Congratulations Rob, your video is well done!
Read the full article.
Yayasan Palung: "Saving the people to save the forest" from Robert Little on Vimeo.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Robbie Little and his story of Bornean Orangutans
When we were in western Borneo, Indonesia, our visit coincided with a U.S. college student who was making a film. Here is an interview with him and at the bottom is a video he created. Many of the local people in the film were our guides in this community and Gunung Palung National Park. This video really immerses you and talks about a wide scope of issues.
Congratulations Rob, your video is well done!
Read the full article.
Congratulations Rob, your video is well done!
Read the full article.
Monday, November 29, 2010
5 Rare Sumatran Elephants Found Dead in Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Five endangered Sumatran elephants have been found dead in Indonesia, and conservationists said Sunday that they suspect farmers poisoned the animals to stop them from damaging crops.
The elephants - four females and one male all under the age of 5 - were found dead late Friday in Riau province on Sumatra island, said Edi Susanto, a government conservationist.
Susanto suspects that owners of nearby palm oil plantations used cyanide to poison the animals, which are known for damaging crops. He said an investigation is under way and samples from the dead elephants have been sent for analysis.
Read more...
Mother and baby Sumatran Elephants (photo does not represent the elephants mentioned in this article.
The elephants - four females and one male all under the age of 5 - were found dead late Friday in Riau province on Sumatra island, said Edi Susanto, a government conservationist.
Susanto suspects that owners of nearby palm oil plantations used cyanide to poison the animals, which are known for damaging crops. He said an investigation is under way and samples from the dead elephants have been sent for analysis.
Read more...
Mother and baby Sumatran Elephants (photo does not represent the elephants mentioned in this article.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
New Palm Oil Listserve
Conservationists, educators, animal keepers, zoo management and directors - people interested in sharing and receiving palm oil news updates and spreading awareness are encouraged to subscribe to listserve.
To join this listserve please click here.
To join this listserve please click here.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Make a Difference for Wild Orangutans
There is a crisis affecting orangutans...the Palm Oil Crisis. How can you help? Learn more. Spread the word. www.cmzoo.org/conservation/palmOilCrisis/
If you are having problems watching this video please visit our YouTube page.
If you are having problems watching this video please visit our YouTube page.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Indonesia announces moratorium on granting new forest concessions
This article came out WHILE our team was in Indonesia/Malaysia. Norway is giving Indonesia $1 billion but the Indonesian President first had to sign a moratorium on deforestation for 2 years. This sounds great but it is a little more complicated... please read the article below.
The following image shows the rate of deforestation in Indonesia and predicts through the year 2020 the rainforest loss that will occur if the rate does not decrease or stop.
Indonesia announces moratorium on granting new forest concessions
By Jeremy Hance
mongabay.com
May 28, 2010
With one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, the world's third largest greenhouse gas emissions due mostly to forest loss, and with a rich biodiversity that is fighting to survive amid large-scale habitat loss, Indonesia today announced a deal that may be the beginning of stopping forest loss in the Southeast Asian country. Indonesia announced a two year moratorium on granting new concessions of rainforest and peat forest for clearing in Oslo, Norway, beginning in January 2011, however concessions already granted to companies will not be stopped. The announcement came as Indonesia received 1 billion US dollars from Norway to help the country stop deforestation.
"Indonesia is prepared to suspend for two years new concessions for the conversion of peat and natural forest lands," said a statement from Indonesia as reported by Reuters. "Sufficient non-forest lands exist for Indonesia to accommodate the growth of its vitally important plantation industries, a major source of livelihoods in Indonesia." Plantation expansion, including palm oil and pulp-and-paper, will focus on lands that are already degraded.
Greenpeace, which has long fought deforestation in Indonesia, analyzed the announcement in a blog today: "This is good news, especially if it makes it into a presidential decree when [Indonesian President] Yudhoyono gets back to Jakarta, and the moratorium was a precondition laid down by Norway for its $1bn share of the financial deal which is specifically targeted at Indonesia. But it doesn't address the millions of hectares which are already in the clutches of logging companies […]Without including existing concessions, deforestation will still continue apace."
In fact Indonesia has confirmed that a 1.6 million hectare (4 million acres) agriculture estate planned for the Papua province on the western half of the island of New Guinea will still go ahead.
"But it will be in the context of this green policy," Papua governor Barnabas Suebu told Reuters. "The land that will be used for the food estate is of very low value of carbon and biodiversity."
In addition, since the moratorium doesn't go into effect until January—based on the letter of intent—some fear that concessions will be continued you to be granted at a booming rate over the next six months, putting more forests and species in jeopardy.
The announcement and the donation of 1 billion US dollars from Norway is seen as the beginning of a REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) program in Indonesia. In fact a portion of the monies will go toward setting up a monitoring system for REDD+ and beginning REDD+ projects.
The meeting in Norway included the announcement of 4 billion US dollars to begin REDD+ projects worldwide. The funds were promised last year at the Copenhagen Climate Conference and have been put forward by the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Australia, Norway, and Japan. Denmark and Sweden promised an addition 73 million US dollars.
Indonesia is second in deforestation loss after Brazil. Between 1990 and 2005, Indonesia lost more than 28 million hectares of forest, including 21.7 hectares of virgin forest. The country's forest cover has declined from 82 percent in the 1960s to less than fifty percent today.
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0527-hance_moratorium.html
The following image shows the rate of deforestation in Indonesia and predicts through the year 2020 the rainforest loss that will occur if the rate does not decrease or stop.
Indonesia announces moratorium on granting new forest concessions
By Jeremy Hance
mongabay.com
May 28, 2010
With one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, the world's third largest greenhouse gas emissions due mostly to forest loss, and with a rich biodiversity that is fighting to survive amid large-scale habitat loss, Indonesia today announced a deal that may be the beginning of stopping forest loss in the Southeast Asian country. Indonesia announced a two year moratorium on granting new concessions of rainforest and peat forest for clearing in Oslo, Norway, beginning in January 2011, however concessions already granted to companies will not be stopped. The announcement came as Indonesia received 1 billion US dollars from Norway to help the country stop deforestation.
"Indonesia is prepared to suspend for two years new concessions for the conversion of peat and natural forest lands," said a statement from Indonesia as reported by Reuters. "Sufficient non-forest lands exist for Indonesia to accommodate the growth of its vitally important plantation industries, a major source of livelihoods in Indonesia." Plantation expansion, including palm oil and pulp-and-paper, will focus on lands that are already degraded.
Greenpeace, which has long fought deforestation in Indonesia, analyzed the announcement in a blog today: "This is good news, especially if it makes it into a presidential decree when [Indonesian President] Yudhoyono gets back to Jakarta, and the moratorium was a precondition laid down by Norway for its $1bn share of the financial deal which is specifically targeted at Indonesia. But it doesn't address the millions of hectares which are already in the clutches of logging companies […]Without including existing concessions, deforestation will still continue apace."
In fact Indonesia has confirmed that a 1.6 million hectare (4 million acres) agriculture estate planned for the Papua province on the western half of the island of New Guinea will still go ahead.
"But it will be in the context of this green policy," Papua governor Barnabas Suebu told Reuters. "The land that will be used for the food estate is of very low value of carbon and biodiversity."
In addition, since the moratorium doesn't go into effect until January—based on the letter of intent—some fear that concessions will be continued you to be granted at a booming rate over the next six months, putting more forests and species in jeopardy.
The announcement and the donation of 1 billion US dollars from Norway is seen as the beginning of a REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) program in Indonesia. In fact a portion of the monies will go toward setting up a monitoring system for REDD+ and beginning REDD+ projects.
The meeting in Norway included the announcement of 4 billion US dollars to begin REDD+ projects worldwide. The funds were promised last year at the Copenhagen Climate Conference and have been put forward by the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Australia, Norway, and Japan. Denmark and Sweden promised an addition 73 million US dollars.
Indonesia is second in deforestation loss after Brazil. Between 1990 and 2005, Indonesia lost more than 28 million hectares of forest, including 21.7 hectares of virgin forest. The country's forest cover has declined from 82 percent in the 1960s to less than fifty percent today.
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0527-hance_moratorium.html
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Sustainable Palm Oil Arrives in U.S.
We just received word that the first shipment of palm oil certified under sustainability criteria has arrived in the United States.
This is a breaking news story coming from mongabay.com. They state, that according to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), AAK, a vegetable oils and fats manufacturer based in Malmo, Sweden, announced the arrival of the first shipment of segregated RSPO-certified palm oil to its refinery in Port Newark, New Jersey. .
The RSPO also announced that daily production of CSPO has now surpassed 5,000 metric tons per day. Since late 2008 more than 2.2 million tons of certified palm oil and 600,000 tons of certified palm kernals have been produced. About 600,000 tons of CSPO and kernals has been sold—mostly in Europe—so far in 2010.
Read the entire mongabay.com story online.
This is a breaking news story coming from mongabay.com. They state, that according to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), AAK, a vegetable oils and fats manufacturer based in Malmo, Sweden, announced the arrival of the first shipment of segregated RSPO-certified palm oil to its refinery in Port Newark, New Jersey. .
The RSPO also announced that daily production of CSPO has now surpassed 5,000 metric tons per day. Since late 2008 more than 2.2 million tons of certified palm oil and 600,000 tons of certified palm kernals have been produced. About 600,000 tons of CSPO and kernals has been sold—mostly in Europe—so far in 2010.
Read the entire mongabay.com story online.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Home Sweet Home
We have so much more to tell everyone about, but right now we are tired! We have finally arrived back in the U.S. and are very glad to see our families again. After 37+ hours of flights and layovers it is time to get some sleep.
We will discuss our travels, share pictures, and talk about what we learned at the upcoming “Swinging in the Rainforest” event at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on July 10, 2010 from 6:30 – 9 p.m. Get your tickets online today!
We will discuss our travels, share pictures, and talk about what we learned at the upcoming “Swinging in the Rainforest” event at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on July 10, 2010 from 6:30 – 9 p.m. Get your tickets online today!
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