In response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, ASEAN countries are implementing a variety of measures to boost their economies and “flatten the curve” of new infections. From stimulus packages to movement restrictions and travel bans, there are a lot of developments to keep track of....
By Simon Tay, Wu Hui Juan and Aaron Choo For The Straits Times Fires have raged across the world in the past year. The haze from fires in Indonesian provinces affected not only Indonesia but also Malaysia and Singapore. The trans-boundary haze situation was the worst since 2015 and...
COVID-19 Outbreak More Stimulus Packages Announced (25, 28 Feb) The government of Indonesian President Joko Widodo “Jokowi” released the details of a US$742.6 million COVID-19 stimulus package on 25 February. To boost tourism, the budget included measures such as providing airlines and travel agencies with financial...
Regional economies are expected to take hard knocks from the ongoing COVID-19 Outbreak, and many governments have revised their initial growth forecasts for 2020. Some governments, particularly those in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, have gone further to come up with stimulus packages to give their...
Indonesian President Joko Widodo “Jokowi” has embarked on an ambitious effort to overhaul his country’s economy and make it more attractive to investors. Four omnibus bills, two of which have been submitted to the Indonesian Parliament, lie at the centre of his efforts. While the...
COVID-19 Outbreak Governments Calibrating Stimulus Packages to Boost Economies (12 Feb – Ongoing) Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat outlined measures to address the economic impact of COVID-19 in the 2020 Budget. Singapore is expected to be significantly affected by the outbreak,...
Resources Sustainability Mobile App simplifies peatland restoration monitoring efforts in Indonesia An inexpensive, community-based monitoring system is enhancing land management strategies in the Indonesian province of Riau as the government rolls out techniques aimed at strengthening the ability of local people to reduce their vulnerability to fire....
Resources Sustainability U.S. biofuels not to blame for Indonesia and Malaysia deforestation (24 Jan) Since 1990, the United States has ramped up its production of biofuels—to about 16 billion gallons of ethanol and 1.6 billion gallons of biodiesel in 2017. At the same time, production of palm...
Resource Sustainability Palm oil processors top plantations in destroying proboscis monkey habitat (8 Jan) The oil palm processing industry has overtaken palm plantations as the biggest cause of the loss of habitat for the endangered proboscis monkey in Indonesia’s Balikpapan Bay. A new study pinpoints the shift...
Resource Sustainability Indonesia fires emitted double the carbon of Amazon fires (25 Nov) Fires from land and forest fires across Indonesia this year have pumped at least 708 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere — almost double the emissions from the fires that swept through...