Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"The Greater Akashic System" – July 15, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Lightworkers, Intent, To meet God, Past lives, Universe/Galaxy, Earth, Pleiadians, Souls Reincarnate, Invention: Measure Quantum state in 3D, Recalibrates, Multi-Dimensional/Divine, Akashic System to change to new system, Before religion changed the system, DNA, Old system react to Karma, New system react to intent now for next life, Animals (around humans) reincarnate again, This Animal want to come back to the same human, Akashic Inheritance, Reincarnate as Family, Other Planets, Global Unity … etc.)

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle
American zoologist played by Sigourney Weaver in the film Gorillas in the Mist would have been 82 on Thursday (16 January 2014)

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Center aims to bring RI herbs to global market

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

Indonesia trails only Brazil and Zaire in terms of biodiversity, yet the country still relies on imports of raw materials from India and Thailand for its traditional herbal medicine industry.

The head of Bogor's Aromatic and Herbal Plants Research Center (Balittro), H.A.M. Syakir, said the government's lack of attention to the cultivation of herbal plants was to blame for the insufficient supply of raw material for traditional medicine production.

Syakir spoke to journalists during a one-day exhibition and workshop on aromatic and herbal plants, at Botani Square Bogor earlier this week.

Some 75 researchers, medical practitioners, businesspeople and farmers took part in the event.

According to data from the center, Indonesia has identified 30,000 different kinds of endemic plants, 7,000 of them herbal plants. About 1,000 of the endemic plants are poisonous.

"(A)nd there are more than 50 kinds of aromatic plants," Syakir said.

He said there were countless traditional recipes for herbal medicines draw from about 370 ethnic groups across the archipelago.

"Our ancestors have used plants to treat illness, as health supplement, for body treatments and for cosmetics," Syakir said.

However, little has been done by the government or local administrations to cultivate the "hidden treasures" among the herbal plants, he said.

The 2000 Convention on Biological Diversity reported the global market for herbal medicines reached US$43 billion.

Indonesia earned just $100 million from herbal medicines in 2000.

Last year, the herbal medicine industry in Indonesia earned Rp 3 trillion ($318 million), far less than China's $6 billion and Malaysia's $1.2 billion.

Syakir said that by 2010 Indonesia could be earning Rp 8 trillion from herbal medicines with proper government support for the industry.

Fast-changing trends in the industry and a continued reliance on traditional cultivation methods are among the challenges facing Indonesia's industry, Syakir said.

"Our weakest point is that we cannot guarantee a steady supply for export because we still rely on traditional farmers."

Farmers cannot even meet the needs of domestic herbal medicine manufacturers, he said.

"A recent study we did showed domestic manufacturers are only getting 15 percent of their supplies from local farmers, with the remaining 85 percent imported. You can imagine the potential and the profit for farmers if they could guarantee a steady supply just for domestic manufacturers."

The Balittro research center, in cooperation with the Health Ministry, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency and the National Standardization Body, is working to develop a standard of cultivation that can produce good quality herbal plants and larger harvests.

The center is currently studying jahe besar putih or white ginger, which is now mostly imported from India, kunyit (turmeric), kencur (galingale), temulawak (wild ginger), sambiloto, pegagan and purwoceng.

"Those plants are basic commodities of global herbal medicine production so if we can focus on these selected plants, we can play a greater role in global trade," Syakir said.

There are several government institutions who have launched programs dealing with herbal plants, but the bodies are working on their own, he said.

"There is no body to coordinate the agencies so they are heading to different destinations and mostly operating on a smaller scope in their respective areas."

Syakir would like to emulate South Korea, which is a major player in the international market with ginseng.

Korea, he said, knew how to protect its ginseng supply and continued to dominate the market.

Indonesia in the 1980s, according to Syakir, was the king of ginger, dominating markets in Japan and the Middle East, but had since lost its competitive edge.

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