Dear EB reader,

We operate in a region that is today the epicentre of global economic growth and trade flows. It is the fastest-growing region in the world with the largest population undergoing dramatic transformations. At this critical juncture, Asia needs to get its development pathway right, and this requires a coordinated approach between the public, private and people sectors.

The role of the media is ever more critical in these times, providing a platform for discussing key issues, fostering dialogue and diverse perspectives, and helping to hold institutions — and ourselves — accountable.

When we launched 15 years ago, we set out to play this role and pioneered a unique brand of purposeful journalism that sheds light on underreported issues in the Asia Pacific region. This journey was not without its challenges and deep existential moments. Every year of survival was hard fought and we continue to navigate the headwinds facing the media industry.

Today, we are excited to mark a new era in our journey by launching our new EB subscription membership plans. “EB” is an affectionate abbreviation of our name which we use internally, and increasingly, externally too.

Our move to a subscriber model mirrors many other media organisations that have done the same in an effort to build recurring revenue and depend more on their readers than their advertisers. There have been many successful examples around the world that have given us hope that we can count on our community to help support and strengthen the independent journalism we provide.

Our approach is however unique in that we are committed to putting more than half of our content in front of any wall, and still offering a free membership tier which enables anyone to access our exclusive content.

We’re excited to be offering a lot more benefits and perks to our subscribers, from unlimited access to our content and archive, to training programmes, community events, discounted tickets to flagship conferences and publishing services.

We hope that you will support us in our journalism, and in the process help strengthen Asia's voice for sustainable development.

Other notable news this week: we mark the International Day for Biodversity on Wednesday with a new United Nations report that highlights the importance of conserving less iconic species threatened by the illegal worldlife trade.

We're also excited to share that we will be launching our flagship sustainable finance forum Unlocking capital for sustainabilty 2024 in six countries across Asia this year, starting with 'Integrating sustainable finance: A nation in transition' in Indonesia on 20th June in partnership with UNEP FI and the Jakarta Investment Festival.