Thailand is at the forefront of becoming a regional technology hub, fueling a wave of investment in hyperscale data centers. However, like all development, this comes with costs.

Development is a double-edged sword for developing countries such as the Philippines and Cambodia. While institutions like the World Bank Group (WBG) and their clients engage in business activities in...

The local spring has long sustained residents of water-short Gunung Batur, but their lifeline is at risk during this deep dry spell.

Indonesia’s intense, prolonged drought has exposed what remains of Somang, a village that was submerged to make way for the Karian Dam.

The raging fires in Indonesia are a lesson repeating itself. Beyond the toll on the environment and peatlands, health and economy, they also erode the country's climate commitments.

ท่ามกลางความท้าทายที่ทวีความรุนแรงในระบบอาหารท้องถิ่นอันเกิดจากการกอบโกยทรัพยากรธรรมชาติที่ส่งผลกระทบต่อสิ่งแวดล้อม รวมถึงการเข้าถึงอาหาร และความมั่นคงของแหล่งอาหาร บทความนี้จะพาทุกท่านไปสำรวจการขับเค...

Indonesia's plan to develop Green Super Grid will require transmission infrastructure that would allow renewable energy projects to operate more efficiently. The European Union's participation could m...

This final episode explores art as a vital frontier of resistance across Southeast Asia. We sit down with feminist cartoonist Cho, creator of “Chwin Toon,” to examine how visual satire breaks through deep-rooted taboos, state control, and shrinking civic spaces. Cho shares her personal encounters with targeted harassment, the gendered realities facing women and minority activists, and the patriarchal hurdles within political movements. Join us to discover how visual storytelling sustains advocacy under pressure, and what keeps creative resistance alive on the frontlines of justice.

In Southeast Asia, speaking out as a woman or LGBTQIA+ activist means navigating a landscape where dissent is systematically penalized. Across the region, human rights defenders face a complex web of ...

The Landbridge poses a serious threat to the Moken, whose Indigenous lifeways are deeply connected to the Andaman Sea. Their communities extend beyond Koh Phayam to Koh Lao and Koh Chang in Ranong, th...

With increasing challenges facing local food systems due to the exploitation of natural resources, which harms the environment and affects food access and availability of food sources, this article ex...

On July 11, 2026, hundreds marched through the streets of Dili under the theme "Courage." What started a decade ago as a modest community initiative has transformed into one of Timor-Leste’s most visi...

Rather than viewing Thailand’s Landbridge as a transport infrastructure project, this article reinterprets it as a political process of territorial restructuring in Southern Thailand.

Bangkok, Thailand — The adoption of the Belém Gender Action Plan (GAP) at the 30th session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) marked a new milestone for gender-responsive climate ...

Women Environmental Human Rights Defenders (WEHRDs) stand at the frontline of Southeast Asia's environmental crises, yet they face disproportionate risks for protecting nature and communities. This ar...

In Indonesia, the island of Flores and its volcanoes are drawing geothermal projects. Built on Indigenous land, these large-scale plants are being developed without regard for local communities and th...

"Financing the Transition, Silencing Defenders" exposes how the rush towards new energy transition projects across Asia is increasing risks for communities and defenders who speak out against the harm...

The United States (US) is forming resource partnerships in Southeast Asia, through bilateral critical minerals agreements, such as memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and agreements on reciprocal trade ...

Capitalist patriarchy drives mineral extraction, treating nature and women as interchangeable resources for profit. Materialist eco-feminism reveals how this system makes exploitation look natural.

Through the hands of Liza A. Ahngau, this photo essay follows a cycle. From seedling to cup, revealing how an overlooked species carries ecological memory, resilience, and community survival.

From Sarawak forests to global cafés, the story of Liza A. Ahngau traces Liberica coffee, memory, and resilience in challenging market-driven narratives and reconnecting coffee with land, community, a...

What happens when gender-based violence is seen not as a series of isolated incidents, but as a deliberate tool of power? Across Southeast Asia, deeply entrenched patriarchal structures and political ...

The side event, "From Voices to Action: Indigenous Leadership in Achieving Affordable and Clean Energy," was one of the side events of the 13th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development held in Ba...

To mark the International Day of Action for Rivers on 14 March 2026, this photo essay flows through eight Southeast Asian rivers—each a ribbon of memory, livelihood, and life.

A women-centered safe space is the foundation of any feminist support system. In the heart of Bangkok, International Women’s Day wasn’t just a date on the calendar; it was a living, breathing practice...

There seems to be no rainbow after the rain, particularly when the storm was as strong as Cyclone Senyar, which struck three Indonesian provinces on the island of Sumatra on November 25, 2025 leaving ...

Indonesia is the world’s seventh-largest cacoa producer and the third-largest exporter of cacoa beans. Despite growing demand for cacoa, farmers face climate change impacts, aging cacoa trees, and env...

After decades of struggle, Timor-Leste is finding hope in coffee. From colonial Arabica roots to the resilient Híbrido de Timor, organic beans gain global recognition. Yet climate change and weak syst...

In Sanan Village, Malang, Indonesia, daily life moves to the rhythm of boiling soybeans and slow fermentation. For generations, families have made tempe at home, passing skills from parents to children through everyday practice. Women and men work side by side from before dawn, turning tempe into both a livelihood and a source of community pride. This documentary follows the Tempe artisans of Sanan Village and Dr. Wida Winarno, food anthropologist and the founder of the Indonesian Tempe Movement, as they connect village knowledge with global food conversations. Through their stories, tempe emerges as more than food. It becomes a symbol of cultural identity, sustainability, women’s labor, and resilience in a changing world. __ Language: Indonesian (with English subtitles) Film Director and Script: A.B. Rodhial Falah Video, Sound, and Editing: A.B. Rodhial Falah Subtitles: A.B. Rodhial Falah Concept: A.B. Rodhial Falah, Fransiskus Tarmedi, Marion Regina Mueller Project Lead: Fransiskus Tarmedi and Marion Regina Mueller This video is licensed under Creative Commons License (CC-BY-NC-SA-ND 4.0) by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia, 2026 This video is part of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia series on #RegionalDialogue. For more information please visit th.boell.org

This essay reveals how coffee flows through Indonesian life — from the roaster’s fire to cafe conversations — reflecting resilience, creativity, and belonging. It’s about the human layer of coffee: th...

This e-paper also offers sustainable spring management in these small and medium Indonesian Islands affected by critical minerals extraction through legal, cultural, and socio-hydrological perspective...

Given the diversity and complexity of the Global South, leadership cannot be monopolised; it must be collective. The roles of China and India must be complemented by those of other countries in the fo...

YouTube video by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian civil society is increasingly shaped by a geopolitical language it did not choose. As great-power competition intensifies, funding shrinks, security narratives harden, and civic space ...

Southeast Asian civil society is increasingly shaped by a geopolitical language it did not choose. As great-power rivalry intensifies, funding declines, security narratives harden, and civic space nar...

Vietnam’s coffee exports hit a record $8.4bn in 2024–2025, cementing its status as the world’s Robusta powerhouse. However, behind the boom, farmers in the Central Highlands face droughts, floods, and...

Recent super typhoons in Southeast Asia starkly illustrate the urgent reality of Loss and Damage caused by the climate crisis, with communities facing devastation and increasing vulnerability.

The Philippines, a nation rich in minerals, stands as a stark example of extractivism, prioritizing resource exploitation for export despite devastating environmental and social costs.

The Philippines, one of the world's most cyclone-prone nations, faces escalating climate risks, highlighted by the recent onslaught of super typhoons. As climate change intensifies storm impacts, vuln...