20 more Orangutans from Nyaru Menteng are are going back Home!

February 7, 2014| Orangutan Release Day 1

What a lovely morning in Nyaru Menteng! Kicking off 2014, today 12 rehabilitant orangutans from Nyaru Menteng started the journey to their real home in the Bukit Batikap Conservation Forest

Despite heavy rainfall in the area surrounding the Quarantine Enclosure in Nyaru Menteng, the orangutan release team was high in spirits, excited to start 2014 the way they ended 2013; releasing more orangutans! The first day of the orangutan releases started with the medical team’s preparation. At 4.15 in the morning the medical team and technicians gathered their equipment from the Nyaru Menteng Clinic and proceeded to the Quarantine Enclosure. It was dark and the rain was still drizzling so preparations for the tranquiliser gun and sedation doses took place under torch light. Vet Agus Fahroni coordinated the vet team who were ready to sedate the orangutans. Before starting the process, the team gathered for the final briefing and group prayer for today’s success.

Today, we were going to release 12 orangutans to Bukit Batikap Conservation Forest. They were divided into two groups; the first group consisted of Zena and her son William, Kitty and her daughter Kate, Dita and her daughter Halt, and Noor. While the second group comprised Judy and her son named Son, Hamlet, Joys, and Sarita.

Zena, William’s lovely Mother, was the first to be sedated, followed by Dita, Noor, and Kitty; the young ones William, Kate, and Halt didn’t need sedation.

Sucessfully sedated, they were carefully carried to their transport cages which had been labeled based on their passengers. Zena finally fell asleep and together with William they were the first to be moved to their transport cage. Meanwhile the effects of sedation started kicking in on Noor and she was immediately moved to her transport cage. Dita had also already fallen asleep by then and was ready to be moved. Her little daughter Halt however, was a little bit nervous when her Mother was about to be moved and ran away from her screaming. The vets and technicians tried to calm the tiny two year old. Dita was moved and tailing closely behind was technician Mulyono who was carrying Halt. The sedation worked a bit slower on Kitty. The Medical Team decided to add to the initial dose. After a while she too was finally asleep and moved to her transport cage with her daughter Kate. Just a moment before the cage door was closed, Kitty was given the anti-sedation (reversal) to wake her up.

Halt

All transport cages were delivered by truck to Tjilik Riwut airport in Palangka Raya to be flown to Beringin airport in Muara Teweh.

Meanwhile in Muara Teweh, the weather was reported clear. The team in Muara Teweh was ready to welcome the 12 orangutans from Palangka Raya. The helicopter was also ready to travel to Beringin airport to meet the orangutans as soon as they arrived.

The aircraft which would transport the orangutans had been on standby at Tjilik Riwut airport in Palangka Raya since yesterday. The truck arrived at the airport at 7 in the morning. Soon after, we received the signal to start the loading process.

 This process took around ten minutes. 

Then they were ready to fly!

Beringin Airport Muara Teweh

09.10, the Twin Otter airplane arrived in Beringin airport in Muara Teweh bringing its passengers Kitty and Kate, Zena and William, Dita and Halt, Noor, a representative from Central Kalimantan Conservation and Natural Resources Authority, BOSF Advisor Jacqui Sunderland-Groves, Vet Agus Fahroni, and Technician and HLO Abdul Azis. The process of unloading was immediately completed, and the orangutans were checked by Vet Agus and each given milk. The cargo net was ready and the transport cages were positioned and safely wrapped in it. And off to Batikap!

Palangka Raya: Second Group Preparation

World first

ORIGINAL: Durrell

Incredible, never-seen-before footage of the "miracle birth" of a Sumatran orangutan has been caught on video by Durrell Staff. See an exclusive video below and find out more information on this amazing story.

Click here to adopt baby Kea

The back story... 

“ Dana and her new baby girl are now thriving at Durrell Wildlife Park! ”

Our amazing team of Keepers, Vets and even some of Jersey General Hospital’s Obstetric staff, are proud to be part of the safe arrival of Dana's new baby girl.

This is especially remarkable because Dana's previous pregnancy in 2009 suffered terrible complications that endangered her health sadly resulting in in a stillborn infant.

Dana was left with blocked fallopian tubes, leaving her infertile. However, expert intervention by Jersey General Hospital’s Head Obstetrician, Neil MacLachlan, allowed Dana and 28 year-old dominant male ‘Dagu’ to conceive again against all the odds, in late 2012.

Neil visited Dana throughout her pregnancy working with our team who, using trained behaviour techniques, carried out ultrasound scanning of Dana’s bump. This gave us the best possible chance of a healthy mother and baby.

Our team also worked hard at capturing the events leading up to and during the birth, that led to a BBC documentary to highlight our work with Critically Endangered animals globally and how we continue to save species from extinction.

Earlier this year 30 year-old female ‘Anette’s’ son ‘Jantho’ was born. Jantho is named after the release site for rehabilitated orangutans in Sumatra, where individuals rescued from deforested areas or from the pet trade are reintroduced to relative safety.

The Sumatran orangutan population, classified as Critically Endangered (IUCN Red list of threatened species), is thought to number a mere 6,600 individuals, and reportedly loses 10 to 15% of forest habitat to logging and palm oil plantations every year. Durrell maintain close ties, and share funds collected at the orangutan exhibit with the highly active Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Project (SOCP) which is headed by former Durrell keeper Dr. Ian Singleton.

For media enquires click here

Watch the BBC documentary 'Refugees of the Lost Rainforest' on iPlayer


The orangutan population in Sumatra is spiraling towards the unthinkable - the loss of this species forever.

With your kind help, we can make sure that Dana’s baby and her cousins in the wild have a future... please consider donating any amount you can spare, and in turn we will spare no effort in keeping our friends from the forest from disappearing forever.

Donate

Burnt orangutan tragically loses fight for life

ORIGINAL: International Animal Rescue

The burnt orangutan is rescued

The orangutan in West Borneo that was burnt when villagers tried to smoke him out of a fruit tree has sadly died. The injured animal was being transported to IAR's clinic in Ketapang for treatment when he passed away.

His death has devastated the entire rescue team as it was very sudden and it had appeared that the orangutan's condition was improving.

IAR vet Dr Siffa was accompanying the orangutan on the long journey from Pontianak to the clinic and has been particularly badly affected by the animal's death. As the orangutan was confined to a transport crate in Pontianak, it had been impossible for Dr Siffa to carry out any medical tests or diagnostic procedures in order to make a proper assessment of his condition. It was therefore decided to move him to IAR's clinic where the facilities would enable him to be examined thoroughly and given appropriate treatment.

An autopsy is currently being carried out.

At the time of the rescue, Karmele Llano Sanchez, Executive and Veterinary Director of International Animal Rescue Indonesia, said: "Although much blame is being attached to the villagers for their misguided actions, once again the real culprit in the story is the palm oil industry which is destroying the forest and leaving no food or shelter for orangutans and other wildlife. The orangutans are having to venture into agricultural land in search of food which brings them into conflict with local people – often, as in this instance, with tragic consequences."

---

ORIGINAL: Daily Mail

By EMMA REYNOLDS

PUBLISHED: 15:56 GMT, 28 August 2012 | UPDATED: 14:36 GMT, 29 August 2012

Indonesian villagers accidentally burn orangutan they were trying to smoke out of fruit tree

They were frightened it would destroy their crops

Luckily, conservationists intervened and the animal will make full recovery

Villagers trying to smoke an orangutan out of a fruit tree where he was sheltering accidentally set him on fire.

The distressed animal had been hiding in the leaves above the village of Lower Wajok in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, because its habitat had been disturbed, wildlife experts said.

Locals concerned that it would eat the fruit from the rambutan tree and destroying their crops tried to make it move on by lighting a fire under it on Sunday.

Injured creature: Villagers said they had simply been trying to persuade the animal to move away and not eat their fruit

Worrying development: The orangutan had strayed from the jungle into a rambutan tree

Close call: Locals feared the animal would devastate crops and attempted to force it to flee by setting fire to trees

Experts had initially tried to give it a tranquilliser but their efforts had failed.

The flames were lifted by the wind, however, and set light to the poor creature's fur.

Villagers fought to put out the fire, but fortunately the orangutan fell out of the tree and a rescue team from International Animal Rescue was able to treat its burns.

The charity is now caring for the animals and it is expected to make a full recovery in three to four days.

Head of the Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) in West Kalimantan told BBC Indonesia that the orangutan went to the village because its habitat had been disturbed.

The animal is wild, not a pet, so it does not need to be rehabilitated, and its vet said it will now be returned to the jungle.

On fire: This is the dramatic moment the orangutan was accidentally set alight during a bungled rescue attempt that went terribly wrong

Safety: Rescuers put the orangutan in a box for transportation - but vets said it would recover in days 

Badly burned: The wounded orangutan was treated by environmental activists after the fire was put out and it was rescued from the tree

Bizarre occurrence: There are thousands of orangutans in West Kalimantan but none have ever been set on fire before

One local, Ali Zakaria, said: 'It's been 60 years I've lived here. This is just the first time it has happened in the village. Yesterday he made a nest in the palm trees.'

Niken wuri Handayani, Coordinator of Forest Ecosystem Operator BKSDA in West Kalimantan, said: 'Our focus is on evacuation.'

The rehabilitation process is only conducted by the conservation centre if orangutans are living as domestic animals. The nest has been cut down so it will not return.

BKSDA said villagers are educated to not hurt orangutans and report to the organisation if they need help moving the orangutans.

In West Kalimantan, there are about 4,500 to 5,000 orangutans under the watch of the centre, and this is the first time one had been set on fire.

Experts had initially tried to give it a tranquilliser but their efforts had failed

See you later! The animal should not need rehab because it is a wild creature and was never domestic

The true story behind world's greed for palm oil

ORIGINAL: Occupy The Environment

Orangutans are being wiped out today, right now. We unwittingly buy packaged foods, body products, even 'vegan' alternatives, many with palm oil in them. Giant American, European and Asian corporations ply us with junk food, lotions, shampoo, toothpaste, cooking oil, drinks, ice cream, cosmetics ... products with a mostly unseen story.

Watch the VIDEO from which this screen capture was taken

If we don't speak for Orangutans (and Sumatran tigers and pygmy elephants) being burnt, poisoned, shot and hacked to death, with infants torn away from the mothers' dead bodies to be sold off as pets...who will?

For what? A cheap, unhealthy oil that fills our food supply and daily products thanks to morally bankrupt men and women at egregious corporations with dollar signs in their eyes.

We have ALL been made complicit in an insane rampage of murder, unthinkable torture and ecological destruction ... without our knowledge or consent.

Change starts with you. Become aware of this crop. It's in the toothpaste you used this morning, and the lunch you had later. Spread knowledge. And one day the governments and corporations of the world will have to listen to the higher morals of a conscious world.

See another poster here, for the 30 or so names palm oil masquerades under on our grocery and fashion products.

(Click para ampliar)

RESOURCES

What happens to orangutans when the forest is taken away from them? -- Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP)

http://www.sumatranorangutan.org/webautor-data/56/What-happens_latest-compressed-latest-April-23-smaller.pdf

Products that use palm oil

http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/palm-oil.php

Problem with Palm Oil - RAN factsheet

http://ran.org/problem-palm-oil-factsheet

.............................................................

The Bornean and Sumatran Orangutan .. is the face of the demise we are bringing upon our planet.

Corporations don't listen. Governments don't listen. Money is king. However, never underestimate the power of a citizenry's heart. It can't let Orangutans be tortured, murdered, and extinguished in this smart age we live in, for it is, and will be, a colossal indictment of the human spirit. 

We have made the mistake of buying products from mega giant corporations ... without knowledge of the unseen horror. We have been made complicit in this mass murder ... secretly. We are emasculated and impotent at the feet of the rich and powerful. We have not petitioned our governments. We've been asleep. We can't turn a blind eye anymore to this genocide in the 21st century.

Willie Smits restores a rainforest

ORIGINAL: TED

By piecing together a complex ecological puzzle, biologist Willie Smits has found a way to re-grow clearcut rainforest in Borneo, saving local orangutans -- and creating a thrilling blueprint for restoring fragile ecosystems.

Willie Smits has devoted his life to saving the forest habitat of orangutans, the "thinkers of the jungle." As towns, farms and wars encroach on native forests, Smits works to save what is left.

"A natural forest is multilayered. Both in the ground and above the ground it can make better use of the available light, it can store more carbon in the system, it can provide more functions.” (Willie Smits)"

"Willie Smits has devoted his life to saving the forest habitat of orangutans, the "thinkers of the jungle." As towns, farms and wars encroach on native forests, Smits works to save what is left."

Why you should listen to him:

Willie Smits works at the complicated intersection of humankind, the animal world and our green planet. In his early work as a forester in Indonesia, he came to a deep understanding of that triple relationship, as he watched the growing population of Sulawesi move into (or burn for fuel) forests that are home to the orangutan. These intelligent animals were being killed for food, traded as pets or simply failing to thrive as their forest home degraded.

Smits believes that to rebuild orangutan populations, we must first rebuild their forest habitat -- which means helping local people find options other than the short-term fix of harvesting forests to survive. His Masarang Foundation raises money and awareness to restore habitat forests around the world -- and to empower local people. In 2007, Masarang opened a palm-sugar factory that uses thermal energy to turn sugar palms (fast-growing trees that thrive in degraded soils) into sugar and even ethanol, returning cash and power to the community and, with luck, starting the cycle toward a better future for people, trees and orangs.

"This man has dedicated his life to saving the world, and for this he earns our deepest respect." Jean Kern, Ode

Quotes by Willie Smits

“A natural forest is multilayered. Both in the ground and above the ground it can make better use of the a vailable light, it can store more carbon in the system, it can provide more functions.”

Orangutans at Miami Zoo Use iPads to Communicate

ORIGINAL: Wired

By Christina Bonnington

May 9, 2012

In this Feb. 21, 2012 photo, an orangutan works with an iPad at Jungle Island in Miami. Photo: J Pat Carter/AP

The iPad is by far the most adored tablet in the human world. The numbers speak for themselves. But what you may not know is that members of the animal kingdom dig the 9.7-inch tablet too — particularly a clan of six orangutans at the Miami Zoo.

At the Miami Zoo’s Jungle Island, handlers are interacting with orangutans using the iPad. The apes use the tablet to identify items they’re familiar with, and express their wants and needs. This is done primarily through an app designed for autistic children that displays an array of object images onscreen.

“We’ll ask them to identify ‘Where’s the coconut?’, and they’ll point it out,” Linda Jacobs, who oversees the Jungle Island program, told Wired. “We want to build from that and give them a choice in what they have for dinner — show them pictures of every vegetable we have available that day, and let them pick, giving them the opportunity to have choices.”

Orangutans are very intelligent, but lack voice boxes and vocal cords, which can make communication difficult. Up until now, zoo keepers have been using sign language to communicate with them. Using the iPad

• gives the orangutans another form of communication with humans, 
• provides them with mental stimulation, and 
• also gives those who don’t know sign language a chance to interact with humans.

The six orangutans at the Miami Zoo —

• 35-year-old Connie, 
• 33-year-old Sinbad, 
• 14-year-old Hannah, 
• 12-year-old Jake, and 
• 8-year-old twin girls Peanut and Pumpkin — 

were first introduced to the iPad last summer. Initially, the orangutans were just shown the iPad to desensitize them. Next the trainers asked them to touch the iPad without pulling it into the cage. “They catch on so quickly, it wasn’t long before we started showing them pictures and identifying different objects with them,” Jacobs said.

Sinbad and Connie aren’t so keen on the tablet. “I like to compare the two older ones to my parents — I keep trying to get them to use an iPad and they’re just not interested,” Jacobs said. The other orangutans, though, are very excited by the tablet. They take turns getting to use it, and all run to be the first one to handle it, Jacobs said.

“They really are so intelligent that I think there’s no limit to what they can learn,” Jacobs said. “It’s just about developing the technology to make it possible.”

Due to their curious nature and tough nails, the orangutans don’t actually get to hold the iPad (which is housed in an Otter Box case) in the cage themselves. Instead, a trainer holds it outside the cage. If left to their own devices, the primates would take it apart to see how it works, Jacobs said, so it wouldn’t last that long.

In the future, Jacobs hopes to set up a form of video conferencing so the apes can meet and interact with their counterparts at other zoos across the world (an organization called Orangutan Outreach is currently working on this with donated iPads at other U.S. zoos). She also hopes that this endeavor will bring more awareness to orangutans, which are greatly endangered in the wild because of deforestation

The EPA’s most important decision this year could be over... vegetable oil?

ORIGINAL: Washington Post

by Brad Plume

04/27/2012

Okay, quick quiz: Which country is the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after the United States and China?

There are around 6,600 orangutans on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, but more than two-thirds of the area has been divided up into palm oil concessions. (Reuters)

The answer, at least in some recent years, has been Indonesia. That’s surprising. It’s not the world’s third-largest economy. It’s not an industrial powerhouse. But Indonesia has been clearing its vast rain forests and burning through its peatlands of late, releasing huge stores of carbon into the air. One of the big culprits here has been the country’s fast-growing production of palm oil, an edible vegetable oil that’s increasingly being harvested to make biodiesel fuel for cars and trucks in Europe and elsewhere.

This isn’t just a bit of environmental trivia. Currently, there’s a fierce battle in the United States over whether the Environmental Protection Agency should allow more diesel made from palm oil to be used by U.S. refineries. Agribusiness groups are lobbying for its use. Environmentalists are trying to block it — with some saying this could be the EPA’s most important climate-change decision of the year.

Here’s the backstory: In 2007, Congress expanded a requirement for U.S. refineries to blend a certain amount of “renewable fuel” in with their gasoline. Ethanol or biofuels could count. They just had to be 20 percent cleaner than traditional fossil fuels. And, in January, the EPA released a preliminary analysis suggesting that biodiesel and renewable diesel made from palm oil didn’t quite make the cut, thanks in part to the deforestation effect. (Over the course of their lifecycle, the EPA found, palm-oil fuels emitted between 11 percent to 17 percent fewer greenhouse gases than regular gasoline.)

But the EPA hasn’t fully made up its mind yet. The agency is gathering comments on its analysis until Friday, April 27. And industry groups from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United States have sharply criticized the agency’s analysis, with the American Palm Oil Council claiming that the EPA’s conclusion was “based on faulty data and erroneous assumptions.”

What do they mean? Robert Shapiro, a former Clinton administration economist who now does analysis for business groups, argued in his comment that it’s “highly speculative” to calculate how, exactly, the production of biofuels will drive deforestation. Efforts to figure out how biofuels indirectly affect land use — by, say, displacing cooking-oil production elsewhere — are still a relatively new area of science. If you remove this from the analysis, Shapiro argued, then palm-oil fuels look considerably cleaner and easily qualify as a renewable fuel. What’s more, he noted, palm-oil producers will likely increase their yields on existing lands in the future, which means they’ll cut down fewer forests.

Palm-oil skeptics aren’t buying it. In a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Jeremy Martin, a biofuels expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists, argued that the EPA’s analysis actually understimates the destructive impact of palm-oil production in Indonesia and Malaysia. His group’s comments to the EPA can be found here.

For one thing, Martin explained, much of the forest area that’s being cleared for palm oil is peatland, whose soils store considerable amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The EPA assumed that only around 9 to 13 percent of future palm-oil production would occur on peatland, whereas a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found the number was already above 50 percent. And, Martin said, the EPA was too optimistic about the ability of countries like Indonesia to enforce their forestry laws.

When all of these factors are taken into account, said Martin, “the emissions of palm oil based biofuels substantially exceed the emissions from conventional petroleum diesel.”

There’s a lot at stake in getting this right. Palm oil is a potentially lucrative industry for developing countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. But Indonesia’s peatlands also contain an enormous amount of carbon-dioxide. (To get a sense for the scale here, one particularly large peatland fire in Kalimantan in 1997 released more total greenhouse-gas emissions than the entire United States over that period.) And, according to the PNAS study, peatland emissions from palm-oil production are expected to surge in the years ahead. Palm-oil producers are also razing habitats for elephants, tigers, rhinos, and orangutans on various islands in Southeast Asia.

Some green activists have placed their hopes in sustainable palm-oil production to navigate these concerns — after all, poorer communities in Southeast Asia aren’t just going to agree to an outright ban. But, increasingly, attention has shifted toward wealthy countries that are artificially inflating palm-oil production with government mandates on biofuels.

The EPA decision will help determine whether the United States becomes a major buyer. But, for now, the biggest market for palm-oil based fuels is still the European Union, which has a law requiring 10 percent of all transportation fuel to come from renewable sources by 2020. The problem with this rule, said Chris Malins of the International Council on Clean Transportation, is that the European Union never considered the indirect deforestation effects from biofuels. The science on this only really emerged in 2008 or so, after the E.U. law was largely crafted.

“What Europe did was basically consistent with the best life-cycle emissions analyses of the past,” said Malins. “But,” he added, “Europe recognizes that there’s an issue here, and there’s an ongoing process to change that.”

Which means that the EPA’s decision here in the United States could very well influence how governments around the world think about palm oil. In a quiet year for climate policy, that could stand out as a major move.

The Future Of Endangered Orangutans Is In Your Hands

ORIGINAL: Understory

What chances do orangutans have for survival when palm oil company executives are reported to be offering up to $100 to employees for each orangutan killed on palm oil plantations?

There has been an overwhelming amount of attention paid recently to the plight of Indonesia’s most iconic species due to habitat loss.

Last month the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) updated the status of Sumatran elephants to critically endangered on its Red List of Threatened Species, a category which Sumatran orangutans and rhinoceros’ are already part of. From the Jakarta Globe to AlJazeera, people are sounding the alarm for these endangered species more than ever before. But who is listening?

In Indonesia, rapidly expanding oil palm plantations have already spread into millions of acres of rainforests and threaten millions more, making palm oil a leading cause of the deforestation that is responsible for wiping out critical habitat and threatening the very survival of endangered species like the Sumatran tiger and wild Sumatra and Borneo Orangutans. With more than five acres of Indonesia’s rainforest lost every minute, Indonesia has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. The United Nations Environment Program estimates that 98% of the remaining orangutan habitat in Borneo and Sumatra outside of protected areas could be destroyed by 2022.

As oil palm and pulp & paper plantations expand, human vs. wild species conflicts surge. This is well documented for both orangutans and Sumatran tigers. The decline of both species stems primarily from the constant encroachment of human development into their habitat. Of the 400-odd tigers left in Sumatra, less than a third are thought to be living in areas set aside for conservation purposes.

What chances do orangutans have for survival when palm oil company executives are reported to be offering up to $100 to employees for each orangutan killed on palm oil plantations? Employees are not only encouraged to kill orangutans, which are considered ‘pests’ to plantation workers, but there is a growing illegal trade in orangutan skulls.

What will it take to stop this injustice? We need your help. It’s not too late to save these incredible species, but time is running out.

Aceite de palma: el ingrediente oculto que causa un desastre ecológico

ORIGINAL: TheEcologist

Ben Martin

14 de marzo 2012

El aceite de palma está en nuestros alimentos, productos de limpieza y combustible. Sin embargo, está destruyendo la selva tropical y contribuyendo al cambio climático. Se han establecido esquemas sostenibles de certificación , pero los activistas cuestionan cada vez más si realmente trabajan

Es imposible escapar del aceite de palma. En los últimos días lo ha consumido, frotado en la piel, puesto en su coche o alimentado a sus mascotas con él. Se encuentra en una asombrosa variedad de productos para el hogar, incluyendo alimentos procesados, cosméticos, jabones y champús, y es un ingrediente clave en los lubricantes, pinturas, pesticidas y los biocombustibles. Sin embargo, el aceite de palma también es responsable de algunas de la deforestaciones más destructivas de los tiempos actuales, y su producción está contribuyendo al cambio climático.

La demanda de aceite de palma se ha duplicado en la última década, y se prevé que vuelva a duplicarse para el año 2020, impulsada por la demanda de los consumidores para los productos alimenticios, cosméticos y combustibles derivados del lípido versátil. Sin embargo, para satisfacer esta demanda, inmensas áreas de selva tropical en Malasia e Indonesia están siendo taladas para dar paso a plantaciones de palma aceitera, a una velocidad de más de dos millones de hectáreas al año, según Amigos de la Tierra. Estos bosques son el último hábitat de los animales en peligro de extinción como el tigre de Sumatra, rinoceronte y el orangután. Es más, gran parte de este bosque se encuentra en tierra de turba - un sumidero de carbono natural que contiene grandes reservas de gases de efecto invernadero. Los productores de aceite de palma, por el arrasamiento del bosque y el drenaje del suelo de turba, sin querer liberar el carbono almacenado en la atmósfera. Greenpeace ha advertido de que la destrucción de las turberas de Indonesia en la provincia de Riau por sí sola podría liberar 14,6 gigatoneladas de carbono a la atmósfera - equivalente a las emisiones globales totales de un año. La demanda de aceite de palma está sólo acelerarando este proceso, y no muestra signos de detenerse.

Gran parte de esta demanda proviene de los productores de biocombustibles, para el cual el aceite de palma es la principal fuente de energía barata, renovable, y un potencial de sustitución de combustibles fósiles. Sin embargo, de acuerdo con Kenneth Richter, de Amigos de la Tierra, esto no toma en cuenta las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero derivadas de la deforestación. "Toda la investigación más reciente sugiere que los biocombustibles en general, a base de aceite de palma en realidad no reducen las emisiones en comparación con los combustibles fósiles." Peor aún, recientemente se filtró la evaluación del impacto que la UE encontró que cuando las emisiones derivadas de la deforestación se tienen en cuenta, el biodiesel producido a partir de aceite de palma en realidad emite más carbono que el petróleo crudo.

En los últimos años, la industria ha empezado a tratar de limpiar su acto y reducir la deforestación. La Mesa Redonda de Aceite de Palma Sostenible (RSPO) fue fundada en 2004, con el objetivo de fomentar la producción ambientalmente consciente por parte de las plantaciones verdes certificándolas como sostenibles. "El año pasado, el siete por ciento de la producción mundial total fue certificado como sostenible" certificación de expertos señala Bob Norman. "Creo que es un buen punto de partida. Es posible que haya cuestionamiento sobre el ritmo, pero no hay un grifo mágico que se puede activar para hacer el aceite de palma sostenible instantáneament".

Los minoristas y los supermercados también están empezando a despertar a los peligros de aceite de palma, a medida que explica Adam Harrison promotor de WWF y representante de RSPO. "En el Reino Unido, casi todos los grandes minoristas se han comprometido a utilizar el 100 por ciento de aceite de palma sostenible para sus propias marcas para el año 2015." El WWF publica un cuadro de mando  de sostenibilidad, donde los fabricantes y minoristas de productos a base de aceite de palma se han valorado en su compromiso con usar CSPO. Muchas de las grandes cadenas de supermercados obtuvieron las mejores notas en el informe de 2011. Pero queda trabajo por hacer. "Los supermercados no tratan con las marcas de terceros que venden", continúa Harrison. "Las compañías como Northern Foods, que son grandes proveedores de alimentos procesados y con la marca de Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury y Tesco, han realizado sorprendentemente poco - que simplemente no han puesto el trabajo de campo in"

Indonesia va investigar la concesiones de aceite de palma impugnadas luego que el actual gobernante perdió las elecciones en Sumatra

ORIGINAL: Mongabalay.com

12 de abril 2012

Los incendios en Tripa (bosques de turba).
Cortesía del  programa para la conservación del orangután de Sumatra (SOCP).

Un funcionario de alto rango de Indonesia está siendo investigando por el otorgamiento de una polémica concesión de la palma de aceite dentro de un área protegida de bosques de turba en Aceh en la isla de Sumatra, según informa el Globo de Yakarta.

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, jefe del  Grupo de Trabajo REDD+  de Indonesia ("Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation" Reducción de Emisiones por Deforestación y Degradación de los Bosques), dijo al diario que ha pedido a la Agencia Nacional de Tierras (CRT) que suministre un mapa de la zona Tripa para que se puedan investigar las violaciónes alegadas por grupos ambientalistas y las comunidades locales. Los críticos de la concesión de aceite de palma, que está dirigido por PT Kallista Alam, dicen que se concedió en violación de una moratoria nacional sobre la conversión de los bosques de turba y la oposición de los lugareños. Los conservacionistas sostienen que la zona está protegida como parte del ecosistema de Leuser.

Kuntoro está de acuerdo en que las circunstancias alrededor de la concesión son irregulares.

"Está dentro de la plantación de bosques protegidos. Es extraño que se puede obtener un permiso. Sospecho que algo hubo  detrás de la expedición del permiso ", fue citado por el diario.

La semana pasada, el gobernador de Aceh Irwandi Yusuf admitió que la concesión era "moralmente incorrecta". Añadió que su objetivo en la concesión del permiso era para dar a conocer que el mundo ha tardado en hacer realidad el compromiso de apoyar los esfuerzos para proteger los bosques de Aceh.

"La comunidad internacional piensa que nuestro bosque es un sumidero a disposición de sus emisiones de carbono", dijo el Sydney Morning Herald. "Cada día que ellos están diciendo que quieren un aire limpio y para proteger los bosques ... pero que quieren respirar el aire limpio sin tener que pagar nada".

Una gran parte de los restantes bosques de pantano Tripa fotografiado en agosto de 2008. En primer plano están bloques de aceite de palma plantados y sin plantar, con bloques de más para su evacuación antes de limpiar. Estos bloques han sido ya desactivados. Imagen cortesía de Tim Koalisi Penyelematan Rawa Tripa.

Irwandi Sin embargo perdió su intento de reelección para  gobernador el lunes. El impacto en la pérdida de las elecciones en Aceh en los bosques incierto. Hasta la controversia Tripa, Irwandi había sido un campeón de los esfuerzos de la preservación del bosque. Se estableció unilateralmente una moratoria sobre la deforestación en 2007 y surgió como un líder dentro del clima de los Gobernadores y el Grupo de Trabajo Forestal, una iniciativa que pretende crear incentivos financieros  provisionales entre los estados y provincias en las naciones ricas y tropicales al frente del programa  REDD + (Reducción de Emisiones de Deforestación y Degradación).

Los estudios biológicos en la década de 1990 mostraron que Tripa albergó una vez algunas de las mayores densidades de orangutanes de Sumatra en el mundo, que se consideran en peligro crítico debido a la pérdida de hábitat. Sin embargo, la población ha disminuido rápidamente en las áreas en las cuales los bosques de turba han sido drenados y despejados para las plantaciones de palma aceitera.

Las selvas tropicales de Sumatra y las turberas se han destruido rápidamente en las últimas décadas. Durante la década de 1990 la isla perdió 3,7 millones de hectáreas, en su mayoría una consecuencia de la expansión agrícola, pulpa de papel y las plantaciones y la producción de aceite de palma. Sumatra es el último refugio de varias especies carismáticas y amenazadas, como tigres de Sumatra, rinocerontes, elefantes y orangutanes.

Los incendios forestales como resultado de la destrucción de los bosques de Sumatra, en algunos años proyectan una sombra sobre los países vecinos, especialmente Singapur - y lanzó millones de toneladas de carbono a la atmósfera.

Amigos de Verdad

ORIGINAL: Let Your Spirit Shine

Después de perder a sus padres, este orangután de 3 años estaba tan deprimido que no quería comer y no respondía a los tratamientos médicos. Los veteranarians pensó que moriría de la tristeza. El zoológico guardianes encontró un perro enfermo de edad en los terrenos del parque en el parque zoológico, donde vivía el orangután y se llevó al perro al centro de tratamiento de los animales. El perro llegó al mismo tiempo el orangután estaba siendo tratado allí. Las 2 las almas perdidas se reunieron y han sido inseparables desde entonces.

El orangután encontró una nueva razón para vivir y cada uno siempre trata de su mejor esfuerzo para ser un buen compañero a su nuevo amigo. Ellos están juntos las 24 horas del día en todas sus actividades.

Viven en el norte de California, donde la natación es su pasatiempo favorito, a pesar de Roscoe (el orangután) es un poco de miedoso del agua y necesita la ayuda de su amigo para nadar.

Juntos han descubierto la alegría y la risa en la vida y el valor de la amistad. Han encontrado más que un hombro amigo en quien apoyarse. - Con Teresa Leigh Lowery y Vanroye Hilde.

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Otro caso de una orangután pequeña que fue rescatada estando atada en malas condiciones en una plantación.

Orangutanes Sumatran  - en riesgo crítico

Sólo 6.600 orangutanes de Sumatra en peligro de extinción permanecen en estado silvestre. 6.000 de ellos dependen para su supervivencia en la selva del hábitat proporcionado por el Parque Nacional de Gunung LESSEUR en el norte de Sumatra. La eliminación de las plantaciones ilegales de palma aceitera, reforestación y protección del territorio hogar del Orangután junto con la educación y campañas de información pública se llevan a cabo por el Centro de orangután de Sumatra y la Sociedad del orangután con el apoyo de Rainforest Rescue.