By Nicholas Zeman
Source: Biodiesel Magazine

Finland’s Neste Oil held the official groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday for a $940 million renewable diesel plant in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This facility, with a production capacity of approximately 240 MMgy, will be dedicated to producing the company’s proprietary NExBTL fuel. It is slated to be the largest renewable fuels plant in Europe.

“We expect mechanical completion to take place sometime in early 2011,” said Hanna Maula, director of corporate communications for Neste. “It will take additional time after this to ramp up production to full capacity.”

A facility of this size is certain to increase the strain on the already sketchy feedstock supply situation in Europe, which is importing palm oil and soya oil for biodiesel refining. Some non-governmental associations like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund have protested the use of palm oil for biodiesel refining, saying that it is responsible for the deforestation of tropical areas in Indonesia and Malaysia. “Some NGOs do not support the use of palm oil in any capacity,” Maula told Biodiesel Magazine. “But we do everything we can to ensure the sustainability of the palm oil we use to make renewable diesel.”
Neste said it does understand that there are good players and bad players in the palm farming and production sector. “We can’t be responsible for the actions of the bad players,” Maula said. “But we try to trace our palm oil from the refinery back to the farm to make sure that it is produced in a sustainable way.”

Neste Oil has also committed itself to only using palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) as it becomes available in sufficient volumes. In addition, most of Neste Oil’s research spending, with an annual budget of nearly $37 million, is used in developing new renewable raw materials.

The Port of Rotterdam is an excellent location for a fuel refinery, located in central Europe, and where most shipments of virgin oils exported to Europe are destined. “Rotterdam is a very good location for us,” Maula said. “It allows us to access raw material shipments and markets across Europe.”
Neste Oil’s refineries are located in Porvoo and Naantali, Finland, and have a combined crude oil refining capacity of approx. 260,000 barrels a day. The company had net sales of €15 billion in 2008 and employs around 5,200 people.

JAKARTA (AFP) — Orangutans in public and private Indonesian zoos are being abused to the point where they are eating their own vomit and drinking their own urine, according to conservationists.

The non-governmental Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) said zookeepers were keeping the endangered apes malnourished so they would be eager to take food from visitors.

“The zoo managements have abandoned the principles of animal welfare,” which is to keep animals free of pain, hunger and stress, COP captivity researcher Luki Wardhani told a press conference.

“We documented several stress symptoms and abnormal behavior. They bump their own bodies, vomit and eat it again, urinate and drink their own urine, lick their own nipples and sit without expression.”

A COP study of five zoos across Java island found that some of the apes were being denied proper nourishment so they would eat anything tourists tossed into their cages.

“Public feeding should be stopped. The visitors often feed the orangutans unsuitable food and the zoos fail to monitor this,” COP captivity program manager Seto Hari Wibowo said.

Too often the orangutans are kept in cages instead of larger enclosures which help reduce their stress levels, the group said.

There are an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild, 80 percent of which live in Indonesia and 20 percent in Malaysia, according to The Nature Conservancy.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i4qMVA8Z2xelIm-q5NRg9wKozlzg

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Wildlife activists have built a treetop bridge in an orangutan sanctuary on Borneo island to help the endangered apes find new mates and prevent inbreeding, according to a report.

The 43-metre suspension bridge was completed last month at the Lower Kinabatangan Sanctuary in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, the New Straits Times reported.

“But this is a temporary measure. In the long run, we must create forest corridors for orangutans and other animals to move about,” said Nobuo Nakanishi from the Borneo Conservation Trust Japan, which helped fund the project.

Orangutan habitats in Malaysia and Indonesia have been decimated as their jungle habitats are cleared by logging and to make way for plantations, putting them at risk of inbreeding as they are split into smaller populations.

The 26,000-hectare (64,250 acre) Lower Kinabatangan sanctuary is divided into 10 lots among oil palm plantations and villages.

Experts say there are about 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild, 80 percent of them in Indonesia and the rest in Malaysian’s eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo island.

A 2007 assessment by the United Nations Environment Program warned that orangutans will be virtually eliminated in the wild within two decades if current deforestation trends continue.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jxKkF0EVRz5Oq6GPRf4hBdWKTZ2g

Press Release: Mad In Cage

Orangutans condition in the Indonesian zoos

Center for Orangutan Protection (COP) is urging The Indonesian Forest Ministry to seriously supervise the treatment of Orangutans in all zoos in Indonesia. The urge is based on research conducted by COP that verifies the terrible condition of Orangutans in almost all zoos in Indonesia at the moment. The managements intend to ignore the basic principals of animal welfare that have been agreed by various zoo associations such as: World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and Perhimpunan Kebun Binatang Seluruh Indonesia (PKBSI), as the following:

1.Free from thirst and hunger
2.Free from physical inconvenience
3.Free from wounds, pain and disease
4.Free to express their normal behavior
5.Free from stress and pressure

COP has conducted thorough assessment towards 28 Orangutans at the Surabaya, Solo, Yogya, Bandung and Jakarta zoos. Assessment was only conducted on the exhibited Orangutans. The hidden Orangutans, the Orangutans used for performance and the Orangutans in quarantine period were excluded. COP spent 30.000 seconds to assess every Orangutan individually.

In general, zoos in Indonesia is using bar cages to exhibit Orangutans to visitors. Some of the zoos have left the bar style cages and change them with open ones, an island-like cage called enclosure. Almost all Orangutans being kept in bar cages are in worse condition, compared to the ones in enclosure. They are not being given access to drinking water with minimal interaction with other Orangutans, and the cages are left empty with no playing facilities for them.

“It is easy to recognize the stress symptoms in Orangutans, because they are similar in us humans. COP has documented various stress and mad symptoms such as hitting their own bodies, vomiting their food and eat it again, licking their own breasts, drinking their own urine, or spending their whole time sleeping or sitting without facial expression, “ said Drh. Luki Wardhani, Captivity Researcher of COP. According to her, this is often caused by the terrible quality of the their life.

“Zoos, being the ex situ conservation institutions, have the responsibility to treat animals as valuable living specimens, and must not treat them as they are doing now. Zoos tend to exploit Orangutans for entertainment and humor for visitors,” said Seto Hari Wibowo, Captivity Campaign Manager of COP.

For information in detail, please contact:

1. Seto Hari Wibowo, Captivity Program Manager of COP, at 081333446446.
Email: seto.wibowo@cop.or.id
2. Drh. Luki Wardhani, Captivity Researcher of COP, at 08155509748.
Email:luki.wardhani@cop.or.id

For photos and videos, please contact:

Hery Susanto, Picture Desk, at 0819816911 / 021-739 5877
Email: HYPERLINK “mailto:hery.susanto@cop.or.id” hery.susanto@cop.or.id

JAKARTA (AFP) — Indonesia aims to more than double its crude palm oil output to 40 million tonnes by 2020 through increased yields and more plantations, officials said Wednesday.

Average oil palm plantation yields would increase from 3.5 tonnes to 4.5 tonnes a hectare while land under plantation would expand from 7.9 million hectares (19.5 million acres) to about 10 million, they said.

Plans to expand palm oil plantations have been opposed by environmental groups, who say Indonesia’s forests are vital carbon sinks in the fight against climate change and an irreplaceable source of biodiversity.

But officials say another 3.4 million hectares of carbon-rich peatlands have been set aside for future plantations, while forest land available for development stands at 10.1 million hectares.

That is around the size of Greece, or 20 times the size of neighbour Singapore.

Companies will be able to develop plantations on peatland areas this year after the government lifted a one-year freeze on peatland conversion imposed after protests from environmental groups.

Indonesian Palm Oil Board chairman Franky Widjaja told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a palm oil conference in Jakarta that higher yields meant fewer plantations would be required.

“Around 40 percent of our plantations are run by smallholders whose yields fall below three tonnes (a hectare). There’s much room for improvement when it comes to such plantations,” he said.

“If we can achieve at least a yield of four tonnes a hectare we would only need total plantation land of 10 million hectares.”

Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO), is expected to produce 19 to 20 million tonnes of the commodity this year.

Palm oil is used in everything from biscuits to soups, cosmetics and biofuel.

Bayu Krisnamurthi, a deputy to the coordinating minister for the economy, said there was a danger that large increases in CPO output might result in oversupply.

“The rising price of CPO over recent years has prompted more smallholder farmers to switch to planting oil palm from other crops such as coffee and rubber,” he said.

He said a balance had to be struck between production and demand, and industries such as biodiesel should be encouraged to ensure there was a market for expanded CPO production.

The biodiesel industry has been lobbying the government for a subsidy on the low-pollution fuel in order to cut production costs and make the industry viable in the face of falling crude oil prices and rising feedstock prices.

Krisnamurthi said Indonesia aimed to use 40 percent of its CPO for energy production, 30 percent for food and the remainder for other purposes such as cosmetics by 2020.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jkuiUPjbbpQ7bWEHWyx3ekSqxTAg

Go get the big fish, KPK challenged

The Jakarta Post , JAKARTA | Tue, 05/26/2009

The arrest of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief Antasari Azhar may well prove a blessing in disguise for the antigraft body, by encouraging the remaining four members of the five-member presidium to wrap up several unresolved high-profile graft cases.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) revealed recently that under now-suspended Antasari’s command, many cases implicating high-powered government officials were held up or only half-completed, with vested political interests interfering in the KPK’s investigations.

ICW deputy coordinator Emerson Yuntho cited the suspended investigations into several legislators who allegedly received bribes to vote for Miranda S. Goeltom as the senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia last year. The suspension was called despite the glut of evidence, including a key confession from former Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) legislator Agus Condro.

Agus admitted to receiving Rp 500 million (US$47,000) following Miranda’s election, but later returned the money to the state through the antigraft body after undergoing a series of “consultative” questioning, including his request for immunity for handing in the money.

Other stalled cases that netted only small fry include that surrounding the flow of Rp 31.5 billion from BI to the House’s 1999-2004 commission on banking and economics, in which 49 ex-legislators were implicated, including Bappenas chief Paskah Suzeta and Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban; an illegal logging case in Pelalawan, Riau, also implicating the forestry minister; and a sewing machine procurement implicating Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah.

“ICW is not saying Antasari had a hand in suspending all these cases, but he clearly played a big role,” Emerson said, adding Antasari’s arrest would allow the KPK a greater opportunity to settle the cases.

ICW legal researcher Febri Diansyah added Antasari had become a stumbling block for the KPK.

“Therefore, despite the seemingly negative aspect of the murder case, his arrest and suspension is actually good news,” he said, adding the KPK would likely breathe a sigh of relief now that Antasari was no longer in the picture.

“Antasari’s case is a personal matter and has nothing to do with the KPK. The institution is far more important than Antasari.”

Data from ICW shows that during Antasari’s time at the KPK’s helm, the Corruption Court convicted 45 officials of graft, sentencing them to an average of three years and seven months apiece.

“As much as 33 to 42 percent of cases handled by the KPK during this time were relatively insignificant, causing state losses of less than Rp 20 billion *$1.9 million* per case,” Emerson said.

The data also shows only five of 75 cases during this period were considered significant, causing state losses of between Rp 81 billion and Rp 100 billion.

“Although the KPK successfully dealt with more cases that previously, most of those convicted were *middle-class’ perpetrators,” Emerson said.

ICW’s data also shows 39 of 79 suspects during Antasari’s reign were government officials, while 11 were legislators.

“Only one was an official from the judiciary,” Emerson pointed out.

Bribery accounted for the bulk of the crimes, present in 24 of the 79 cases.

“In light of our study and analysis, we recommend the KPK focus more on enforcement rather than prevention, because of the large number of suspended cases,” Emerson said.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/26/go-get-big-fish-kpk-challenged.html-0

Consultant anaesthetist Frank Swinton played a key role in saving Dana’s life Staff at Jersey Hospital have helped save the life of an orang-utan which suffered health complications while giving birth to a stillborn baby. Dana, who lives at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, went into labour on Saturday and suffered huge blood loss. An anaesthetist and an obstetrician from the hospital, together with their teams and staff from the zoo, battled to save her. The zoo has praised its staff and the consultants for their quick action. Senior ape keeper Gordon Hunt said: “We are very lucky not to have lost both of them. “The quick action of the keepers and the rapid response of the hospital team and veterinary cover ensured Dana’s survival.” Peter Sullivan, the obstetrician who helped save Dana, said: “Hospital staff have helped with a caesarean at the zoo before so when we were notified that Dana was giving birth we were more than happy to help out. Speedy recovery “There was concerns after the birth that Dana didn’t look very well so she was darted and taken to the vet centre where my colleague, anaesthetist Gary Purcel-Jones, and I tended to her. “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to handle it but the uterus felt pretty much like a human uterus.” Dana is expected to have successful pregnancies in the future The zoo said Dana, who is 21, was showing signs of a speedy recovery and should go on to have successful pregnancies in the future. Tests are to be carried out on her baby to try to establish why it died. According to the zoo, staff tried to save its life by giving it mouth resuscitation and heart massage but it was already dead. The Sumatran orang-utan is one of the world’s most endangered great apes, with an estimated 7,000 individuals in the wild.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/jersey/8068358.stm