Orangutan Outreach Website - Saving the Orangutan

thestar online, Malaysia

By EMBUN MAJID

ALOR STAR: Environmental groups are against the Kedah government’s plan to allow logging at the Pedu, Muda and Ahning dam catchment areas, claiming it will be detrimental to the environment.

Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Kedah branch chairman Phang Fatt Khow urged the Pakatan Rakyat state government to reconsider the move to protect water catchment areas as well the surrounding bio-diversity.

“We are against the state’s plan to allow logging because in the long run, it may jeopardise water supply for padi cultivation,” Phang said Thursday.

He however agreed that the state should receive compensation from the Federal Government if it had to sacrifice the logging contracts to protect the environment.

Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris also cautioned against allowing logging at catchment areas as it would cause problems such as water pollution, flooding or droughts.

Mentri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak said that the state government would scrap its logging plan if the Federal Government paid the state RM100mil annually as promised.

“We have to carry out logging because we need the money to run the state and conduct development for the people. But if we can have other revenue, then we won’t need to do it,” he told newsmen after visiting SK Suka Menanti here.

Azizan had on Wednesday, announced that the state government had approved logging activities at the dam catchment areas which would contribute about RM16bil in revenue for the state.

He had said the move was necessary to cover the high expenditure incurred by the state following the petrol price increase.

“We have been providing water to Penang and Perlis and we also produce rice for the whole nation and we protect the forest. Thus the Federal Government should compensate us,” he said.

When asked on protests from environmentalists, Azizan reiterated that the government was exercising its right to log to cover increased operating costs.

Benget Besalicto Tnb, Contributor, Sampit, Central Kalimantan

At least two regencies in Central Kalimantan are waiting for approval from the Jakarta-based forestry ministry to convert some of their forest into industrial plantations, the regents say.

The conversion — most of it from former industrial forest concessions — is meant to accommodate expansion plans from several palm oil companies, including Agro Indomas, Agro Bukit, Best Agro International Group, Wilmar Group and Sinar Mas Group, said the regent of Seruyan, Darwan Ali, last week.

“But we have had no words from the ministry so far,” he said.

Under current regulations, plantation businesses are under the authority of the agriculture ministry, while industrial wood-based forest businesses are managed by the forestry ministry. But any land conversion from forest into industry will also have to be approved by the forestry ministry.

Syarif Bastaman, a member of Agro Indomas’ board of directors, who is also a shareholder in the company, admitted his company had planned to invest more than Rp 7 trillion until 2012 to expand his company’s palm oil plantations.

“We’ve planned to invest up to Rp 7 trillion until 2012 here. If the forestry ministry approved it, we will soon realize our investment here.

“One of our projects is to develop the 22,000 hectare Agro Wanalestari plantation in Seruyan regency, which could employ more than 3,000 workers if realized. Currently, we’ve employed more than 5,000 workers in both Agro Indomas and Agro Bukit,” he said.

Agro Indomas and Agro Bukit are two sister companies under the Agro Group, which is owned by Carson Cumberbeth, a Sri Lankan company owned by business giant Hari Selvanatan.

“The protracted process resulted from the difference in land use maps between the regencies and the central government or ministries in Jakarta,” Syarif said.

Darwan said his administration had designed a new space arrangement. But all the areas it proposed for conversion are former forest concession areas, which required approval by the forestry ministry.

“But so far we haven’t got any response from the forestry ministry in Jakarta.”

Darwan was speaking after attending fire awareness training held by Agro Indomas, in cooperation with the ministry of forestry, the Indonesian Palm Oil Council, WWF Indonesia, Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) and Care International.

Kotawaringin Timur Regent Wahyudi K. Anwar shared Darwan’s view, saying the new investments, if realized, will certainly boost local economies in the regencies.

Local government data shows that there are about 1.5 million hectares of former industrial forest concession areas that can be converted into plantations and industrial forests in the province.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Kenyahs blockade a logging road on the Upper Moh River. The banner says, “Samling, do not rob the wealth from the poor people’s land and give it to the rich in the city.” (Photo courtesy Borneo Resources Institute)

MIRI, Sarawak, Malaysia, June 17, 2008 (ENS) - A month-long blockade of logging roads by indigenous people in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia set to protest illegal logging on their communal lands is about to be broken up by police.

More than 100 indigenous Kenyah people gathered at the blockade site on the upper Moh River on the island of Borneo claim that the blockade is their only way of calling on representatives of the Samling Timber Company and government authorities to have a consultation and meet with them to listen to their problems and demands.

Otherwise, they say, the Samling Timber Company will continue to ignore their demands and plights.

According to the Borneo Resources Institute in Miri, which issued a statement today on behalf of the Kenyah peoples, ever since Samling started its logging operations in the upper Baram area, the indigenous communities have suffered the environmental impacts of logging.

They say the company simply encroached into their communal land and forest areas to carry out logging activities, without any consultation and consideration for their source of livelihood.

The Kenyahs have forwarded some “reasonable demands for social benefits and development of the community as they are the rights stakeholders that should be fairly benefit from forest resources in their area,” the Borneo Resources Institute says.

Kenyah people with logs felled by Samling Timber Company on traditional lands. (Photo courtesy Borneo Resources Institute)

The Kenyah say they resorted to the blockade action after the company and the state forest agency ignored their demands and their rights of access and claims to the benefits of their natural forest resources.

Since the blockade was erected, Samling’s logging activities have ceased. Hundreds of timber logs that had been felled are stacked up along the sides of the logging road because the Kenyahs have stopped all the logging trucks and other logging machines from entering the area and transporting timber from the area.
Kenyah people with logs felled by Samling Timber Company on traditional lands. (Photo courtesy Borneo Resources Institute)

The Kenyahs have written a letter to the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, a state government agency, requesting that the agency carry out an urgent physical inspection of all logs that have been illegally felled by Samling in the area.

They also called upon the Sarawak Forestry Corporation to stop Samling from carrying out its operation until all inspection of timber logs has been completed.

Their request has been ignored.

Believing that they have no other alternative and being compelled to bring attention to their plight, the indigenous Kenyahs of Kedaya Telang Usan area in Baram Region have resorted to staging this protest, which is still continuing.

On May 29, upon receiving complaints from the Samling Timber Company, a group of personnel from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, went to the blockade site to remove the wooden barricades, but they were restrained from dismantling the blockade.

As a result, the Sarawak Forestry Corporation filed a court action requesting a Warrant of Arrest, which has been granted by the Magistrate Court in Miri.

Police personnel from the Marudi Police Station were ordered to the blockade site to enforce the Warrant of Arrest on June 14. So far, no arrests have taken place.

Source: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2008/2008-06-17-02.asp

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

By Cassie Johnson

Kylie’s love of nature and environmental awareness came alive in first grade. Her teacher, Mrs. Rappleye, taught an extensive lesson on the Red Wood Forest and all the important creatures within. The classroom was transformed into a living forest from the netting on the ceiling to the bark covering the floor, it was an amazing year. That following summer our family traveled to Costa Rica. We steered away from the zip-line rides and ATV activities; instead we concentrated on exploration of the rainforest wild life.

Knowledge is a powerful thing. There is no turning back for Kylie now. She understands that our world and its creatures are in need of help, and she knows she can make a difference.

Kylie celebrated her 9th birthday much like her 8th, a philanthropic rainforest / orangutan themed party. Along with a swimsuit and towel, she asks her guests to each bring a handmade birthday card (jungle themed) and in lieu of a gift, make a donation to save endangered orangutans through “Orangutan Outreach”. (Last year, at her 8th birthday guests donated and adopted six and a half acres of the Costa Rican rainforest).

All twenty-five children participated and were excited to help, as most had heard about the killing of orangutans and the rainforests disappearing to the plantations of palm oil trees.

Kylie raised $500.00!!!!!!!!!!! Kylie describes her birthday as “the best party ever!” We call it the gift that keeps giving. She gets so much joy, deciding on an organization to support, reading the orangutan stories, laughing at all the creative cards her friends made, and counting up the piles of checks and cash. Then there is the writing of her story for websites and our local paper, and a certificate of giving we frame on her bedroom wall.

The gift of empowerment and confidence Kylie receives from these birthdays can not even come close to the short-lived joy of material birthday gifts. We are so proud of Kylie and hope she inspires other children and families to discover the joy of giving in the pursuit of raising global environmental consciousness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We couldn’t agree more! Thanks so much, Kylie! You have joined the ranks of a growing number of young supporters who are doing their part to help save the orangutans…. The world needs more kids like you, Isabella Velez and Lainie Hampton! And stay tuned for more from Girl Scouts Rhiannon Tomtishen and Mady Vorva.

By Juan Fernandez, Senior Orangutan Keeper at the San Diego Zoo

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the New Living Expo in San Francisco. On behalf of the San Diego Zoo, I accepted an invitation by the director of Orangutan Outreach, Richard Zimmerman, and his wife, Robin, to help raise awareness and funds directly contributing to orangutan conservation. Armed with some show-and- tell items, information pamphlets, and 50 plush orangutan toys, we had no idea what to expect from the thousands of anticipated guests visiting that weekend.

We were very excited about this pilot program and we wanted to get people excited about conservation. To get their attention, we decorated an elaborate booth filled with cute orangutan photos and canvas art pieces made by our resident Bornean orangutan, Janey. People were naturally drawn to our booth. Once they approached, we talked about the palm oil industry and its direct effect on the ecology of many animals in Indonesia, specifically Bornean and Sumatran orangutans.

The large corporate logging industries are destroying the forests in Indonesia at a fast rate. According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) reports, between the years 2000 and 2005, Indonesia had the second-most cleared tropical rain forest in the world. This diverse ecosystem is home to the only great ape that occurs outside of Africa, the orangutan. Other species include the Sumatran tiger, pygmy rhino, clouded leopards, and pygmy forest elephants.

Unfortunately, Indonesian rain forest is prime land for the world’s second-most produced crop oil in the world. The African oil palm Elaeis guineensis was introduced to Southeast Asia in the early 1600s. Roughly 90 percent of the palm oil produced comes from the Indonesian region. The problem comes into focus once we begin to see how unaware consumers contribute to this issue. Most Americans have no idea how many products in their home actually contain palm oil and palm-based products: detergents, soaps, cosmetics, and household products contain palm oil. One out of every five food items we buy at the grocery store, especially baked goods, contain palm oil. Other wording that is used in conjunction with palm oil is palmate, palm kernel, and even vegetable oil. There is little accountability from the large companies on where their palm oil is coming from. It’s cheap to produce, has a favorable taste for food items, and it’s a great preservative in many products.

Secondarily, the boom in biofuel as an alternative source of energy is using palm oil to run its machines. This low emission alternative comes with a high price as forests around the world are being destroyed at an alarming rate.

By becoming conscious consumers, we can have a huge positive impact on what goes on halfway around the world. Raising awareness and being able to pass this on was the message to the hundreds of people that came by our conservation booth. It was exhilarating and exhausting, but I enjoyed every second! On behalf of Orangutan Outreach, we collected over $2,000 in cash donations and another $2,000 in online adoptions. One hundred percent of the contributions went directly to benefit over 650 orphaned orangutans that lost their mothers due to the palm oil industry in Borneo.

Juan Fernandez is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Read Juan’s original post on the San Diego Zoo blog

Watch the San Diego Zoo’s orangutans and siamangs daily on their Ape Cam!!!!

Photo of Janey the Artiste — Check out her myspace page.

View the original post here:
The Unsuitablog: Exposing Environmental Hypocrites Everywhere!

United Biscuits are a big snack company: they are worth at least two billion US dollars, and have huge market chare in north west Europe. According to their web site:

UB owns three of the top selling five biscuit brands in the UK. McVitie’s is among the best-known brands in the UK and McVitie’s biscuits are purchased by 85% of UK households. The addition of Jacob’s brands increases UK biscuit market share to 33%.

UB is the leading manufacturer and marketer of biscuits in UK and second in France, Netherlands and Belgium. UB is number two in the UK branded savoury snacks and crisps market.

This information is repeated verbatim on the Roundtable For Sustainable Palm Oil’s web site, for United Biscuits are a member. We met the RSPO on The Unsuitablog a few weeks ago, when it became clear that they were nothing more than an industry talking shop designed to make people think that something was being done about the extraordinary amount of destruction taking place in south east Asia just to provide food oil and feedstock for biofuels.

United Biscuits were happy to talk to me over the phone for a while. I wanted to find out if I could eat McVities biscuits without contributing to deforestation. The answer was pretty clear, and I can say this without fear of comeback:

All McVities biscuits are likely to contain palm oil derived from non-sustainable sources.

Given that United Biscuits have been pushing hard to remove hydrogenated vegetable oils from their products – so that people who can’t stop eating crisps, biscuits and cookies can keep eating them without risking a coronary — UB must be using a huge amount of palm oil instead. But they wont tell me — in fact they have cut off communications. Here is the initial e-mail I received from their head of communications, Bob Brightwell:

Keith

We spoke earlier in the week re palm oil and I mentioned that we were working on a new statement that I hoped to let you have at the end of this week.

Unfortunately it is not yet ready and will probably take a week or two as we continue to explore sourcing options. On the positive side I mentioned that we had already achieved a 17% reduction in the amount of palm oil we use since 2005. As I recall you were not that impressed and said that you would have preferred a 70% saving. Well I am pleased to confirm that with the plans we have in place we expect to more than double our 17% saving by next year so will be more than half way to your 70% goal!

Have a good weekend

Bob Brightwell
United Biscuits
Hayes Park
0208 234 5104

Realising that I couldn’t judge their progress without some meaningful figures — after all, a million tonnes (or whatever) of palm oil minus 17% is still a hell of a lot of palm oil — I asked for clarification…

Dear Bob

Thanks for the update. I have just realised, however, that the percentage figure is meaningless without an indication of the volume of palm oil actually used. A 17 or 35 percent reduction for UB could equate to the total consumption for a small nation. Could you please provide me with the gross volumes for McVities and UB overall for 2005 and subsequent years, along with the projected consumption figures?

Kind regards

Keith Farnish

And there it stopped. Four weeks later, I am still waiting for (a) a response and (b) the palm oil statement that was meant to be ready in a week. The statement hasn’t appeared on their web site, nor has it appeared in the press. Clearly UB don’t have a clue how to get themselves out of the destructive mess they have got themselves in to, but are trying to hide behind silence for fear of revealing the truth about their contribution to deforestation.

I eagerly await a response from them…

Source: http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/06/06/united-biscuits-palm-oil-guzzlers-without-a-plan/

(Writing by Sara Webb; Editing by Jerry Norton)

JAKARTA, June 5 (Reuters) - Indonesia’s environment minister said on Thursday that events in Jakarta, hit by flooding due to unusually high tides this week, served as a timely warning of the impact of global warming on coastal cities.

Rachmat Witoelar urged Group of Eight countries, due to meet next month for a summit in Japan, to show their commitment to tackling global warming, which threatens many coastal and low-lying areas.

“We want to persuade the countries of G8 to be more forthcoming in disbursing funds,” he said in an interview on World Environment Day, adding that the Group of Eight countries should not go back on their promises.

“I hope G8 will have a very clear formula on how much, when, and how they are going to disburse” funds to help combat global warming, Witoelar said.

About 190 nations agreed at U.N.-led talks in Bali last December to launch two-year negotiations on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol, which binds rich nations to emission cuts by an average of 5 percent between 2008-2012 from 1990 levels.

All nations would be bound under Kyoto’s successor from 2013, and under the “Bali Roadmap’, nations recognised deep cuts in global emissions were needed.

The Indonesian capital provides “a good warning signal” of the dangers the world faces, Witoelar said.

“It is a precursor of what happens if we do not mitigate the climate change, and within 50 years this will happen every day,” he said, adding that within 20 years, Jakarta’s airport would be unusable, while many homes along the coast would be destroyed.

Parts of Jakarta were hit by flooding this week due to the combination of unusually high tides and the effects of subsidence from excessive extraction of ground water.

High tides and heavy rains frequently disrupt transport on the capital’s main airport tollroad and on many of the city’s arteries, hurting the local economy.

But Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, also draws frequent criticism for its illegal logging, environmental destruction, and conversion of forested land for palm oil production.

As “the foremost owner of the world’s biodiversity”, Indonesia would ensure that some 47-48 million hectares of forest would not be touched, Witoelar said, although he added that older indigenous trees consumed less CO2 than fast-growing trees, such as those in plantations.

Conversion of unprotected areas for palm oil plantations was necessary as a means of providing jobs, he added.

“There’s 18 million hectares of wood forest, not indigenous forest, that can be exploited for other uses,” he said.

“This growing country needs some leeway for trying to make things happen in terms of providing employment for its people.”

Six-year-old Lainie Hampton loves orangutans. So when her school, Pleasant Valley Montessori (in Boring, Oregon), completed their Earth Day fundraising for the World Wildlife Fund, she wanted to do something special just for the red haired apes.

She was familiar with Orangutan Outreach from watching ‘Orangutan Island’ on Animal Planet– and had already seen her older sister Johanna help raise funds for the new orangutan habitat at the Oregon Zoo. We had just announced our Mother’s Day campaign, M.O.M. - Missing Orangutan Mothers, and Lainie had an idea. She decided to download and print several of the posters from the Orangutan Outreach website. She then recycled a science fair poster board and made her own fundraising poster for school.

To raise money, Lainie connected with a local fundraising company that transfers children’s artwork to cards, mugs, t-shirts, etc. and encouraged her schoolmates to participate. “We were so thrilled when Lainie came up with this brilliant idea to help the Orangs. She has inspired other students in the pursuit of environmental consciousness. We are very proud of her!” said Diane Overtuf, director at the school.

Together the Pleasant Valley Montessori School raised $328.90 for the Nyaru Menteng orangutan rehabilitation center and orphanage. When asked why she wanted to help, Lainie replied, “Because they are endangered and they’re cute!”

Sounds good to us, Lainie! We provided the entire class with two orangutan adoptions, and they chose to adopt Kesi and Fio.

On behalf of the orangutans, Lainie, thank you so much for your incredible efforts!

Dear GCP Friends,

Happy World Environment Day!

As a Senior Advisor to The Prince’s Rainforests Project leading up to and since its inception on October 25th, I thought you might like to know about the launch - today - of this project’s new website. It contains interesting facts about rainforests around the world and some terrific films, including one featuring HRH The Prince of Wales talking about rainforests as global utilities providing services we all use but do not pay for. It also includes a rather frightening counter which tells you how many square metres of rainforest have been lost while you have been logged on!

site: http://www.princesrainforestsproject.org

introductory video: http://www.youtube.com/rainforestsproject

As you will see from the site, the Prince’s project is providing a huge accelerator to many ideas we have developed through GCP’s Alliance of friends as well as those from numerous other groups around the world, especially from rainforest nations themselves.

His Royal Highness is playing a very active role in all this. He is backed by a full team at Clarence House in London and major companies such as Goldman Sachs, Shell, KMPG, Mann Group, Google, and many others on the project Steering Committee. GCP Trustee Hylton Philipson is also an Advisor to the project. The project will run until December 2009 by which time it intends to deliver 5-6 major costed ideas for reducing deforestation engaging both the private sector and governments.

There is also an area on the website where you can sign up to show your support for what the Prince is trying to do. Please provide any comment you have. As is the case with all websites, it is in constant development.

Many thanks for your interest,

Andrew Mitchell

Director
Global Canopy Programme
www.globalcanopy.org