer Stove (Kombara), and People’s Army Gas Engine (Mogantara) were distributed by East Aceh […]

State-owned companies earned bad rating in environmental performance

Bandarlampung, Ekuatorial – Two state-owned power plants and hospital in Lampung earned poor rating on environmental performance according to Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said an official on Wednesday (25/2), in Bandarlampung. The rating, dubbed as PROPER [Environmental Performance Evaluation Rating Program], is an annual program set up by the ministry which assessing companies, state-owned […]

Scientists develop rubber seeds for alternative energy in Palangkaraya

Palangkaraya, Ekuatorial – Scientists said on Monday (26/1) that they have succeeded to develop rubber tree seeds as alternative energy to fossil fuel, in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. Center for International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatland (Cimtrop), of Palangkaraya University in cooperation with Netherlands’ University of Groningen (RUG) have launched their preliminary demonstration on […]

Green activists call for government to stop criminalizing environment defenders

Bandarlampung, Ekuatorial – Green activists on Tuesday (29/12) called for the government to be serious to solve conflicts related to natural resources, including to stop criminalizing environment defenders. Bejoe Dewangga, director of Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) chapter Lampung, said that conflicts related to natural resources were linked to forest management gap in giving […]