INDONESIA and Malaysia have long denied that their tropical forests are being burned to make way for lucrative palm oil plantations. It seems they’ve been lying through their teeth.

Between 1990 and 2005 palm plantations rocketed by 1.87 million hectares in Malaysia and by more than 3 million hectares in Indonesia. With the help of data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Lian Pin Koh at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and David Wilcove of Princeton University found that more than half the palm plantations came at the expense of forests – largely pristine, intact forest in Indonesia and previously logged forest in Malaysia. The rest of the expansion covered pre-existing cropland (Conservation Letters, DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2008.00011.x).

The European Commission is drafting a law to ban imports of palm oil crops grown on intact tropical forests. But logged forests support nearly as much biodiversity as primary forests, say the researchers, and should also be protected.

Source: New Scientist

By Carmel Egan

SIX months ago Daniel Clarke’s desire to save the endangered orang-utans of Borneo and Sumatra and John Howard’s desire for re-election melded perfectly.

Daniel, 11, who has cerebral palsy, appealed to the then prime minister for help when they met during a visit to the national rugby union team’s rooms in May last year.

In November, Daniel became the focus of a YouTube video in which Mr Howard, appealing to young voters, pledged $500,000 over four years to the Australian Orang-utan Project (AOP). Then Mr Howard lost the election.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett has now introduced Daniel to the realities of politics. “Dear Daniel,” wrote Mr Garrett in a letter received on May 14. “I write in relation to the former government’s undertaking to the Australian Orang-utan Project to provide $200,000 in grant funding to support the work of the orang-utan units in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

“Unfortunately, there is no funding program available to support this activity.”

“I was sad, very sad,” said Daniel. “I would ask Mr Garrett: What is stopping you? Why isn’t the Australian Orang-utan Project receiving the money? Why won’t you honour John Howard’s promise to me?”

Daniel, attending a primary school in Sydney’s northern suburbs, has started a national “orang-a-thon” fund-raising project for primary schools.

A spokesman for Mr Garrett defended the Government’s decision, saying it had a $30 million commitment to the Kalimantan Forest and Climate Partnership.

Australian Orang-utan Project vice-president Tony Gilding said the $500,000 helped in developing alternative economies for rainforest communities.

“John Howard personally promised me that the money would go to an Australian NGO, and we got a letter from Malcolm Turnbull saying the money would go to the AOP,” Mr Gilding said. “The letter did not mention that the funding depended on the government’s re-election.”

Daniel Clarke intends to continue his campaign on behalf of orang-utans. “Please stop buying products that use palm oil because palm oil is why they are chopping the trees down — orang-utans’ trees,” he said. “We’ll fix up the grown-ups’ mistakes so we will live in a better world.”

Malaysia and Indonesia produce 90% of the world’s palm oil on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra — the only two locations where orang-utans still live in the wild.

Rainforest destruction has led to thousands of orang-utans being hunted, killed, orphaned, injured or sold into captivity. In two decades their numbers are estimated to have fallen from 200,000 to about 30,000.

Palm oil is used in many processed foods including ice-cream and biscuits, and in other products such as detergents, shampoos and for deep frying. In Australia, manufacturers are not required to declare palm oil on ingredients lists on food packaging.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/but-you-promised-a-boys-500000-aid-for-orangutans-dashed-by-grownups-politics-20080530-2k03.html#

Source: http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=11480

For Immediate Release:
May 29, 2008

Contact: Kristie Phelps 757-622-7382

San Diego, Calif. – This morning, PETA fired off a letter to Brian Luscomb, vice president of corporate communications for Jack in the Box, urging him to immediately pull the company’s “Monkey Spaceship” TV ad and make a commitment not to use great apes in future advertising campaigns. The company’s ad features chimpanzees who build a spaceship while dressed as astronauts. PETA points out that chimpanzees and orangutans used as “actors” are torn from their mothers as babies–often when they are just days old–and are electrically shocked and beaten during behind-the-scenes training sessions.

Why should ads with great apes be labeled “V” for violence? A primatologist who spent 14 months working at a California facility that trains great apes for the TV and movie industries observed that trainers kick, punch, and beat chimpanzees in order to make them obey commands. Chimpanzees used for entertainment are usually only a few years old. By the time they reach age 8, they are too powerful to control and are often discarded at roadside zoos or sold to cheap traveling shows. World-renowned chimpanzee expert Dr. Jane Goodall supports efforts to end the use of great apes in the entertainment industry. In March, Goodall and a group of primatologists concluded in the journal Science that the derisive portrayal of chimpanzees and orangutans in ads is undermining efforts to save these endangered animals.

Other companies–including Yahoo! Inc., Honda, Subaru, PUMA, and Keds–have taken action in behalf of great apes by agreeing not to use them in their ads.

“All chimpanzees trained to perform have been torn from their mothers–a traumatic process that scars both mother and baby for life–and abusively trained,” says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. “It’s time for Jack in the Box to join other companies and permanently dock its ‘Monkey Spaceship’ ad and any others that use great apes.”

For more information about the suffering of great apes used as “actors,” please visit PETA’s Web site NoMoreMonkeyBusiness.com.

#####

PETA’s letter to Jack in the Box follows.

May 29, 2008

Brian Luscomb
Division Vice President, Corporate Communications
Jack in the Box

Via e-mail: brian.luscomb@jackinthebox.com

Dear Mr. Luscomb:

In the past few weeks, PETA has contacted Jack in the Box multiple times concerning the company’s commercial “Monkey Spaceship,” which features chimpanzees dressed as astronauts and building a spaceship. Since you now have had an opportunity to review the facts, we urge you to pull the commercial from rotation and commit to ending the use of great apes in future advertisements.

This request is particularly timely, considering that a study published in March by a group of primatologists in the journal Science concluded, “[T]he inappropriate portrayal of great apes in advertisements undermines the scientific, welfare, and conservation goals that we and many readers work hard to achieve.” Chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas are all endangered animals, and they should be protected–not abused and exploited.

Many people do not realize that animals used in films are subjected to beatings and substandard living conditions–most of which takes place behind the scenes, not on the set. To train great apes such as chimpanzees to “perform,” trainers forcibly remove babies from their mothers–sometimes when they are just days old–and beat and electrocute the animals to “train” them to perform. No agency, including the American Humane Association (AHA), monitors maternal separation, pre-production training sessions, living conditions, or animal disposal when animals can no longer be used in the entertainment industry. In fact, the AHA’s film-monitoring unit is funded by the very industry that it’s supposed to be monitoring.

There is no excuse for such abuse, especially considering that alternatives to using live animals–including animatronics, animation, and computer-generated imagery (CGI)–are readily available. We urge you to join corporations like Subaru, Honda, and PUMA, which have pledged not to use great apes in any future advertisements. By making a similar commitment, Jack in the Box can send the powerful and important message that cruelty to animals is never acceptable.

I hope to hear that Jack in the Box has made the compassionate decision to stop airing this commercial.

Sincerely,

Kristie Phelps
Assistant Director
Animals in Entertainment Campaign

####

Source: http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=11480

RAJANG the orang-utan, one of Colchester Zoo’s most popular residents, is preparing to turn 40.

As preparations for his June 14 birthday celebrations continue, we sent Evening Star reporter SIMON TOMLINSON to interview the ageing animal.

IF he was human, he would be a judge – thoughtful, philosophical and calm.

But that hasn’t stopped his playful side from inviting some lucky Evening Star readers to his 40th birthday party – just don’t mention his age.

Rajang the orang-utan, a much-respected resident at Colchester Zoo, today spoke in his trademark underwhelmed manner about how he is looking forward to the celebrations.

And to mark the milestone, we are offering readers the chance to win one of five VIP family tickets (two adults and two children) to Colchester Zoo, where they can meet Rajang’s keepers and join in the party.

The ageing bachelor, who has lived in Colchester for 28 years, said: “I have no idea how old I am and I don’t want to know. I have a feeling it is big birthday this time. My weakening arms and legs tell me so.

“I will definitely enjoy the attention, but it’s not in my nature to show it. My face won’t let me.”

Born at Chester Zoo on June 14, 1968, Rajang was hand-reared after being rejected by his mother and moved to Colchester in 1980.

Anthony Tropeano, Colchester Zoo’s zoological director, has known Rajang for 25 years.

He said: “This goes some way to explain why you can build a good bond with him. He has been used to human company from an early age.

“He is a bright animal. If chimpanzees are like footballers, orang-utans are like judges. He would probably be quite academic and read The Times or The Independent.

“He would not be looking forward to turning 40, but would be looking forward to the party.”

Rajang, who loves eating fruit and has a soft spot for Ribena ice lollies, has been described as one of the real characters of the zoo – even though he might not show it all the time.

Mr Tropeano said: “Orangutans don’t have expressive faces. It is hard to tell if they are happy or sad, but if you look at the welfare indicators – his coat and diet – he looks a fairly contented animal.”

Rajang added: “Anthony is right – I am content in general. I like to be serious but only as long as I know I can have fun later. It gives me a good life balance.

“I am usually calm, but you will know about it if I get angry. It’s never good to keep these things in.”

The zoo is nearing the completion of a grand £1.5m new home for Rajang, which will be eight times the size of his current residence and allow him more space to climb.

It was hoped the new centre, which has been sponsored by 440 people, would be ready in time for his birthday, but now it looks like it will be mid-August before he can enjoy his belated present.

Mr Tropeano said: “It is going to be a big challenge, but we think he is going to enjoy it. He will be able to see different things.

“There is a great deal of affection for him among staff and management. He has been a great servant to us and we want to give him something back before, inevitably, he passes away.”

Send Rajang a birthday message – write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Fast facts: Orangutans

They are known for their intelligence, long arms and reddish-brown hair

Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, they are currently found in the wild only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra

Their name derives from the Malay and Indonesian phrase “orang hutan” meaning “man of the forest”

Fruit makes up 65 per cent of the orangutan diet

Source: http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=EditorsChoice&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED28%20May%202008%2014%3A01%3A14%3A430

VIENNA (AFP) — About 25 Greenpeace activists, some dressed as orang utans, blocked an OMV petrol station in Vienna Thursday, accusing the Austrian oil and gas giant of destroying the rainforest to make agrofuel.

A few of them brandished placards that read “OMV: no rainforest in the fuel tank.”

“Whoever fills up at OMV is destroying up to ten square metres of rainforest,” Jurrien Westerhof, an energy expert with Greenpeace Austria, said in a statement.

Greenpeace said fuel samples taken from OMV petrol stations had been found to contain soya and palm oil from Latin America and South East Asia.

“That shows a direct link between OMV agrofuel and the clearing of rainforests to set up plantations for palm or soya oil,” said Westerhof.

The organisation also criticised Environmental Minister Josef Proell, who has called for fuel mixtures to make up 10 percent of the country’s fuel by 2010.

Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jbe8tiEdbjvlKslRyQACDENlrxFA

NewScientist.com news service
By Ewen Callaway

Chimps, bonobos, gorillas and orang-utans all seem to prefer cooked food to raw forms of meat, sweet potatoes and carrots, a team of anthropologists has found.

This suggests that our ancestors had an innate preference for cooked meals, and probably started cooking as soon as they wielded fire, says Richard Wrangham, an anthropologist at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, who led the new study.

“It would not be long before bits of food would get accidentally cooked and if they liked it they would do it again,” he told New Scientist.

Wrangham is using the finding that apes liked cooked food to support his argument that cooking was pivotal in human evolution.

Cooked food is easier to digest, he says, and eating it helped propel anatomical changes in Homo erectus around 1.8 million years ago, including bigger brains, smaller guts and weaker teeth. But other anthropologists say data supporting the claim is scant.
First fires

After about 250,000 years ago there is good evidence, in the form of the charred remains of hearths, that our ancestors controlled fire. Further back in time, though, the evidence isn’t so strong.

Wrangham, however, argues that darkened patches of dirt near fossil bones are evidence that pre-humans harnessed fire more than 1.6 million years ago.

To determine whether prehistoric hominids might have quickly used fire to cook their food because it improved taste or texture, Wrangham and colleague Victoria Wobber, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, tested whether several species of great apes chose cooked foods over raw items.

“We wanted to see if we could regard the ancestors of humans, the australopithecine ancestors, as pre-adapted to enjoy cooked food,” he says.

When presented with carrots and sweet potatoes, either raw or cooked, captive chimps showed preferences for the cooked food. The chimps had tasted cooked food before, which may have influenced the outcome, and Wrangham says the novelty of cooked food could also have influenced the results.
Physical proof

Another experiment with captive chimps, bonobos, gorillas and orang-utans also found the apes had an affinity for cooked meats, even though they had probably never tasted cooked meat before.

Experiments to determine why apes liked cooked foods – because they were sweeter or softer, for instance – were inconclusive.

If apes take to cooked foods quickly, then our ancestors probably did too, Wrangham reasons. “I can’t imagine that it would have taken more than a generation for these apes to discover that their food tasted better when it was warmed,” he says.

However, Henry Bunn, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, US, says Wrangham’s early cooking theory is based on too little physical proof.

“Chimps are not australopithecines or early Homo, and their food preferences don’t constitute evidence of what happened,” he says.

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/human-evolution/dn13999-nothing-beats-a-homecooked-meal–even-for-apes.html?feedId=human-evolution_rss20

Emma Pernald, girlfriend of Prince Carl Philip, is shown hear with Pernilla Swenberg (Director of BOS Sweden) at left, photographer Mattias Klum at right, and a group of ecstatic ring-tailed lemurs.
– Picture: Olle Sporrong/Expressen –

Swedish national evening newspaper Expressen reports that Emma Pernald, girlfriend of Prince Carl Philip, is a new board member of Borneo Orangutan Survival Sweden (BOS) after their annual meeting earlier in May.

According to their article, written after a meeting with her and other BOS representatives, Emma’s interest in them bloomed out when Prince Carl Philip was working with world famous nature photographer Mattias Klum. She explains:
- I have always been interested in apes. They are just like us humans, smart and fantastic, but without evil. Mattias and I found each other in our shared interest in animals. He always sends photos when he’s been out on an expedition, and I’m grateful to learn more.

About being asked to join BOS’ board she says:
- I feel a lot for both the orangutans and the driving forces in BOS. And I hope that I as young and a woman can be a part of a new target group.

What does the Prince say about you engaging yourself in BOS?
- I think that everyone in my surrounding is happy that I’ve found a channel to outlet my frustration about the situation of the apes. The frustration does get larger the more I learn, but now I have found people to discuss it with.

So now you just talk about apes at home at the kitchen table?
- If you ask others they would probably say yes.

The orangutan is the only human ape in Asia and only exists in small isolated areas on Sumatra and Borneo, but their natural habitat is disappearing quickly because of the shovelling of rainforests and fires to make room for palm oil plantations. New alarm reports from experts say that some areas could be without orangutans within as little as three years from now. Borneo Orangutan Surival, an Indonesian NGO with branches in many countries around the world, offers ordinary citizens to get involved in the cause and adopt orangutans. Mattias Klum, just home from a seven week journey to Borneo where he photographed orangutans for National Geographic says to Expressen:
- The spreading of oil plantations is the single largest threat to the orangutans.

Source: http://sofiasroyalsweden.blogspot.com/2008/05/princes-girlfriend-commits-herself-to.html