Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – The Banda Aceh Ulema Consultative Assembly (MPU) has once again prohibited Muslims in the city from extending Christmas wishes and celebrating New Year's

Nadya Natahadibrata, Jakarta – The Environment Ministry has issued 17 firms with so-called "black labels" for polluting the environment and failing to meet environmental standards set b

Angela Dewan – Samarinda, East Kalimantan. Barges loaded with mountains of coal glide down the polluted Mahakam River on Indonesian Borneo every few minutes.

Vento Saudale – Officials from Bogor have since October torn down 75 holiday villas and buildings as part of efforts to eliminate a total of 239 illegal buildings in the Puncak area in

A coalition of activist groups has praised Indonesia for signing an international treaty on mercury emissions, but emphasized that the country has much to do to reduce the use of the hi

Manila, Philippines – Economic losses frrom climate change could reach as much as 10% of Timor-Leste's annual GDP by 2100, making it one of the worst hit in the Pacific, says a new Asia

Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata – Members of the Muara Angke fishing community in North Jakarta make their living from the sea, but it is a living that many residents say is increasingly at

Diana Parker – The one-horned Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus), which once ranged through South and Southeast Asia, is now extinct in all but one rare lowland forest in western Java,

Nadya Natahadibrata, Jakarta – Citarum River in West Java and the entire island of Kalimantan are among the world's 10 most polluted places alongside Chernobyl in Ukraine, says an annua

John Vidal – Just 30 years ago, Samarinda was a sleepy village surrounded by deep equatorial forest and known mostly for its traditionally woven sarongs.

Jakarta – Indonesia concluded the second batch of training program intended to hone up the skill of Timor Leste officials in carrying out Environment Feasibility Assessment (AMDAL) esse

Linda Pressly – About 15% of the world's gold is produced by artisanal and small-scale miners, most of whom use mercury to extract it from the earth.

Erwida Maulia & Jonathan Vit – Environmental groups accused Indonesia's second-largest pulp and paper company Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd.

Jakarta – Environmental activists have submitted a class-action lawsuit against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the claim he has failed to protect people in Riau province from t

Indonesia's forestry minister has accused Hollywood star Harrison Ford of subjecting him to a rude interview on climate change that left him "shocked", an official said.

The Timorese government is creating protected areas in the waters of the Coral Triangle, called "no-take zones," where fishing is prohibited.

Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika has revoked a controversial decree that granted a license to a private company to develop Benoa Bay into a tourism facility.

Kanupriya Kapoor, Jakarta – A deadly lava flow at the weekend that killed five people and sent hundreds fleeing illustrates the formidable challenges Indonesia faces in coping with the

Wildlife conservation activists in Indonesia marked a somber Global Tiger Day earlier this week with dire warnings about the relentless destruction of the last remaining forests that ar

Luh De Suriyani – Environmental activists staged protests over the planned reclamation of Benoa Bay in front of the governor's office on Wednesday, demanding the governor revoke the con

Jakarta – Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya's remark made on July 17 that he would not publish the concession had sparked criticism from environment activists.

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – An animal rights activist who initiated an online petition calling for a criminal probe into the killing of four elephants in Aceh claimed to have faced inti

Robertus Wardi – Officials in Jakarta have lashed out at the Aceh administration for its insistence on flying the flag of a now-disbanded separatist group as its provincial standard.

Dyah Ayu Pitaloka, Malang, East Java – Javanese bulls, also known as Bos Javanicus, are on the brink of extinction, according to a study by a government environmental group.

Jakarta – Domestic waste, at 80 percent, remains the top contributor to water pollution in Indonesia.

Banda Aceh, Indonesia – Soldiers, police and volunteers fanned out across an earthquake-damaged region of western Indonesia on Wednesday, scouring the debris of fallen homes and landsli

Shane J. Barter – The highly anticipated 2014 Indonesian national elections are fast approaching.

Dili – Timor-Leste needs to do more at the national and district levels to boost disaster preparedness, especially in rural areas, say experts.

Rizal Harahap and Nurfika Osman, Pekanbaru – Preliminary investigations have singled out eight plantation companies owned by Malaysian investors as the source of forest fires in Riau th

Ezra Sihite – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie said he was confused claims by several leaders of the House of Representatives that they were unaware of an article in the 2013 revis

Criticism has mounted over the government's lack of discussion regarding the Rp 155 billion ($15.7 million) fund allocation in the 2013 state budget for the management of the Sidoarjo m

Jakarta – Agriculture Minister Suswono said that Indonesia would likely experience a year-long wet season, a condition that could have an impact on the country's food production capabil

Jakarta, Indonesia – Poisoning or shooting killed many of the 129 critically endangered elephants that have died on Indonesia's Sumatra island in less than a decade, highlighting weak e

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – Hundreds of people affected by the Lapindo mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, have yet to receive compensation seven years after the disaster.

Emma Masters, Dili – The Australian Government has returned two decades of weather data to East Timor, after it was rescued by a Darwin meteorologist amid civil unrest during the small

Ari Rikin – A leading scientist has rated Indonesia's water management policies as among the worst in the world, and called for greater use of research and technology improve access to

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made a scathing criticism of the poor handling of the Sidoarjo mudflow by the gas exploration firm PT Minarak Lapindo

Jakarta – The Institute for the Free Flow of Information (ISAI) announced on Tuesday that Aceh is the least likely province to allow press freedom and the most dangerous for journalists

The critically endangered Sumatran tiger could soon be extinct in the province of Jambi because of the rapid loss of its forest habitat, conservationists warn.

Index: ASA 21/011/2013

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – All candidates contesting next year's legislative elections in Aceh will be required to take a Koran proficiency test, a member of the province's electoral bo

Victims and family members are still waiting for the Indonesian authorities to provide them with truth, justice and full reparation almost eight years after the end to the devastating A

Yuli Krisna, Bandung – West Java has been seen as key to solving Jakarta's annual flooding problems, with experts calling for more cooperation between the neighboring provinces.

Margareth S.

Jon Afrizal and Indra Harsaputra, Jambi/Surabaya – The number of Sumatran tigers in national parks in Jambi is in decline due to the loss of its habitat, forcing the wild cat to venture

Hans David Tampubolon – Residents of Porong, Sidoarjo in East Java will never forget May 29, 2006.

The following stories are the second of a series of reports on the life of residents in Sidoarjo, East Java, who have been affected by a mudflow since 2006.

Hans David Tampubolon – The failure to mitigate and to stop the mudflow that started in 2006 in Porong, Sidoarjo, in East Java, has severely damaged the environment and threatens public

Political apathy is growing in Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java, where since May 2006 residents have suffered from an endless mudflow.

Ezra Sihite – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday strongly criticized Lapindo Brantas, the oil and gas company that some scientists blame for the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster, f