Earth

How environmental change is shaping Southeast Asia.

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Oct 28, 2016 • 10 min read

Spirulina The food of the future grows on a Bangkok rooftop

Are Bangkok’s fledgling rooftop farms a hidden goldmine for hotels and hospitality businesses? Meet the hoteliers and entrepreneurs proving that environment-focused partnerships are the best marketing tool a business can have
By Claire Knox

Oct 28, 2016

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 13, 2016 • 7 min read

Indonesia Addicted to coal

As the rest of the world moves away from fossil fuels, Indonesia is reacting to a drop in its coal exports by ramping up local production, putting the country’s health, environment and economy in danger
By Nithin Coca

Jun 13, 2016

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 06, 2016 • 5 min read

Palm oil juggernaut swats away industry reform efforts

Amid the fastest rural transformation Malaysia and Indonesia have ever seen, big business is pushing back against efforts to overhaul the palm oil industry
By John F. McCarthy and Rob Cramb

Jun 06, 2016

Earth • STORY OF THE DAY • May 25, 2016 • 4 min read

Cambodia Drought and inaction hit rice industry hard

The effects of Cambodia’s recent drought will serve to exacerbate existing structural weaknesses in the rice sector, say experts
By Logan Connor and Paul Millar

May 25, 2016

Earth • May 17, 2016 • 8 min read
Indonesia

Getting the water right

Jakarta's water is controlled by big business, but activists are pushing for the city to follow a worldwide water management trend back to public ownership By David Hutt

Earth • May 13, 2016 • 3 min read
Cambodia

My cemetery, my home

When sand dredging led to the collapse of their riverbank houses, inhabitants of one Phnom Penh community chose to move to a ghostly new home By David Hutt and Sam Jam

Earth • May 02, 2016 • 10 min read
Lifeline Mekong

Make or break time

As drought lingers and unfettered dam construction plugs the Mekong river, managing the life-giving waterway becomes ever more crucial By Daniel Besant

Earth • Feb 10, 2016 • 9 min read
Laos

The lost plantations

When Chinese businessmen offered to rent land from impoverished Laotian farmers the deal was too good to turn down. Now, the true cost of banana plantations is finally being counted in northern Laos By Arnaud Dubus

Earth • Jan 20, 2016 • 8 min read
Orangutan Extinction

Habitat destroyed

As their rainforest habitat disappears from North Sumatra, endangered orangutans are being driven out of the trees and into the crosshairs of enraged villagers By Amanda Saxton

Earth • Nov 13, 2015 • 7 min read
Plastic pollution

Can Southeast Asia stop dumping waste in our oceans?

New research shows that plastic waste in our oceans is far worse than previously thought, and Southeast Asian nations are among the worst offenders By Logan Connor

Earth • Aug 27, 2015 • 9 min read
Mae Sot

A break for the border

Positioned on the border of Thailand and Myanmar, Mae Sot has long attracted migrant workers who are largely responsible for that region’s economic success. Now, with improving infrastructure and social reforms, the town could be set to boost the Kingdom’s business profile even further By Denise Hruby

Earth • Nov 01, 2014 • 7 min read
Vietnam

Time to eat dog!

The taste for dog meat has long been a contentious issue for outsiders. But now the battle has been taken up By Amanda Saxton