Prologue: Jakarta, 2007On 29 November, 2007, on the tenth floor of a marble-clad office block in Jakarta, the scion of one of Indonesia’s wealthiest families met with a visitor from the island of Borneo.Arif Rachmat, in his early 30s, was heir to a business empire and an immense fortune that would place him among the richest people in the world. His father had risen as a captain of industry under the 32-year dictatorship of President Suharto.

Maksum, a resident of Aceh Tamiang district in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, can still vividly recall when a flash flood hit the area 11 years ago this month.The 2006 disaster left a trail of destruction in its wake, claiming the lives of 28 people and forcing more than 200,000 from their homes.Today, he is increasingly concerned that a similar catastrophe looms on the horizon – one driven not by natural forces, but by a massive hydroelectric power plant planned for construction here.The 428-m

Indonesia is undoubtedly one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, let alone in the Southeast Asia region. Although there have been management efforts to conserve this natural richness, the country has long been recognised as a significant illegal wildlife trade hub.

A Thai zoo has sparked outrage after a video of staff repeatedly prodding a tiger to elicit roars for tourist photos went viral, renewing criticism of the kingdom's notorious animal tourism industry. The clip, which has garnered more than one million views since it was posted on Monday, shows the Pattaya zoo attendant jabbing the chained animal in the face with a stick as tourists take turns posing with or sitting on top of the big cat for pictures.

The death toll from a tropical storm that pummelled the central Philippines rose to 43 with hopes fading for dozens of others still missing after massive landslides, authorities said Tuesday.Slow-moving Kai-Tak finally swept out to the South China Sea on Monday after inducing days of heavy rain that led to deadly floods and landslides as it sliced across the central islands last weekend.The government's disaster monitoring agency listed 43 dead in an updated tally and said 45 other peopl

Iman, the last female Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) in the Malaysian state of Sabah, has fallen seriously ill over the past few days due to bleeding in her uterus, authorities there reported.The rhino, which experts believe to be fertile, had a tumor in her uterus, according to the Sabah Wildlife Department.

At least 26 people were killed while 23 remain missing in an island province in central Philippines after tropical storm Kai-Tak brought heavy rains that triggered landslides on Sunday.The deaths were reported in the small island province of Biliran, a day after the storm pulverised the east of the archipelago nation.Kai-Tak split across the major islands of Samar and Leyte on Saturday, toppling power lines in 39 towns or cities and damaging roads and bridges, the national disaster agency sai

A Taiwanese steel firm behind a toxic spill that killed tonnes of fish in central Vietnam last year was fined for a second time for illegally burying "harmful" waste, official sources said Sunday.The deadly dump from Formosa's $11 billion steel plant in Ha Tinh province sparked one of the country's worst environmental catastrophes, decimating livelihoods along swathes of coastline and prompting months of rare protests in the authoritarian country.

It’s not long before midnight and an outlaw trawler has been spotted. The captain – a weather-gnarled old fisherman wearing just boxer shorts – winces as flashlights illuminate his face. He takes a drag of a cigarette and grins as his crew hauls in their catch. “Here he is with all the seagrass in his net,” says Paul Ferber, the founder and head of Marine Conservation Cambodia (MCC), as his boat pulls alongside the trawler to take video evidence during a patrol for illegal fishing.

Pangolins continue to be the most trafficked mammal in the world.