Photo: Kemal Jufri / Greenpeace

Our small plane had been flying low over Sumatra for three hours but all we had seen was an industrial landscape of palm and acacia trees stretching 30 miles in every direction. A haze of blue smoke from newly cleared land drifted eastward over giant plantations. Long drainage canals dug through equatorial swamps dissected the land. The only sign of life was excavators loading trees on to barges to take to pulp mills.

The end is in sight for the great forests of Sumatra and Borneo and the animals and people who depend on them. Thirty years ago the world’s third- and sixth-largest islands were full of tigers, elephants, rhinos, orangutan and exotic birds and plants but in a frenzy of development they have been trashed in a single generation by global agribusiness and pulp and paper industries.

Their plantations supply Britain and the world with toilet paper, biofuels and vegetable oil to make everyday foods such as margarine, cream cheese and chocolate, but distraught scientists and environmental groups this week warn that one of the 21st century’s greatest ecological disasters is rapidly unfolding.

Official figures show more than half of Indonesia’s rainforest, the third-largest swath in the world, has been felled in a few years and permission has been granted to convert up to 70% of what remains into palm or acacia plantations. The government last week renewed a moratorium on the felling of rainforest, but nearly a million hectares are still being cut each year and the last pristine areas, in provinces such as Ache and Papua, are now prime targets for giant logging, palm and mining companies.

The toll on wildlife across an area nearly the size of Europe is vast, say scientists who warn that many of Indonesia’s species could be extinct in the wild within 20-30 years. Orangutan numbers are in precipitous decline, only 250-400 tigers remain and fewer than 100 rhino are left in the forests, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Millions of hectares are nominally protected, but the forest is fragmented, national parks are surrounded by plantations, illegal loggers work with impunity and corruption is rife in government. “This is the fastest, most comprehensive transformation of an entire landscape that has ever taken place anywhere in the world including the Amazon. If it continues at this rate all that will be left in 20 years is a few fragmented areas of natural forest surrounded by huge manmade plantations. There will be increased floods, fires and droughts but no animals,” said Yuyun Indradi, political forest campaigner with Greenpeace south-east Asia in Jakarta.

Last night the WWF’s chief Asian tiger expert pleaded with the Indonesian government and the world to stop the growth of palm oil plantations. “Forest conversion is massive. We urgently need stronger commitment from the government and massive support from the people. We cannot tolerate any further conversion of natural forests,” said Sunarto Sunarto in Jakarta.

Indonesia’s deforestation has been accompanied by rising violence, say watchdog groups. Last year, more than 600 major land conflicts were recorded in the palm plantations. Many turned violent as communities that had lost their traditional forest fought multinational companies and security forces. More than 5,000 human rights abuses were recorded, with 22 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

“The legacy of deforestation has been conflict, increased poverty, migration to the cities and the erosion of habitat for animals. As the forests come down, social conflicts are exploding everywhere,” said Abetnego Tarigan, director of Walhi, Indonesia’s largest environment group.

Scientists fear that the end of the forest could come quickly. Conflict-wracked Aceh, which bore the brunt of the tsunami in 2004, will lose more than half its trees if a new government plan to change the land use is pushed through. A single Canadian mining company is seeking to exploit 1.77m hectares for mining, logging and palm plantations.

Large areas of central Sumatra and Kalimantan are being felled as coal, copper and gold mining companies move in. Millions of hectares of forest in west Papua are expected to be converted to palm plantations.

Continue reading and watch the video the rainforest’s last stand, here

Sources: guardian.co.uk | Author: John Vidal

Nyoman Sueta, chief of DSDP, said: “We are urging the mayor and regents to encourage more hotels and restaurants in their areas to take part in this wastewater management system. Roughly, now only 10 percent of the hotels in Bali are connected to the DSDP system, while others may have their own wastewater management installations or dump their wastewater into open waters.”

From an estimated 1,319 star-rated hotels, the DSDP records only 130 accommodation providers in Denpasar, Sanur and Kuta are connected to their system.

The DSDP has been on operation since 2008 and has a total of 8,467 customers, targeting to add 7,500 more customers in the current year. The majority of connections are to private households.

The cost of a monthly connection to the sewage system for a private household is Rp. 25,000 (US$2.50). Star-rated hotels could pay up to Rp. 100,000 (US$10) per room per night while restaurants are liable to pay Rp. 700,000 (US$70), depending on the establishment’s seating capacity.

The deputy chairman of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI-Bali), I Gusti Ngurah Suryawijaya, claims the current rate for a sewerage connection is too high for hotels and should be linked to actual occupancy instead of room totals.

Rai insists there is a strong desire to use the new sewerage systems, adding: “For hotel managements like us, the beach and the culture are the two most important assets of our businesses. We would never want to see our ocean polluted by waste. So please share with us the names and locations of the hotels that dump their wastewater into the sea, so that our association can reprimand them.”

He also pointed out that many star-rated hotels in Bali have their own wastewater treatment facilities with smaller properties using septic tanks. The Bali Environmental Agency (BLH), meanwhile, said that treated wastewater from a number of hotels, hospitals and other businesses in Bali do not meat acceptable standards for reintroduction to oceans and streams.

Sources: balidiscovery.com

A Sumatran tiger, one of thousands of species threatened by palm oil plantations and paper and timber businesses. (Photo: animalconnectionac.wordpress.com)

Indonesia is home to about a third of the world’s remaining tropical forests, which provide a habitat for endangered species such as the orangutan and Sumatran tiger.

For the past two years the government has imposed a moratorium on felling forests in an effort to halt the deforestation that has laid waste to much of the country’s virgin habitat and cleared the way for plantations of palm oil and pulp, paper and timber businesses.

But that moratorium is about to expire, and the termination would leave loggers and plantations free to expand into fresh areas.

Reports from agencies and local press on Friday night suggested the country’s president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was about to sign up to an extension of the deal.

Reuters quoted an unnamed government official who said the fresh agreement would be signed within a few days.

The extension would be a big victory for green campaigners.

Greenpeace last year helped broker a key deal with Sinar Mas, owner of vast pulp and paper and palm oil interests in the region. That deal will help prevent further deforestation, and restore swathes of forest now degraded by the encroachment of loggers and plantations.

Continue rading, here

Sources: The Guardian | Author: Fiona Harvey

Victoria storm near Melbourne, Australia. (ABCNews.au/Luci Trotter )

“The waves in East Java`s southern waters reached 2 to 2.5 meters high. Meanwhile their height in the northern waters reached at 0.5 to 1.3 meters. It means the situation is still conducive and the storm has not yet affected maritime conditions,” said Information and Data Staff of the Tanjung Perak BMKG service, Eko Prasetyo, here on Thursday.

The Victoria storm is located 15 degrees south latitude, 105 degrees east longitude, south of Sumatra Island and west of Australia.

According to Eko, the storm has not affected weather conditions in Indonesia.

“The storm is not the cause of the current extreme weather in Indonesia. The current condition is rather the effect of a weather transitional period,” Eko said.

He predicted that E Java would be in the weather transitional period from April to May 2013 while the dry season will occur in June. He predicted that the coastal area of E Java will enter the dry season earlier than the inland region.

“The weather changes quickly when the region enters the weather transition period; from sunny to cloudy and then rainy conditions. Besides, the wind can also change directions easily as it has happened recently,” he said.

Regarding recent flooding in several areas in E Java such as Bojonegoro, Sampang, Gresik, and Lamongan Eko said rain may still happen during the transitional period although the intensity is low.

The rain precipitation in E Java in recent days is still below 60 millimeters, he said.

“However, if environment conditions are not good well the rain could cause flooding. That`s why the drainage system should be maintained,” Eko said.

Source: Antara News | Author: Priyambodo RH

Inspired by recent data on shark deaths, two data visualization heavyweights have created a stunning infographic to put the numbers in perspective.

A recent report published in the journal Marine Policy revealed that an estimated 100 million sharks are killed by humans every year. The paper added that the number of sharks killed could actually be anywhere between 63 million and 273 million.

In stark contrast, only 12 humans were killed worldwide by sharks in 2011, according to National Geographic.

Horrified by these staggering numbers, Joe Chernov and Robin Richards created an infographic to illustrate these shocking figures. It was, The Huffington Post was told, a “passion project” for the pair.

By using the data in the report, Chernov and Richards determined that 11,417 sharks are killed per hour.

In a 2009 report, the International Union for Conservation of Nature noted that one-third of open ocean sharks are threatened or near-threatened with extinction due to overfishing. According to the website for Pew Charitable Trusts’ global shark conservation initiative, many sharks are killed — often inhumanely — for the Asian delicacy shark fin soup.

Click on picture below to see the infographics.

Sources: The Huffington Post

In this handout picture taken on June 14, 2012 and released by Conservation
International on February 20, 2013, a diver tags a whale shark in Raja
Ampat. (AFP Photo)

There has been global concern over the depleting shark population caused by hunting, with Indonesia currently being the largest exporter of sharks and shark products in the world.

A 2011 marine survey by Conservation International (CI) Indonesia in the island’s marine area indicated a depleting population of sharks, since there were only three reef sharks found during 350 hours of diving during the survey.

Ketut Sarjana Putra, CI’s country executive director, said that there had also been evidence of wholesale slaughter of pregnant female thresher sharks in the waters between Padangbai and Nusa Dua.

“The severe depletion of sharks in Bali’s waters is an urgent marine conservation management issue due to the important role sharks play in keeping the ocean ecosystems healthy.”

“We urge the Bali government to implement legislation to ban shark fishing and to create a shark sanctuary,” he said, adding that the inclusion of manta rays in this ban was also strongly recommended, given the high economic value of manta tourism in Nusa Penida.

The creation of a Bali shark sanctuary would be well received by the international community at a time when Bali was increasingly criticized for its environmental problems, he said.

“Such a move will also keep Bali in good stead with its competitors in marine tourism, as many of them, such as the Maldives, Bahamas, Palau and Guam, have recently declared shark sanctuaries.”

Last month, the Raja Ampat administration in Papua officially announced that it had declared its entire 4 million hectares of coastal and marine waters a shark sanctuary. This means that all harvesting of sharks is now prohibited in its waters.

The sanctuary also gives full protection to other ecologically and economically important ocean species, such as manta rays, dugongs, whales, turtles, dolphins and ornamental fish species.

“Bali would be well-served to follow suit, noting that a shark sanctuary will in turn [as shark populations recover] contribute significantly to increasing the value of Bali’s marine tourism,” said Mark Erdmann, CI’s reef fish expert.

He said that Indonesia was the world’s biggest shark exporter, with 15 percent of the world’s shark fins and manta ray gill plates coming from the country.

A slain shark has a value of between Rp 100,000 and Rp 1.3 million (US$10.26-$133.40), therefore a lot of fishermen consider shark hunting to be very profitable.

Read the full article, here.

Source: The Jakarta Post | Author: Desy Nurhayati

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo will become the new face and ambassador of Artha Graha Peduli’s mangrove conservation efforts. (AFP Photo)

According to the statement, Tomy Winata, the founder of the Artha Graha Group and its philanthropic arm, AGP, first approached the Real Madrid and Portugal midfielder on Friday during a visit to the Spanish capital.

“I am really thrilled and happy that Ronaldo has agreed to support our efforts to conserve mangrove forests in Indonesia,” Tomy said in the statement.

“Ronaldo is fit to be the ambassador of our mangrove conservation drive, considering his persona and charm. We hope our message ‘Save Mangrove, Save Earth’ can reach all levels of society, both young and old, rich or poor.”

The foundation plans to kick-start a campaign to conserve a mangrove forest in Tanjung Benoa, Bali, with the support of five local non-governmental groups.

“Mangrove conservation is important but often neglected. The world is losing its mangroves and the condition in Indonesia is appalling. Indonesia has lost two million hectares of mangroves,” Tomy said.

Continue reading.

Source: The Jakarta Globe | Author: Anselmus Bata

The whale, which came ashore last year on a beach in Andalusia, had over 17 kilogrammes (37 pounds) of garbage blocking its stomach, including some 30 square metres (36 square yards) of plastic canvas, said Renaud de Stephanis, a marine biologist at the Donana Biological Station, which is run by the Spanish National Research Council.

“We quickly realised that it had a real greenhouse inside its stomach. We did not expect it, but it did not surprise us,” he told AFP in a telephone interview.

“There were a dozen metres of plastic rope, plastic sheeting used on the outside of greenhouses, and plastic sheeting used inside and even two flower pots.”

Over 250 marine animals including turtles, dolphins and otters, have problems because of plastic garbage that finds its way into the ocean and which can cause them to choke, de Stephanis said.

Sperm whales, which can be found throughout the Mediterranean Sea, typically feed on squid.

The whale that washed ashore in March 2012 on a beach south of Granada, not far from Almeria, was “in a state of advanced emaciation”, said de Stephanis.

“It was as if it had a rock inside its intestine, nothing could get through. There was so much plastic that it finally exploded,” he added.

Very few large mammals, including only four sperm whales, have been proven to have died because they swallowed plastic waste, de Stephanis said.

The discovery is worrying because it shows that “the sea is full of rubbish” and that waste management systems for plastic, not only in Spain, are not always effective, he said.

“These big plastics crumble and the little pieces also go inside fish. And that is what we end up eating,” said de Stephanis.

Agence France-Presse

Strong whirlwinds – known locally an “angin putting beliung” caused damage in several areas of Bali on Monday, February 25, 2013.

In Tabanan, West Bali, 15 homes and several other structures were damaged by high winds and falling trees.

On the opposite side of the island in Gianyar regency, falling trees also struck and damaged a number of houses.

Both incidents happened at around 3:00 pm on Monday afternoon.

Photo/illustration: Susan Caplan

In Tabanan, the winds blew in from a westerly direction. In the hamlet of Cekik, in the village of Berembeng, winds destroyed four chicken pens owned by Made Jimat. The winds leveled the large-scale chicken breeding facility and destroyed heating equipment powered by bottled gas, resulting in a fire that caused further damage. The total damage to the poultry production center was put at Rp. 500 million (US$50,000).

When the strong winds shifted to the east, they caused damage in the villages of Samsaman Kelod, Kukuh and Kerambitan – all in Tabanan. Four homes were severely damaged together with less formal housing used by local residents.

Also in Tabanan, at a cemetery in the village of Denbantas, a large tree believed to be more than 100-years-old fell over a main roadway. Traffic was disrupted between Tabanan and Penebel before local citizens managed to clear the road at 06:00 am the following morning.

High winds also played havoc with two Bali temples (pura) in the Kediri sub district: Pura Puseh Desa Pakramam Pandak Gede and Pura Puseh Pejaten. A seven-tiered ceremonial tower at Pura Puseh Desa Pakrama Pandak Gede was leveled by the strong winds. Damage to the two temples is put at hundreds of millions of Rupiahs.

Continue reading, here.

Source: Bali Discovery