Environmental Issues
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Climate
PRC poised to mine deep seabed for coveted metals despite environmental concerns
FORUM Staff The People’s Republic of China (PRC) wants to extract deep-sea rocks containing highly desired metals — cobalt, lithium, graphite and other essential components of electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, solar panels and jet engines — despite widespread concerns that scooping up potato-sized polymetallic nodules and other valuable mineral deposits will damage ocean ecosystems. Already the world’s top provider…
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Climate
Indonesia, U.S. pact seeks to restore, preserve coral reefs
Reuters The U.S. will forgive $35 million of Indonesian debt over the next nine years in return for the Southeast Asian country restoring and preserving coral reefs in an area believed to be the world’s most biodiverse patch of ocean. Coral reefs are increasingly threatened due largely to climate change, which raises sea temperatures and causes heat stress that triggers…
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Partnerships
Indonesia, U.S. build readiness with 30th iteration of CARAT
FORUM Staff The Indonesian and United States militaries conducted their 30th iteration of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) in May 2024. The weeklong exercise in Lampung, Indonesia, which included training at sea and on shore, was designed to enhance the partner navies’ ability to jointly respond to traditional and nontraditional maritime security challenges. Personnel rehearsed an amphibious assault that…
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Climate
The Coming Storm
MAJ. AFUA O. BOAHEMA-LEE/U.S. ARMY | Photos by AFP/GETTY IMAGES Southeast Asia has recorded rising average temperatures since 1960. With climate change effects becoming more pronounced over the last decade, it is now considered one of humanity’s most crucial challenges. Based on data collected over the past two decades, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) included Thailand and Vietnam among countries…
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Climate
Sponsor An Ocean?
Story and photos by The Associated Press The tiny Pacific island nation of Niue has devised a novel plan to protect its vast and pristine territorial waters. It will get sponsors to pay. Under the plan, launched by Niue Premier Dalton Tagelagi in September 2023, individuals or companies can pay $148 to protect 1 square kilometer of ocean from threats…
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Climate
Indonesia Defense University pioneers sustainable housing solutions in flood-prone areas
Tom Abke Sustainable housing is a priority for the Indonesian government, including its defense establishment. With millions of homes at risk from natural disasters in the world’s fourth most-populous country, the Indonesia Defense University, known as Unhan RI, launched an initiative to build floating and stilt houses in a fishing village in northern Jakarta. The project promises to be a…
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Climate
Scientists Identify 380 More Species in Mekong Region
Radio Free Asia An aggressive color-changing lizard, a venomous snake named after a goddess in Chinese mythology and a camouflaging green frog found only in the forested limestone mountains of northeastern Vietnam were among the hundreds of plant and animal species discovered in the Mekong River region in the past two years, researchers announced in May 2023. Hundreds of scientists…
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Climate
Climate Change Impacts program strives to understand threats, increase resilience
FORUM Staff Climate change could impact more than 80% of the Indo-Pacific’s population by 2050, according to the United States Indo-Pacific Command’s (USINDOPACOM) Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM). Worldwide, rising seas and coastal floods are expected to force more than 200 million people from their homes, with Blue Pacific nations among the worst hit. Extreme…
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Climate
Chinese dredging imperils South China Sea coral reefs: report
Radio Free Asia Dredging and other maritime activities by countries claiming territory in the South China Sea, primarily the People’s Republic of China (PRC), have devastated coral reefs, with vast areas destroyed or badly damaged, a new report found. “In recent decades, increased fishing, dredging, and landfill, along with giant clam harvesting, have taken a devastating toll on thousands of…
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Climate
U.N. climate agreement addresses fossil fuels for first time as Blue Pacific nations, U.S. push for more ambitious goals
FORUM Staff United Nations climate talks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in December 2023 closed with an agreement by nearly 200 nations to “transition away” from fossil fuels. It marked the first time a U.N. climate compact has called for governments to burn less coal, oil and natural gas, a step some observers called historic. Blue Pacific nations on…
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