Earth

How environmental change is shaping Southeast Asia.

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Jan 24, 2018 • 9 min read

Cambodia Bat faeces turn to ‘black gold’

By Claire Baker-Munton • Jan 24, 2018
Top read: We return to one of our most popular pieces of 2018, which looked at the Cambodians reliant on bat faeces to sustain their livelihoods. Nutrient rich guano – colloquially known as “black gold” – provides powerful fertility to farmers' lands and a solid income to those who farm bats, and their faeces

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Nov 06, 2017 • 11 min read

Cambodia's construction boom A future without home?

By Nathan Paul Southern • Nov 06, 2017
The construction industry in Cambodia has been enjoying great growth in recent years. Yet there are concerns over the quality of some of these projects and an over-reliance on Chinese investment

Earth • Oct 31, 2017 • 2 min read
Bugs to Pasta

The cricket pasta that can help feed the world

Chomping on crickets is nothing new in Southeast Asia, but a global market for critter-based foods could turn edible insects into a major industry
By Colin Meyn • Oct 31, 2017

Earth • Oct 18, 2017 • 6 min read
Zoë Ng

Shaking up Cambodian office culture

Zoë Ng worked at McKinsey, Google and the beauty startup Charlotte Tilbury to build up a range of experience before striking out on her own. Now she heads up Raintree, an award-winning office and retail development in Phnom Penh
By Euan Black • Oct 18, 2017

Earth • Sep 15, 2017 • 5 min read
Elephant Tourism

A cruel world

Since 2015, World Animal Protection has visited 220 venues across Asia that use elephants to entertain tourists. The findings were worrying, but better informed tourists can be part of a crucial change, argues World Animal Protection advisor Jan Schmidt-Burbach 
By Jan Schmidt-Burbach • Sep 15, 2017

Earth • Sep 14, 2017 • 10 min read
Phnom Penh

City of garbage

As Cambodia's capital becomes a modern metropolis, its sole garbage collection company, Cintri, is failing to keep up. Can Cambodia's capital clean up its act?
By Colin Meyn and Mech Dara • Sep 14, 2017

Earth • Jul 19, 2017 • 6 min read
Indonesia

Solving our plastic bag nightmare

The creator of Bali’s biodegradable cassava starch bags says they have had “enquiries from almost every country on earth”, but some question the viability of large-scale production
By Ana Salvá • Jul 19, 2017

Earth • Jun 07, 2017 • 10 min read
Cambodia

The fewer forests, the more floods

Massive deforestation is playing a crucial role in the droughts that are devastating Cambodia. But despite an official ban on timber exports, forests continue to be cut down at a record rate
By Euan Black • Jun 07, 2017

Earth • May 26, 2017 • 2 min read
Nuclear

Philippines and Russia sign nuclear cooperation deal

The deal suggests President Duterte is serious about his pledge to move away from the US and cosy up to ‘non-traditional partners’
By Will Feuer • May 26, 2017

Earth • May 17, 2017 • 8 min read
Indonesia

The red-light district that everyone loves

Jakarta’s Kalijodo red-light district has been shut down, cleaned up and transformed into a vibrant public space. But the reimagining of the area didn’t come without a human cost
By Gabrielle Lipton • May 17, 2017