https://news.mongabay.com/list/borneo/ Environmental science and conservation news Fri, 17 Nov 2023 04:37:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/borneo/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/in-borneo-the-power-of-mama-fight-indonesias-wildfires-with-all-woman-crew/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/in-borneo-the-power-of-mama-fight-indonesias-wildfires-with-all-woman-crew/#respond 10 Nov 2023 16:11:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275277 - Farmers have long used fire in cultivation, and the risks to health and environment have grown significantly as deforestation and drainage have made peatlands particularly susceptible to fire.
- In 2022, women from the Indonesian part of Borneo formed “the Power of Mama,” a unit to fight hazardous wildfires and their causes.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/in-borneo-the-power-of-mama-fight-indonesias-wildfires-with-all-woman-crew/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/boost-for-sumatran-rhino-ivf-plan-as-eggs-extracted-from-bornean-specimen/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/boost-for-sumatran-rhino-ivf-plan-as-eggs-extracted-from-bornean-specimen/#respond 08 Nov 2023 07:50:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275142 - The donor rhino, known as Pahu, is a Bornean specimen of the Sumatran rhino, and her egg would greatly expand the genetic pool of a species believed to number as few as 40.
- Since 2012, three Sumatran rhinos have been born under Indonesia’s captive-breeding program, but all are closely related: a single captive male is the father to two of them and grandfather to the third.
- Conservationists say they hope to eventually fertilize Pahu’s eggs with sperm from captive Sumatran males, with one of the Sumatran females then serving as a surrogate to hopefully bring a baby to term.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/boost-for-sumatran-rhino-ivf-plan-as-eggs-extracted-from-bornean-specimen/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/conservationists-look-to-defy-gloomy-outlook-for-borneos-sun-bears/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/conservationists-look-to-defy-gloomy-outlook-for-borneos-sun-bears/#respond 31 Oct 2023 13:08:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274826 - A bear rehabilitation program in Malaysian Borneo cares for 44 sun bears rescued from captivity and the pet trade and has been releasing bears back into the wild since 2015. But with threats in the wild continuing unabated, success has been mixed.
- A recent study indicates that as few as half of the released bears are still alive, demonstrating that rehabilitation alone will never be enough to tackle the enormous threats and conservation issues facing the bears in the wild.
- Preventing bears from being poached from the wild in the first place should be the top priority, experts say, calling for a holistic approach centered on livelihood support for local communities through ecotourism to encourage lifestyles that don’t involve setting snares that can kill bears.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/conservationists-look-to-defy-gloomy-outlook-for-borneos-sun-bears/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/forest-restoration-can-fare-better-with-human-helping-hand-study-shows/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/forest-restoration-can-fare-better-with-human-helping-hand-study-shows/#respond 28 Sep 2023 15:22:05 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273707 - The researchers also found that planting a diverse suite of seedlings, instead of only one species, led in just one decade to greater biomass and forest complexity.
- The study provides more weight to the argument that greater forest species diversity in general — and specifically for restorations — delivers more ecosystem services, possibly including carbon sequestration.
- However, there is the possibility that the particular life cycle of the type of trees used in this study — hardwood tropical species from the Dipterocarpaceae family, chiefly found in Southeast Asia — could have especially enhanced diversity in this case.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/forest-restoration-can-fare-better-with-human-helping-hand-study-shows/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/in-sabah-natural-capital-agreement-surfaces-again-despite-critics/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/in-sabah-natural-capital-agreement-surfaces-again-despite-critics/#respond 03 Aug 2023 21:12:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271796 - Since Mongabay surfaced news of the agreement in November 2021, the project has stalled in the face of a wave of criticism about its origins and planned implementation.
- In recent weeks, the proponents of the deal, including Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister Jeffrey Kitingan, have publicly resumed efforts to bring the agreement into force.
- Civil society groups opposed to the project say that concerns remain over Indigenous rights and lack of transparency or details about the planned project.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/in-sabah-natural-capital-agreement-surfaces-again-despite-critics/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/elders-call-for-indigenous-cultural-preservation-in-new-indonesia-capital/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/elders-call-for-indigenous-cultural-preservation-in-new-indonesia-capital/#respond 27 Jul 2023 17:42:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271492 - More than half of the new capital estate could be considered customary territory, according to the Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago.
- Indigenous elders said that if rituals are to be conserved, then the customary territories must be maintained, while the local government says it is working on programs to uphold local culture.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/elders-call-for-indigenous-cultural-preservation-in-new-indonesia-capital/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/muslim-womens-group-to-reopen-oxygen-homes-if-indonesia-wildfires-intensify/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/muslim-womens-group-to-reopen-oxygen-homes-if-indonesia-wildfires-intensify/#respond 24 Jul 2023 23:49:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270906 - This year as El Niño strengthens, ‘Aisyiyah will advise members to reopen the facilities for the young, old and those most susceptible to air pollution generated by wildfires.
- The volunteers will also work to raise awareness in the community on how families can best protect themselves.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/muslim-womens-group-to-reopen-oxygen-homes-if-indonesia-wildfires-intensify/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/migrating-orangutan-males-imitate-locals-to-learn-about-food-study/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/migrating-orangutan-males-imitate-locals-to-learn-about-food-study/#respond 19 Jul 2023 04:22:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271044 - The researchers have dubbed the behavior learning skill as “peering” and describe it as when migrant male orangutans intensively observe over a period of time a certain local they have chosen as a role model.
- The scientists analyzed data of hundreds of Sumatran and Bornean orangutans in research stations in Aceh and Central Kalimantan.
- Indonesia is home to the world’s three orangutan species: Sumatran, Tapanuli (P. tapanuliensis) and Bornean orangutans.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/migrating-orangutan-males-imitate-locals-to-learn-about-food-study/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/on-burning-prone-borneo-planners-work-to-fireproof-indonesias-new-capital/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/on-burning-prone-borneo-planners-work-to-fireproof-indonesias-new-capital/#respond 17 Jul 2023 15:09:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270978 - City planners are to launch drones to monitor the estate for wildfires and hope to operate a dedicated fire brigade from next year.
- Nusantara faces lower wildfire risks owing to its east-coast location and distance from Borneo’s flammable peatlands, but officials nonetheless stress the need to build an early-warning system for wildfires around the site.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/on-burning-prone-borneo-planners-work-to-fireproof-indonesias-new-capital/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/jokowi-focuses-on-el-nino-as-indonesias-dry-season-heats-up/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/jokowi-focuses-on-el-nino-as-indonesias-dry-season-heats-up/#respond 05 Jul 2023 14:35:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270581 - Dry season conditions had emerged in 52% of Indonesian territory by early July, according to the country’s weather forecaster.
- Officials hope reforms enacted since the 2015 disaster will lessen the severity of wildfires as El Niño conditions become more pronounced.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/jokowi-focuses-on-el-nino-as-indonesias-dry-season-heats-up/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/orangutan-beatboxing-offers-clues-about-human-language-study/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/orangutan-beatboxing-offers-clues-about-human-language-study/#respond 29 Jun 2023 20:10:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270383 - The study suggests that these vocal abilities in orangutans may have existed in ancient, extinct relatives of humans and could have influenced the development of human speech.
- The vocal control and coordination abilities of wild great apes, including orangutans, have been underestimated compared to the focus on vocal abilities in birds.
- Further research is needed to understand how orangutans develop their beatboxing-like calls and to explore the connections between bird vocalizations, great ape vocalizations, and human speech.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/orangutan-beatboxing-offers-clues-about-human-language-study/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/sarawak-indigenous-org-squeezed-by-defamation-case-silenced-from-reporting-alleged-logging/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/sarawak-indigenous-org-squeezed-by-defamation-case-silenced-from-reporting-alleged-logging/#respond 16 May 2023 07:45:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268646 - According to the statement of claim filed by Samling plaintiffs, the case hinges on eight articles published on SAVE Rivers’ website between June 2020 and March 2021 involving allegations of illegal logging and a rush to gain sustainable forestry certification, which Samling says is untrue.
- Last month, 160 organizations signed a letter describing this suit as a strategic litigation against public participation, or SLAPP case, noting that the fine — plaintiffs are asking for 5 million ringgit ($1.1 million) — would bankrupt SAVE Rivers.
- The deferment of the trial comes days after the Forest Stewardship Council, an international organization that operates a certification scheme for sustainable forestry, said the company will be investigated for alleged violations of the council’s policies.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/sarawak-indigenous-org-squeezed-by-defamation-case-silenced-from-reporting-alleged-logging/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/im-not-distressed-im-just-pissed-off-qa-with-sumatran-rhino-expert-john-payne/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/im-not-distressed-im-just-pissed-off-qa-with-sumatran-rhino-expert-john-payne/#respond 11 May 2023 16:12:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268506 - With no rhinos left to care for, Payne has started working with other species, and recently published a book in which he argues the strategy to save Sumatran rhinos from extinction was flawed from the start.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Payne speaks about his new book, moving on after the loss of the rhinos he cared for, and his frustration with officials and conservation organizations.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/im-not-distressed-im-just-pissed-off-qa-with-sumatran-rhino-expert-john-payne/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/indonesias-new-capital-wont-sacrifice-the-environment-qa-with-nusantaras-myrna-asnawati-safitri/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/indonesias-new-capital-wont-sacrifice-the-environment-qa-with-nusantaras-myrna-asnawati-safitri/#respond 04 May 2023 13:43:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268276 - The government has justified the plan to move the nation’s capital from Jakarta, on the island of Java, to Indonesia Borneo as a way of ensuring a greater share of development beyond the country’s western islands.
- Mongabay has already reported on the risks to the wider Bornean region and the additional pressures on marine ecosystems that are a biodiversity haven.
- In response, Myrna Asnawati Safitri, the deputy for environment and natural resources at the government agency overseeing the development, reached out for an exclusive interview where these and other thorny questions were addressed.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/indonesias-new-capital-wont-sacrifice-the-environment-qa-with-nusantaras-myrna-asnawati-safitri/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/sung-snail-new-spacies-borneo-brunei-rainforest-microparmarion-sallehi/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/sung-snail-new-spacies-borneo-brunei-rainforest-microparmarion-sallehi/#respond 27 Apr 2023 02:51:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267880 - Their study suggests there may be some half a dozen other species from the same genus waiting to be described, highlighting the rich biodiversity of this region.
- For this description, the local and international scientists involved students and laypersons in the team on a combined program of biodiversity training and exploration.
- The study authors note that scientific knowledge of Southeast Asian slugs in general is lacking due to low collection samples, meaning the prospects for describing a new species is high. 
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/sung-snail-new-spacies-borneo-brunei-rainforest-microparmarion-sallehi/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/the-more-degraded-a-forest-the-quieter-its-wildlife-new-study-shows/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/the-more-degraded-a-forest-the-quieter-its-wildlife-new-study-shows/#respond 24 Apr 2023 05:10:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267785 - Researchers studying soundscapes in logged rainforests in Indonesian Borneo have tested a novel approach that could provide a reliable and low-cost way for conservation agencies and communities to monitor tropical forest health.
- Their new method, which partitions animal groups into broad acoustic frequency classes, offers a stop-gap method for measuring acoustic activity that could be used in the short-term until more detailed artificial intelligence and machine-learning technology is developed.
- During their study, they found that animal sounds diminished and became asynchronous in forests disturbed by selective logging, factors that could be used as proxies for disturbed habitats.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/the-more-degraded-a-forest-the-quieter-its-wildlife-new-study-shows/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/#respond 21 Apr 2023 04:00:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267663 - The researchers are calling for stricter protection of the forest fragments as a key conservation strategy for the three plant species and for further research to be done to better understand the species’ population status so as to improve their management.
- The island of Borneo, which is split between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, has for the last few decades lost more than a third of its forests due to fires, logging, mining and industrial plantations, particularly oil palms.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/to-build-its-green-capital-city-indonesia-runs-a-road-through-a-biodiverse-forest/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/to-build-its-green-capital-city-indonesia-runs-a-road-through-a-biodiverse-forest/#respond 10 Apr 2023 16:25:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267345 - Construction of the road, however, poses immediate environmental risks, as the route cuts through a forested area with high conservation value that connects the Sungai Wain protected forest, coastal mangroves, and Balikpapan Bay.
- Prior to road construction, the integrated forest and coastal ecosystem supported populations of orangutans, sun bears, proboscis monkeys and Irrawaddy dolphins.
- Conservationists say the construction of this toll road belies the Indonesian government’s claims that the development of the new capital will be green and sustainable.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/to-build-its-green-capital-city-indonesia-runs-a-road-through-a-biodiverse-forest/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/deforestation-drives-fire-risk-in-borneo-amid-a-warming-climate-study-finds/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/deforestation-drives-fire-risk-in-borneo-amid-a-warming-climate-study-finds/#respond 27 Mar 2023 11:54:38 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266879 - A modeling study finds that under current climate change projections and with rapid deforestation in Borneo, fire risk increases by the end of the century.
- The findings show that deforestation is a significant factor in fire risk.
- While local governments can’t control global climate change, they work to stem forest lost and invest in reforestation of tropical forests and revitalization of peatlands to mitigate fire risks in the future, researchers say.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/deforestation-drives-fire-risk-in-borneo-amid-a-warming-climate-study-finds/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/tropical-forest-regeneration-offsets-26-of-carbon-emissions-from-deforestation/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/tropical-forest-regeneration-offsets-26-of-carbon-emissions-from-deforestation/#respond 23 Mar 2023 18:34:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266786 - Secondary forests have a good potential to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and could be an ally in addressing the climate crisis, but emissions generated from deforestation and forests lost or damaged due to human activity currently far outpace regrowth.
- The study provides information to guide debates and decisions around the recovery of secondary forests and degraded areas of the Brazilian Amazon — around 17% of the ecosystem is in various stages of degradation and another 17% is already deforested.
- Since Brazil’s new President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office, projects to curb deforestation are in place, but plans to protect recovering areas remain unclear.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/tropical-forest-regeneration-offsets-26-of-carbon-emissions-from-deforestation/feed/ 0