Dutch university grows bananas to help stamp out fungal diseases

DutchNews, December 13, 2018

A banana tree. Photo: Depositphotos.com

Researchers from Wageningen University are this week harvesting the first Dutch bananas which will be offered to restaurants and hospitals in the region as a ‘regional product’. 

The aim of the experiment, which marks the 100th anniversary of the university, is to investigate whether new ways of cultivation will help stamp out soil-borne fungal diseases which threaten banana production throughout the world. 

Taking the banana trees out of the soil and growing them on stone wool appears to have been very successful, says Gert Kema, professor of tropical plant pathology at the university. 

‘The banana plants grow very well on coco peat and stone wool substrate with only the application of a nutrient solution,’ Kema said on the university website. ‘The Dutch banana does not need disease control, which makes cultivation more sustainable than in traditional production areas.’ 

Ripening

There are 60 plants in the Wageningen greenhouse. ‘One of the things that we have learned is that the plant density is too high at the moment,’ Kema said. ‘We are going to adjust that, so that we will have more light and the bunches will be able to ripen faster in future experiments.’ 

Once the Wageningen bananas have been harvested they will be moved to a ripening centre operated by banana giant Chiquita, which is involved in the project. 

New breeds 

‘We are on the way to developing sustainable banana cultivation with new breeds of bananas that are resistant to diseases and that are grown in healthy soils in a responsible social climate,’ Kema says. 

The research group is also planning a trial in the Philippines to see how precision cultivation works under ideal conditions. 

Bananas are a staple food for more than 400 million people in the tropics, the fourth most consumed food crop, the most consumed non-cereal staple food, and the most consumed fruit in the world, Wageningen says.

University of Amsterdam offers puppy love to stressed students

DutchNews, October 16, 2018, By Senay Boztas

JennyC via wikimedia commons

The University of Amsterdam is offering over-stressed students the chance to cuddle up with puppies to relieve exam stress next week, it has confirmed to DutchNews.nl. 

It will have a puppy room available with 750 seats for two afternoons in its library, saying that research demonstrates that a quarter hour of puppy love can lower blood levels of cortisol, and therefore reduce stress during exam week. 

The puppies are being introduced to the students, too, apparently as a vital part of their socialisation training. 

The idea, reportedly, comes from British universities including Bristol and Nottingham. The puppies are provided by agency Catvertise and are costing the university some €400. A total of 160 students will be able to benefit and are being asked to sign up on social media. 

According to the sign up page, the event is already sold out.

Dutch scientists use dna testing to identify illegally logged wood

DutchNews, March 5, 2018

Researchers at Wageningen University are using dna testing to help identify tropical hardwood which has been cut down illegally. 

Around 30 to 90% of all tropical hardwood is logged illegally, and checks on the origin of wood, however thorough, are not particularly effective because documentation may be fraudulent, the universitysays. 

The new method identifies the wood’s dna and is precise enough to differentiate between trees cut down in places that are practically next door to each other. This is important because position can mark the difference between legal and illegally logged wood. 

‘The fact that we can accurately differentiate the origin of timber down to a 14 km radius is new,’ says lead author Mart Vlam of the Forest Ecology and Forest Management Research Group at Wageningen University. ‘Previous studies only managed to do that on a much less refined scale.’ 

The research involved collecting several hundred timber samples in five timber concessions in Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville together with two logging companies. These samples were used to create a reference-database. 

‘We ran a blind test on some of the samples,’ says Vlam. ‘I had 12 pieces of timber of which I knew the origin but the genetic specialists at Wageningen Environmental Research didn’t. I gave them the samples and asked them to identify which concessions they came from. They got it right 92% of the time – that’s a great score.’ 

This study demonstrates that genetic analysis has great potential for use in forensic testing of tropical hardwood. 

‘But a lot needs to be done before these tests can be used as evidence in court,’says lead researcher Pieter Zuidema. ‘We need to collect timber samples from a much larger area and our analyses and labs will have to meet strict criteria. We can’t do that on our own, so we are collaborating in a worldwide network of researchers, labs and authorities.’

The real Dr Dolittle? Scottish scientist claims he can 'talk' to animals

Dr Ian Duncan says pets and livestock animals live ‘much richer lives than we ever realised’

Belfast Telegraph, Adam Withnall, 9 March 2014

Dr Ian Duncan says his aims are similar to those of the fictional character Dr Dolittle

A scientist claims to have developed a method for “talking” to animals, allowing owners to ask them questions about how happy they are with their living conditions and welfare.

Dr Ian Duncan, emeritus chair in animal welfare at the University of Guelph, Canada, has admitted his aims are similar to those of the fictional character Dr Dolittle – but said his methods are based strictly on science.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Dr Duncan said he is ready to set out his methods publicly after years of work across a host of livestock and pet species.

His research previously led to changes in the regulation of battery farming for hens and pigs in the 1980s and 1990s, and next week he will set out his new theories on the science of animal welfare and sentience at a conference in Washington.

He told the newspaper: “We are devising ways of ‘talking’ to animals and putting questions to them about their welfare and happiness.

“Each species has to be treated differently but the common factor is to devise tests where the animals are offered a choice. If they make the same choice repeatedly . . . it shows what they want from us.”

Dr Duncan, who is originally from Scotland but now based in Ontario, has spoken out firmly against the religious slaughter of animals for the production of halal and kosher meat.

He said there is much more to the lives of livestock animals – even farmed fish like trout or salmon – than many people realise.

“It used to be thought that animals were ‘dumb’, driven by programmed instincts and responses, but now it is clear they live a much richer life than we ever realised and can remember the past and think about the future. We can use that knowledge to ask questions about their care and then improve it.”

Last week John Blackwell, Britain’s top vet and the president-elect of the British Veterinary Association, said the religious slaughter of poultry, sheep and cattle caused unnecessary suffering to animals.

His comments came after Denmark’s government brought in a ban on halal and kosher slaughter on the grounds that “animal rights come before religion”.

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"Soul Communication" - Feb 22-23, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version Part I)

“… Animals. You love them, don't you? What do you know about animals, especially the ones you care for and love, the ones you call pets? They have personalities, don't they? They can talk to you! When they communicate, what does that sound like, dear one? What do their voices sound like? "Well, Kryon, you already know they don't have an actual voice." Oh really? Then how do they "talk" to you? Now it gets good, doesn't it? They communicate through concepts. Their conceptual thought groups are available for you to pick up. So guess where you pick up these thoughts? It's through your pineal, which is the interpreter of multidimensional things in your body. It's not your brain, which is picking up their animal broadcasts, dear ones.

Now, some of you are good at this kind of communication. There are ones who are listening to this right now called animal whisperers, and they know exactly what I'm talking about. Why do they call it whispering? I give you my interpretation. It's because the communications are not linear, and they whisper to you through the pineal and not through brain synapse. It comes in thought groups, very softly and all at once, like the smudge. When you pick it up, you know what the dog or cat or horse or hamster or rabbit is trying to communicate. You know the requests they have, perhaps the distress they have, perhaps the celebration or the love they have.

Now, this kind of communication with animals is easy for you, because you all have felt this. I believe you know what I'm speaking about. So apply this lesson, for what I'm teaching today is no different and uses the same process you're going to use in real life and in meditation when you listen to God.

"Kryon, is it true that communicating with animals is soul communication?" Yes, it is theirs to yours, and if you're good at the interpretation of their thoughts, then why doubt yourself about the next step? Practice doing this communication with your own Higher-Self. Your Higher-Self is that part of yourself that vibrates higher than your cellular dimensionality, and it's part of your "soul group". This "soul group" is part of the nine attributes of the Human Being and is the core of you. It is the part that gives you information from the other side of the veil from that which you call God. …”

Kryon Q&A

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top Chinese dairy company Yili sets up R&D center in Europe

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-02-26

Yili president Pan Gang speaks at a ceremony to launch the center in
Wageningen, the Netherlands, Feb. 25. (Photo/Xinhua)

Top Chinese dairy company Yili Group inaugurated its research and development center in Wageningen University on Tuesday, becoming the first such Chinese R&D center in Europe.

Pan Gang, president of Yili, said Europe would become the most important part of the company's R&D systems. "We shall not only cooperate with the top research institutions, but also continue to conduct global research. We will also invite global experts into our R&D team," he said.

The center will focus on milk cow cultivation, dairy product research and food safety.

Wageningen University and its R&D center are leading scientific research institutions. With over 15,000 researchers, the surrounding area of the university is known as the European "food valley" with global food and nutrition research clusters.

The chairman of Wageningen University Aalt Dijkhuizen said as the largest consumer market for dairy products in the world, China supplies the milk for a sixth of the world's population, which is an extraordinary achievement.

"Wageningen University looks forward to cooperating with Yili in promoting the progress of the global dairy industry," Dijkhuizen said.

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Pest-Eating Indonesian Toads Save Cocoa Supply

Jakarta Globe, September 20, 2010

Goettingen, Germany. The world’s supply of chocolate depends partly on hard work by toads in Indonesia, a group of German and Australian agriculture scientists have discovered.

The toads like to dine on an invasive pest, the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes). The non-native ants, each about 4 mm long, have overrun Indonesian cocoa plantations, driving out good ants that help protect the cocoa plants from disease.

Farmers will now be trained to encourage the bulgy-eyed Sulawesian toad (Ingerophrynus celebensis), an Indonesian native, to eat the ants and bring the ecosystem back into balance. Indonesia is the world’s third-largest exporter of cocoa.

A team from the universities of Goettingen in Germany and Adelaide in Australia have just published the finding in the British Royal Society’s journal Proceedings. They discovered that the toads are free pest-control workers because they love to eat yellow crazy ants.

Teja Tscharntke, a German scientist, said Sunday the discovery of the ecological value of the toads was good news, because populations of amphibians have been plunging worldwide as rain forests disappear.

DPA

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UI to become research center for climate change in Asia

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post | Sat, 03/20/2010 9:48 AM

The University of Indonesia (UI) may be set up as a research center for climate change in the Asia Pacific region (UI-RCCC) focusing on scientific data to support policy makers in dealing with climate change.

The final decision for the establishment of the center will be made within the next three months with researchers from 50 universities to contribute expertise to the center.

“There is an opportunity to establish the UI-RCCC to the developing country leg of proposed United University Institute for Climate Transition Innovation, whose developed country leg is proposed for establishment in Australia — likely to be hosted at Monash University,” the conference statement said.

“This would place UI-RCCC as a leading component of the UN system.”

The two-day conference opened by Vice President Boediono concluded Friday.

Climate researchers among others from China, Australia, Thailand, Japan and the US attended the seminar jointly organized by the UI and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities World Institute (AWI).

Co-chair of the international climate center, Jim Falk from the University of Melbourne, said that the center would provide Indonesia with a powerful capacity to address climate change challenges.

“It will help Indonesia on adaptation and mitigation efforts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions to meet targets announced by President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono],” he told The Jakarta Post.

The conference agreed that Indonesia had assumed the role as a global leader in emission reduction.

“Sustained research is vital to creating the capacity to implement emission reduction, already national policy,” it said.

Indonesia has promised to voluntarily cut 26 percent of emissions by 2020 with its local budget and by 41 percent if developed nations provided financial assistance.

Jatna Supriatna, co-chair of the conference, also lecturer at the University of Indonesia, said that science should be used as the basis in making emission-cut decisions.

“We hope the UI research center for climate change contributes scientific data to help the government in emission-cut targets,” Jatna, also director of the International Conservation (CI), said.

Environmental law expert from the University of Indonesia Andri Wibisana said the government needed an act or regulation specifically addressing climate change.

Indonesian Ministries to Work Together on Environmental Education

Jakarta Globe, Fidelis E. Satriastanti

Balinese students planting mangroves in Denpasar. (Photo: Sonny Tumbelaka, AFP)

In order to introduce environmental awareness to school students that could be implemented in their real lives, the State Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry of National Education joined together on Monday to establish an environmental education working group.

The two ministries have also signed off on a Memorandum of Understanding on environmental education, which has been established since June 2005.

“We (the State Ministry of Environment) want to stress the importance of preventive actions when it comes to the environment, because it is much better to prevent (problems) rather than have to find cures,” said State Minister for the Environment Gusti Muhammad Hatta.

Hatta added that the environmental education program was stipulated by the 2009 Environmental Protection and Management Law.

Gusti said that the ministry has already reached out to schools through its own initiative called Adiwiyata, an award program for green schools, and he was hoping to see an increase in the number of participants from year to year.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Muhammad Nuh said that there were around 55 million students in the country who were going to be potential champions for environmental awareness if they were introduced to it early in their education.

“It is very important that for us to strengthen our institutions, especially through environmental centers, which are still weak on some levels, so this new working group is aimed to make sure that we don’t only ‘sign’ a document here but also make a breakthrough with more practical steps,” Nuh said, adding that the country only has 32 environmental centers at present, which are based in universities.

Study says military complicit in illegal logging

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/29/2010 10:02 AM

A research conducted by the University of Indonesia revealed that military personnel were involved in illegal logging practice in border areas.

A team from the Center for East Asia Cooperation Studies (CEACoS) at the University of Indonesia, uncovered the military’s many roles in the illicit business from coordinating to monitoring and investing.

The research covers the period between 1999 and 2006 in East Kalimantan, where illegal logging practices have been reportedly rampant.

“[The military’s involvement in this practice] was structural; low-ranked soldiers to territorial commanders received a share,” CEACoS executive director Tirta N. Mursitama, head researcher, told the The Jakarta Post.

The research found three types of higher-ranked personnel contributing to the illegal logging business.

“There were those who only received shares from their subordinates.

“Other high-ranked personnel kept close relations with the cukong [tycoons], the godfathers in this business,” he said.

The third type includes those who invested directly in the business.

Rear Admiral T.H. Soesetyo, defense director from the Directorate General of Defense Strategy at the Defense Ministry, acknowledged there were certain personnel who were involved in illegal logging practice.

He, however, refused to name the practice as military business.

“Life at the border areas can be difficult for soldiers,” he said.

“Their salaries are not enough to live in such areas, especially as daily goods are expensive.”

Tirta said his team found that the military operated using two modi operandi.

The first method was bribery. The military received tributes for its role in getting forestry agencies to issue permits, allowing illegal logging.

These tributes take the form of stakes in certain companies.

The other method was the misuse of wood utilization permits (IPK), which are issued by the Forestry Ministry or local forestry agencies.

Military cooperatives that owned IPKs usually hire local people to cut trees and sell the logs to private companies, Tirta said.

But in some cases, tree cutting did not stop within the area covered in the permits.

Koesnadi Wirasapoetra from research center Borneo Institute has spent more than 10 years observing Kalimantan and its rampant illegal logging business.

He said military cooperatives or private companies with the IPKs would cut trees that grew along river banks.

The companies would then export the logs to Malaysia.

Exporting logs is illegal in Indonesia.

“Both methods recognize the role of a cukong who funds the whole system, enabling it to function,” Tirta said.

“The cukong distributes money to private companies or military cooperatives.

“The latter two then distribute the money to people in several institutions including the military, the governor [regional government] and the Forestry Ministry through the forestry agencies,” he added.

Soesetyo said he welcomed CEACoS’ research.

He added, however, that “We cannot simply believe it.”

He also said that the military had fined some of its personnel who were involved in illegal logging practices.(adh)

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Indonesian Military 'Deeply Involved' in Forest Destruction: Report

Indonesia's military fails to monitor illegal logging and is actively involved in it, a new study has found. (AP Photo/Environmental Investigation Agency/Telapak, HO)

President launches trembesi-tree planting movement

Antara News, Wednesday, January 13, 2010 12:26 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the State Palace here on Wednesday launched a trembesi-tree planting movement in an effort to help reduce global warming.

The president did the launching at 9 a.m on Wednesday in a compound located between the State Palace and Merdeka Palace where two trembesi trees are already growing.

The two trembesi trees were planted by Indonesia`s first president, Soekarno. The species, also known as samanea saman or rain tree, has an extraordinary capability to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas contributing to global warming.

Trembesi trees are native to Latin America but can also grow well in tropical countries such as Indonesia.

The tree also has great capability to absorb ground water, while according to research conducted by the Forestry Faculty of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), a tremebsi tree trunk can absorb as much as 28 tons of CO2 in a year.

The trembesi-tree-planting movement was launched was part of the president`s "one man, one tree" policy to save the environment.

The event was also attended by members of the National Defense Forces (TNI), National Police and academic institutions, representatives of non-governmental organizations as well as cabinet ministers including Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa, Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto, and Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta.

On the occasion, President Yudhoyono also symbolically presented one million trembesi tree seedlings to all provincial governors in the country to be planted in their respective regions.

Meanwhile, President Yudhoyono`s schedule for the rest of the day included a meeting with former Vice President Jusuf Kalla at his office.

Kalla would meet Yudhyono in his capacity as the new chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI). It would be Kalla`s first meeting with the head of state since Yudhoyono was inaugurated for his second term in office for the 2009-2014 term.

According to an agenda distributed by the presidential media and press bureau, President Yudhoyono was scheduled to receive the new Indonesian Red Cross chairman at his office on Wednesday.

Kalla was elected PMI chief at the organization`s 19th national conference on December 22, 2009. He replaces Mar`ie Muhammad who has held the position for more than two terms.

Willie Smits: Hanging around with orangutans

Chairman of the Rocky Mountain Institute Amory Lovins says there isn’t enough natural habitat left for endangered orangutans....so Willie Smits is building his own rainforest.

Ode Magazine, Max Christern | Jan/Feb 2009 issue

Willie Smits, Nature conservationist. Borneo, Indonesia
Photo: Jay Ullal, Thinkers of the Jungle

It’s quiet in the forests of Southeast Asia, says Willie Smits. Too quiet. “These days, if you walk through the rainforests of Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam or Laos, you hardly hear a sound,” he says. No tropical birds, no mating calls from gibbons, no chirping, no growling. Smits has a ready explanation: “In all those countries, animals have been driven from their natural habitats in droves. Everything is pretty much gone, smuggled out of the forest and sold by traders, particularly to the wealthy Chinese. These are becoming the quietest forests in the world. The only place you still see and hear animals is Indonesia.”

Indonesia, the elongated archipelago in South Asia, has become a second home to the Dutchman Willie Smits. But there, too, the animals are being chased away in ever-greater numbers due to illegal deforestation. In recent years, he has seen it happen in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, where he has lived and worked as a forester, microbiologist and conservationist for three decades.

“The illegal deforestation and animal-smuggling activities have gotten worse here since President Suharto left,” Smits says. “Under his leadership there was still a monitoring system, but that has really fallen by the wayside.” He adds, however, that illegal deforestation and animal smuggling aren’t the only reasons for the accelerated deterioration. Climate change plays a major role. “The forest is confused. There is no longer any common flowering rhythm, and if we don’t do anything about it, the forests will slowly die out.” Smits has a plan to prevent that: Build his own rainforest, and in the process provide a home for his favorite primate, Borneo’s endangered orangutan.

Smits is back in his native Netherlands for a couple of days and is meeting with principals of the Rotterdam-based company Spie Controlec Engineering, which provides engineering, installation and maintenance services to a broad range of industries. The décor doesn’t fit with Smits’ adventurous life in the rainforest. We’re sitting in the cafeteria of the firm, just off one of the city’s beltways, eating cheese and sausage wrapped in plastic and drinking coffee from a machine. But Smits doesn’t seem at all bothered by his surroundings. As he tucks into a cup of split pea soup and an ox tongue sandwich, he explains his work clearly and with enthusiasm.

His latest project involving sugar palms is the primary focus. Together with engineers from Spie, he’s putting the finishing touches on a new invention: the Green Village Box, a shipping-container-sized factory in which yeast is added to the sugary sap from the palms and converted to ethanol. The colorless liquid is distilled and separated into its pure version, which fuels a generator to create electricity and heat as well as drinking water. It’s a true Willie Smits invention: original, natural, replete with crucial economic prospects for the local population. These locals use the ethanol as fuel, instead of wood or coal, ensuring no more trees need to be felled. Smits, 51, is a kind of rainforest inventor; so far, he has come up with 30 of his own inventions. But if you have to choose just one description of Smits, it would be the world’s most prominent protector of orangutans and their natural habitat.

When Smits got his degree at the agricultural university in Wageningen, he wanted to go somewhere no one had ever been. “I don’t like the dull and the routine,” he says, “so I wasn’t too excited about taking a job in Holland.” Consequently in 1980, Smits ended up in the middle of the Borneo rainforest. He met his wife there—an Indonesian woman who has played a pivotal role in his work. “She familiarized me with the Indonesian political scene and, thanks to her, I understand its structure and culture, which has been a tremendous help.”

As a young forestry engineer, Smits set up a gene bank for indigenous trees and did groundbreaking research into fungi that he calls “the key to the regeneration of the tropical rainforest.” He taught farmers to get more out of their land. And he lost his heart to the orangutans after finding one in a garbage dump. He took care of the primate and later rescued others from bars, nightclubs and tourist attractions, where they were used for entertainment. When Smits felt they were ready to return to their natural habitat, he ran into another problem: There wasn’t enough forest for the apes—and even if there had been, the animals were at risk from illegal wood poachers.

“That’s where I got the idea I’m still working on,” Smits says, “creating a forest just for the monkeys.” And that idea expanded into a unique project whereby Smits, in his words, “imitated nature.” For his forest, Smits sought a place no one would mistake for being in perfect shape. Instead, he wanted people to say, No one in his right mind would tackle this. He shows a slide of the landscape as it had appeared six years earlier: The ground is yellow and brown from fires that raged there each year; trees are scarce. Indeed, no sane person would start an ambitious forest project here. But Smits did.

The area spans 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) and has been developed one step at a time in recent years, with the help of the local population. If you look at Smits’ slides in chronological order, you see a miracle unfolding. The last photo in the series was taken earlier this year and shows a large green area with high trees as far as the eye can see. “I’ve planted over a thousand different types of trees here,” Smits explains. “The soil was a kind of ashy dirt because the grass that grew here couldn’t retain any water and the trees had been felled in massive numbers.” He used his fungi to break down the recalcitrant alang-alang grass and his gene bank to build up a new forest. Along the edges of the parcels, he planted rows of sugar palms, Smits’ magic tree. He now knows a sugar palm will only grow in forests with a wide diversity of trees. And collecting the sap from the tree is labor-intensive and difficult. But the locals have known the most effective ways to handle these problems for centuries. The rows of sugar palms also keep the fires away and so protect the rest of the forest.

Smits had the trees planted in long rows, with smaller plants and vegetation in between. The local population was closely involved from the beginning, and residents understand how they’ll benefit from this human-made patch of rainforest. It’ll mean a large future harvest of ethanol and an important source of energy. Given that, their economic future looks brighter, which is why they’re protecting the forest from illegal logging.

“We also have the technology to monitor whether trees are being cut down,” Smits explains as he shows photographs of the satellite systems and cameras he and his team use to track everything right down to the ground. “But the best protection of the forest ultimately lies with the people who live and work here. And the fact that they now see and feel that there is a bright future keeps the thieves away.”

More than 100 types of birds have made their homes in the forest. And they all bring in new seeds, so the number of plant varieties grows quickly. The forest is already large enough to create its own clouds. It rains more often above this area compared to adjacent stretches of unworked rainforest. “There is already 25 percent more rainfall. We’ve created our own microclimate,” Smits says.

In the near future, the first of his primates will be released here, making the original dream a reality. Nearly every day people express excitement about the successful development of the forest. “It is progressing so well,” Smits says. “All the threads are coming together. It’s working.”

On one of the hills in the forest, he built a beautiful eco-lodge together with the locals where tourists can experience what’s been created. Smits says they can’t believe their eyes.

His telephone chirps. In fluent Bahasa Indonesia, he speaks briefly with one of his co-workers on the land back on Borneo. He’s part of a big family there, he explains. Because of the forest, of course, but also thanks to the band, which plays rock as well as traditional Indonesian Dangdut music. “The band is one big family and all things family are good in Indonesia. We play at every party there and we always do it for free. They love that and it’s another way to get all the locals involved in the project. To make sure that this will never be a quiet forest!”

“Willie Smits is the world’s leading protector of orangutans and their habitat. Willie and his Indonesian team of hundreds have re-created a lush rainforest of several thousand hectares (some 8,000 acres) from parched and devastated grasslands. Soon this healthy forest, created one square meter at a time, will be ready for the rehabilitated orangutans, the original keystone species. The ecosystem is beautifully and comprehensively integrated with the local economy, making the people so much better off. This may be the finest example of ecological and economic restoration in the tropics.” -Amory Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, which advocates energy-efficient resource use and policy development

“Willie Smits is the world's leading protector of orangutans and their habitat. Willie and his Indonesian team of hundreds have re-created a lush rainforst of several thousand hetacres (some 8,000 acres) from parched and devastated grasslands. Soon this healthy forest, created one square meter at a time, will be ready for the rehabilitated orangutans, the original keystone species. The ecosystem is beautifully and comprehensively integrated with the local economy, making the people so much better off. This may be the finest example of ecological and economic restoration in the tropics.”

— AMORY LOVINS, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, which advocates energy-efficient resource use and policy development

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Experts to talk in climate change workshop in E Kalimantan

Antara News, Saturday, November 28, 2009 23:59 WIB

Balikpapan, E Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Several environmental experts including Prof Emil Salim will speak in a workshop on climate change which will be held here on Tuesday (December 1/2009).

"Several governors and environmental experts will attend this workshop," head of Balikpapan environmental agency, Syahrumsyah said here on Saturday.

The workshop carries a theme dubbed "Regional initiatives in anticipation of Global Warming and Climate Change Mitigation".

Speakers in the workshop will include a member of the Presidential Advisory Council (Watimpres) for Environmental Affairs, Emil Salim, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta and Chairman of the Climate Change Board, Rahmat Witoelar, Syahrumsyah said.

Several governors who will participate in the workshop are among others from Central Kalimantan, Teras Narang, from Jakarta, Fauzi Bowo, from West Kalimantan, Cornelis Lay, from Papua, Barnabas Suebu, from North Sulawesi, Sinyo Sarundayan, from Aceh, Irwandi Yusuf and from East Kalimantan, Awang Faroek as the host.

The workshop is aimed to give understanding about the latest condition on climate and its impact either globally, nationally and locally, he said.

In addition, it is also aimed at seeking initiatives or efforts for both mitigation and adaptation purposes that have been, are and will be done by the stakeholders in the region and building commitment on policy, funding and integrated action strategies in emission reduction efforts, Syahrumsyah said.

The most important outcome of this workshop will be formulation of the "Balikpapan Declaration" to be submitted in the Conference of Parties (COP) 15 UNCCC (United Nations Climate Change Conference) in Copenhagen in early December 2009," Syahrumsyah added.

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RI to expand research for sustainable development

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 11/26/2009 1:30 PM

Indonesia aims to increase its scientific research capacity through the establishment an international research center that fosters cooperation between local and foreign universities.

The Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) launched Wednesday the International Center for Interdisciplinary and Advanced Research (ICIAR), as part of an initiative to promote preservation of the environment and to advance food security.

The center was established through cooperation between the institute and the the State Research and Technology Ministry, as well as the National Education Ministry.

The center is going to work with the United Nations Universities in Japan and New York, the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the Kyoto University in Japan and the Swiss German University in Serpong, Banten.

Swiss German University is the first international university offering a double degree from both Indonesia and Europe for local students.

State Minister for Research and Technology Suharna Surapranata said in his speech that the center would propel scientific research in the country.

The center's chairman, Jan Sopaheluwakan, said he expected the center to become a melting pot of advanced studies from various scientific fields and to influence decision makers in the country through its research results.

Jan, who is also LIPI's deputy chairman for scientific studies, said the center would focus on developing research on biogeodynamics, sustainable environmental practices, climate change and disaster mitigation, coastal community resilience and conflict and crisis management, as well as food, health, biomedical and intercultural studies.

He said this would be made possible through networking with foreign partner universities.

"United Nations University, for example, has extensive networks in UN member countries," he said during the center's launching ceremony.

"This will help Indonesia catch up with other nations' achievements, which address environmental and human security problems."

Associate Director of the Institute for Environment and Human Security at the United Nations University, Fabrice Renaud, said the new center would extend the role of his institute in promoting solutions related to the environmental dimension of human security.

"We are putting the individual, social groups and their livelihoods at the center of debate, analysis and policy," he said.

"Our university has acted as a bridge between the UN and the academic world since 1973."

Senior Researcher at Wageningen University, A. Schrevel, said his university would work together with the center on low-land management projects in Sumatra and Kalimantan for two to three years.

"Significant peatland losses on the islands have increasingly contributed to the release of emissions," he said.

Jan said this center would change the old paradigm of local universities.

"Most local universities have not yet prioritized research programs. Lecturers help their students research certain topics only to help them fulfill their academic requirements," he said.

He called such universities as "teaching universities", which had yet to improve their research functions due to limited facilities. (nia)

Bogor’s Silk House works with farmers

Theresia Sufa , The Jakarta Post , Bogor | Tue, 09/01/2009 11:48 AM

Natural spinner: Rumah Sutera Alam is currently the only cottage industry in West Java’s Bogor to work on silk yarn spinning. JP/Theresia Sufa

Rumah Sutra Alam or the Natural Silk House in Ciapus district, Bogor regency, is the cottage industry most frequently visited by students, lecturers and retirees across Indonesia.

In addition to its mulberry plantations, the natural silk center also has a silkworm nursery and undertakes silk yarn spinning and silk cloth weaving.

Visitors to the house mostly wish to learn how to breed silkworms and at the same time observe the process of spinning and weaving.

Owner Tatang Gozali Gandasasmita started his silk yarn spinning business in 2001, with the cottage industry set up on a 2.5-hectare block of land, as something to do during retirement.

“As a retiree I love keeping busy in a way that benefits a lot of people, and this spinning work provides jobs for youths in the Bogor vicinity and helps raise the income of mulberry growers,” he said.

“I call it a silk house because the entire process of making silk takes place here.”

The former employee of Bandung’s PTP-15 state estate company explained that it all begins with the hatching of silkworm eggs that he buys from Candi Roto, Central Java, and Soppeng, South Sulawesi.

“We buy 15 to 20 boxes of silkworm eggs each month, each containing 25,000 eggs,” Tatang said.

“Two weeks later, after they hatch into larvae, we deliver them to mulberry growers, who nurse the young worms to develop into cocoons.”

In running the silk industry, Tatang works with farmers from Bogor, Sukabumi and Cianjur, all in West Java.

“We have 80 farmers as partners but only 40 of them focus on mulberry planting, while the rest grow vegetables as their main crops, handling mulberries as their side business,” he said.

So far, Tatang added, his cocoon production has reached only about half a ton per month, compared with his industry’s monthly capacity of around 2 tons.

“We’re still short of cocoons as we need 2 tons a month for spinning into silk yarn. So we’re trying to approach more farmers, particularly in Bogor, in order to raise silkworms that we supply on the condition that they first have their own mulberry plantations to feed the worms,” he said, adding that he pays Rp 25,000 per kg of cocoons produced, based on national standards.

Downstream process: Workers at Rumah Sutra Alam further weave the spun yarn into silk cloth. JP/Theresia Sufa

The hatching of worms and their growth into cocoons takes 30 days. The cocoons are then spun into silk yarn for further sale, mostly to weavers in Garut, Tasikmalaya and Cirebon, all in West Java, at a price of Rp 350,000 per kg. A cocoon produces around 800 to 1,000 meters of yarn on average; the remaining yarn is woven for sale to any visitors to the silk house.

The woven fabric in the silk house is sold at prices ranging from Rp 50,000 to Rp 3 million depending on the thickness of the material — the thicker the material, the more expensive, because it consumes a lot more yarn.

Besides plain silk cloth, there are also pieces with batik motifs. The silk batik is processed in Cirebon and Pekalongan in Central Java, which usually takes four months to complete.

“I’m very eager to help mulberry growers to develop their business by also cultivating silkworms, so that every time the Bogor regency administration and the Makassar Natural Silk Center offer aid to boost our silk house, I always recommend that the aid be given to mulberry farmers,” Tatang said.

A gift from nature: The cottage industry required monthly some two tons of silk cocoons to be processed into silk yarn. JP/Theresia Sufa

I’ve made a proposal for aid to develop silkworm nurseries for all mulberry farmers in Bogor, in response to the Makassar silk center’s offer. When they join the silkworm raising effort, we won’t face cocoon shortages anymore.”

Ilyas, a mulberry farmer who lives in Pasir Eurih village in Bogor’s Tamansari district, said he started growing mulberries in 2001, after receiving training in the method of mulberry planting from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB). He owns a 3,500-meter-square block of land for his mulberry trees; his main focus is rice paddy.

“I’m growing mulberries only as a side job because I earn very little from the trees. Mulberry leaves are harvested every two months and I sell them to the silk house for Rp 300,000 per ton,” he said.

“I can increase my income if I join silkworm breeding, but I have no proper place to do it. The nursery for silkworm raising has to be sterile and protected from predators.”

According to the secretary of Bogor regency’s Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Office, Siti Nurianty, the silk house is the only silk processing place in Bogor.

“We hope this silk house can truly serve as a silk center and at the same time a tourist destination for silk cloth shopping,” she said. “We therefore always offer our assistance for its development and invite Pak Tatang to various exhibitions. But the most important thing is to support mulberry farmers’ silkworm breeding by providing proper facilities.”