Cempaka Nature, Agriculture and Environment

Sinar Mas Claims It’s Part of the Solution When It Comes to Sustainable Palm Oil

2012-01-27T22:08:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Shoeb K. Zainuddin, January 27, 2012

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Davos-Klosters,Switzerland. Sinar Mas, one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil producers, isspearheading new models of sustainable agriculture in the country inpartnership with global giants such as Nestle.

Palm Oil Factory

Speaking tothe Jakarta Globe, Franky Widjaja, chief executive of Sinarmas Agribusiness,said sustainability was near the top of the agenda at the World EconomicForum’s annual meeting in Davos.

Widjaja isco-chairman of a new initiative, Partnership on Indonesian SustainableAgriculture, which has as its goal improving productivity by 20 percent whilereducing poverty and greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent.

“We have tolearn together to ensure sustainable agriculture, he said. “This is amulti-stakeholder partnership that includes the government, the private sector,small farmers and civil society.”

In theprogram, Widjaja will represent the private sector while Trade Minister GitaWirjawan will represent the government. Some 43 industry leaders from acrossthe world are participating in the initiative, which was first launched threeyears ago.

The latestinitiative coincides with the Jakarta Food Security Summit, scheduled to beheld in the Indonesian capital in mid-February.

“Themessage we need to communicate is that we must address the right issues ratherthan attack the palm oil industry in general,” Widjaja said. “We must segregatethe issues so we do not hurt small farmers and our exports.”

Heestimated that of the 7.5 million hectares under palm oil cultivation, 43percent is farmed by small holders. While many of these small farmers practicesustainable agriculture, he continued, a majority of them do not.

“Not onlyis their yield low, they do not understand the whole notion of sustainability,”he said. “It is our job to educate them.”

ArneCartridge, special advisor at the Global Partnerships for Food Security at theWEF, said the main issue for countries such as Indonesia was to boost foodexports while ensuring that local people had enough food.

“ForIndonesia, the challenge is how does it use palm oil as a competitive advantagewhile ensuring environmental sustainability,” he said. That includes helpingthe agriculture sector to adapt to climate change by reducing deforestation.

Cartridgenoted that there were land areas in the country that could be utilized foragriculture, but it needed to sort out the land rights issue first.

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Nestle Buys Palm Oil Promises of Sinar Mas

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Poaching for meat poses new extinction risk to Thai elephants

2012-01-27T01:44:00.002+07:00

Thailand'srevered national symbol is being poached not just for its tusks, but now forits meat

guardian.co.uk,Associated Press, Thursday 26 January 2012

Many elephants in Thailand are domesticated and used mainly for heavy
lifting and entertainment. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Two wildelephants were found slaughtered last month in a national park in westernThailand, alerting authorities to the new practice of consuming elephant meat.

"Thepoachers took away the elephants' sex organs and trunks … for humanconsumption," Damrong Phidet, director-general of Thailand's wildlifeagency, told the Associated Press. Some meat was to be consumed withoutcooking, like "elephant sashimi," he said.

Consumingelephant meat is not common in Thailand, but some Asian cultures believeconsuming animals' reproductive organs can boost sexual prowess. Thailand'snational symbol is the elephant.

Damrongsaid the elephant meat was ordered by restaurants in Phuket, a popular traveldestination in the country's south. It wasn't clear if the diners wereforeigners.

Poachingelephants is banned, and trafficking or possessing poached animal parts also isillegal. Elephant tusks are sought in the illegal ivory trade, and baby wildelephants are sometimes poached to be trained for talent shows.

"Thesituation has come to a crisis point. The longer we allow these cruel acts tohappen, the sooner they will become extinct," Damrong said.

The questfor ivory remains the top reason poachers kill elephants in Thailand, otherenvironmentalists say.

SoraidaSalwala, the founder of Friends of the Asian Elephant foundation, said a fullgrown pair of tusks could be sold from 1m-2m baht ($31,600 to $63,300), whilethe estimated value of an elephant's penis is more than 30,000 baht ($950).

"There'sonly a handful of people who like to eat elephant meat, but once there'sdemand, poachers will find it hard to resist the big money," shecautioned.

Thailandhas less than 3,000 wild elephants and about 4,000 domesticated elephants,according to the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.

Thepachyderms were a mainstay of the logging industry in the northern and westernparts of the country until logging contracts were revoked in the late 1980s.

Domesticatedanimals today are used mainly for heavy lifting and entertainment.

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Thailand to build DNA database to protect elephants

Sumatran elephant upgraded to critically endangered status

Save the Apes and You Save the Forests: Scientists

2012-01-26T01:56:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, RonnaNirmala, January 25, 2012

An orangutan eating jackfruit in Kalimantan. Primates disperse seeds
in the wild, which helps to conserve forests. (JG Photo/Ronna Nirmala)

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Developingprimate conservation projects, particularly for great apes, can contributetoward the long-term health of forests and to carbon sequestration schemes,scientists contend.

IanRedmond, a tropical field biologist and conservationist, said primates andother fruit-eating animals were crucial to forests because of their role inseed dispersal.

“Fruit-eatinganimals have been long known to play a very important role in the life cycle oftropical forests, with between 75 to 95 percent of tree species having theirseeds dispersed by such animals,” he said.

But thatkey role, he warned, is in jeopardy because of human activity.

“I feelthat we have to turn that around. I know that the only populations of greatapes that are known to be increasing are the two tiny populations of mountaingorillas who got down to fewer than 300 each,” Redmond said.

“Othergorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gibbons are all declining.”

He ispushing for efforts to save the animals to be included in schemes to reducecarbon emissions through deforestation and forest degradation, known as REDDPlus. That way, he says, money for these projects can also go toward primateconservation schemes.

“Conservationis not an optional extra that you might add on if it’s convenient,” Redmondsaid.

“It’sintegral [to REDD Plus]. If you want to have permanence in your forest carbonstore, you need the animals as well as the plants.”

He saidIndonesia was one of the countries that was best placed to push these effortsbecause it was home to the endangered orangutan, the only great ape species inAsia.

Othersspecies such as chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos are only found in Africa.

“The hopeis that there will be a realization that forests are not just an ornamentalpart of our planet, but that they are integral to the function of our biosphereand future survival,” Redmond said. ”

LauraD’Arcy, the Zoological Society of London’s co-country coordinator in Indonesia,said these efforts could start with preserving peat forests for their highcarbon content.

“This wouldbenefit orangutans who prefer these habitats compared to tropical forests onmineral soil, because the high water level in peatlands allows flowers andfruit to be available all year long for orangutans,” she said.

Eleven of17 active REDD projects being carried out in Indonesia are in peat swamp forests.D’Arcy said this was a “win-win” situation for apes and humans alike because ofthe high value of carbon that could be offset for emissions caused by theconversion of forests to palm oil plantations elsewhere.

“Peat swampforests have low-yield production of palm oil, reducing the cost of carbonemissions required in areas with high density,” she said.

“But that’sbad news for more high-yield, mineral soils, which are more biodiverse thanpeat forests.”

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Sumatran elephant upgraded to critically endangered status

Conserving biodiversity hotspots 'could bring world's poor $500bn a year'

Sumatran elephant upgraded to critically endangered status

2012-01-24T17:03:00.001+07:00

Species haslost half its population and 69% of its habitat through deforestation in thepast 25 years

guardian.co.uk,Jonathan Watts, Tuesday 24 January 2012

Sumatran elephant calf and its mother from Tesso Nilo national park, Riau,
Sumatra, Indonesia. Photograph: WWF-Indonesia

TheSumatran elephant has been placed on the list of critically endangered speciesafter losing half of its population in a single generation, prompting callsfrom conservation groups for emergency measures to halt the destruction of itshabitat.

Deforestationis seen as the primary reason for the collapse in numbers in Indonesia, whichuntil recently was seen alongside India and Sri Lanka as one of the last greatrefuges for elephants in Asia. The animal is now at risk of becoming extinctwithin decades.

TheInternational Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) upgraded the riskassessment after tracking the loss of 69% of the animal's habitat over the past25 years. With their home forests burned, felled or converted to plantations,the wild population has fallen to no more than 2,800.

In itslatest "red list" of threatened species, the IUCN noted that many ofthe remaining elephant communities were likely to disappear because they do notlive in protected areas and there is a high risk of conflicts with humans. Itcited studies showing that at least six herds disappeared between 2007 and 2009in Riau province - a centre for the paper, pulp and palm oil industries."That this pattern will continue seems certain," it warned.

Asplantations have expanded, Sumatra has experienced some of the worstdeforestation rates in the world. Conservation groups said the Indonesianisland has lost more than two-thirds of its natural lowland forest - the mostsuitable habitat for elephants - in the past 25 years.

With theupgrading of the risk assessment, WWF called for an immediate moratorium onhabitat destruction. "The Sumatran elephant joins a growing list ofIndonesian species that are critically endangered, including the Sumatranorangutan, the Javan and Sumatran rhinos and the Sumatran tiger," saidCarlos Drews, director of WWF's global species programme.

"Unlessurgent and effective conservation action is taken these magnificent animals arelikely to go extinct within our lifetime." The organisation advised thegovernment to assess large habitat patches that could be designated asprotected areas, and linked with smaller habitat through a network ofconservation corridors. In the longer term, it suggested the authoritiesconsider habitat expansion and forest restoration.

"It'svery important that the government of Indonesia, conservation organisations andagro-forestry companies recognise the critical status of elephants and otherwildlife in Sumatra and take effective steps to conserve them," said Asianelephant expert Ajay Desai. "Indonesia must act now before it's too lateto protect Sumatra's last remaining natural forests, especially elephanthabitats."

However,without more public pressure or more funds, the Indonesia authorities arelikely to continue to support or turn a blind eye to the loggers and plantationowners. The threat upgrade follows a flood of grim conservation news due topoaching, habitat loss and a lack of awareness among consumers.

The Javan rhino was declared extinct in Vietnam in October after the last one was founddead with a bullet in its leg and its horn sawn off. A month later, it was followed by Africa's western black rhinoceros and warnings that the Sumatran rhino is on the brink of extinction in Indonesia.

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Conserving biodiversity hotspots 'could bring world's poor $500bn a year'

We'll never forget you: Elephants say a sad farewell to baby who died of a heart defect

Goodbyelittle one: An adult elephant tenderly nuzzles the lifeless body

of baby Lolaat Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich, Germany. The three-months-old

calf was due for anoperation on her defective heart but sadly died during

a preliminary scan

"Do Animals Reincarnate?" - NOV 22, 2010 (Kuthumi channelled by Lynette Leckie-Clark)

"Animals Consciousness: The Divine of Cats & Dogs" - JUL 31, 2011 (Metraton channelled by Tyberonn)

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA,Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

Conserving biodiversity hotspots 'could bring world's poor $500bn a year'

2012-01-21T06:43:00.001+07:00

Study putseconomic value on the indirect ecosystem services provided by the world'spoorest people

guardian.co.uk,Fiona Harvey in Jakarta, Friday 20 January 2012

A farmer walks with an ox-drawn cart - Webuye district, Kenya. Many of
the benefits of conservation, so-called 'ecosystem services', are invisible.
Photograph: Jake Lyell/Alamy

Some of theworld's poorest people would be half a trillion dollars a year better off ifthe services they provide to the rest of the planet indirectly – throughconserving natural habitats – was given an economic value, a new study hasfound.

Many ofthese valuable habitats and species are under threat, but the people who livein these areas lack the means to improve their conservation, according to a new study in the journal BioScience.

If poor people were paid for the services they provide in preserving some of theworld's key biodiversity hotspots, they could reap $500bn. There are somefledgling schemes that could help to raise this cash – for instance, the UnitedNations-backed system called Redd (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation andforest Degradation), which uses carbon trading to generate cash to preservetrees – but so far they are small in scale.

Thebenefits of safeguarding these habitats, such as providing valuable servicesfrom food, medicines and clean water to absorbing carbon dioxide from the air,are more than triple the costs of conserving them, the researchers found.

WillTurner, vice–president of Conservation International and lead author of thestudy, said: "Developed and developing economies cannot continue to askthe world's poor to shoulder the burden of protecting these globally importantecosystem services for the rest of the world's benefit, without compensation inreturn. This is exactly what we mean when we talk about valuing naturalcapital. Nature may not send us a bill, but its essential services and flows,both direct and indirect, have concrete economic value."

He saidthat preserving areas of highest biodiversity should be the priority."What the research clearly tells us is that conserving the world'sremaining biodiversity isn't just a moral imperative - it is a necessaryinvestment for lasting economic development. But in many places where the poordepend on these natural services, we are dangerously close to exhausting them,resulting in lasting poverty," said Turner.

Many of thebenefits of conservation, so-called "ecosystem services", areinvisible – for instance, maintaining wooded land can help to prevent mudslidesduring heavy rainfall, and provides valuable watersheds that keep rivershealthy and provide clean drinking water, as well as absorbing carbon dioxidefrom the air. These benefits are not assigned an economic value, however, sothat chopping down trees or destroying habitats appears to deliver an instanteconomic return, when in fact it is leading to economic losses that are onlyobvious when it is too late.

The study,entitled Global Biodiversity Conservation and the Alleviation of Poverty, wasled by a team from Conservation International, and co-authored by scientists atNatureServe, the US National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They looked in particular at 17 of the world's mostimportant areas for biodiversity.

They foundthat some of the ecosystem services accrued to the local people themselves –for instance, using forests as sources of food, medicines and shelter – whilethe rest are regional or global.

The studyfollows on a growing body of work from the past decade that has sought to place a value on ecosystem services, as a way of ensuring that they are accounted forin economic policy. If nature is not economically valued, many scientists haveargued, it is more prone to being destroyed.

RussellMittermeier, president of Conservation International and a co-author, said:"We have always known that biodiversity is foundational to humanwellbeing, but we now have a strong case that ecosystems specifically locatedin the world's biodiversity hotspots and high-biodiversity wilderness areasalso provide a vital safety net for people living in poverty. Protecting theseplaces is essential not only to safeguard life on earth but also to support theimpoverished, ensure continued broad access to nature's services, and meet theUN millennium development goals."

He calledon governments to integrate the conservation of nature into economic andpoverty-alleviation policies, in order to value these services better.

Rare Monkey Rediscovered in Indonesia

2012-01-20T15:28:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, January 20, 2012

An endangered monkey known as the Miller’s Grizzled Langur has been
discovered on the island of Borneo in an area it was not previously known to
inhabit, international researchers said on Friday. (AFP Photo)

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Washington.An endangered monkey known as the Miller’s Grizzled Langur has been discoveredon the island of Borneo in an area it was not previously known to inhabit,international researchers said on Friday.

Little isknown about the monkey, known formally as Presbytis hosei canicrus, but it islisted as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Naturedue to massive habitat loss from fires, hunting, agriculture and minedevelopment.

It wasbelieved to live only in the jungle in the northeast part of Borneo, whichneighbors Indonesia’s Java Island.

But arecent expedition of scientists who set up cameras in remote parts of a largelyundisturbed rainforest further west on Borneo, the Wehea Forest in EastKalimantan, captured images of what appears to be the monkeys.

“Discoveryof P.h canicrus was a surprise since Wehea Forest lies outside of this monkey’sknown range,” said researcher Brent Loken of Canada’s Simon Fraser University.

“Concernthat the species may have gone extinct was first raised in 2004, and a searchfor the monkey during another expedition in 2008 supported the assertion thatthe situation was dire.”

The teamset up cameras at mineral licks where the monkeys gather, offering the “firstsolid evidence demonstrating that its geographic range extends further thanpreviously thought,” said the study which appears in the American Journal ofPrimatology.

However,scientists were not initially sure exactly what the cameras had photographed,since the only sources they have for comparison came from museums.

“It was achallenge to confirm our finding as there are so few pictures of this monkeyavailable for study,” said Loken.

“The onlydescription of Miller’s Grizzled Langur came from museum specimens. Ourphotographs from Wehea are some of the only pictures that we have of thismonkey.”

Next,researchers hope to learn more about how many of the monkeys may be living inthe 38,000 hectare rainforest.

“While ourfinding confirms the monkey still exists in East Kalimantan, there is a goodchance that it remains one of the world’s most endangered primates,” saidLoken.

Agence France-Presse

Palm Oil Taking Over Tribal Land, Dayaks Tell DPR

2012-01-16T23:14:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Anita Rachman, January 16, 2012

Members of the Central Kalimantan's Dayak tribe are saying that palm oil
companies are encroaching on their ancestral lands. (Agency Photo)

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Representativesof the Dayak indigenous group from Central Kalimantan on Monday said theirancestral land was being taken over by palm oil companies, becoming the latestgroup to air such grievances.

The group,from Seruyan district, met with a handful of legislators from the House ofRepresentatives’ Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, to make theircase.

Arkani, thehead of the tribe, said the Dayak people were fast losing their land to palmoil plantations and that he and his people wanted the House to know what washappening in his district.

Budi Yardi,a member of the Seruyan legislative council who accompanied the Dayakrepresentatives at the hearing, said the practice of land-grabbing had beenoccurring in the district since 1997, but had taken a turn for the worse in2005.

To date, hesaid, more than 50 palm oil companies had laid claim to 500,000 hectares ofdisputed land there.

“There wasno coordination whatsoever with the local people when local authorities issuedpermits for the plantations,” he said.

The Dayaks’claim comes on the heels of allegations by villagers in Mesuji district, Lampung,about deadly attacks against them by security forces acting at the behest ofpalm oil companies there.

The Mesujivillagers’ case has been championed by a former military officer, Maj. Gen.(ret) Saurip Kadi, who also accompanied the Dayak representatives.

SyarifuddinSudding, a Commission III member from the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura),said he would recommend that the government stop issuing plantation and miningpermits until all such land disputes were settled.

“If we wantto resolve the problem thoroughly, then the government must impose a moratoriumon these land-grabbing permits,” he said.

The finaldecision, he said, could only be made during the next plenary meeting of thecommission, which is scheduled for next week.

Eva KusumaSundari, a Commission III lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party ofStruggle (PDI-P), agreed that the chronic problem of land disputes required animmediate response and said legislators were trying to establish a Housespecial committee to look into the issue.

She addedthat much of the support to date had come from the opposition PDI-P, with theruling Democratic Party continuing to reject the idea.

Separately,Malik Haramain, a member of House Commission II, which oversees domesticaffairs, said his commission had set up a working committee to deal with thecases. He added the committee would start calling in people to testify nextweek.

Thecommittee will focus on examining five key cases, including Mesuji but notSeruyan. The other cases center on similar land disputes in North Sumatra, WestNusa Tenggara, Jambi and East Kalimantan.

Malik saidthe committee planned to summon officials from the local police andadministrations, the Forestry Ministry and the Finance Ministry.

Landdisputes were the number one factor in rights abuse reports filed with theNational Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) last year, accounting for 738of the 4,502 reports.

Related Article:

Dayak Tribe’s Survival Hinges on Conservation Efforts

Tiny frog claimed as world's smallest vertebrate

2012-01-13T00:17:00.003+07:00

Researchershave discovered in Papua New Guinea what they claim is the world's smallestfrog

guardian.co.uk,Associated Press, Thursday 12 January 2012

The tiny frog called Paedophryne amanuensis measures around 7mm.
Photograph: Christopher Austin/LSU/AFP/Getty Images

Researchershave discovered in Papua New Guinea what they claim is the world's smallestfrog.

An article Wednesday in the journal PLoS One named Paedophryne amauensis as the world'ssmallest animal with a spine.

The adultfrogs are about three-tenths of an inch long, and a millimetre or so smallerthan a carp found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The frogs are so smallthat Louisiana State University herpetologist and environmental biologistChristopher Austin had to enlarge close-up photos to describe them.

Austindiscovered the tiny frogs – along with another small frog species – in August2009 while on a trip to Papua New Guinea to study the extreme diversity of theisland's wildlife.

Steven J.Beaupre, a University of Arkansas scientist and president-elect of the AmericanSociety of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, said many vertebrates have malesand females of very different sizes, "so it is reasonable that the world'ssmallest vertebrate may end up being either the males or the females of somespecific fish or amphibian species."

He said hedoesn't pay attention to "tiniest" reports, but the frogs themselvesare a significant discovery.

"Thediscovery of two new frog species comes as great news against the background ofmore prevalent accounts of tropical amphibian extinction," he wrote in anemail.

Knowingabout such tiny creatures and their ecology, he said, helps scientists"better understand the advantages and disadvantages of extreme small sizeand how such extremes evolve. Fundamentally, these tiny vertebrates provide awindow on the principles that constrain animal design."

Austin saidthat since these frogs hatch out as hoppers rather than tadpoles and live onthe ground, their existence contradicts the hypothesis that evolution at largeand small extremes is linked to life in water.

At least 29species of minuscule frogs in equatorial regions worldwide live in leaf litteror moss that is moist year-round and eat even tinier invertebrates, creating apreviously unknown "ecological guild" of similar animals with similarlife habits, he said.

"Werealised these frogs were probably doing something incredibly different fromwhat normal frogs do – invading this open niche of wet leaf litter that is fullof really tiny insects that other frogs and possibly other creatures weren'teating," Austin said.

In August2009, Austin and graduate student Eric Rittmeyer were collecting and recordingthe mating calls of frogs at night in a tropical forest near the village ofAmau in eastern Papua New Guinea, when they heard a chorus of high-pitched"tinks."

"Thisfrog has a call that doesn't sound like a frog at all. It sounds like aninsect," he said.Austin estimated that they found 20 previously unknownspecies in New Guinea, which is such a hotspot of diversity that scientistsfigure they've described only about six-tenths of all the species living there.

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Leaked documents reveal US diplomats actually work for Monsanto

2012-01-12T05:06:00.001+07:00

NaturalNews, by: Anthony Gucciardi, Wednesday, January 11, 2012

See allarticles by this author

(NaturalNews)Biotech giant Monsanto has been genetically modifying the world's food supplyand subsequently breeding environmental devastation for years, but leakeddocuments now reveal that Monsanto has also deeply infiltrated the UnitedStates government. With leaked reports revealing how U.S. diplomats areactually working for Monsanto to push their agenda along with other keygovernment officials, Monsanto's grasp on international politics has never beenclearer.

Amazingly,the information reveals that the massive corporation is also intensely involvedin the passing and regulations concerning the very GM ingredients they areresponsible for. In fact, the information released by WikiLeaks reveals justhow much power Monsanto has thanks to key positions within the United Statesgovernment and elsewhere. Not only was it exposed that the U.S. is threateningnations who oppose Monsanto with military-style trade wars, but that many U.S.diplomats actually work directly for Monsanto.

What theleaked documents reveal -- Military style trade wars, government corruption

In 2007 itwas requested that specific nations inside the European Union be punished fornot supporting the expansion of Monsanto's GMO crops. The request for suchmeasures to be taken was made by Craig Stapleton, the United States ambassadorto France and partner to George W. Bush. Despite mounting evidence linkingMonsanto's GM corn to organ damage and environmental devastation, theambassador plainly calls for 'target retaliation' against those not supportingthe GM crop. In the leaked documents, Stapleton states:

"Countryteam Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causessome pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but thatalso focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured ratherthan vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should notexpect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the currentpath has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen Europeanpro-biotech voices."

The undyingsupport of key players within the U.S. towards Monsanto is undeniably madeclear not only in this release, but in the legislative decisions taken byorganizations such as the FDA and USDA. Legislative decisions such as allowingMonsanto's synthetic hormone Posilac (rBGH) to be injected into U.S. cowsdespite being banned in 27 countries. How did Monsanto pull this off?

The biotechjuggernaut managed to infiltrate the FDA positions responsible for the approvalof rBGH, going as far as instating the company's own Margaret Miller as DeputyDirector of Human Safety and Consultative Services. After assuming thisposition, Miller reviewed her own report on the safety and effectiveness ofrBGH.

Many USdiplomats pawns of Monsanto's GM agenda

While itmay be shocking to you if you are not familiar with the corrupt influence ofMonsanto, the cables also show that many US diplomats are pushing GMO crops asa strategic government and commercial imperative. Interestingly enough, theU.S. focused their efforts toward advisers to the pope specifically, due to thefact that many Catholic figureheads have openly voiced their opposition to GMfoods. With this kind of political influence, is it any wonder that many foodstaples are now predominantly GM? Nearly 93% of U.S. soybeans are heavilymodified conservatively, with many other staple crops coming in at similarnumbers.

U.S.diplomats have unique opportunities to spread honest and intellectual campaginsthat can serve to better mankind and end suffering, however they are insteadspreading the roots of Monsanto deeper and deeper into international territory.As a substitute for the betterment of mankind, these paid-off diplomats are nowspreading environment desecration and health destruction.

As if therewasn't already enough information to reveal Monsanto's corruption, the biotechgiant also spends enormous amount of money lobbying government each year.Monsanto spent an astonishing $2 million lobbying the federal government in the3rd quarter of 2011 alone, according to mainstream sources. Why so much cash?The government lobbying focuses on issues like regulations for GM crops andpatent reforms. This 'legal' form of persuasion is the reason governmentagencies like the USDA and FDA let Monsanto roam freely.

Satisfyinggovernment officials' financial vested interest is all that matters whendealing with corrupt mega-corporations like Monsanto. As long as thesefinancial ties continue to exist, Monsanto will continue to reign over the foodsupply and continue to wreak devastation to the environment, ecosystem, andhumankind.

Sources forthis article include:

http://naturalsociety.com/us-start-trade-wars-with-nations-opposed-to-monsanto-gmo-crops/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/03/wikileaks-us-eu-gm-crops

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9RL51J81.htm

http://213.251.145.96/cable/2007/12/07PARIS4723.html

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1677871/fearful-of-genetically-modified-crops-youre-too-late

About theauthor:

AnthonyGucciardi is a health activist and wellness researcher, whose goal is centeredaround educating the general public as to how they may obtain optimum health.He has authored countless articles highlighting the benefits of natural health,as well as exposing the pharmaceutical industry. Anthony is the creator ofNatural Society (http://www.NaturalSociety.com), a natural health website.Anthony has been accurately interpreting national and international events foryears within his numerous political articles. Anthony's articles have been seenby millions around the world, and hosted on multiple top news websites.

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7 Indonesian Volcanoes on Alert: Agency

2012-01-08T16:49:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, January 08, 2012

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency has warned that seven volcanoes,
including Anak Krakatau, above, are on alert statuses. (Reuters Photo)

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TheNational Disaster Mitigation Agency has warned that seven volcanoes locatedacross the archipelago are on alert statuses. The agency said it has preparedmeasures for the worst-case scenarios and officials met on Saturday to discussthe measures, said agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugrowo.

The sevenvolcanoes are Papandayan Mountain in West Java, Karangetang and Lokon in NorthSulawesi, Ijen in East Java, Gamalama in North Maluku, Anak Krakatau in Lampungand Lewotolo in East Nusa Tenggara.

Sutopo saidthe agency was closely monitoring each volcano, and that mitigation measuresvaried in each region because of the different characteristics of the volcanosand the territories.

However, hesaid, in general, the agency has planned evacuation routes, sites for refugees,logistics supplies, machinery and volunteer mapping.

“The planis standardized, but we keep renewing it to adjust to current conditions. ForPapandayan, we have a done dry-run three times so the people could get used tothe measures,” he said.

On Friday,Lokon Mountain erupted, spewing volcanic ash up to 1,500 meters high, but ithad calmed down by Saturday morning and people living near the mountain werenot evacuated. In North Maluku, some 296 people remain in refugee shelters inDufa-Dufa following Mount Gamalama’s last eruption in early December.

BeritaSatu

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25 Volcanoes Showing Abnormal Activity: Presidential Aide

Gamalama Eruption Leaves Bitter Taste, Dead Crops in Spice Islands

2011-12-27T23:11:00.003+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Antara, December 27, 2011

Mount Gamalama spews thick ashes and gas as seen from Ternate,
Indonesia, on Dec. 5. The mud and ash left from the explosion have
decimated local farmers' crops, leaving many with little hope of making
ends meet. (EPA Photo)

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MuhammadKasim, a 35-year-old clove farmer, has had to delay his plan to go on the Hajjpilgrimage next year because of damage to his crops on the slopes of MountGamalama following an eruption earlier this month.

The clovefields surrounding Moya subdistrict in Ternate, North Maluku, have beenblanketed in volcanic ash since the Dec. 5 eruption.

“The cropsare damaged and the harvest this year will not bring in anything significant,”Kasim said.

He said hehad been counting on receiving Rp 70 million ($7,705) for his crops, Rp 32million of which he would have set aside to fund his pilgrimage.

Kasim,however, can count himself more fortunate than many of his neighbors, as healso runs a small store close to his home that brings him Rp 2 million a month.

Kirman, anutmeg farmer, said he had initially planned on using the proceeds from theharvest to build a house, but the eruption has put an end to such prospects.

Thevolcanic ash has destroyed most of his mangosteen and durian crops as well.

“I don’tknow how I’ll make ends meet,” he said. “I don’t have any other source ofincome.”

Thousandsof farmers in Ternate face similarly bleak prospects, but they are not the onlyvictims of the disaster. The lahar — mudflow of volcanic debris deposited inrivers and streams — has destroyed more than 100 houses along riverbanks, themunicipal administration reports.

“Weestimate the cost of the damage due to the eruption at Rp 15 billion,” saidJemmy D. Brifing, head of the local Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).

Members ofthe Ternate legislative council called on the Ternate and North Malukuadministrations, as well as the central government, to send aid to farmers andother affected residents .

Localcouncilor Asgar Saleh said that people in the area were struggling to pullthrough.

“I’ve askedTernate officials to gather data on the affected people so any assistance wecan offer them can be included in the administration’s budget,” he said.

If fundsfrom the Ternate budget are insufficient, Asgar added, he will seek funds fromthe provincial and central governments. He also called on large businesses inthe province to step in and aid the relief effort.

MarlisonHakim, the central bank representative in Ternate, said there was a need forfarmers to manage their finances better.

Clove andnutmeg farmers in the area reap tens of millions of rupiah, and sometimeshundreds of millions, during each harvest. However, the money is quickly spenton consumer goods, he said, adding that if a certain amount were put in asavings account after each harvest, the farmers would have a financial safetynet.

TernateMayor Burhan Abdurrahman said the city and provincial administrations were committedto helping the victims of the eruption rebuild.

Mt.Gamalama’s most recent eruptions were in 1980, 1992 and 2003. The largesteruption on record took place in 1712. Debris from that eruption can today beseen throughout Ternate.

Yudhoyono Criticizes Foreign Environmental NGOs

2011-12-22T22:02:00.003+07:00

Jakarta Globe, ArienthaPrimanita, December 22, 2011

A heavy machine clearing up forest in Tripa swamp forest, Nagan Raya,
Aceh province, Indonesia. Villagers who live around the forest filed a
law suit against Aceh's charismatic governor Irwandi Yusuf for giving a
private company a permit to convert it into a palm oil plantation. (AP Photo)

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PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday criticized foreign environmentalorganizations that he claimed overly attacked Indonesian forestry policy.

“Don’t messwith Indonesia as if our nation has no government, no people and as ifIndonesia doesn’t want to save its environment,” he said during a speech at aMother’s Day celebration.

He saidcriticism is constructive, but Indonesia has been overly criticized.

While it ispositive to maintain forests, he said that it was equally important to increasepeople’s welfare by creating forestry businesses, such as palm oil plantations.

“But ifIndonesia is requested to close down all palm oil plantations, it will destroyIndonesia’s economy and millions of people will lose their jobs,” he said.“This is overwhelming.”

Indonesiahas made several international media headlines recently after a controversialpermit was issued by Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf for a pristine, wildlife-richforest to be razed and replaced by a palm oil plantation.

Yudhoyonosaid all nations in the world have a moral obligation to contribute to theeffort to save the environment, especially advanced nations where he claimedforests have almost disappeared.

“Indonesiaplants a billion trees a year, and it should also be done by other nations forthe sake of humanity worldwide.”

German village generates 321 percent more renewable energy than it needs, earns millions selling it back to national power grid

2011-12-22T01:00:00.001+07:00

Natural News, Monday, December 19, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

German village of Wildpoldsried generates 321 percent more renewable
energy than it needs

(NaturalNews)Developing a renewable energy system that creates energy independence and evena considerable new source of revenue is not some sort of sci-fi pipe dream.BioCycle reports that the German village of Wildpoldsried, population 2,600,has had such incredible success in building its renewable energy system.Wildpoldsried generates 321 percent more renewable energy than it uses, and itnow sells the excess back to the national power grid for roughly $5.7 millionin additional revenue every single year.

Byutilizing a unique combination of solar panels, "biogas" generators,natural wastewater treatment plants, and wind turbines, Wildpoldsried haseffectively eliminated its need to be attached to a centralized power grid, andcreated a thriving renewable energy sector in the town that is self-sustainingand abundantly beneficial for the local economy, the environment, and thepublic.

You canview some amazing pictures of the Wildpoldsried village at: (http://inhabitat.com/german-village-produces-321-more-energy-than-it-needs/wildpoldsried-germany).

Possessingadmirable vision for the town and strong motivation to see the project as awhole succeed, Mayor Arno Zengerie has led the way for many years in makingWildpoldsried's energy independence efforts a success. As far back as 1997, thevillage has been investing in building and promoting new industries,maintaining a strong local economy, generating new forms of revenue, andultimately staying out of debt. And the best way it saw fit to accomplish muchof this was through the implementation of self-sustaining, renewable energytechnologies.

Not onlydid Wildpoldsried successfully reduce the amount of time expected to generatethe necessary funds to build local treasures like a sports hall, theater stage,pub, and retirement home with the revenue generated by its thriving renewableenergy sector -- the village has already successfully built nine communitybuildings, with more on the way -- but it also achieved all this and morewithout going into debt.

"Weoften spend a lot of time talking to our visitors about how to motivate thevillage council (and Mayor) to start thinking differently," said MayorZengerle, who now gives talks around the world about the successes of hisaward-winning village. "We show them a best practices model in motion andmany see the benefits immediately. From the tour we give, our guests understandhow well things can operate when you have the enthusiasm and conviction of thepeople.

Be sure toread the full, inspiring account of Wildpoldsried's history of, and successesin, renewable energy at: (http://www.jgpress.com/archives/_free/002409.html).

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Carrots in the car park. Radishes on the roundabout. The deliciously eccentric story ofthe town growing ALL its own veg

Durban? What a waste of time!

(Photo: RNW)

Two ministers to facilitate geothermal projects in forest areas

2011-12-19T22:13:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Mon, December 19 2011

Jero Wacik (right) and Zulkifli Hasan (left).
(ANTARA/Prasetyo Utomo)

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Jakarta(ANTARA News) - Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik and ForestryMinister Zukfili Hassan on Monday inked an agreement to facilitateimplementation of geothermal energy projects in production and protected anddevelopment of the same energy sources in conservation forest areas.

Under thememorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two ministers, the two partieswould coordinate with each other on and speed up the issuance of licences forgeothermal development projects in production, protected and conservationforest areas in the country.

Jero Waciksaid on the occasion the country`s need for energy was increasing continuouslyand therefore development of alternative energy sources including geothermalhad become an absolute need.

"Wewill from now on more seriously encourage development of geothermal energysources," Wacik said, noting that 40 percent of the world`s geothermalenergy potentials was to be found in Indonesia.

ForestryMinister Zulkifli Hassan for his part said the agreement with the energy andmineral resources minister was made in line with a presidential instruction tospeed up development of geothermal energy resources.

"ThisMoU will support the government`s program to build a 10,000-MW power productioncapacity," he said.

Jero saidin the MoU the two sides had set the time required to issue a license for theinitiation of a geothermal development project in a protected forest area at 1to 7 months and to speed up the issuance of permits for 28 such projects acrossthe country.

The 28peojects were located at Lumit Balai, Sarulla, Karaha, Telaga Ngebel, Bedugul,Gunung Ungaran, Gunung Rajabasa, Rauntau Dedap, Gunung Tampomas, Hu`u Daha,Sorik Merapi., Sokaria.

Also atTangkuban Perahu, Balwen Ijen, Baturaden, , Wayang Windu, Patuha, Dieng,Kaldera Danau Banten, Cisolok Sukarame, Lili Panangawan, Sungai Penuh,Hululais, Kamojang 5 and 6, Sibayak, Iyang Argopuro, Kotamobagu and Darajat.

"Thestipulation of a maximum period for the issuance of a license is meant to givethe developer certainty in applying for a license and to minimize thepossibility of overlaps in the designation of the frest areas concerned,"Jero said.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Carrots in the car park. Radishes on the roundabout. The deliciously eccentric story of the town growing ALL its own veg

2011-12-16T02:27:00.000+07:00

Daily Mail, by Vincent Graff, 10th December 2011

Admittedly,it sounds like the most foolhardy of criminal capers, and one of the cheekiest,too.

Outside thepolice station in the small Victorian mill town of Todmorden, West Yorkshire,there are three large raised flower beds.

If you’dvisited a few months ago, you’d have found them overflowing with curly kale, carrotplants, lettuces, spring onions — all manner of vegetables and salad leaves.

Today thebeds are bare. Why? Because people have been wandering up to the police stationforecourt in broad daylight and digging up the vegetables. And what are thecops doing about this brazen theft from right under their noses? Nothing.

Food for thought: Todmorden resident Estelle Brown, a former interior
designer, with a basket of home-grown veg

Well,that’s not quite correct.

‘I watch’em on camera as they come up and pick them,’ says desk officer Janet Scott,with a huge grin. It’s the smile that explains everything.

For thevegetable-swipers are not thieves. The police station carrots — and thousandsof vegetables in 70 large beds around the town — are there for the taking.Locals are encouraged to help themselves. A few tomatoes here, a handful ofbroccoli there. If they’re in season, they’re yours. Free.

So thereare (or were) raspberries, apricots and apples on the canal towpath;blackcurrants, redcurrants and strawberries beside the doctor’s surgery; beansand peas outside the college; cherries in the supermarket car park; and mint,rosemary, thyme and fennel by the health centre.

Thevegetable plots are the most visible sign of an amazing plan: to make Todmordenthe first town in the country that is self-sufficient in food.

‘And wewant to do it by 2018,’ says Mary Clear, 56, a grandmother of ten andco-founder of Incredible Edible, as the scheme is called.

‘It’s avery ambitious aim. But if you don’t aim high, you might as well stay in bed,mightn’t you?’

More...

So what’sto stop me turning up with a huge carrier bag and grabbing all the rosemary inthe town?

‘Nothing,’says Mary.

What’s tostop me nabbing all the apples?

‘Nothing.’

All yourraspberries?

‘Nothing.’

It just doesn’thappen like that, she says. ‘We trust people. We truly believe — we are witnessto it — that people are decent.’

When shesees the Big Issue seller gathering fruit for his lunch, she feels onlypleasure. What does it matter, argues Mary, if once in a while she turns upwith her margarine tub to find that all the strawberries are gone?

‘This is arevolution,’ she says. ‘But we are gentle revolutionaries. Everything we do isunderpinned by kindness.’

The ideacame about after she and co-founder Pam Warhurst, the former owner of thetown’s Bear Cafe, began fretting about the state of the world and wondered whatthey could do.

Theyreasoned that all they could do is start locally, so they got a group ofpeople, mostly women, together in the cafe.

Incredible Edible is about more than plots of veg. It's about educating people
about food, and stimulating the local economy (pictured Vincent Graff and Estelle)

‘Wars comeabout by men having drinks in bars, good things come about when women drinkcoffee together,’ says Mary.

‘Ourthinking was: there’s so much blame in the world — blame local government,blame politicians, blame bankers, blame technology — we thought, let’s just dosomething positive instead.’

We’restanding by a car park in the town centre. Mary points to a housing estate upthe hill. Her face lights up.

‘Thechildren walk past here on the way to school. We’ve filled the flower beds withfennel and they’ve all been taught that if you bite fennel, it tastes like aliquorice gobstopper. When I see the children popping little bits of herb intotheir mouths, I just think it’s brilliant.’

She takesme over to the front garden of her own house, a few yards away.

Three yearsago, when Incredible Edible was launched, she did a very unusual thing: she loweredher front wall, in order to encourage passers-by to walk into her garden andhelp themselves to whatever vegetables took their fancy.

There weresigns asking people to take something but it took six months for folk to ‘getit’, she says.

They get itnow. Obviously a few town-centre vegetable plants — even thousands of them —are not going to feed a community of 15,000 by themselves.

But thepolice station potatoes act as a recruiting sergeant — to encourage residentsto grow their own food at home.

Today,hundreds of townspeople who began by helping themselves to the communal veg arenow well on the way to self-sufficiency.

But out onthe street, what gets planted where? There’s kindness even in that.

‘The ticketman at the railway station, who was very much loved, was unwell. Before hedied, we asked him: “What’s your favourite vegetable, Reg?” It was broccoli. Sowe planted memorial beds with broccoli at the station. One stop up the line, atHebden Bridge, they loved Reg, too — and they’ve also planted broccoli in hismemory.’

Not thatall the plots are — how does one put this delicately? — ‘official’.

Take theherb bushes by the canal. Owners British Waterways had no idea locals had beensowing plants there until an official inspected the area ahead of a visit bythe Prince of Wales last year (Charles is a huge Incredible Edible fan).

EstelleBrown, a 67-year-old former interior designer who tended the plot, received anemail from British Waterways.

‘I was abit worried to open it,’ she says. ‘But it said: “How do you build a raisedbed? Because my boss wants one outside his office window.”’

IncredibleEdible is also about much more than plots of veg. It’s about educating peopleabout food, and stimulating the local economy.

There arelessons in pickling and preserving fruits, courses on bread-making, and thelocal college is to offer a BTEC in horticulture. The thinking is that youngpeople who have grown up among the street veg may make a career in food.

Crucially,the scheme is also about helping local businesses. The Bear, a wonderful shopand cafe with a magnificent original Victorian frontage, sources all itsingredients from farmers within a 30-mile radius.

There’s abrilliant daily market. People here can eat well on local produce, andthousands now do.

Meanwhile,the local school was recently awarded a £500,000 Lottery grant to set up a fishfarm in order to provide food for the locals and to teach useful skills toyoung people.

JennyColeman, 62, who retired here from London, explains: ‘We need something for ouryoung people to do. If you’re an 18-year-old, there’s got to be a good answerto the question: why would I want to stay in Todmorden?’

The day Ivisit, the town is battered by a bitterly-cold rain storm. Yet the place radiates warmth. People speakto each other in the street, wave as neighbours drive past, smile.

If thephrase hadn’t been hijacked, the words ‘we’re all in this together’ wouldspring to mind.

So whatsort of place is Todmorden (known locally, without exception, as ‘Tod’)? Ifyou’re assuming it’s largely peopled by middle-class grandmothers, think again.Nor is this place a mecca for the gin-and-Jag golf club set.

Set in aPennine valley — once, the road through the town served as the border betweenYorkshire and Lancashire — it is a vibrant mix of age, class and ethnicity.

A third ofhouseholds do not own a car; a fifth do not have central heating.

You cansnap up a terrace house for £50,000 — or spend close to £1 million on ahandsome stone villa with seven bedrooms.

And thescheme has brought this varied community closer together, according to PamWarhurst.

Take oneexample. ‘The police have told us that, year on year, there has been areduction in vandalism since we started,’ she says. ‘We weren’t expectingthis.’

So why hasit happened?

Pam says:‘If you take a grass verge that was used as a litter bin and a dog toilet andturn it into a place full of herbs and fruit trees, people won’t vandalise it.I think we are hard-wired not to damage food.’

Pam reckonsa project like Incredible Edible could thrive in all sorts of places. ‘If thepopulation is very transient, it’s difficult. But if you’ve got schools, shops,back gardens and verges, you can do it.’

Similarschemes are being piloted in 21 other towns in the UK, and there’s beeninterest shown from as far afield as Spain, Germany, Hong Kong and Canada. And,this week, Mary Clear gave a talk to an all-party group of MPs at Westminster.

Todmordenwas visited by a planner from New Zealand, working on the rebuilding of hiscountry after February’s earthquake.

Mary says:‘He went back saying: “Why wouldn’t we rebuild the railway station withpick-your-own herbs? Why wouldn’t we rebuild the health centre with appletrees?”

‘What we’vedone is not clever. It just wasn’t being done.’

The finalword goes to an outsider. Joe Strachan is a wealthy U.S. former sales directorwho decided to settle in Tod with his Scottish wife, after many years inCalifornia.

He is 61but looks 41. He became active with Incredible Edible six months ago, andcouldn’t be happier digging, sowing and juicing fruit.

I findmyself next to him, sheltering from the driving rain. Why, I ask, would someoneforsake the sunshine of California for all this?

His answersums up what the people around here have achieved.

‘There’s anobility to growing food and allowing people to share it. There’s a feelingwe’re doing something significant rather than just moaning that the state can’ttake care of us.

‘Maybe weall need to learn to take care of ourselves.’

Related Article:

Global food crisis: the US speculators playing with our daily bread

PLN ready to build Jatigede hydro power plant

2011-12-15T22:24:00.001+07:00

Antara News,Thu, December 15 2011

Jakarta(ANTARA News) - State electricity company PT PLN is planning to build a hydropower plant with a capacity of 2x25 megawatts in Jatigede, Sumedang district,West Java province.

The planwould soon be realized following an agreement between PLN and the DirectorateGeneral of Water Resources at the Public Works Ministry, PLN senior corporatecommunication manager Bambang Dwiyanto said here on Thursday.

Under theagreement, the Public Works Ministry will develop and manage a dam needed tooperate the power plant, while PLN will build and manage the power plant.

Theconstruction of Jatigede hydro power plant will cover a power house, along withwater ways, surge tank, penstock, tailrace, transformer yard and switch yard,transmission line and other supporting facilities.

"Theelectrical power produced by the Jatigede power plant will be incorporated tothe Java-Bali 150 kV transmission system," Bambang said.

The constructionof the dam is designed not only to generate electricity but also to irrigate 90hectares of rice field and control floods in West Java`s northern coastalareas, particularly between Cirebon and Indramayu.

Theconstruction of the hydro power plant will cost an estimated US$224.4 million.

Bambangsaid PLN was in the process of preparing a tender for the construction of the2x25 megawatt-capacity power plant. "We hope that the Jatigede power plantwill be able to supply electrical power to the Java-Bali transmission system asearly as in 2015," he said.

Editor: Heru

Prime Indonesian jungle to be cleared for palm oil

2011-12-09T16:38:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Fakhrurradzie Gade, Associated Press, Aceh | Fri, 12/09/2011

The manknown as Indonesia's "green governor" chases the roar of illegalchainsaws through plush jungles in his own Jeep. He goes door-to-door to tellfamilies it's in their interest to keep trees standing.

That's why5,000 villagers living the edge of a rich, biodiverse peat swamp in histsunami-ravaged Aceh province feel so betrayed.

Theirformer hero recently gave a palm oil company a permit to develop land in one ofthe few places on earth where orangutans, tigers and bears still can be foundliving side-by-side - violating Indonesia's new moratorium on concessions inprimary forests and peatlands.

"Whywould he agree to this?" said Ibduh, a 50-year village chief, days afterfiling a criminal complaint against Aceh Gov. Irwandi Yusuf.

"It'snot just about the animals," he said, men around him nodding. "Ustoo. Our lives are ruined if this goes through."

Irwandi - aformer rebel whose life story is worthy of a Hollywood film - maintains thepalm oil concession is by the book and that he would never do anything to harmhis province.

But criticssay there is little doubt he broke the law.

The chargesagainst him illustrate the challenges facing countries like Indonesia in theirefforts to fight climate change by protecting the world's tropical jungles -which would spit more carbon when burned than planes, automobiles and factoriescombined.

Despitegovernment promises, what happens on the ground is often a different story.Murky laws, graft and mismanagement in the forestry sector and shady dealingswith local officials means that business often continues as usual for manycompanies.

"Thisis really a test case," said Chik Rini, a World Wildlife Fund campaigner,noting that while it's not uncommon for timber, pulp, paper and palm oilcompanies to raze trees in protected areas, few developments occur in areasthat seem so obviously off limits.

"Ifthey get away with it here, well, then no forests are safe."

Ibduh, thevillage chief, sits on the floor of a house rolling a cigarette as he and othermen try to understand why - after years of stalling - Irwandi agreed on Aug. 25to give PT Kallista Alam a permit to convert 4,000 acres of peat swamp forestin the heart of the renowned Leuser Ecosytem.

In additionto being home to almost every large animal found in Disney's adaptation of"The Jungle Book," it's teeming with thousands of plant and insectspecies, many yet to be identified.

Irwandisays there's nothing amiss with the concession. "I know what I have to dofor the people of Aceh," the 51-year-old says, alleging that politicalopponents in coming provincial elections are trying to turn the tide againsthim.

But AhmadFauzi Mas'ud, spokesman for the Forestry Ministry, agrees with critics thatthings don't sound right.

"Wehaven't received the documents for this license yet," he said by telephoneas he boarded a plane in the capital Jakarta.

"Butif it's inside peatland, it can't be converted."

A copy ofthe map of the new concession, obtained by The Associated Press, has it sittingsquarely on a parcel of peatland forest identified as off limits underPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's moratorium enacted in May.

Forenvironmentalists, it's an all too familiar story.

Fifty yearsago in Indonesia, more than three-quarters of the archipelagic nation of 240million people was blanketed in tropical rain forest. But half those trees havesince disappeared.

Acehoffered a uniquely clean slate when its separatist insurgency came to an endafter the devastating 2004 tsunami. The decades-long conflict had kept illegallogging at bay.

Irwandi,well-educated with a laid-back style and quick wit, made protecting Aceh'sforests one of his first goals when he surprised the pundits and won thegovernorship in 2006.

He was aformer rebel, but not the fighting kind. For years, he'd led the propagandacampaign for the insurgents who saw the government in Jakarta as self-servingand corrupt.

He wasserving a nine-year sentence for treason when the tsunami hit, crashing downthe walls of the prison.

"Ididn't escape from prison," the rebel-turned-politician likes to say."It escaped from me."

Irwandifled to Jakarta, then Malaysia and finally Finland where he ended up joiningexiled leaders of the Free Aceh Movement in negotiating an end to fightingafter the tsunami - with both sides eager to end the suffering.

After hisreturn and election win, Irwandi immediately banned logging in Aceh. To thisday, he can often be seen pulling over on the side of the road when spotting apile of recently felled trees. He also makes spot checks at old logging campsand saw mills.

Which iswhy his turnabout on the Tripa swamp forest - home to the world's densestpopulation of critically endangered Sumatran orangutans - has left Ibduh andother villagers so confused and angry.

Alreadyexcavators have started knocking down trees and churning up soil.

Drainagecanals also have been built and villagers' drinking wells are alreadynoticeably drier as result, they say. Security forces are deployed by the palmoil company along the perimeter of the forest, guns raised when anyone tries toenter.

Ibduh andother other, older men recall happier times when they could still earn moneycollecting rattan, honey and herbs for traditional medicine. Not long ago, theysay proudly, pristine swamps and the Tripa river were teeming with catfish solarge that many of them were able to earn enough at the local market to go toMecca for the hajj pilgrimage.

Even now,gliding in a small wooden boat down the broad river that slices through thespectacular Tripa forests, saltwater crocodiles can be seen slipping silentlyfrom view. A rhinoceros hornbill lifts off with a gentle helicoptorish whoosh.

And asskies darken, troops of monkeys clamor in the branches above to settle in forthe night.

"Butfor how long?" asks Safari, 32, one of the men. "When that forest iscleared, these animals will all be gone, every last one of them."

Related Article:

Norway, Indonesia $1 Billion Forest Pact Broken, Group Says

Jakarta to issue improved moratorium map

2011-12-09T15:56:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Fri, December 9 2011

RelatedNews

Durban(ANTARA News/CIFOR) - The Chair of Indonesia`s REDD+ task force said that theMinistry of Forestry will this week release an updated moratorium map todisplay which areas are protected under a two-year ban on new concessions inprimary forests and peatlands.

"TheMinistry of Forestry will upload the maps to their website and hold workshopsto get public input, starting next week," Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the taskforce chief, said on the sidelines of the UN climate summit in Durban, SouthAfrica, Thursday, as reported by CIFOR (Center for International ForestryResearch) on its website.

This is thefirst update of the Indicative Moratorium Map (IMM) which is required to bereviewed and revised every six months.

TheIndonesian Government`s announcement of the moratorium in May was greeted withdismay by elements of the business community, who expressed fears that acurtailment of economic growth would result from the moratorium`s limitationson forest-based development opportunities. Meanwhile, environmentalists weredisappointed by the narrow scope of the moratorium and its many exclusions andexceptions.

A recentstudy by CIFOR found that the additional area given protection under themoratorium is at most 22.5 million hectares (Mha), which consists of 7.2 Mha ofprimary forests, 11.2 Mha of peatlands and 4.1 Mha that fall into neither ofthese categories.

A continuallyupdated indicative map will be an important tool for public scrutiny and amechanism to further secure and possibly increase the area covered by themoratorium, the study said further.

TheMinistry of Agriculture is taking the lead in checking the location of thepeatlands on the ground, said Heru Prasetyo, a member of the REDD+ task force.The task is about 80 percent completed, with some results included in the firstrevision of the map and the rest in the next one, he added.

Themoratorium`s application to peatlands is likely to generate the mostsignificant environmental benefits because of their large carbon storagecapacity, according to the CIFOR study. Carbon from peatlands contributes 74percent to the total forest soil pool in Indonesia, according to a studypublished in the journal Global Change Biology earlier this year.

Thetwo-year moratorium, which started 20 May 2011, is part of an agreement thatcould see Norway provide up to US$1 billion to Indonesia under the ReducingEmissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) scheme to help itmeet a pledge by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to cut its climate changeemissions by up to 41 percent by 2020.

Indonesiaplans to use the two-year period to consolidate various maps used by differentministries to produce a single map for future reference, said Mangkusubroto.

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

Related Article:

Norway, Indonesia $1 Billion Forest Pact Broken, Group Says

Norway, Indonesia $1 Billion Forest Pact Broken, Group Says

2011-12-01T04:59:00.001+07:00

Bloomberg,by Catherine Airlie - Nov 30, 2011

Norway andIndonesia’s $1 billion deal to halt the destruction of peatland and forests fortwo years in Aceh, a province of the Southeast Asian country, has been broken,according to the Ecosystems Climate Alliance.

Aceh’sgovernor Irwandi Yusuf has agreed to let a palm oil company called PT KallistaAlam convert protected peat swamp forest into plantations, the alliance saidtoday in an e-mail.

“We oftensee this sort of contravention of law from the usual suspects such asdisreputable logging corporations and oil palm interests, but this time thehighest authority in the province appears to be breaking the moratorium,” PegPutt, a senior consultant at Global Witness, a member group of the alliance,said in the e-mail.

Officialsthat grant such permissions are breaking an agreement with Norway that cameinto effect in January to protect forests. According to the deal agreed in May2010, Indonesia would suspend new concessions to companies seeking to convertforest and peatland into plantations for two years.

Climatetalks are under way in Durban, South Africa to carve out a treaty to extend orreplace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. That’s the linchpin of efforts to limitfossil-fuel emissions blamed for damaging the atmosphere. Forest destruction isresponsible for about 17 percent of global emissions and the talks maynegotiate a deal to protect them.

To contactthe reporter on this story: Catherine Airlie in London at cairlie@bloomberg.net

To contactthe editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net

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Companies Not Buying Enough ‘Green’ Palm Oil: WWF

2011-11-22T16:32:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, November 22, 2011

A worker collects oil palm fruits at the state-owned palm oil plantation in Luwu,
Indonesia's South Sulawesi province in this file photo. Major retailers and
manufacturers are not doing enough to honor commitments to use sustainable
palm oil to help protect virgin rainforests from destruction, WWF said on Tuesday.
(Reuters Photo/Yusuf Ahmad)

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KualaLumpur. Major retailers and manufacturers are not doing enough to honorcommitments to use sustainable palm oil to help protect virgin rainforests fromdestruction, WWF said on Tuesday.

Theconservation group’s latest report on palm oil use, released for this week’sannual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), shows onlyhalf of palm oil used by surveyed companies came from sustainable sources.

The reportsaid companies in Europe, Australia and Japan were buying more sustainable palmoil than ever before and noted that 87 of the 132 companies surveyed havepledged to use only eco-friendly oil by 2015.

But it said17 of the 43 retailers and 15 out of the 89 manufacturers assessed scoredpoorly in the survey.

Palmplantations are considered one of the biggest threats to rainforests incountries like Malaysia and Indonesia — the source of 85 percent of world palmoil supply — as virgin forests are typically cleared to make way for them.

“It’s neverbeen easier for companies to be responsible about the palm oil they use,” AdamHarrison, an agriculture policy specialist with WWF, said in a statementaccompanying the Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard for 2011.

“So it isclear that some manufacturers and retailers have fallen behind on their commitmentsto 100 percent sustainable palm oil, while others haven’t even started at all.”

Thescorecard focuses on major companies in Europe, Australia and Japan, theworld’s biggest palm oil markets.

About 5.2million tonnes of certified sustainable palm oil was produced last year —roughly 10 percent of world supply — but only 56 percent was purchased, the WWFsaid.

Growersmust meet numerous criteria like refraining from clearing virgin forests andadhering to fair land acquisition policies to gain the “sustainable” label.

But higherproduction costs, weak demand for eco-friendly palm oil, and other factorsdiscourage farmers from going green, environmentalists say.

The WWFsingled out major companies like Nestle, Unilever, IKEA, Cadbury and Carrefourfor praise, saying they scored highly in the survey.

Palm oilrepresents about 35 percent of the global vegetable oil market but itsproduction is expected to soar due to its versatility, relatively high oilyields, and economic importance to local communities.

Launched in2004, the RSPO brought together producers, manufacturers and other stakeholdersto create global standards for sustainable palm oil. Its meeting is being heldthis week in the Malaysian city of Kota Kinabalu.

Agence France-Presse

Deforestation threatens planet, economies and communities, UN chief warns

2011-11-18T03:58:00.001+07:00

UN News Centre, 17 November 2011

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) visits an indigenous community
affected by deforestation in Borneo, Indonesia

17 November2011 – Deforestation not only threatens the planet’s climate and nationaleconomic development, but also communities whose income, culture and way oflife depend on healthy forests, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed today ona visit to Indonesia.

Mr. Ban wasin the Central Kalimantan region of Borneo, which has been chosen by theIndonesian Government for a pilot programme of the Reducing Emissions fromDeforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative.

Theinitiative aims to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests,and provides added incentive for governments and local communities to preserveand sustainably manage them.

“REDD+ canbe a win-win-win for local communities, for Indonesia and the world,” said theSecretary-General.

“But let mebe clear: While REDD+ can play an effective role in engaging developingcountries in the global fight against climate change, it is not a substitutefor deep greenhouse emissions reductions in developed countries. It iscomplementary.”

Globally,deforestation accounts for some 17 per cent of global carbon emissions – thesecond largest source after the energy sector, Mr. Ban pointed out. Eachhectare of forest lost or degraded contributes to global greenhouse emissions.

“As we moveahead with REDD+, and for the initiative to be a success, it will be crucial toobtain the free, prior and informed consent of the communities who depend onforest resources,” he said, adding that he is aware that there ismisunderstanding, apprehension and opposition about REDD+.

“Indigenouspeople, in particular, are concerned that REDD+ is associated withunsustainable extractive industries that harm their well-being. Making REDD+ asuccess here in Kalimantan, and elsewhere, will require the commitment andcooperation of all stakeholders,” he stated.

“We mustensure that all have a voice. This is a crucial test for REDD+ and forIndonesia.”

He addedthat the UN will do its part to help this groundbreaking partnership realizeits potential, beginning with the establishment of the UN Office for REDD+Coordination in Indonesia (UNORCID), whose opening the Secretary-Generalattended today.

The UN is alsoconsulting with government and civil society on improving forest governance andanti-corruption, as well as working to measure and understand the physicalenvironment and the social implications of REDD+ to adjust efforts as theyunfold.

“We willfacilitate environmental and social safeguards,” said Mr. Ban. “And we willhelp to establish Green Schools, and work on forest fire prevention andsustainable plantations.

“In sum,our work will benefit local people while helping to address the global problemof climate change.”

He notedthat Kalimantan has extensive forest cover and peatland, and that many of itsinhabitants are custodians of an invaluable wealth of forest-based knowledge.

“Yet thesemen and women – and these precious ecosystems – are under threat from theglobal demand for palm oil, timber, minerals and other commodities,” said Mr.Ban, who met with representatives of communities affected by deforestation inthe village of Kalampangan.

Accordingto a report issued in September by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),conserving key forests in Indonesia under the REDD+ programme could generatebillions of dollars in revenue, up to three times more than felling them forpalm oil plantations.

The reportrecommended designating new forested areas for REDD+, taking into account themultiple benefits for carbon storage, orangutan habitat conservation and theprotection of ecosystem services, while expanding palm oil plantations on landwith low current use value and avoiding agricultural and timber concessionswhere conservation value is high.

While inKalimantan, Mr. Ban also visited a health clinic, where he immunized a childagainst polio and met with pregnant women and health workers. TheSecretary-General is now in Bali, where he will take part in, among otherevents, the fourth summit between the UN and the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN).

Major Illegal Logging Operation Disrupted

2011-11-17T00:25:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, November 16, 2011

There have been few convictions among hundreds of cases since the
president’s first call to stamp out illegal logging in 2005. (Antara Photo)

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TheNational Police’s special crimes unit says it has disrupted an illegal loggingsyndicate with the potential to cause significant damage in the Kubu Rayadistrict of West Kalimantan.

Police saythe operation, under way since Monday, has resulted in the seizure of thousandsof mahang hardwood logs.

“The timberwas still in the form of raw logs, numbering 1,869. We are in the process ofmeasuring and counting them with expert witnesses from the Forestry Ministry,”a police officer taking part in the investigation said on Wednesday.

“Thesuspect is an individual with the initials A.I. He is not a forestry licenseholder but a local businessman from Pontianak,” said the source, who wished toremain anonymous because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

A.I. willbe charged with illegal logging under the Law on Forestry. He could face up to10 years in prison or a Rp 5 billion ($555,000) fine if convicted.

Mahang is a“pioneer” species that tends to colonize logged areas. It is used by localresidents for temporary structures that are not in direct contact with theground, as well as for interior moldings. For export it is usually combinedwith other timber pulp to make particleboard and plywood.

Whencontacted on Wednesday, the director of the special crimes unit, Brig. Gen.Anas Yusuf, declined to confirm the details of the operation.

Last April,a joint team from the West Kalimantan Police’s criminal investigations unit andtheir National Police counterparts seized thousands of cubic meters of timberbelonging to logging company Wana Bangun Agung.

The timber,believed to have been logged illegally, was found in the possession of aplywood company in Arang Limbung, which, as with the location of this week’sseized logs, is also in Kubu Raya district.

In thatearlier operation, the police found numerous logs that were not of the 21species that are legally allowed to be felled under a 2007 Forestry Ministryregulation. The logs were felled from near Putussibau, in the Kapuas Huludistrict of West Kalimantan. Farouk Arnaz

Indonesian Police Finally Act in Alleged Orangutan Torture, Killing Cases

2011-11-16T14:50:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, November 16, 2011

A photo of an orangutan being tortured before it was killed in a
palm-oil plantation in East Kalimantan. (Photo courtesy of RCTI)

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Indonesianpolice have questioned a researcher who uncovered the alleged torture andkilling of orangutans in a palm oil plantation area in East Kalimantan.

YayaRayadin, a researcher from state-owned Mulawarman University in Samarinda, toldthe Jakarta Globe on Wednesday that the questioning took place at KutaiKartanegara Police headquarters on Monday.

“They askedme about the bones of an orangutan that were taken to my lab for analysis,”Yaya said, adding that the remains were found by locals at a plantation area inPuan Cepak, Muara Kaman district.

“I toldthem that based on forensic examinations, the bones belonged to an adultorangutan and that it died from unnatural causes. The bones showed marks ofsharp weapons,” he said, adding that he had handed remains to the NaturalResources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) for evidence purposes.

It was thefirst time police have questioned anyone in relation to the alleged killing ofthe protected animals.

Theshocking allegations were first made public in September, though police at thetime said they needed more proof before an investigation could be launched.

“We needevidence. Can anyone show us the location of the killing, who did it?” KutaiKartanegara Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. I Gusti Harryarsama told RCTI recently.“If there are graves, we can exhume the bodies and take photos.”

The TVstation has aired chilling images of people torturing and killing the primates,including the plate number of a motorcycle that was used by one of the allegedkillers.

Thepractice of killing orangutans had taken place since 2008, Yaya said.

“Theforests are the natural habit of orangutans, including the forests that were laterconverted into palm-oil plantation,” he said.

“However,they adapt to changes very well and they survive by observing and learning fromthe environment around them. The only food available is palm so they eat it,”Yaya said.

Oneorangutan could eat up to 30 to 40 palm trees a day, he said.

“Therefore,plantation firms consider them as pests that must be controlled to preventlosses.”

Meanwhile,RCTI interviewed a former plantation employee who claimed that plantation firmsoffered rewards for anyone who could capture orangutans dead or alive.

“The orderwas to capture orangutans and monkeys, bring them to the office. If we broughtthree, we’ll get Rp 3 million ($333),” the anonymous source said.

Thecaptured orangutans would be caged, beaten and buried.

At Least 750 Orangutans Killed in a Year In Kalimantan

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ASEAN to form partnerships to promote traditional medicine

2011-11-15T06:09:00.001+07:00

AntaraNews, Sat, November 5 2011

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Jakarta(ANTARA News) - ASEAN member countries have agreed to establish partnerships topromote traditional medicine through among other things information exchange,research, and the scientization of traditional cures to guarantee their safety.

Theagreement was reached at the Third Conference on ASEAN Traditional Medicine inSolo, Central Java, on Saturday, President Director of PT Deltomed LaboratoriesNyoto Wardoyo said in a press statement here on Saturday.

Theconference was attended by representatives of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand,Myanmar, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, and Indonesia as thehost.

Themeeting`s participants on the sidelines of the conference visited the factoryof PT Deltomed Laboratories in Wonogiri, Central Java.

They made acomparative study on the modernization and standardization process oftraditional medicine production, and the herbal material extraction carried outin the factory.

PTDeltomed, a national herbal medicine producer, has established cooperation withthe health ministry`s Traditional Medicine and Herbal Medicine Development andResearch Center (B2P2TO-OT).

Since 2009,the company has met the Good Manufacturing Product Standard and received aNational Sanitation Foundation certificate on September 14, 2011, as aprerequisite for herbal medicine exports to countries in the Americancontinent.

Editor: Suryanto

Embattled Greenpeace Gets Help From Activists

2011-11-12T16:24:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, UlmaHaryanto, November 12, 2011

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Legal aidactivists and supporters showed on Friday their backing for under-fireenvironmental group Greenpeace, which is being evicted from its office by theJakarta administration for alleged zoning violations.

“YLBHI [theIndonesian Legal Aid Foundation] and other NGOs have pledged to back upGreenpeace and give our support to them,” said Alvon Kurnia Palma, deputychairman of YLBHI.

The JakartaBuilding Control and Monitoring Office (P2B) said it served notice toGreenpeace on Wednesday about the closure and would proceed with sealing offits headquarters on Jalan Kemang Utara in South Jakarta on Monday. It said theoffice had been built in an area designated for residential buildings only.

The YLBHIsaid the Jakarta administration’s move was just a small part of a morewidespread problem of discrimination against local NGOs.

Alvon citedan incident on Wednesday, when the YLBHI’s headquarters was surrounded bydozens of troops from the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) when it was holding a publicdiscussion on Freeport.

“Other NGOssuch as ICW [Indonesia Corruption Watch] also had to face scrutiny when it wasrevealed they received funding from abroad,” Alvon said.

Alvon alsosaid the eviction letter P2B had been using was legally flawed.

“It did notmention what bylaw the letter was issued on,” Alvon said. “The letter onlysaid, ‘based on a DKI bylaw.’ ”

BerryNahdian Furqan, executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment(Walhi), urged other activists to back up Greenpeace.

“Greenpeacehas been campaigning for our forests and environment. Don’t let environmentalcriminals win,” Berry said, adding that Walhi and the YLBHI have agreed totemporarily accommodate Greenpeace should the sealing off take place.

“We areready to back up Greenpeace politically and concretely,” he added.

WidyoDwiyono, head of the South Jakarta P2B office, said his agency had givenGreenpeace an extra 24 hours for the organization to relocate.

“Accordingto the notice, the relocation should actually take place on Sunday,” he said.

“This ispart of our regular law enforcement — all buildings in the area that violatezoning regulations will face the same thing,” he added. Widyo could not detailhow many buildings his office planned to cite in the area.

Kemang isalso home to scores of restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops, few of whichhave ever been sealed off or cited for zoning violations.

Theeviction follows several months of uneasy relations between Greenpeace andgovernment officials.

Greenpeace’sSoutheast Asia media campaigner Hikmat Soeriatanuwijaya claimed the group hadbeen unfairly targeted after it launched a global campaign against Asia Pulpand Paper.

Last month,a Greenpeace UK forest campaigner was deported from Indonesia for reasons thatwere never made clear. That incident took place less than a week after theGreenpeace UK director was denied entry into the country despite arriving witha valid entry visa.

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Councilor denounces palm oil plantation conversion

2011-11-11T22:08:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 11/11/2011

The plan toconvert tea plantations in North Sumatra to palm oil plantations could bedetrimental to local economies and the environment, a local councilor said.

CouncilorIrwansyah Damanik said the conversion would adversely affect the livelihoods ofmany people in the province, particularly those living in Simalungun andPematangsiantar regencies, where most plantations are located.

Landconversions also affect the Earth’s natural ability to absorb rain, thus posingthe threat of flooding, he said. In contrast, water scarcity is also anotherthreat because palm oil plantations consume more water, he said.

Damaniksaid that he had already discussed his concerns regarding the plan, which wasproposed by state agriculture company PT Perkebunan Nusantara IV withPematangsiantar Regional Development Board (Bappeda) chief Herowhin Sinaga, whoalso expressed objections to the plan.

Damaniksaid that the city government had serious doubts about the conversion plan dueto potential impacts on water supply for the region.

Brazil exports satellite rainforest monitoring

2011-11-10T17:15:00.001+07:00

Deutsche Welle, 10 Nov 2011

Satellite technology can pinpoint at
risk areas in remote regions

Brazil hasbeen monitoring illegal logging in the Amazon with satellite technology for 23years. Now, interest in this pioneering know-how is growing in other countriesthat are struggling to deal with deforestation.

For morethan two decades, Brazil has been using satellite images to monitor therainforest. An important task, since deforestation releases more than a fifthof greenhouse gases worldwide, making it a significant contributor to climatechange.

Illegal logging is a rampant problem
in Indonesia

Pressure tobetter protect forests is growing especially in developing countries with largeswaths of tropical rainforest, such as Brazil, Indonesia or the DemocraticRepublic of Congo.

Brazil hasplenty of experience with such digital monitoring, since the National Institutefor Space Research (INPE) established the world's first rainforest surveillancesystem, called "Terra Amazon," in 1988.

"Wehave a method that's established, mature and sufficient for export," saidAlessandra Gomes, who works with INPE on the Amazon. "Our goal is toenable other countries in need of a strong system to watch over their forestcover," Gomes told Deutsche Welle.

Severalinternational partners are involved in the initiative, including the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Amazon CooperationTreaty Organization and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Togetherwith the Brazilian government, they've developed training programs that areallowing countries such as Mexico, Gabon, Guiana, Congo, Papua New Guinea andVietnam to adopt Brazil's monitoring system.

IngeJonckheere of the FAO described the system as fully operational, scientificallysolid and backed internationally.

"Manycountries see it as an example, and would like to adopt it in their owncontexts," Jonckheere said, adding that the system is being tailored tothe specific needs of interested countries.

Out of theAmazon

Sixinternational delegations have already been trained. Representatives fromVenezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador participated in a training thismonth in Belem, on the mouth of the Amazon River in northeast Brazil.

Slash-and-burn continues to be a
common method of clearing
tropical forest

Africancountries are also involved. Apart from the Democratic Republic of Congo – thecountry with the second-largest rainforest in the world, and which suffersgreatly from illegal timber extraction – Mozambique and Angola also sent representativesto Brazil.

Participantslearned how to download satellite photos, and transform these into hard figuresthat indicate where logging is taking place.

"Thegoal is to get other countries working to detect deforestation, degradation anddestruction of carbon storage in their own territories," Jonckheere toldDeutsche Welle.

Carboncredits

Thetechnique is particularly attractive, Jonckheere said, because the countriesstand a better chance of promoting their interests at UN climate negotiations.

As decidedat the 2010 climate conference in Mexico, nations can profit by reducinggreenhouse gas emissions from logging through a program known as REDD -Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

But inorder to receive credit for saving forests, participating countries mustpresent verifiable data.

"Thereare two ways nations can guard their forests: They can start from zero andinvent their own system, or use existing know-how. That's where Brazil canhelp," Jonckheere said.

Long- andshort-term

TerraAmazon collects and processes photos from the North American satellite Landsat.Out of this, scientists get maps and data on rainforest regions where loggingoccurs.

In thedigital age, the system is made up of various elements: the "prodes"module checks the yearly clear-cutting patterns, while "deter" takesquick measurements and sends distress signals to the main station.

Felled trees along a stretch of ancient forest in the Amazon region of Brazil

The data ismade available to the Brazilian environmental agency Ibama "within 15days," Gomes explained, triggering on-site visits to see what hashappening.

AndréMuggiati of Greenpeace sees the system as pioneering.

"It'sa base for measuring the progress or regression in public policy of the Amazonregion," Muggiati told Deutsche Welle.

"Withoutthe satellite monitoring, it wouldn't be possible to assess what'shappening."

Muggiatisaid the Brazilian government had so far acted to contain logging based onobservations conducted by the satellite technology.

"We'reseeing how logging has decreased. And what's interesting, is how the data arepublicly accessible to all, how society is being alerted and can pressure thegovernment to react," Muggiati said.

Author: Nadia Pontes / sad

Editor: Nathan Witkop

Tiger kills five-year-old girl in Bengkulu

2011-11-07T15:29:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 11/07/2011

Fitriabinti Judin, 5, was found dead on Saturday after a Sumatran tiger attacked anddragged her from a small plantation run by her parents near Cirebon Baruvillage in Kepahiang regency, Bengkulu.

“The incidenttook place on Saturday morning. The victim was playing with her two eldersiblings outside their house when suddenly a tiger emerged from the wood andattacked her,” Bengkulu Natural Resources Conservancy Agency (BKSDA) headSupartono said on Monday in Bengkulu.

He saidthat upon the attack, Fitria’s siblings immediately ran to the nearest village,Cirebon Baru, which was seven kilometers away from the plantation, seeking helpfrom villagers as their parents’ whereabouts were unknown.

The victimwas found dead, about 20 meters from where the attack had taken place, with herleft leg missing, believed to have been eaten by the tiger.

“She wasalready lifeless when found, while the tiger had retreated to the woods. Theresidents immediately evacuated the victim and brought her to their village forburial,” Supartono said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He addedthat six BKSDA officers had been tasked with investigating the incident.

Supartonosaid the plantation may be located inside the Bukit Daun protected forest. Ifthe plantation is found to be outside the forest, officers will be told tocapture the tiger and take it to a conservation area.

In 2011,Bengkulu recorded seven incidents between humans and tigers in five of itsregencies, including Lebong, Seluma and North Bengkulu.

Supartonosaid the number of the cases had been increasing over the years due to forestdestruction in the province, mostly because of illegal logging.

Activists to release 30 orangutans in Aceh forest

2011-10-31T17:16:00.000+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 10/31/2011

Environmentalactivists joined under the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) planto release 30 orangutans at the Pinus Jantho conservation center in Aceh Besar,Nangroe Aceh Darussalam.

Activistsfrom three organizations joining the program, including Swiss-based PanEcoFoundation, the Ekosistem Lestari Foundation and the Forestry Ministry, werecurrently training the orangutans in a quarantine center at Batu Mbelin, DeliSerdang, North Sumatra, Antara news agency reported on Monday.

EkosistemLestari Foundation director Ian Singleton said that the quarantine program wasto prepare the orangutans for life in the wild in their natural ecosystem.

Theactivists had previously released 13 orangutans on October 20.

Toba 'orchid paradise' yields 200 new species

2011-10-23T14:59:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Sun, 10/23/2011

Scientistssay they have found almost 200 new species of orchids in the Eden Park touristforest in Sionggang village in Toba Samosir, North Sumatra.

A group ledby botanists and orchid experts Ria Telambanua and Michele Sirait has beenexploring the area for years.

“We’vesuccessfully identified almost 200 species of forest orchids after almost fouryears of research. We intentionally haven’t published any of them for the sakeof preservation,” Ria said on Sunday in Toba Samosir.

Thediscovery of new orchid species was typically followed by large-scaleexploitation, she said.

Theresearchers identified the new species by identifying morphologicaldifferences, using orchid catalogues and by consulting with experts.

“This areais an orchid paradise. It has extraordinary natural riches. There are thousandsmore orchid species that have yet to be identified here,” she said as quoted byAntara.

Ria andMichele will launch a book on the new species late next month, Ria said, addingthat a portion of the profits would be donated to orchid experts.

NGO says govt approval on transgenics hurts farmers, environment

2011-10-20T16:43:00.003+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Thu, 10/20/2011

An NGO hascriticized the Agriculture Minister's regulation No. 61/2011, which would allowtransgenic seeds companies to conduct business, as it could harm greaterinterests.

“It isobvious that the government is ignorant to the fact that transgenic productscan cause potential damage from an environmental, socioeconomic and healthperspective,” the Alliance for Prosperous Villages' national coordinator, TejoWahyu Jatmiko, told a press conference on Thursday.

He thencited similar projects that were tested around 10 years ago, in the form of acotton transgenic seed plantation in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, and a jointproject between the ministry and US agriculture giant Monsanto, but both werebig failures.

“Thispolicy won’t aid farmers; it will only profit big companies,” he said.

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Elephants run amok in jambi oil palm, rubber plantations

2011-10-17T21:57:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Mon, October 17 2011

RelatedNews

Muaratebo,Jambi (ANTARA News) - Tens of elephants have been running amok in oil palm andrubber plantations in Koto VII Sub-district, in Tebo District, Jambi Province,Sumatra, since Friday (Oct 14).

Theelephants destroyed hundreds of hectares of oil palm and rubber plantations atTeluk Kayu Putih, Tanjung, Kuamang and Aur Cino villages, Tanjung Village HeadSafarudin, said here on Monday.

Theyattacked the plantations in the evening, Safarudin said.

Localvillagers have been constantly on guard for the last three weeks to protecttheir plantations from the herd of elephants but they could not prevent theanimals` destruotive behavior.

Theyreported the elephants` attacks to the Tebo district administration and theprovincial natural resource conservation agency (BKSDA).

Tebodistrict administration and BKSDA personnel did come to Tanjung village butthey only checked the damages, he said.

The rubberand oil palm plantations are located around 15 km from Tanjung village. Earlierthis year, a local villager was killed by a herd of elephants.

Conflictsbetween Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) and humans haveincreased over the past few years claiming lives among both humans andelephants but mostly among the giant animals.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

50 Injured in Bali as Earthquake Strikes

2011-10-13T15:49:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, October 13, 2011

An earthquake of 6.2 magnitude struck off the Indonesian
resort island of Bali on Thursday, the US geological
survey said. (Image courtesy of USGC)

A powerfulearthquake jolted Indonesia’s popular resort island of Bali on Thursday,causing widespread panic and injuring at least 50 people, many with brokenbones and head wounds.

The USGeological Survey said the 6.0-magnitude quake was centered 100 kilometerssouthwest of the island. It hit 60 kilometers beneath the ocean floor.

Indonesia’sMetrology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BKMG) said the earthquake had a6.8 magnitude and was 10 kilometers deep, 143 kilometers southwest of Nusa Dua.

TheHawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no current tsunamiwarning in effect.

Althoughnot strong enough to trigger a tsunami, the quake was felt on neighboring Javaand Lombok islands, hundreds of kilometers away.

CandyJuliani, a public relations officer for the Sanur Beach Hotel, said terrifiedguests fled the building.

“We havespecial emergency routes for this type of situation, but everyone was soscared, they just ignored them,” Juliani said.

At least 50people were hurt, many with cuts, broken bones and head wounds, said WayanSudanti, a hospital spokesman.

Three werein critical condition.

Strongshaking was felt for several minutes in the main tourist district of Kuta, saidEndro Tjahjono from the Bali office of Indonesia’s Meteorology and GeophysicsAgency.

“There waspanic, everyone ran out of the buildings. When we returned to our officebuilding, we saw some cracks on the wall and plaster had come off the walls,”he said.

Schools,office buildings and hospitals were evacuated.

A number ofbuildings suffered minor damage.

CarolineMercier, a 40-year-old tourist in the island’s cultural centre of Ubud, saidshe was used to feeling quakes in California, but never like this one.

“It startedat my feet and went all though my heart and head -- it made me nauseous. Myfirst reaction was to get out of the house. I was very confused when the roofstarted shaking,” she said.

NovotelBali Benoa, one of the many resorts in the luxury southern beach area of NusaDua, evacuated its guests as the hotel shook for a minute.

“The funnything is that the foreign guests who were sitting in the lobby did not feel theshaking. They started running when hearing people say ‘there’s an earthquake’while running down the lobby,” hotel worker Ariyanti said.

EndroTjahjono, head of information at Bali’s meteorology agency, said there was notsunami potential and no reports of aftershocks.

Cracksappeared in the walls and glass lobby windows of his office in the southerntown of Kuta, and some top floor ceilings fell off, he said.

The quakewas measured at 61.3 kilometers deep, and struck some 130 kilometerssouth-southwest of Bali’s capital Denpasar, the US seismologists said.

“I’m stillshaking,” said Stuart McDonald, an Australian living in Bali.

“There’s noserious damage but stuff fell off walls,” he said. “It was very loud.”

Indonesia’sMeteorology and Geophysics Agency measured the undersea quake at 6.8-magnitudeand put the quake’s depth at just 10 kilometers but said it was unlikely tocause a tsunami.

Indonesiasits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where the meeting of continental platescauses high seismic activity, and is frequently hit by earthquakes.

The BKMGsaid there was no risk of a tsunami.

AFP, JG

Tourists Warned to Stay Clear of Anak Krakatau Volcano

2011-10-04T14:30:00.004+07:00

Jakarta Globe, October 04, 2011

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Authoritiesare warning tourists and fishermen to stay more than a mile (two kilometers)from a smoking Indonesian volcano known as 'Child of Krakatoa.'

The volcanoin the Sunda Strait, 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of the capital, Jakarta,was created by the same tectonic forces that led to the 1883 Krakatoa eruptionthat killed tens of thousands of people.

Its"child," growing five yards (meters) a year, is now 1,320 feet (400meters) tall and popular among hikers.

GedeSuantika of the Center for Volcanology says the mountain's alert level was raisedto the second-highest level last week after the number of volcanic tremorssoared from 200 a day to 7,200.

Suantikasaid Tuesday that he worries a powerful burst could shoot incandescent rocksdown its slopes and far into the ocean.

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PT Indocement gets "Indonesia Green Awards 2011"

2011-09-29T15:55:00.000+07:00

Antara News, Thu, September 29 2011

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Citeureup,Bogor, West Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasanhas rewarded "Indonesia Green Awards 2011" to PT Indocement TunggalPrakarsa Tbk for its participation in environmental improvement.

"Theaward is granted on Wednesday by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan in Bali Roomof Hotel Indonesia Kempinski in Jakarta, and received by PT Indocement`s HumanResources Director Kuky Permana," company spokesman Sahat Panggabean saidhere on Thursday.

He said theIndonesia Green Awards 2011 was by Bisnis&CSR Magazine and supported by theMinistry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia and La Tofi School of CSR.

"The`earth inspiration award` is granted to numbers of company and individual thatstrongly inspired to the public in environmental issues," he said.

Accordingto him, PT Indocement was granted an award for its initiative to usealternative fuels in cement production process and reduce dust emission basedon the national standard, as well as planting and cultivating Jatropha Curcason ex-quarry that associated with the Corporate Social Responsibility Program(CSR).

Panggabeansaid PT Indocement Tunggal Prakasa Tbk was the first cement sector project forreducing greenhouse gas emissions under the Prototype Carbon Fund, which wouldobtain three million tons of emission reductions from the project.

He addedthat Indocement consists of two Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.

The firstreduces the quantity of energy-intensive clinker in blended cement and thesecond increases the use of alternative fuels, such as rice husk, coconutwaste, car tires and waste oils in the cement making process.

TheIndocement projects produce environmentally friendly, high-quality cement andprovide an alternative solution to Indonesia`s waste disposal problems whilecreating employment opportunities in an alternative fuel supply chain.

He said thetotal greenhouse gas emission cuts over the ten year crediting period isestimated to be in the range of 10 to 12 million tons.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

SBY Vows to Protect Indonesia’s Rainforests

2011-09-27T15:43:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, September 27, 2011

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delivering his opening address at
the Forests Indonesia Conference in Jakarta on Tuesday. Yudhoyono
promised to dedicate the last three years of his administration to
safeguarding Indonesia’s rainforests — a pledge that received broad support at
a major conference in Jakarta. (AFP Photo)

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PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised on Tuesday to dedicate the last three yearsof his administration to safeguarding Indonesia’s rainforests — a pledge thatreceived broad support at a major conference in Jakarta.

Hosted bythe Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the conference provideda platform for 1,000 leaders of Indonesia’s government, business community andcivil society, as well as foreign donors, to discuss the future of the forests,the third-largest tropical forest in the world.

“I willcontinue my work and dedicate the last three years of my term as President todeliver enduring results that will sustain and enhance the environment andforests of Indonesia,” Yudhoyono said at the conference. “If it weren’t for thebenefits that our forests provide, then our way of life, our people, oureconomy, our environment and our society would be so much the poorer.

“Oursuccess in managing our forests will determine our future and the opportunitiesthat will be available to our children.”

A CIFORnews release says Indonesia is losing about 1.1 million hectares of its forestseach year. Most of it is due to unsustainable logging that includes theconversion of forests to plantations for palm oil and the pulp and paperindustry. It is also partly due to large-scale illegal logging, which isestimated to cost Indonesia about $4 billion annually.

“We mustchange the way we treat our forests so that they are conserved even as we drivehard to accelerate our economic growth,” Yudhoyono said. “I do not want tolater explain to my granddaughter, Almira that we, in our time, could not savethe forests and the people that depend on it. I do not want to tell her the sadnews that tigers, rhinoceroses and orangutans vanished like the dinosaurs.”

In hisspeech, the president reiterated a 2009 pledge to cut Indonesia’s greenhousegas emissions by up to 41 percent from business-as-usual levels by 2020 — a vowonly achievable if the forests are safeguarded.

Globally,deforestation accounts for up to 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. InIndonesia, however that figure is up to 85 percent, Yudhoyono said. This makesthe country one of the highest emitters in the world.

Norway hascommitted up to $1 billion to help Indonesia meet its emissions reductiontarget, and in May this year the Indonesian government issued a two-yearmoratorium on new forestry concessions.

“Norway isproud of the partnership with Indonesia,” Erik Solheim, Norway’s minister forthe environment and international development, said at the conference.

“Westrongly encourage other countries to support the work that President Yudhoyonoand the government of Indonesia is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.President Yudhoyono is now one of the foremost statesmen leading theinternational fight to combat climate change.”

It ispredicted that up to $30 billion could flow from developed to developingcountries each year to help facilitate significant reductions in deforestation,and Indonesia could potentially claim a significant share of these fundsthrough REDD+, a global mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation andforest Degradation, as well as the conservation and sustainable management offorests, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

Indonesiais one of the countries with the most REDD+ demonstration activities in variousstages of development, and Indonesia has been an early participant in variousbilateral and multilateral initiatives to prepare for REDD+ implementation atthe national level.

In additionto potential funding opportunities through REDD+ in coming years, Indonesia hasa range of options available to reduce the pace of deforestation, while at thesame time expanding agricultural production to guarantee food security targetsand promote economic growth.

Thisincludes focusing future agricultural development on so-called degraded land,rather than clearing rainforest to make way for plantations or developingcarbon-rich peatland. The government could also support a push for agriculturalintensification – increasing yields per hectare, which are currently relativelylow.

“Whilethere are some ‘win-win’ opportunities to reconcile forest management to meetboth global and domestic objectives, there will also be some trade-offs thatwill require leadership from government, business, and civil society todetermine the best way forward for Indonesia in a manner that is transparentand fair,” said Frances Seymour, CIFOR director general.

As part ofhis push to safeguard the forests, Yudhoyono called on Indonesia’s captains ofindustry to adopt more sustainable forests management practices.

“I callupon our business leaders, particularly those in the palm oil, pulp wood andmining sectors, to partner with us by enhancing the environmentalsustainability of their operations,” he said. “I ask you to join me in pledgingto safeguard this national treasure for the sake of our children.”

ThePresident’s pledge received widespread support from conference attendees.

“I ampleased to be here at the Forests Indonesia Conference because the UKrecognizes the importance of climate change in Indonesia. We are pleased to besupporting the government of Indonesia’s work to meet its internationalsclimate change commitments,” said Jim Paice, UK Minister of State at theDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Thousands of residents near Mt. Anak Ranaka evacuated

2011-09-26T21:04:00.003+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Mon, 09/26/2011

Thousandsof residents living around Mount Anak Ranaka, Manggarai regency, East NusaTenggara, have been evacuated as the volcano is expected to erupt within thenext two days.

Mount Anak Ranaka

“We wereforced to leave our homes and find a safer place,” Sita village head YusupAnggas said on Monday as quoted by Kompas.com.

He saidmore than 1,500 residents had been living in tents on Golomengko soccer fieldsince early September.

The BandungVolcanic and Geological Mitigation Center (PVMBG) has raised the alert statusof Mt. Anak Ranaka due to an increasing number of deep and shallow volcanicearthquakes since June 2011. As of today, 24 deep volcanic earthquakes and 10shallow volcanic earthquakes have been recorded.

Mt. AnakRanaka last erupted on Jan.11, 1988, spewing ash 8,000 meters high thatblanketed Wae Reno and Wae Teko to the north of the volcano.

Threat Level at Lapindo Mudlow Site Increases

2011-09-22T16:26:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, ArienthaPrimanita & Antara, September 22, 2011

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Authoritiesin East Java have raised the alert level for the mudflow spewing from anunderground volcano in Sidoarjo after nearby dikes nearly failed.

The mudflowhas destroyed hundreds of homes, swamped 720 hectares of land and displacedmore than 11,000 people since it began erupting in late May 2006.

“Thesituation is alarming,” said Achmad Khusaeri, a spokesman for the SidoarjoMudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS), adding that the underground volcano had begunto erupt again after lying virtually dormant for years.

The mudflowhad fallen from an average of 100,000 cubic meters per day in 2009 to 13,000cubic meters per day last year.

Achmad saidthe authorities had added another meter to the height of the dikes as well asreinforcing them with rocks held together by chicken wire. BPLS officers arealso monitoring the dikes 24 hours a day.

DwiArisanto, an official at state railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia, saidtracks along the disaster-hit area were being reinforced.

“We arealso limiting train speeds to no more than 20 kilometers per hour,” he said.

East JavaGovernor Sukarwo said the surge was happening in eastern Sidoarjo, while in thewest the mudflow had receded.

Theprovincial government, he said, was channeling the surging mud to the area’sless-populated south.

Sukarwoadded that rain could also worsen the surging mudflow and cause the dikes toweaken.

Thegovernor visited the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, urging the centralgovernment to push Minarak Lapindo Jaya, the holding company of the gasdrilling operation that is widely blamed for the mudflow, to expedite itscompensation scheme.

Under thescheme, residential land was valued at Rp 1 million ($113) per square meter,while farmland was valued at Rp 120,000 per square meter. However, Sukarwo saidLapindo had only paid compensation for 72 percent of the inundated lands,adding that he urged the company to pay for at least 80 percent by the end ofthe year.

“I will letthe president, vice president and the ministers push for the compensation and Iwill try to calm down the people,” the governor said.

Sukarwosaid Lapindo should disburse all of its compensation by April next year. Threevillages are now completely submerged by the mudflow.

Separately,Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonowas expanding the area deemed to be devastated by the disaster.

Theminister said that on Monday, there would be nine neighborhoods that would beadded to the compensation scheme, costing an additional Rp 1 trillion to Rp 2trillion.

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Lapindo Disaster Caused By Human Error: Study

Indonesia's mud volcano flows on

Satellite picture received from Ikonos Satellite Image on May 29, 2008 shows the mud volcano and its surrounding area in Sidoarjo, East Java. (AFP/Ikonos Satellite Image)

More pictures ....

Farmers Celebrate at Plantation Law Court Victory

2011-09-20T02:57:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Ulma Haryanto, September 20, 2011

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TheConstitutional Court approved on Monday a request to drop two articles in the2004 Law on Plantations deemed potentially discriminatory against indigenousfarmers in land disputes.

The requestwas originally filed by four farmers from West Kalimantan, East Java and NorthSumatra.

Each farmerhad received jail terms of between six months and a year under Article 21 ofthe 2004 law for protest actions they took to reclaim ancestral lands.

The articleprohibits any efforts to damage plantations or other assets, any use ofplantation land without permission and any other action that disturbsplantation businesses.

Thepunishment for violating the law is a maximum jail term of five years and afine of up to Rp 5 billion ($565,000).

Theplaintiffs were Sakri, a 41-year-old farmer from Blitar, East Java; Japin, 39,and Vitalis Andi, 30, from Ketapang, West Kalimantan; and Ngatimin, 49, fromSerdang Bedagai, North Sumatra.

ChiefJustice Mahfud M.D. ruled that the two articles were unconstitutional and nolonger binding. He said land conflicts between indigenous farmers andnon-indigenous populations should be settled through the civil court system orby mediation.

WahyuWagiman from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), whorepresented the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling as a relief to more than 600traditional communities in the country that were threatened by the law.

“Our nextstep is to spread the word as wide as possible and to find a way to releasefarmers currently charged under Articles 21 and 47, including Japin, Vitalisand Ngatimin,” Wahyu said.

Japin andVitalis each served 10 months in jail for “displacing” an excavator that wasabout to be used to clear land they were contesting in 2009.

The pairfiled an appeal in March. Ngatimin was sentenced to one year in jail forplanting trees in a disputed area in an effort to reclaim it in 2007.

“The rulingcan be presented as new evidence at the Supreme Court, which is now reviewingtheir cases,” Wahyu said.

Sakrialready served six months of probation in 2008 for forcefully trying to reclaimland.

The judgesagreed the law had ignored the historical context of land ownership inIndonesia.

“The widevariety of land disputes should be solved thoroughly by involving NGOs andacademics, and this is not reflected by Article 21,” Judge Achmad Sodiki toldthe court.

The law waswidely criticized when it was passed for failing to protect the interests ofsmall-scale farmers and indigenous communities and for giving big business toomuch power.

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SumatranTribe Say Lands Stolen for Palm Oil

Sumatran Tribe Say Lands Stolen for Palm Oil

2011-09-20T00:14:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, FidelisE. Satriastanti & Camelia Pasandaran, September 19, 2011

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The WilmarGroup, one of Asia’s largest agribusiness companies, claims to lift people outof poverty and respect indigenous peoples’ land rights.

Butprotesters from the Anak Dalam Sungai Beruang tribe from Jambi in Sumatrademonstrating outside the state palace in Jakarta on Monday said a Wilmar Groupsubsidiary, Asiatic Persada, had forced them off their ancestral homelands.

Roni, thehead of Sungai Beruang village in Muaro Jambi, said the villagers had come toJakarta because local officials were ignoring their plight.

“We arehere in Jakarta to seek an explanation from the government, because we haven’theard anything from the district or provincial administrations,” he said.

“We wantdue legal process for the unlawful eviction that we have experienced. We willalso visit the BPN [National Land Agency] to clarify just where the borders ofour lands lie, because the current boundaries are a mess.”

Roni saidtensions between the tribe and AP began on Aug. 10 when men claiming to beagents of the firm came into their village and began forcibly evicting them.

“We don’tknow why they did that,” he said. “But some time before it happened, there werereports that outsiders had been camping on the periphery of the existingplantation and stealing the oil palm fruit. We explained to the company thatnone of us were involved in that, but they didn’t respond.”

He addedthat three hamlets in the village, housing a total of 82 families, wereevicted.

“We’ve beenliving there since 1920, and the company only came in 1986. We were therefirst, yet our ancestors’ graves now fall within their concession,” Roni said,adding that the Anak Dalam Sungai Beruang’s entire 5,100 hectares of ancestralland had been given over to palm oil companies.

APdismissed the protesters’ claims as baseless.

Syafei, acompany spokesman, said the group rallying in Jakarta was laying claim to landto which it had no right.

“Thecompany only [recognizes] the land of the Anak Dalam people who were genuinelythere before AP received its land use certificate,” he said. “The onesdemonstrating now are newcomers.”

He addedthat the Jambi administration was setting up a team to resolve the dispute,involving local officials as well as representatives from the company and thetribe.

MasterParulian Tumanggor, the Wilmar Group commissioner, denied that AP expropriatedthe tribe’s land, adding that the dispute had already been settled.

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Farmers Flee as World’s Deadliest Volcano Rumbles

2011-09-19T18:09:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, September 19, 2011

In thisOct. 19, 2010 aerial photo, Mount Tambora's 10 kilometers (more
than 7 miles)wide and 1 kilometer (half a mile) deep volcanic crater,
created by the April1815 eruption, is shown. Bold farmers routinely
ignore orders to evacuate theslopes of live volcanos in Indonesia, but
those on Tambora took no chances whenhistory's deadliest mountain
rumbled ominously this month, Sept., 2011. (APPhoto/KOMPAS
Images, Iwan Setiyawan)

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MountTambora, Indonesia. Bold farmers in Indonesia routinely ignore orders toevacuate the slopes of live volcanoes. But those living on Tambora have takenno chances since history’s deadliest mountain rumbled ominously to life thismonth.

Authoritiesraised a volcano alert at Tambora about two weeks ago, but even when theyannounced the all-clear, many villagers have refused to return home until dayslater.

Many of thevillagers have been told since their childhood about how the mountain they callhome once blew apart in the largest eruption ever recorded — an event that hasbeen widely forgotten outside their region.

The 1815blast killed 90,000 people, blackened the skies around the globe and was 10times stronger than the Krakatoa eruption of 1883.

Associated Press

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Nestle Buys Palm Oil Promises of Sinar Mas

2011-09-16T22:47:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, September 16, 2011

A number of companies stopped purchasing palm oil from Sinar Mas
after allegations by Greenpeace of rainforest destruction.
(JG Photo/Safir Makki)

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Swiss foodgiant Nestle will resume purchases of palm oil from Sinar Mas Agro Resourcesand Technology following an 18-month halt after Smart made improvements toabide by Nestle’s guidelines for responsible environmental practices.

The parentcompany of the palm oil producer known as Smart, Golden Agri Resources, hasbeen working with environmental group The Forest Trust on the implementation ofa Forest Conservation Policy. The plan would ensure that GAR has nodeforestation footprint and also seeks sustainable growth.

Based onresults of TFT assessments and GAR’s work in progress, “we have decided toplace an order with Golden Agri for our factory in Indonesia,” NestleIndonesia’s spokesman Brata T. Hardjosubroto said in a statement on Friday.

He saidthat Smart, Indonesia’s second-biggest listed plantation operator, and GAR hadbeen making continuous progress and demonstrated clear action to meet Nestle’sresponsible sourcing guidelines.

Bratalauded GAR’s new conservation policy, but he said that purchasing palm oilwould remain conditional on GAR and Smart’s commitment to sustainablerainforest development.

Thespokesman added that a segregated supply chain has been established, ensuringtraceability of shipments from GAR plantations to the Nestle factory in Indonesia.The full traceability of this supply chain has been checked by an independentthird-party auditing body, the TUV Rheinland Group.

Smartpresident director Daud Dharsono confirmed that Nestle has placed an order toresume palm oil purchases.

“We welcomeNestle’s decision, which is an acknowledgement of our sustainability efforts,”he said.

“Thisrepresents an important milestone in our journey toward the continuousproduction of sustainable palm oil.”

Nestle,which started construction on its $200 million factory in West Java on Monday,had dropped Smart as a supplier in March 2010. The company reinforced itscommitment to sustainable rainforests by stating in July that it was committedto stop using products that contributed to the destruction of rainforests, andentered a partnership with TFT.

Thedecision came following campaigns by Greenpeace highlighting Nestle’s purchaseof crude palm oil from Sinar Mas Group, which Greenpeace accuses of destructionof rainforests and peatlands to make way for new plantations.

Smart saidin its statement that it began complying with Nestle’s standards in late 2010,when GAR developed a joint action plan with TFT to help GAR ensure that palmoil delivered to Nestle would meet all requirements according to the guideline.

“We believethe FCP is a strong platform in which all stakeholders can collaborate to findsolutions for sustainable palm oil,” Daud said.

BustarMaitar, the head of Greenpeace Indonesia’s forests campaign, said thatGreenpeace would give Smart a chance to show whether it would carry out itsstated FCP commitment.

“This is atest of how serious GAR and Smart are in implementing the FCP. We will wait andsee,” Bustar said.

Othercompanies that had stopped purchasing from Smart include Burger King, Unilever,and Kraft.

Thesecompanies had yet to announce whether they would resume purchases, but Bustarsaid he expected that the other companies would follow suit.

“The otherbuyers would monitor GAR’s and Smart’s commitment to the FCP before deciding onresuming purchases. If GAR can meet its commitment, the others will likely joinNestle,” he said.

Smart’sshares rose 2.3 percent to Rp 6,650 on the Indonesia Stock Exchange on Friday.