Earth

How environmental change is shaping Southeast Asia.

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Apr 13, 2018 • 4 min read

Boracay Island Closure of "cesspool" island a chance to correct how tourism functions

By Thomas Brent • Apr 13, 2018
One of the Philippines' busiest tourist hotspots Boracay Island was labelled a "cesspool" by the country's president Rodrigo Duterte in February 2018. One month later he announced that the island will close for six months, beginning on 26 April. Vince Cinches, the oceans and political campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, gives his opinion on the matter

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Apr 11, 2018 • 9 min read

Myanmar Dark clouds on the horizon

By Brennan O'Connor • Apr 11, 2018
Despite grave warnings over the environmental costs, Myanmar is pushing ahead with a number of coal-fired power plants. The villagers who will suffer the most are fighting back

Earth • Mar 14, 2018 • 10 min read
Exotic wildlife trade

Are we helping illegal animal traffickers?

Southeast Asia has long been a hub for the exotic wildlife trade, but the business is increasingly moving online - where unwitting social media users are playing a part in its proliferation
By Cristyn Lloyd • Mar 14, 2018

Earth • Feb 19, 2018 • 8 min read
Indonesia

Caught at the crossroads

The country with arguably the world's worst traffic is having to rely on civilians to manage congestion, but not everyone thinks Indonesia's freelance traffic organisers are helping
By Aisyah Llewellyn • Feb 19, 2018

Earth • Jan 24, 2018 • 9 min read
Cambodia

Bat faeces turn to ‘black gold’

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
By Claire Baker-Munton • Jan 24, 2018

Earth • Nov 06, 2017 • 11 min read
Cambodia's construction boom

A future without home?

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
By Nathan Paul Southern • Nov 06, 2017

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