What can the palm oil industry do to “green” its supply chain? What are some of the obstacles to greater sustainability? The SIIA travels to Riau to see what one palm oil company is doing to ensure its products are sustainable, and how independent smallholders...
Volunteers from our partner NGO People's Movement to Stop Haze (PM.Haze) helped build a canal block in Sungai Tohor, Riau, Indonesia, this month. PM.Haze collaborated with the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) to build the canal block, which is used to trap water and...
The European Parliament adopted the Resolution on Palm Oil and Deforestation of Rainforests on 4 April 2017, whose stated aim is to reduce the negative impacts of deforestation due to unsustainable or illegal palm oil production. The Resolution has incited a great deal of controversy...
The region must remember that it is a broad community made up of real people, and more attention needs to be paid to them. This article is part of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2017. By Nicholas Fang and Simon Tay The Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN)...
The Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) held our 4th Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources on 6 April 2017 at the St. Regis Singapore, on the theme of “Inclusive Collaboration: Working Together for Sustainable Value Chains”. We shared some of the media coverage last...
SIIA Chairman Simon Tay spoke to Phoenix Television News for a feature on Singapore and ASEAN's relations with the US and China amidst China's rapid rise, part of a series that Phoenix Television has been airing on this topic. The report was broadcast on 28...
The Jakarta gubernatorial election has been dominating headlines with the incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as Ahok) being accused of blasphemy. This election has become more than just a race for the governor's office, with wider implications for Indonesia's religious freedom, transparency, and democracy. To...
On 17 Jan 2017, we held an evening talk with Dr. Cherian George on his latest book, Hate Spin: The Manufacture of Religious Offense and its Threat to Democracy. The session was part of our Global Citizens Singapore series, looking beyond traditional politics and economics...
United States President-elect Donald Trump may have labelled climate change a hoax, but that has not stalled the momentum behind last month’s United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco. Less than one year after its adoption, the Paris climate agreement has entered into force, with...
When Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo meets Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong today, it will be their first-ever bilateral retreat. There will be plenty to discuss between the leaders of the two countries. Both are making efforts to cooperate, yet — as with all...