WWF and Indonesian environment groups claim that European and Japanese taxpayers are among those unwittingly underwriting the continued destruction of important forest in Sumatra, including habitat for endangered tigers. A new report from Sumatra-based NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest, shows that Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) agreed to protect high conservation value forest under [...]

The National Chair of Keep Australia Beautiful National Association, Don Chambers, has called for cooperation and increased partnerships to help develop an improved recycling system that covers all used packaging materials in order to reduce litter. Chambers emphasized the need for “good partnerships between stakeholders and a focus on personal responsibility” to improve recycling rates [...]

Public consultation on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s $9 billion draft plan to save the river system has been roundly criticized for being initiated before the results of an important CSIRO study on the environmental benefits of returning environmental flows is released.

Japan has cut short its whale hunt with less than a third the kills it’s annual quota allows. Japan’s Fisheries Agency blamed adverse weather conditions and sabotage by activists. Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd meanwhile claimed success in it’s campaign to disrupt the hunt.

PT Hindoli, a subsidiary of agribusiness giant Cargill, has been fined $1 million for clearing land to grow palm oil trees beyond its concession in in South Sumatra, Indonesia. Environmental group Greenomics-Indonesia believes the fine could set a precedent and act as a warning to other palm oil companies clearing land illegally.

In some rare good news for sharks, whose global populations have been devastated by decades of overfishing, researchers have found numbers in Tasmanian waters are showing signs of recovery.

The World Bank has announced a new alliance and funding commitment to protect the world’s oceans from threats such as over-fishing and pollution. World Bank President Robert Zoellick highlighted the importance of sustainable healthy oceans to a living planet and healthy global economy, declaring the Bank’s aim to “leverage as much as $1.2 billion to [...]

The Forest Industry Association, Tasmania’s peak timber industry group, has announced it is suspending support for the groundbreaking Intergovernmental Agreement to protect forests signed in August 2011. The Wilderness Society’s National Director, Lyndon Schneiders, says that if the peace deal unravels, it will be a tragedy for Tasmania’s forests and timber industry as well. Schneiders [...]

Back in 2010, we featured commentary by Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s Campaigns Director Shailendra Yashwant on a landmark commitment by Indonesia to protect its remaining forests with $1 billion financial support from Norway. The pact was agreed in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions caused by the destruction of forest and carbon packed peat-land; it promised [...]

Developing ‘clean coal’ power plants won’t make business sense for at least two decades unless the Australian Government assists the carbon capture and storage industry more, says Dick Wells, Chairman of the National Low Emissions Coal Council. The Government has budgeted $1.68 billion for a carbon capture and storage ‘flagships’ program, but NLEC estimates $10-17 billion [...]