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Amber fossils reveal how ancient Australian landmass helped seed Southeast Asia's tropical forests
· Confirmed
In Short: Four people died fighting blazes in Indonesia's Java island, as toxic smoke from wildfires spread across Southeast Asia, closing schools and fueling a surge of respiratory complaints in the region.
Four people died fighting blazes in Indonesia's Java island as toxic smoke from wildfires spread across Southeast Asia, closing schools and fueling a surge of respiratory complaints in the region, authorities said Friday.
The thick smog has blanketed parts of Indonesia for weeks as the archipelago battles to contain fires that have burned large swathes of Borneo and Sumatra.
Amid these environmental challenges, some farmers in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa have started planting and harvesting perennial rice in their fields.
David Mueller, a fourth-generation farmer, planted a 12-acre field of Kernza, a perennial grain similar to native grasses found in parts of Europe and western Asia, five years ago.
Mueller noted that incorporating perennials into agriculture seems like the only option to maintain soil health for future generations.
"Incorporating perennials into our agriculture seems like really the only option to have soil for generations if we want to continue to grow food," van der Pol said.
"Not only are we able to utilize those acres profitably, but then we also build up that soil and work on some benefits to make it hopefully profitable to raise other crops on those fields in the future," Mueller added.
"If you can plant something and then you don’t have to go back for four or five years … that would save so much money, so much labor, everything. That’s what makes it enticing," another farmer said.
A 2024 United Nations report suggests that by 2050, soil degradation could cause more than $20 trillion in losses to the global economy.
"It’s hard to imagine getting to a place where we could have soil and abundant food without a perennial option," one farmer remarked.
The Lowy Institute's Southeast Asia Aid Map data interactive tracks $318 billion in aid and development finance across 150,000 projects from 2015-2024.
"It is disheartening, you know. And it’s kind of hard to know what to do," a farmer expressed.
What's confirmed
- Four people died fighting blazes in Indonesia's Java island as toxic smoke from wildfires spread across Southeast Asia, closing schools and fueling a surge of respiratory complaints in the region, authorities said Friday.
- The thick smog has blanketed parts of Indonesia for weeks as the archipelago battles to contain fires that have burned large swathes of Borneo and Sumatra.
- Amid these environmental challenges, some farmers in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa have started planting and harvesting perennial rice in their fields.
- David Mueller, a fourth-generation farmer, planted a 12-acre field of Kernza, a perennial grain similar to native grasses found in parts of Europe and western Asia, five years ago.
- Mueller noted that incorporating perennials into agriculture seems like the only option to maintain soil health for future generations.
- "Incorporating perennials into our agriculture seems like really the only option to have soil for generations if we want to continue to grow food," van der Pol said.
- "Not only are we able to utilize those acres profitably, but then we also build up that soil and work on some benefits to make it hopefully profitable to raise other crops on those fields in the future," Mueller added.
- "If you can plant something and then you don’t have to go back for four or five years … that would save so much money, so much labor, everything. That’s what makes it enticing," another farmer said.
- A 2024 United Nations report suggests that by 2050, soil degradation could cause more than $20 trillion in losses to the global economy.
- "It’s hard to imagine getting to a place where we could have soil and abundant food without a perennial option," one farmer remarked.
- The Lowy Institute's Southeast Asia Aid Map data interactive tracks $318 billion in aid and development finance across 150,000 projects from 2015-2024.
- "It is disheartening, you know. And it’s kind of hard to know what to do," a farmer expressed.
What's still developing
- The deal, between Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economy and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, eliminates or reduces customs duties, including on imports of industrial, fish and agricultural products.
- Reveal patterns and compare contributions by the major players in Southeast Asia’s development.
- Each profile summarises all development finance flowing into that country, with filters for climate, gender, and disability finance to reveal what matters most to your analysis.
- Delivered by leading experts who specialise in Southeast Asian development and regional economics.
- Every donor, every Southeast Asian recipient, all in the only interactive tool of its kind.
- Southeast Asia finds itself at an uncertain moment in its development trajectory.
- Southeast Asia's upstream merger and acquisition (M&A) conversation has moved from which international oil companies (IOCs) are leaving to who is buying their way in.
- After a late October rain last year, the fourth-generation farmer was optimistic about his 1,800 acres (728 hectares) of winter wheat.
- He ended up harvesting about 1,500 acres (607 hectares), but the yield was the lowest he's had since taking over his family's farm in 2017.