Indonesia is one of the world’s mega biodiversity hotspots, with tropical forests that serve as habitats for thousands of endemic species and as vital ecosystem buffers. In addition to maintaining ecosystem balance, Indonesia’s forests also play a role in climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration and storage. However, these functions continue to face pressure due to deforestation, forest degradation, and…

Monika Maritjie Kailey, commonly known as Monik, is a female indigenous advocate from the Aru Islands, Maluku, Indonesia. She was born in the remote village of Fatlabata on Koba Island, known for its seaweed, fish, salted fish, and mangrove crabs. The Aru Islands are located in eastern Indonesia, specifically in Maluku Province. This region comprises 832 small islands with a…

Transshipment Process of Wood Pellets to Foreign Vessels The increase in wood pellet exports from Indonesia has drawn attention in recent months, particularly following the capture of the foreign vessel, MV Lakas, by the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla RI) on August 16, 2024, which was carrying wood pellets from Gorontalo. Wood pellet production has led to deforestation, land degradation,…

Portrait 1: Transshipment Process of Wood Pellets in Gorontalo Sea. Indonesia, with two-thirds of its territory being ocean, faces significant challenges in maritime surveillance, including the increasingly rampant illegal transshipment occurring offshore. Recently, the foreign vessel MV Lakas was captured by Bakamla RI for carrying wood pellets that were suspected to be illegal in the waters of Gorontalo, which has…

Piles of Wood Pellets Ready for Export Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) is highlighting the practice of illegal wood pellet exports that are harming natural forests in Gorontalo. This issue gained public attention following the capture of the foreign vessel MV Lakas, which was carrying allegedly illegal wood pellets, by Bakamla RI. This case is closely linked to the exploitation of…

Land clearing activities in the natural forest concession of PT. BTL are being used for wood pellet production. The practice of wood pellet illegal exports from Gorontalo has become a critical issue highlighted by Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI). This practice contributes to massive deforestation. Done by exploiting forests, which also linked to international market supply chains, particularly in South Korea…

Mangrove forest and coral reefs in split shot, Gam Island Raja Ampat Indnonesia. Image credit: Anemone via Adobe Stock Indonesia is home to some of the Earth’s most biodiverse and carbon-rich forests, and 50 to 70 million Indigenous people who rely on these intact ecosystems for their survival. Yet burning wood in biomass power or “co-fired” in coal power plants…

Halmahera Island has many natural wonders – volcanoes, small islands, and a rainforest ecosystem with endemic biodiversity. One of these wonders is the Sagea Karst Ecosystem which stretches over 5,174 hectares to the east of Weda Bay, Central Halmahera Regency, Eastern Indonesia. This ecosystem has unique features that have not yet been revealed. Karst Distribution of the Sagea Karst Landform…

The word “deforestation” has become a word that is often discussed lately, along with what was conveyed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo and the tweet of the Minister of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) Siti Nurbaya Bakar.

In 2020, Indonesia, like other countries in the world, has suffered Covid-19 pandemic. The virus was first identified in Wuhan, China in late 2019. The coronavirus has remarkable high transmission between human which caused such aggressive spread of the virus. The virus is transmitted through droplets during cough and sneeze (Susilo et al. 2020). In March 2nd 2020, Joko Widodo…