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

Nature by Numbers (Video)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle

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

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Forest groups say Indonesia should look to Chinese model

Deutsche Welle, 15 Aug 2011  

The Indonesian government has ordered
a moratorium on new logging permits
Greenpeace says 1.8 million hectares of Indonesian forest is disappearing each year. China and India have launched successful reforestation initiatives in the past 20 years - might Indonesia follow their lead?

Indonesia has one of the world's highest deforestation rates and is the worst emitter of greenhouse gases when it comes to slash-and-burn land clearances.


Reforestation statistics don't account
for  how much timber a nation
imports from abroad
The government has taken note. This year President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono tried to put the brakes on these troubling trends by announcing a moratorium on new logging permits.

But as Indonesian forests continue to vanish, some experts say a moratorium won't be enough and that a major reforestation effort is in order.

Several Asian countries, including China and India, have successfully launched similar programs, according to a recent study by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI).

RRI is a global coalition that pushes for policy reforms in forest land use.

The organization's study examined and compared five countries: China, South Korea, Vietnam, India and Chile.

RRI coordinator Andy White said countries that granted more land use rights to local communities and indigenous peoples were better able to see through their reforestation goals, compared to countries that didn't.

Land use reforms

Out of the five nations surveyed, China rehabilitated the most forest land, the study said. Beijing said it replanted 50 million hectares of land between 1990 and 2010.

Palm oil plantations absorb far less
CO2 than forest land
Li Ping, a land rights specialist with NGO Landesa, said that breakthrough was due to land use reforms implemented at the turn of the century.

The Chinese government awarded about 90 percent of public forest land to farmers. In turn, they were permitted to use the parcel of land for two generations, up to 70 years, Li Ping added.

The policy created an incentive for farmers to care for the forest land, particularly as any improvements would benefit future generations. Li Ping said they were also allowed to keep any yields from the land.

The farmers were free to choose which trees they planted, but there were some limitations: The forest land could not be transformed into farming plots, and trees could only be chopped down with an official permit.

Greenhouse gas reservoirs

Meanwhile, critics say the statistics don't tell the whole story. For example, plantations are classified as woodland, though they absorb far less carbon dioxide than trees in a forest.

RRI coordinator Andy White said the controversy surrounding the definition of forest land is both political and technical in nature. From a climate standpoint, emissions capacity is a key concern.

A natural rainforest is able to store about 306 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare, whereas the amount absorbed by a palm oil plantation is just 63 tons.

"But it's also true that an oil palm plantation holds more carbon than a parking lot or a mine," White told Deutsche Welle. "So these are different land-use options - and why it's better to keep existing forests standing as much as possible."

In addition, reforestation figures don't take into account how much wood a country imports from other nations - meaning though China might be able to maintain its own forests, it does so by getting its supply elsewhere.

Dominic Elson, the author of RRI's report, said countries like China have been able to secure their raw materials supply in this way.

"While they've been buying all the cheap timber from Indonesia, they have been able to build their own plantation business and do it properly," he said.


Slash-and-burn methods have devastated forests in Indonesia

White stressed that other countries shouldn't follow that strategy, though he said the political will shown by China and Vietnam to stop deforestation at home was worthy of praise.

Elson also underscored the importance of giving local populations a say in the matter, since ignoring community stakeholders can easily lead to conflict.

Indian forest rights activist Madhu Sarin said India's own efforts at replanting drew the ire of those living near designated reforestation areas. 

"One reason the Indian government is claiming that they've increased forest cover...is because their forest department is forcibly banging trees into people's cultivated lands," she said.

Ambitious plans

Indonesia has not been spared conflicts over such matters, but the country also has the chance to take new, more positive approaches to working with local populations.

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the head of Indonesia's REDD-plus taskforce, said Indonesia still had time to push through such measures.

The government has promised to cut emissions related to slash-and-burn tactics by 41 percent through 2020.

But that hinges on support from donor nations like Norway, which has pledged $1 billion to aid forest protection efforts in Indonesia. Without international funding, Indonesia has set more modest goals of 26-percent cuts.

"That's something we would do on our own if we involve local populations," Mangkusobroto said.

Author: Ziphora Robina (arp)
Editor: Nathan Witkop

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