Earth

How environmental change is shaping Southeast Asia.

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • 7 days ago • 4 min read

Covid-19 Lockdown antics of Singapore’s otters sparks backlash

By Catherine Lai/Agence France-Presse • 7 days ago
Singapore's otters, long adored by the city-state's nature lovers, are popping up in unexpected places during the coronavirus lockdown, but their antics have angered some and even sparked calls for a cull

Earth • May 27, 2020 • 9 min read
Green cities

How did lockdown impact air quality in your Southeast Asian city?

While the global pandemic has been devastating for economies and lives across the world, it has been undeniably good for the environment. As cities across Southeast Asia have shut down, air quality has steadily and uniformly improved – that is in all but one city
By Lee Ying Shan and Alexi Demetriadi

Earth • May 27, 2020 • 6 min read
Green cities

The curious case of Jakarta: Lockdown, less traffic, but worse air quality

Lockdowns brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic have had clear positive effects on pollutions levels across Southeast Asia’s major cities. But one city, notorious for its pollution, bucks that trend. Why has Jakarta’s air quality worsened during the lockdown months?
By Alexi Demetriadi

Earth • May 22, 2020 • 10 min read
World Turtle Day

Treading on eggshells: Southeast Asia’s turtle conservation fight

As the global pandemic brings a halt to most human activity, many species of turtle are finally finding the breathing room to once again breed and repopulate. But it takes a community to save a turtle, and across Southeast Asia there are several networks fighting for nature's gentle giants
By Lee Ying Shan

Earth • May 22, 2020 • 9 min read
Conservation

The Galapagos Islands on land: How limestone is essential to life

An essential component for cement, as well as a breeding ground for biodiversity, limestone quite literally serves as the building block for much of life on earth. On this International Day of Biological Diversity, Rimba gives us the run down on this most unsung of all heroes
By Dr Gopalasamy Reuben Clements and Junn Kitt Foon

Earth • May 21, 2020 • 9 min read
Opinion

‘Cambodia’s agricultural sector is in dire need of revitalisation’

With the stalwarts of the Cambodian economy, tourism and garments, set to be decimated by the economic downturn, Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on agriculture to step in and pick up the slack. A badly neglected sector struggling to survive with outdated methods, technology and extreme weather events, how can this be done?
By Nith Kosal

Earth • May 14, 2020 • 9 min read
Conservation

How protecting forests and their communities can prevent the next outbreak

The Covid-19 pandemic highlights how human health is intimately connected to animal and ecosystem wellbeing. As we reassess our relationship with nature, researchers say we must empower those best positioned to protect forests – local communities
By Carolyn Cowan

Earth • May 13, 2020 • 13 min read
Opinion

Did China turn off the Lower Mekong? Why data matters for cooperation

Recent reports claim definitive proof that the 2019/20 Mekong drought was caused by China – they do not according to researchers at AMPERES. Will the controversial analysis further polarise stakeholders, or could the crisis shift regional cooperation into more productive spaces?
By Tarek Ketelsen, Timo Räsänen, John Sawdon