A court in western Indonesia threw out a conservationists' lawsuit on Tuesday which challenged further development of peat swamp forests they say will threaten the few remaining orang-utans who live there.
Indonesia's largest environmental group, Walhi, wanted the court to revoke a license granted by the Aceh provincial government to palm oil company PT Kallista Alam to turn a forest into a palm oil plantation.
The Tripa forest was home to around 3,000 Sumatran orang-utans in the early 1990s, but today just 200 remain.
Walhi filed a lawsuit against the head of the Aceh government, arguing that the license given to PT Kallista Alam would cause environmental destruction and loss of habitat.
But a three-judge panel at the Banda Aceh Administrative Court said it had no authority to rule on the case because the parties involved hadn't tried to solve the case outside court.
If you appreciated this article then please consider donating to the Morning Star's Fighting Fund to ensure we can keep developing your paper.
Fire Minister Brandon Lewis probably had a fair idea what Sir Ken Knight would deliver when he asked him to conduct an "independent" report into fire and rescue services in England.
As LGBT activists worldwide celebrate anti-homophobia day we are reminded of prevailing prejudice
Bradford has seen the launch of a new campaign to battle the sources of child sex exploitation - and combat far-right bids to make it a racial issue
Printable
Email