Earth

How environmental change is shaping Southeast Asia.

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Mar 03, 2020 • 9 min read

Coral reefs Under the waves

By Minka Curr • Mar 03, 2020
Mainstream understanding says that the world's coral reefs will largely vanish to climate change by 2050. But more and more marine scientists believe their resilience has been underestimated, with researchers working in the Coral Triangle region now emphasising the adaptability of Indonesian reef systems

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Feb 26, 2020 • 13 min read

Environmental activism Fighting the green fight

By Rachna Thim • Feb 26, 2020
Across Southeast Asia, there are environmental activists risking their freedom and facing violence as they fight the green fight. Here we profile four of these unsung individuals campaigning in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Jan 29, 2020 • 11 min read

Conservation Drone’s-eye view

By Samantha McCabe • Jan 29, 2020
In a rapidly transforming world, how can researchers and policy-makers combat increasing rates of wildfires and wildlife crime? Some conservationists are turning to technology, providing those on the front-line with a much-needed boost in the fight

Earth • Jan 09, 2020 • 14 min read
Extreme weather

High water mark

Top Read: 13 years ago, we asked the question – what might the weather bring us fifty years from now? Back in 2007, Cambodia was witnessing super cyclones one year, drought the next. Today, with extreme weather a yearly reality and the environmental tipping point drawing ever closer, the situation is showing few signs of improvement
By Paul Brisby

Earth • Dec 31, 2019 • 9 min read
Community action

Award-winning farming

In late November, Battambang rice farmer Roeum Socheat received international acclaim for his work empowering Raingkesei agricultural community since 2017. Can his model provide hope for farmers across the Kingdom?
By Thim Rachna

Earth • Dec 25, 2019 • 10 min read
The Kingdom in 2040

Cambodia’s green revolution?

In the fourth installment of our eight-week series in conjunction with Future Forum looking at Cambodia in 2040, we turn to the future of energy and the environment in the Kingdom. While deforestation is currently rampant, does Cambodia have the capacity to transform itself into a green beacon in the region?
By Andrew Haffner

Earth • Dec 23, 2019 • 8 min read
Green dollars

The eco-option

Top read: With the number of visitors to Angkor Wat severely dropping this year, Cambodia’s tourism industry, so vital to the economy, is in danger of becoming reliant on Chinese gambling dollars in Sihanoukville. In search of alternatives, we return to a piece from 2009 looking at Cambodia's then budding ecotourism industry. Could green be the answer to the Kingdom's tourism woes?
By Sam Campbell

FROM THE PRINT ARCHIVE
Earth • Dec 17, 2019 • 15 min read
Communities on the river

Currents of time

In 1991, National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita traversed the length of the Mekong, from source to sea, in a groundbreaking trip documenting the communities for which the river was so central to life. Southeast Asia Globe sat down with Yamashita to reflect on his incredible journey almost three decades on, as well as hear his thoughts on the dams and environmental degradation blighting the river today
By Andrew Haffner

Earth • Dec 16, 2019 • 9 min read
Urban development

The grass is never greener

As Phnom Penh’s construction sector booms, communities suffer as public recreational areas are sacrificed for never-ending new developments. In an economic environment where money trumps all, who will preserve vital green spaces for the capital's residents?
By Julija Veljkovic

Earth • Nov 21, 2019 • 11 min read
Hydropower dam protests

Don’t poke the nest

Activists from the Sa-iab Village in northern Thailand have successfully campaigned against the construction of a dam for three decades. With hydropower dams springing up across Asia, what can local communities learn from their struggle?
By Skylar Lindsay

Earth • Nov 14, 2019 • 8 min read
Indonesia’s indigenous peoples

Last of their kind

A forest community on Halmahera Island, North Maluku, is facing displacement by land-hungry businesses, threatening doomsday for a timeless hunter-gatherer lifestyle
By Andre Barahamin