EJN Supports the Production of 21 Stories on Environmental and Climate Issues in Asia-Pacific Island Countries
As the world faces warming temperatures, sea level rise and rapid biodiversity loss, few places face them with the immediacy of island countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Rising sea levels pose an existential threat to low-lying countries whose economies often depend on extractive industries such as mining and logging, and external markets such as tourism.
For example, Pacific Island nations will experience at least 15 centimeters of sea level rise in the next 30 years—a trend that is irreversible, even if greenhouse gas emissions change over time—while the species-rich Wallacea region in Indonesia may lose an average 1.23% of forest cover per year until 2053, over twice the global average for tropical forests.
Journalists bear the responsibility of informing audiences about the nature of these unique threats and empowering them with the information they need to hold policymakers to account. Yet, stories from more vulnerable island countries are often overlooked in mainstream news.
From 2023 to 2024, in efforts to bolster media coverage, Internews’ Earth Journalism Network’s Asia-Pacific project supported 21 stories from 13 journalists reporting on environmental and climate issues in Asia-Pacific island countries.
Here are their stories:
Clifford Faik reported on how rising sea levels are forcing Ahus Islanders to return to their ancestral land on the main Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, while the community debates whether to destroy coral reef ecosystems, an important source of food, to build a seawall.
Finlan Adhitya Aldan and Bayu Asya Isminanda delved into the human-crocodile conflict on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, and the artisanal miners risking their lives to extract tin in crocodile habitat.
Franklin Y. Cimatu debunked claims circulating on social media that Philippines’ Sierra Madre mountains can protect residents from typhoons, drawing on climate science that shows the range has variable effects on wind and rainfall. He also contributed reporting to a story by Sherwin De Vera, on the plight of Indigenous communities confronted by increasingly destructive weather events in the region.
Anastasia Ika produced a two-part series examining pressures on Colol coffee farmers in Indonesia, where coffee productivity has decreased and land disputes with the Indonesian government have put Colol Indigenous communities at risk of imprisonment or death.
Glenys Octania explored how microplastics have ended up in Indonesia’s waters and pose health risks to humans, and highlighted the steps the government is taking to mitigate the issue.
Rifthli Ali revisited the X-Press Pearl maritime disaster in Sri Lanka and spoke to fishermen and other locals who claim that years later, there has been no compensation for its impacts on their livelihoods.
Irwin Angiki spoke to a community leader in Lorde Howe settlement in Honiara, Solomon Islands, who worries about how sea level rise, land erosion and other pressures are impacting people’s lives.
Keith Kristoffer Bacongco produced a three-part series on nickel mining in the province of Davao Oriental in the Philippines, exploring its threats to Philippine eagles and other endemic species, the provincial government’s stance opposing mining in favor of tourism, and a nickel mining project that aims to minimize environmental impact by regenerating forests.
Robby Irfany Maqoma highlighted grim predictions for Indonesia’s protected corals and their risk of bleaching in the coming decades, as well as local efforts to restore coral reefs on Gili Islands, a popular tourist destination.
Jeremy Gwao produced a three-part series on dynamite fishing in the Solomon Islands, which has devastated fisheries and reefs, impacted traditions such as shell money making and threatened community safety.
Kalavarshny Kanagaratnam examined how abandoned gem mines in Sri Lanka leave open pits that endanger humans and livestock and pose other safety concerns.
Huang Yi-Ying explored the world of horseshoe crabs, an ancient species that once thrived on Kinmen Island between Taiwan and China, but has dwindled due to human activity and habitat loss.
“This cohort of journalists has brought to our attention a wide variety of environmental challenges, disproportionately borne by communities of island countries,” said Amy Sim, Internews’ Asia-Pacific regional program manager for environment. “We are proud to have supported these important stories, which you rarely read about in the mainstream media.”
Banner image: A horseshoe crab on Kinmen Island, located between Taiwan and China / Credit: Cheuk Fai Chan for Initium Media.
