Tag Archives: Indonesia
Indonesian courts orders land ownership back to tribes
In 1999 a new law was bought into effect in Indonesia which saw vast swathes of forest taken into state ownership. That law was over-ruled yesterday by the Constitutional Court and following its judicial review, the land ownership was ordered to be returned to local indigenous people. The move will have major impacts for development in [...]
Is Bali about to ban shark fishing?
There are hints that a new shark and manta ray sanctuary is about to be formed at Bali. Last month the underwater paradise of Raja Ampat in West Papua, Indonesia banned the fishing of sharks and rays in it’s coral reefs and set up a shark sanctuary – the first in the so called Coral [...]
Palm oil rush comes to an end in East Kalimantan
The provincial administration of East Kalimantan in Indonesia has announced that they will be issuing a moratorium on new palm oil plantations later this year. While no date has been set the administration has said that with less than half of the permitted plantations actually planted and under cultivation no new permits will be issued [...]
Cautious hope for rare Indonesian macaques
Researchers are beginning to have tentative hopes that numbers of a rare black macaque of Indonesia has stopped declining and populations levels are beginning to grow again. A recent study suggests that populations of the Sulawesi black macaques are heading back to levels last seen 20 years ago. The researchers from the US and Indonesia [...]
Kenya makes biggest ever ivory bust
Customs officials at Kenya’s Mombasa port made the country’s biggest ever interception of ivory yesterday. Over 2 tons of illegal ivory was intercepted on it’s way to Indonesia. The value of the ivory was estimated to be around USD1.1 million and consisted of over 630 pieces of elephant tusk. While the interception was made in [...]
6 juveniles offer hope to the Javan rhino
There are only an estimated 50 Javan rhino left in the wild but new camera trap footage shows there at least 6 juveniles under the age of 2. These young rhino offers a real hope for the survival of the species which are concentrated in the Ujung Kulon National Park of Indonesia. The information about the young [...]
Logging concessions offer sanctuary for orangutans
Well managed and sustainable timber concessions in natural forests of Borneo could become an important sanctuary in the future. The forest concessions already hold the largest proportion of the wild orangutan population – the concessions are home to more orangutans than even protected parks and reserves. A new study published in PlosOne from an international team [...]
Is the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil heading for failure?
We’ve just seen the 10th meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil take place in Singapore. This meeting of producers and consumers of palm oil was set up to try to address the many conflicts that the growth in palm oil has produced. From loss of habitat and wildlife to human rights abuses and land grabs the rush for [...]
Indonesia to make a stand against British mining company
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is prepared to do whatever it takes to protect Indonesia from international companies doing whatever they want in the country. This stand was revealed by East Kutai Regency Head Isran Noor on the case against British mining company Churchill Mining Plc who are seeking $2 billion compensation for having their mining abilities in the country curtailed. Isran revealed ”The [...]
Can we learn from a 500 year old fisheries management tradition?
Fish are a vital food resource and as fish stock deplete around the world there are growing calls for strong fisheries management and marine conservation programmes. Conflict over fish though is not a modern-day problem. A study due to be released shortly looked at a 17th century fishing tradition in Indonesia and found reefs covered by traditional methods [...]
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to receive international conservation award
A new international conservation award is to be presented to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia by three international conservation NGO’s for his work leading his country to a sustainable future. The new “Valuing Nature Award” will be presented during a celebratory dinner in New York as part of the United Nations General Assembly meetings week. The [...]
No Hunting, No Killing, No Catching training for pulpwood workers
The forestry industry in Indonesia is an important part of the country’s economy and inevitably this brings conflict with the forest wildlife including orangutans. Now a series of intensive 6 day training sessions is being provided to pulpwood workers on how to reduce conflict with wildlife and especially the orangutan. In total 300 pulpwood industry workers will [...]
TV Review: Natural World – Tiger Island
The Natural World series on BBC2 can always be relied on to provide highly entertaining and informative programming. Just what is needed as we head into the Olympics. Tiger Island was all about the Sumatran tiger – but with a difference. This programme looked at a local millionaire businessman who wanted to rehabilitate man-eating tigers, so-called [...]
14 dead Sumatran tigers found in house
Indonesian police have seized the preserved bodies of 14 highly endangered Sumatran tigers following a raid on a house in Jakarta. The man identified as Feri was arrested on Tuesday in a suburban area of Depok suspected of his involvement in the illegal wildlife trade, national police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said. “We confiscated whole preserved bodies [...]
After 16 months it’s a boy!
After a near 16 month pregnancy one of the most endangered species in the world has seen a new bouncing baby boy born. The new baby Sumatran rhino is only the fifth one ever to have been born in captivity in the last 123 years. The rhino calf and its mother, Ratu, are doing well at [...]
2012 is the International Year of the Rhino
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia has declared that 2012 is the International Year of the Rhino in order to raise awareness of the threats facing the species. The campaign was launched on 5th June following a request by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and other wildlife organisations. President Yudhoyono was the ideal choice to launch the campaign as [...]
Javan tiger declared extinct – but is it?
Indonesia was blessed with 3 sub species of tigers – the Javan , Bali and Sumatran - sadly only the Sumatran tiger is now officially deemed to be in existence. The Bali tiger was declared extinct in 1950. The Javan tiger was thought to have gone extinct in the mid 1970′s and officially declared extinct in [...]
The value of Papua’s rainforest – 41p a hectare
A new report has just been published by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and their Indonesia partner Telapak makes dismal reading as palm oil companies rip off the tribal people of Papua. In one instance highlighted in the report - Clear-Cut Exploitation – a major palm oil company that is backed with funding by Norway’s sovereign fund paid [...]
APP to stop natural forest clearance on 1st June
One of the world’s leading pulp and paper producers Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) has announced that it is to suspend cutting down natural forests in it pulpwood plantations and concessions from 1st June. The announcement is only for a temporary ban on forest clearance of its own company subsidiaries and its own concessions. The ban starting from [...]
Is Indonesia about to get tough with loggers?
Could the Indonesian government be preparing to get tough with the forestry industry in the country? Recent news that the government is to sue 16 logging companies for USD225 Billion seems to indicate that muscles are being flexed. The law suit will be a first for the country and the government is going after a substantial level of compensation. [...]