Banks backing Mekong hydropower failing on due diligence, report reveals
Major banks operating in Thailand and Vietnam aren’t doing enough to address the environmental and human rights consequences of their investments in large-scale hydropower dams along the Mekong River,...
View ArticleOrganized crime puts unprecedented pressure on Guatemala’s largest rainforest
Criminal groups have made a renewed push into one of Guatemala’s largest rainforests this year. As new trails open up and fires spread, officials have raised concern not just about deforestation but...
View ArticleCan the circular economy help the Caribbean win its war against waste?
The best place to party on the Caribbean island of Curaçao is Mambo Beach, near the island’s capital, Willemstad. On weekends, DJs outperform each other, spinning the hottest music at shoreside hotels...
View ArticleA forest restoration project brings birdsong back to Angola’s highest mountain
MOUNT MOCO, Angola — On the slopes of Angola’s highest mountain stands the gray jagged stump of a once mighty tree. It’s the remnant of a Guinea plum (Parinari excelsa), a species native to Mount...
View ArticleTucson is one of the first places in line for money to clean up PFAS
In April the EPA established new, legally enforceable limits for PFAS contamination in drinking water. It also set aside another $1 billion to help local governments with cleanup. The post Tucson is...
View ArticleCritics see payback in Indonesia’s plan to grant mining permits to religious...
JAKARTA — Critics have slammed Indonesia’s outgoing government over a plan to hand out mining permits revoked from companies to religious organizations — not on the basis of the latter’s mining...
View ArticleTop brands buy Amazon carbon credits from suspected timber laundering scam
Two major carbon offset projects in the Brazilian Amazon, whose credits have been sold to companies like GOL Airlines, Nestlé, Toshiba and PwC, may have been used to launder timber from illegally...
View ArticleBeyond deforestation, oil palm estates pose flood and water contamination risks
JAKARTA — Briantama Asmara first visited the village of Kais in Indonesian Papua, on the island of New Guinea, in 2017 as an university researcher. The village lies two time zones away from Jakarta,...
View ArticleGlobal markets and their effects on resource exploitation in the Pan Amazon
Investment capital flows when prices are high, but companies scale back investments when they fall. Nonetheless, companies do not often abandon projects once underway; in part, this is a natural...
View ArticleAs coffee expands in Bangladesh hills, conservationists worry about ecosystems
Tea’s history in Bangladesh as a popular recreational drink is almost a hundred years old. However, with economic development, the popularity of coffee is growing gradually in urban areas of the...
View ArticleReport ranks 60+ ideas, including geoengineering, to save the Arctic
Last year was the hottest on record and possibly the hottest in 125,000 years — long before humans invented agriculture, the internet, the wheel, or beer pong. The planet is toasting. And flooding: On...
View ArticleGuyana road projects spark concerns for future development on wetlands
Ongoing upgrades to roads through the southern part of Guyana have many conservationists on high alert, as the projects could impact forest and savanna ecosystems as well as Indigenous communities. A...
View Article‘Right to roam’ movement fights to give the commons back to the public
Like most nations, England doesn’t have legally recognized rights for citizens to cross non-public lands. This means that the nearly 56 million people who live there are only legally allowed to access...
View ArticleWill the Mekong and Salween pay the price of China’s energy transition?
The energy sector is the single largest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, spurring plans the world over to transition the sector away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. While...
View ArticleIndonesian activist acquitted of hate speech after flagging illegal shrimp farms
JAKARTA — An Indonesian court has overturned the conviction of environmental activist Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan on widely criticized hate speech charges for highlighting the damaged caused by...
View ArticleIndonesian activist freed in hate speech case after flagging illegal shrimp...
JAKARTA — An Indonesian court has overturned the sentence of environmental activist Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan on widely criticized hate speech charges for highlighting the damaged caused by...
View ArticlePlastic junk? Researchers find tiny particles in men’s testicles
The new study has scientists concerned that microplastics may be contributing to reproductive health issues. (Image credit: Volodymyr Zakharov)The post Plastic junk? Researchers find tiny particles in...
View ArticleAre carbon credits another resource-for-cash grab? Interview with Alondra...
There’s a quiet divide among Indigenous and traditional community advocates on the topic of carbon markets. On one hand, some believe carbon credit projects operating on their lands should be suspended...
View ArticleMessengers of the gods: Nara’s ‘sacred’ deer at a conservation crossroads
Nara, a city in central Japan and an ancient national capital from 710 to 784 C.E., is today perhaps best known for its “sacred” deer. According to legend, Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, a deity in the...
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Five creative visions for the future, from Looking Forward’s readers
The spotlight Hey there, Looking Forward fam. In honor of our 100th newsletter last month, we launched a drabble contest, asking you to imagine the evolution of a single climate solution that excites...
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