Sustainable Development: Green in Indonesia

Cheap and Eco-friendly Refrigerator

2011-12-20T03:22:00.000-08:00

In our home we decided to make our own fridge from clay pots and below are instructions on how we did. It was cheap to do, costing us around IDR 200,000 and it’s good for the environment too.

Nowadays fridges in Europe usually contain HFC-134a which does not deplete the ozone layer (although it is a greenhouse gas). This substance replaced CFCs which were responsible for depleting the ozone layer. However, in Indonesia I struggled to find a fridge which didn’t contain CFCs and I didn’t think that HFCs were a good alternative since all halocarbons are powerful greenhouse gases. So we researched alternative ways to keep our food cool and found out about an ancient type of fridge made of terracotta pots called a Zeer pot which is used across the Middle-East and Africa. A similar terracotta fridge is also used in Indonesia - our neighbour in Malang, East Java have a clay pot fridge which they sunk into the soil in their garden in order to keep it extra cold.

To make your clay pot fridge you will need:

Two unglazed terracotta (clay) pots

A bag of sand

A towel

Water

We found the clay pots in a market close to Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java.

The large outer pot - first we filled it with sand.

Then we placed a smaller clay pot inside and filled the sides with sand until the sand reached the tops of the pots.

After we had filled in the sand we poured water into the sand until it was moist. Then we placed a moist towel over the top of the two pots. Fruit, vegetables and cheese will now keep for up to a week. The sand needs to be watered once or twice a day. And voila... a new fridge.

A Footprint bigger than the Earth

2011-11-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Our ecological footprint is a “measure of humanity’s demand on nature. It measures how much land and water area a human population requires to produce the resource it consumes” (Global Footprint Network) please find out more by visiting the Global Footprint Network webpage:

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/footprint_basics_overview/

We’re currently taking more resources from the earth than the earth can sustainably provide. Beef production has a large role to play in this global consumption, since vast areas of land are now being used to grow feed for cows intended for beef. There is enough land and food for everyone, but how we manage what we grow and what we decide to eat is currently not sustainable.

So by cutting back on beef and dairy products you can help cut your global footprint. In Indonesia I haven’t found many alternatives to dairy products. Although products do exist. I recently found a cute little vegetarian restaurant in Malang called Lovina on Jalan Ahmed Yani. The restaurant’s message was simple “murah sehat dan sahabat alam” and they were equally as concerned about global warming. Vegan and vegetarian food is served between 10-5 o’ clock everyday and there is also a small shop at the front selling vegetarian products. Here are some items I quickly snatched up:

Powered soya milk from Lovina

I have also found canned soya milk being sold in Indomaret in the fridge section. At first the milk might taste strange and not really similar to cow’s milk. Yet give it time, your taste buds will adapt to it and hopefully love it just like I do. Indonesia is a great country to find vegetarian food – tempe, tofu all made from soya beans.

Coating flour for mushrooms or tempe from Lovina

Vegetarian noodles from Lovina, Malang, only IDR 1,600

Loving Hut also sells vegetarian food and can be found in cities all across Indonesia including Jakarta, Jogjakarta, Medan, Malang, Surabaya, Bali, Cianjur, Solo and South Sulawesi.

http://www.lovinghut.co.id/

In Malang, East Java the supermarket Lai Lai stocks various alternative products such as soya milk.

But I’d definitely recommend trying the cooking flour tempung bumbu in your own kitchen. It tastes great over mushrooms, aubergine or tempe.

Plants from Central Kalimantan: a Dayak Perspective

2011-11-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

In the month of June 2011 I took photos of plants in the Pasir Panjang forest of Central Kalimantan. The indigenous Dayak people of this region have an intimate knowledge of the plants which grow in their forests. For centuries plants have provided the Dayak people with medicene, food, even water. Here is a list of some of these plants and the ways in which the Dayak people used them in the past as well as today. Since I was volunteering at the OFI Care Centre and Quarantine, a rehabilitation centre for orangutans I have also mentioned whether these plants are eaten by orangutans as well.

Local name: Putat

Habitat / Biological Information: The fruits of this plant are red and yellow.

Interesting fact: A traditional Dayak medicine can be made from the leaves of the putat plant to make an ointment that can be rubbed onto the skin, to relieve skin irritated by the rangas tree.

In the Photo: Baby Hunt is climbing in the forest surrounding the nursery, and white putat flowers can be seen sweeping down on his right-hand side.

Putat continued….

In the Photo: Baby Hunt is eating either Putat flowers or leaves in the forest outside the baby nursery.

Local Name: Lembiding (kelakai - alternative Dayak name)

Habitat / Biological Information: Lembiding is a vine and the young leaves grow in crosier. Young and juvenile leaves are red and soft, adults leaves are hard, green and have serrated edges.

Interesting fact: Orangutans eat the young, red leaves and tips of the vine. Local people also eat the leaves, by soaking them in hot water first to soften them, before frying them. Dayak people believe that the lembiding plant is good to eat if you have low blood pressure.

In the Photo: Sidney can be seen enjoying eating the tips of the Lembiding vine.

Local Name: Unknown (possibly Kelombang)

Habitat / biological information: A small, aquatic plant which grows with its leaves floating on the water. Its flowers grow upright, sticking out of the water and growing up to 10-20 cm. The flowers are purple on the outside and yellow on the inside and smell like dirty socks. The leaves are green on the top side of the leaf and purple underneath.

Interesting fact: This plant is poisonous if consumed.

Local Name: Ngang Garam

Interesting fact: Orangutans can eat the fruit of this plant.

Local name: Selinsing

Habitat / Biological information: Selinsing grows in water.

Interesting fact: Local people use this photographed species as a medicine for itchy skin.

In the Photo: Wallis can be seen eating the grass in the forest.

Local name: Tabiku Tingang, Kantong semar (Indonesian) or pitcher plant (English)

Genus: Nepenthes

Habitat / Biological Information: Pitcher plants have a unique way of feeding. They have evolved to live in areas with low nutrient soils by getting their nutrients from insects. Insects are lured to eat from the lid of the plant but once they enter the pitcher of the plant, the slippery sides ensure that the insects can’t climb back out. After the insects plummet into a pool of water at the bottom of the plant, the plant secretes enzymes into the water which digest the insect.

Tabiku Tingang continued….

Interesting fact: One species, the red crab spider, has developed a way to survive off the pitcher plant. By hanging on with threads of silk to the sides of the plant, it waits for a trapped insect in the pool of water to drown before eating it. Using an air bubble, the spider can even dive into the water to catch swimming larvae.

Tabiku Tingang continued….

Interesting fact: In Dayak, Tingang translates as hornbill, therefore the name of this particular species of pitcher plant, Tabiku Tingang, derives from the shape of its hood which locals believe resembles the shape of a hornbill. Before there was adequate access to water in Kalimantan, local Dayak people would often drink from the pitcher plant whilst in the forest. Birds will often drink from this plant too.

Local name: Singkong (Indonesian), cassava (English),

Species name: Manihot esculenta

Interesting fact: This plant is native to South America but is commonly cultivated in tropical, sub-tropical regions such as Indonesia. Cassava is now considered to be the third largest source of carbohydrates in the world for meals. Various parts of the plant are edible such as the tapered root, the leaves and the juices.

In the Photo: Here, Berman can be seen eating the Cassava.

Local name: Kaladi

Interesting fact: People and orangutans can’t eat this plant because it is poisonous. It can make the skin very itchy as well.

Local name: Karamunting kodok

Interesting fact: Local Dayak people in Pasir Panjang cook and eat the flowers of this plant. They can also eat the fruit if it’s ripe and red.

In the Photo: Douglas Soledo can be seen enjoying a ripe Karamunting fruit.

Karamunting Kodok continued....

In the Photo: Here, baby Britney is enjoying a younger Karamunting fruit which is still green.

Local name: Angrek (Indonesian), Orchid (English)

Interesting fact: Sometimes orangutans will eat these flowers.

Local name: Jamul, (Indonesian name for fungus) the generic name is shelf fungus or bracket fungus.

Interesting fact: Orangutans don’t eat this particular fungus, but they will often eat other fungi. This fungus is poisonous. Dayak people believe that if a caterpillar is eating a fungus, then it is safe for people to eat too.

Local name: Akar (Indonesian), Liana (English)

Habitat / Biological Information: Lianas are woody vines that rely on other plants for support in order to reach the heights of the canopy where more light can be found. Rooted, they start from the ground, and because they don’t need to invest energy into structural support, they devote more resources into leaf production and stem elongation for rapid growth. Some lianas have been recorded as exceeding 3,000 feet in length. Lianas are very important in the forest; they suppress tree regeneration, provide food to animals, and physically link trees together, providing passage through the canopy for arboreal animals such as orangutans.

In the Photo: Sidney relaxes on a sturdy, old vine.

Local name: Pohon Nanasi

Interesting fact: Orangutans sometimes eat the fruit from this tree. Nanasi translates as white rice in Dayak, and so the name of this plant derives from its color which is similar to white rice.

Local name: Satar

Interesting fact: The young blue leaf turns green and orangutans eat the young leaves and Satar fruit.

Local name: Akar (Indonesian), Vine (English)

Interesting fact: This is a young vine, making its way up a tree. Vines have many tactics for attaching themselves to a host. These include methods such as stem twining, using tendrils from their stems, thorns, spikes or downward-pointing hairs to stick to their host.

Javanese Tiger – extinct in the wild, extinct in our minds?

2011-11-17T03:24:00.000-08:00

Whilst trawling through the internet trying to find information about the Javanese tiger I was surprised to discover that although the species became extinct in the mid-1970s there is very little research about the tiger and few images too. I recently bought an interesting conservation book called Berkaca di Cermin Retak from the Indonesia School of Photography bookshop in Malang which stocks books about poetry, literature, science, politics, psychology, sociology and many more subjects.

In this book I found an image of a Javanese tiger specimen on exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in Leiden. The book explained that there are now only 7 skin specimens of the Javanese tiger in the world. There are 3 specimens in the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense in Bogor, 2 in the Museum Leiden in The Netherlands, 1 in England and 1 in France. Later the book asks: how many private collectors out there have their own stuffed tiger? I wonder if these collectors knew their role in the tiger’s demise?

Javanese tiger specimen. Copyright Ed Colijn from the book Berkaca di Cermin Retak by Wiratno, Daru Indriyo, Ahmad Syarifudin and Ani Kartikasari. Published in 2001 by FOReST Press, The Gibbon Foundation Indonesia and PILI – NGO Movement.

Wildlife in Central Borneo from a Dayak Perspective

2011-11-01T04:18:00.000-07:00

From April until June 2011 I tried to capture some of the rich wildlife that made the forest surrounding the OFI Care Center in Pasir Panjang, Central Kalimantan, its home. Yet this photo reel barely scratched the surface since the biodiversity in the forest was overwhelming. Dayak are the native people of Borneo and their knowledge of their forest and its inhabitants was historically important for their survival within the forest. Here is a compilation of Dayak knowledge concerning each of these creatures photographed within the forest. All names are written in the Pasir Panjang Dayak dialect unless otherwise stated.

Thanks to Pak Sia and Mr Henson for their help with the identifications. All photos copyright Tess Joyce and Orangutan Foundation International.

Local name: Keminting Sesandah, Pil kaki seribu (Indonesian) Pill millipede (English)

Habitat / Biological Information: Only found in South East Asia. Pill millipedes look similar to woodlice, except they have 13 body segments whereas woodlice only have 11.

Keminting Sesandah continued….

Interesting fact: If they are in danger they roll into a tight ball. This process is known as conglobation.

Local name: Rariau, Reriang (Indonesian), Cicada (English)

In the photo: This particular species of cicada has yellow eyes, but many cicadas have reddish eyes. Only a small number have yellow, white or blue eyes so this particular cicada was quite a rare find.

Local name: Sepucung bejopan, Ulat kantung (Indonesian) Bagworm (English)

Family: Psychidae

Habitat / Biological Information: Only female bagworms create of bag of sticks to live in. After they mate, they turn around in the bag, lay their eggs and die; their remains become food for the larvae.

In the photo: The female worm’s head can be seen poking out the top (looks like a sausage). This bagworm was seen dangling from a branch suspended from an ultra-fine silk.

Sepucung bejopan continued….

Habitat / Biological Information: The male bagworms have well-developed wings and can fly long distances looking for a mate. They live long enough to find a mate and then die, since their lack of mouth-parts prevents them from eating.

In the photo: Here, the female bagworm is attached to the side of the boardwalk in the jungle. The worm inside is not visible in this particular photo.

Local name: Bamba serawai, Kupu kupu malam (Indonesian) Atlas moth (English)

Species name: Attacus atlas

Habitat / Biological Information: Atlas moths are considered to be the largest moths in the world in terms of total wing surface area. Their wing spans can reach up to 30 cm in length.

Bamba serawai continued….

In this photo: Pak Sia, who is in charge of the diets of the orangutans, puts his hand up against the wall for comparison. Unfortunately Pak Sia has very large hands, which reduces the impact of the size of this exceptionally large moth!

Local name: Bunta sombah, Belalang sembah (Indonesian) Praying mantis (English)

Habitat / Biological Information: This particular species prefers hiding in green leaves where it can safely camouflage.

Local name: Bunta rating, Belalang ranting (Indonesian) Stick insect (English)

Order: Phasmatodea

Habitat / Biological Information: The greatest diversity of stick insects can be found in Southeast Asia and South America. Their greatest defense mechanism is camouflage and many replicate sticks or leaves. Some even perform a rocking motion which is thought to mimic swaying leaves or twigs. Other stick insects avoid predation by feigning death, and enter a motionless state for a prolonged period of time.

Local name: Kuwai, Bunglon (Indonesian), Chameleon (English)

Interesting fact: This species can change color; its blue color matches the tiles beneath. Another, smaller species of chameleon in the OFI forest has a stretch of skin between the legs which it uses to fly through the trees.

In this photo: This chameleon was caught by a cat in the veterinary clinic, part of its tail was missing. As a last resort many lizards are able to shed their tail.

Local name: Songki, Tupai (Indonesian), Squirrel (English)

Interesting fact: When I discovered two baby squirrels had fallen from their nest, one of the OFI staff members, Mr Henson, was very concerned. He explained that unprotected baby squirrels or other small animals are stung from the abdomen by fire ants, releasing a toxic alkalid venom before they are slowly digested. So we made the baby squirrels a makeshift nest high in the tree away from the ant-infested floor.

Local name: Konsit, Burung madu (Indonesian), Sun bird (English)

Family: Nectariniidae

In the photo: This sun bird spent all morning trying to get through my bedroom window by tapping the glass with its beak. When the window was open, it sat on the metal trellis, singing and peering into the room. It was later seen perched on my straw sun hat, so perhaps it was looking for nesting material. The top half of its body was bright red in color and it had a curved beak.

Local name: Kora, Monyet ekor panjang (Indonesian), Long-tailed macaque (English)

Species name: Macaca fascicularis

Habitat / Biological Information: Long-tailed macaques have been recorded as living in groups of between 6-58 individuals.

Interesting fact: They have an extensive range of vocal communication for many different situations. “Harsh” calls are used to show alarm, and “clear” calls promote friendly interactions. The long-tailed macaques can often be heard calling in the OFI Care Center forest. Often, some of the released orangutans will stop in their tracks and timidly listen to the calls of the macaques.

A different location: Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan

Local name: Benayan, Biawak (Indonesian), Monitor lizard (English)

Genus: Varanus

Interesting fact: Varanid lizards are believed to be very intelligent, and some species in zoos have shown abilities to distinguish numbers up to ten.

A different location: Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan

Local name: Ular daun (Indonesian), possibly a green and brown tree snake (English)

Palm Oil Everywhere

2011-10-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

Indonesia is now the third largest of emitter of carbon in the world. Why? Because of deforestation. Why? To feed the West’s demand for cheap bio-fuel made from palm oil. Palm oil plantations are now big businesses, and are taking over Sumatra and Kalimantan. Yet there is huge price to pay for this booming business – global warming, since it is largely peat rainforests which are burnt to make room for the plantations. Willie Smits who has now begun a reforestation programme in Indonesia explains further;

“And those are the peat swamp forests on 20 meters of peat, the largest accumulation of organic material in the world. When you open this for growing oil palms you're creating CO2 volcanoes that are emitting so much CO2 that my country is now the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world after China and the United States, and we don't have any industry at all. Only because of this deforestation.”

To view his whole speech, please visit:

http://www.ted.com/talks/willie_smits_restores_a_rainforest.html

So according to the economic model of supply and demand, we can all help a little bit to curb this destructive cycle of deforestation – by decreasing the demand for palm oil products every time we visit the supermarket. Palm oil is a cheap product which is now being used in everyday items such as potato chips, soap, chocolate and cooking oil. The problem is being able to detect it since palm oil companies are getting clever and the oil is rarely printed as simply palm oil, but can be called various names such as “vegetable oil”. In fact nearly all products made in Asia which use the term “vegetable oil” contain palm oil. A comprehensive list of alternative names for palm oil as well as products which contain palm oil can be found here:

http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/palm-oil.php

So what can you eat in Indonesia?

Most cooking oils that I have come across are made from palm oil. So I’ve swapped for a tastier and healthier option – olive oil, although sunflower oil is another commonly found alternative option.

Bertoli Olive Oil bought in Jogjakarta, Java.

Olive oil is mainly grown in the Mediterranean although Australia now produces a large quantity which is now being imported to Indonesia. Produce imported from Australia would have a smaller carbon footprint too since it requires to less air miles to transport the product to Indonesia. I bought this bottle of Bertoli in Jogjakarta in a shop called Waroeng Steak and Shake. Olive oil can also be found in health food stores, large supermarkets as well as international shops. In Malang, East Java the market Lai Lai stocks olive oil and Australian olive oil. In Surabaya, East Java, I have seen various supermarkets containing olive oil.

This golden oil is also good for your health since it contains antioxidants which are not found in other oils. It is also high in monounsaturated fats; diets high in levels of monounsaturated fats have been linked with reduced risks of coronary heart disease.

So what are you waiting for...why not try a light olive oil to fry your bread in the morning? It might taste strange the first few times, but after that you’ll be hooked like me and there’s no going back...

ProFauna teaches Villagers in East Java about Conservation using Film

2011-10-26T03:21:00.000-07:00

ProFauna teaches Villagers in East Java about Conservation using Film
ProFauna’s educational visit to a village on the edge of the National Park of Bromo Tengger Semeru (TNBTS) - Traditional Javanese Dances, Conservation Films and an Investigation into Deforestation in the Park.

The journey to the final village before the national park began, was not easy. The sloping road, thick with bulging sand was a fortress, penetrated only by experienced motor-bike drivers and four-wheel drives. Luckily we had taken a Jeep and with a rope, we helped pull up some fellow ProFauna supporters in their little car who were struggling in the falls and rises of the sand. Yet after an hour or two we eventually arrived at our destination and were greeted by the tinny sounds of xylophones. Soon a dance was performed for us. Since ProFauna intended to teach the villagers about conservation, it was important to watch the dance and learn more about the culture of the people in the village...

...Gamelan music played by the villagers.

It was the first time I had witnessed a traditional Javanese dance; this one was called the kuda lumping. Six children with white horse adornments held between their legs began to dance in time with the music.

Soon, the dance began to speed up until...

...all of sudden, the crowd went wild, dispersing and screaming in delight as one of the dancers wildly bucked in their direction like a horse, spraying dust in the air. The chief of the village quickly grabbed the child and waving a red, woven stick over his forehead, the child began to calm down.

However, the children looked as if they were in a trance, lost completely in the dance, with eyes wide and white, staring continuously up into the sky.

Soon, three members of the audience, suddenly began to convulse excitedly, rolling on the floor, before the chief calmed them with his stick and they joined in with the dance which lasted around three hours. One ProFauna supporter who studied psychology at a university in Malang told me that the dancers had reached a state of unconsciousness. Another man told me that the dancers believed they were contacting their ancestors through the smoke which was being waved in their faces by the chief. He also mentioned that a man who had been whipping some of the dancers was from Ponorogo in Eastern Java and practised black magic. Only a select few were able to dance. It seemed clear that there was an elite here in the village, where those with knowledge in the black arts kept their secrets about this dance, and the rest of the villagers, mesmerised by the art were not able to participate.

Later in the evening, after dinner, the villagers were sat down in front of a screen we had prepared and we all watched a film. Rosek, the chairman of ProFauna had devised a strategy to play a commercial film first to get the villager’s initial attention, he then interrupted the film half-way with a conservation film. This educational film explained about the importance of conserving the forest for the benefit of mankind but also for animals, such as the threatened Javan Langur. The villagers learnt about the forest and problems such as deforestation or hunting. The crowd were then asked a series of questions after the film and those with the correct answers were offered small prizes. Everyone seemed interested in the conservation film and the crowd cheered when they saw footage of traditional farming methods, which they had probably never seen in film before.

The next morning we woke at dawn and the chief of the village offered to take us into the forest. In this photo, ProFauna staff and supporters can be seen and on the far left, the chief of the village can be seen.

We began our walk across a ridge overlooking the valley near the village. The mountains had been stripped of trees in order to grow crops, however, further expansion into the park is forbidden. We wanted to investigate any evidence of illegal deforestation in the national park.

We headed down to a river. A villager passed us, returning home after a morning of collecting thick leaves called memikul, which are fed to cows or goats. The river had been dammed by the villagers due to river flooding during the wet season. Flooding is often exacerbated by deforestation, since without a root infrastructure, landslides are common and the loosened soil eventually makes its way to the water course, causing the water level to rise and the river to flood.

We found large paw prints of cat of some kind in the mud on the riverbank. Just before we reached the river, the chief of the village had showed us the position of a cave above the river, deep in the hillside where a Javanese leopard lived. These cats are now classified as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List.

After the river, we took a steep and tough path up the sandy hillside into the forest. At the top of the hill, the view below of thick, towering trees, lush and green, was spectacular.

Yet as we ventured into the park, we noticed signs of illegal deforestation. This tree had only been hacked, however we later found evidence of slash and burn...

Slash and burn is when trees and foliage are burnt in order to clear the land for growing crops. The ash supplements the soil, meaning that no fertilisers are needed.

Finally we reached the end of the path. Here the chief showed us the grave of the forest’s protector who was buried on the hillside. As the chief quietly said a prayer, we all bowed our heads in silence, with great respect for a forest that needs our protection.

China Plans to Dam the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet

2011-01-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a Canadian writer and photographer, Michael Buckley, we know a little more about China's plans to dam the Brahmaputra River’s water source, the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet. Buckley is sceptical about Chinese claims that the dam will not impact India since the first dam, known as the Zangmu Dam, currently spans half-way across the river. This is only the beginning; five dams in total are planned for the river. Buckley produced a film about these plans to dam the river called Meltdown in Tibet:

http://www.meltdownintibet.com/sf_trailer.htm

The Canadian writer was recently interviewed by an Assamese newspaper, the Assam Tribune, please see the full article below which was published on the 6th December 2010:

The height of Zangmu Dam which is currently under construction is estimated at 116 metres and 390 metres in length; it is expected to produce 540 MW of electricity.

An NGO based in Assam in North-East India called the Assam Foundation-India is also concerned about China's dam plans. In November 2010, the popular Assamese monthly magazine Reporter published an article about the Assam Foundation-India’s campaign to protect the Brahmaputra River and raise awareness about Chinese plans to dam the water source of this river. It was reported by Mr. Mukut Kumar Choudhury and included information about Japanese journalist Yukifemi Takeuchi who visited Assam in July 2010 to meet with the Assam Foundation-India's Chairman, Arnab Jan Deka and visit the Brahmaputra River. His findings were reported in Japan's second largest newspaper Asahi Shimbun. Please read about the article below:

Tensions about the dam are mounting, and a recent protest took place in Assam; thousands attended. The protest was reported on the 7th of January 2011 by the Assam Tribune:

The periodical Assamese magazine Prantik published an article about The Assam Foundation-India’s Brahmpuatra campaign on the 1st of January 2011. Please click on the link below to read the full article:

If you are interested in supporting the Assam Foundation-India's cause please support it by joining the cause page on Facebook:

http://www.causes.com/causes/347386-save-the-brahmaputra-river?m=bfa368e5

Children of the Forest – a Disappearing Culture?

2010-12-04T06:44:00.001-08:00

In Malaysia and Indonesia, the main biofuel grown and processed is palm oil, the production of which has led to the destruction of millions of acres of rainforest. It is believed that of 16 million hectares of rainforest in Sumatra, only 500,000 hectares remain and all could be lost if no action is taken within the next five years (RSPB, 2010a). The tribe, Orang Rimba of Sumatra call themselves Children of the Forest, since they feel the forest is like a father and mother to them, they believe spirits advise them on how to survive on the fruits of the forest (Lost in Palm Oil, 2007). For them, the land cannot be owned and farmed, and it goes against their ethics and culture to do so, therefore, no matter how sustainable the plantations, are, any kind of land manipulation is a crime as Din Perulak the tribal head of Orang Rimba explains below.

“It's as if our mother is dying… There are plantations everywhere…How are we supposed to survive when there is no forest anymore?...This is the land where our ancestors live. We would lose our souls if we were to start working on this land. ” (Lost in Palm Oil, 2007, 01’32”)

With the expanding need to replace oil with biofuels, many countries may classify the land farmed by subsistence farmers as unproductive in economic terms in order to free up the land for external investors to plant biofuel crops (FAO, 2008). Often expropriation is easy since local users will often own no formal tenure rights, and the pressure to convert land to “productive” oil crop plantations may put further pressure on local communities and oust them from not only their land but from their traditional ways of living (FAO, 2008).

As land availability and resources deplete, indigenous communities may find it difficult to continue with their ancient ways of living such as foraging from the forest, and may have to adopt alternative lifestyles such as labouring or logging. Yet depriving indigenous peoples of their land contravenes Article 26 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Renewable Fuels Agency, 2010).

Yet in the World Growth report it is claimed that denying poor people the right of access to such biofuel plantations is denying them the right to increase their living standards (World Growth, 2009). However in reality, displaced families have little choice but to work on plantations for very low wages. In Malaysia, availability of migrant workers (often illegal Indonesian migrants) can further depress wages (Renewable Fuels Agency, 2010).

Communities may lose access to areas of forest which may have been economically beneficial and the loss of wild edible plants could have an impact in areas prone to food shortages (Rossi and Lambrou, 2008). One illegal plantation logger remarked in a documentary “the work on these oil palm plantations is… nothing but exploitation. We’re only day-labourers and when it rains there’s no work… You’re only paid a pittance, if anything at all,” (Greasy Loot, 2002, 17’17”). Yet some companies are proactively trying to care for the community for example a company in Sumatra provided livestock to its employee families (Zen et al., 2006).

Little alternative policy has arisen which could suit the needs of the displaced, and socio-economically disadvantaged communities. Even sustainable companies such as Sinar Mas in Indonesia have been caught stealing land from locals. In a recent court case, the villagers of Karang Mendapo won a four year battle from the company Sinar Mas which they alleged had stolen their land (Lost in Palm Oil, 2007). Now organisations such as RSPB have recognised that time is running out and that a new approach must be taken to protect the rainforests and traditional farming or tribal ways of life. The RSPB have bought an area of land called the Harapan Forest in Sumatra and are now working with a group of 27 families who have been allowed to forage in the forest and practise their traditional livelihoods (RSPB, 2010b). This model could perhaps be used in other fragile areas in order to protect the disappearing ecosystems, cultures and traditions which have been neglected.

A family in Harapan forest practising traditional skills.

References

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) (2008) ‘Climate Change, Biofuels and Land,’ Available at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/nr/HLCinfo/Land-Infosheet-En.pdf (Accessed 2nd April 2010)

‘Greasy Loot’ (2002) Greasy Loot, 11 October, Journeyman Pictures, [Online] Available at: http://www.journeyman.tv/10271/documentaries/greasy-loot.html (Accessed 1^st April 2010)

‘Lost in Palm Oil,’ (2007) Lost in Palm Oil, 22 November, Journeyman Pictures, [Online] Available at: http://www.journeyman.tv/?lid=57724 (Accessed 1^st April 2010)

Renewable Fuels Agency (2010) Palm Oil Cultivation in Malaysia: Case Study, [Online] Renewable Fuels Agency. Available at; http://www.renewablefuelsagency.gov.uk/sites/renewablefuelsagency.gov.uk/files/_documents/RFA_Year_One_palm_case_study.pdf (Accessed 1st April 2010)

Rossi, A., and Lambrou, Y., (2008) Gender and Equity Issues in Liquid Biofuels Production: Minimizing the Risks to Maximize the Opportunities [Online] Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Available at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/ai503e/ai503e00.pdf (Accessed 10th April 2010)

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) (2010a) ‘Save the Sumatran Rainforest: Be Part of Something Big,’ [Online] Available at: http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/sumatra/ (Accessed 17^th May 2010)

RSPB (2010b) ‘Harapan Rainforest’ [Online] Available at: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/sumatra/default.aspx (Accessed 19th May 2010)

World Growth (2009) Collateral Damage: How The Bogus Campaign against Palm Oil Harms the Poor [Online] A World Growth Report. Available at: www.worldgrowth.org/assets/files/WG_Palm_Oil_ColDam_Report_12_09.pdf (Accessed 4th May 2010)

Zen, Z., Barlow, C. and Gondowarsito, R. (2006) ‘Oil palm in Indonesian socioeconomic improvement: a review of options,’ Oil Palm Industry Economic Journal, 6 pp. 18–29.

Sustainable Development – a Focus on People or Nature?

2010-12-04T06:42:00.000-08:00

The concept sustainable development with its focus on social justice and fore-thinking for future generations is often cited as an anthropocentric value system (Palmer, 2003). Therefore, according to an anthropocentric framework, saving nature would depend upon saving those areas of value to human needs; a philosophy which has initiated great debate about whether nature should be valued in instrumental terms which are subjective or whether this philosophy cannot be rejected since ascribing values to nature which are not humanly-based is difficult (Light and Rolston, 2003).

In the European Union’s 2003 directive on the promotion of biofuels for transport, the first declaration is that the development of biofuels will be used as a strategy for sustainable development (Official Journal of the European Union, 2003). In 2006, the European Commission (2006a) published A Vision for 2030 and Beyond which stated a target of replacing a quarter of transport fuel with biofuels

However, reports have been circulating concerning how destructive biofuel corporations have been, replacing rainforests with monoculture plantations and exploiting poor, displaced communities (Greenpeace, 2009). In order to counter such negative press, the EU’s 2006 directive stressed the importance of sustainable production which focused on the protection of biodiversity, water, soil, habitats and species (European Commission, 2006b). In 2004 the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was launched to examine the social issues surrounding palm oil production and for a company to become RSPO certified it had to meet minimum criteria (Renewable Fuels Agency, 2010).

Greenpeace has since led campaigns against sustainable palm-oil producers and in 2009, Sinar Mas, a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil was exposed in a report as engaging in illegal deforestation and peatland clearance (Greenpeace, 2009). Pressure was put on a leading purchaser of Sinar Mas’s biofuel, Unilever and eventually the company withdrew its contract with its suppliers (Greenpeace, 2009).

However an NGO, World Growth (2009), has spoken out against organisations such as Greenpeace which it believes are halting a sustainable product which can help end poverty. World Growth (2009) are committed to promoting the benefits of globalization to lessen the divide between rich and poor through trade and sustainable development; they take a completely anthropocentric approach and have even questioned the EU’s stance on trade barriers against imports of fuel produced on cleared land, calling such practices unwarranted in their failure to prevent poverty and preventing developing nations the right to clear their land for development. They even claim that biofuels are not driving deforestation, that instead, two-thirds of forest clearance is driven by low income people searching for land and food.

From an anthropocentric point of view, it could be argued that biofuels have been marketed by the EU as a green, ethical solution to the socio-economic problems of developing countries; that it can provide employment opportunities, and help people out of poverty, whilst at the same time meeting the fuel demands of developed nations, helping to cut carbon emissions, thus tackling global warming. However, conflicts in values between corporate notions of sustainability and tribal values have arisen. For the tribes of Sumatra, logging and farming the land is seen as a crime against the spirits of the forest, not a great employment opportunity as NGO’s such as World Growth believe.

References

European Commission (2006a) Biofuels in the European Union: A Vision for 2030 and Beyond, [Online] Biofuels Research Advisory Council. EUR 22066. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtdinfo/index_en.html (Accessed 15^th March 2010)

European Commission (2006b) An EU Strategy for Biofuels [Online] Commission of the European Communities COM(2006) 34 final. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtdinfo/index_en.html (Accessed 15^th March 2010)

Greenpeace (2009) ‘A Defining Moment for the Palm Oil Industry as Unilever Breaks link with Forest Destruction?’ [Online] Available at: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/forests/defining-moment-palm-oil-industry-unilever-breaks-link-forest-destruction-20091209 (Accessed 14th May 2010)

Light, A., and Rolston III, H., (2003) ‘Introduction: Ethics and Environmental Ethics,’ in Light, A. and Rolston III, H. (ed.) Environmental Ethics, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd pp.1-24

Official Journal of the European Union, (2003) Directive 2003/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2003, [Online] The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/doc/biofuels/en_final.pdf (Accessed 14^th May 2010)

Palmer, C., (2003) ‘An Overview of Environmental Ethics,’ in Light, A. and Rolston III, H. (ed.) Environmental Ethics, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd pp.120-156

Sugar Cane Production in Brazil – Exploiting the Poor?

2010-12-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

It is estimated that nearly 1 million people in Brazil are employed in the sugarcane industries, however, due to increasing mechanization it is estimated that the workforce will drop by between 52%-64% (Proforest, 2009). Those in the sector are paid more than those in other agricultural sectors, receiving on average 50% more than the minimum wage (Unica, 2008a) yet since it is seasonal work, jobs are often only temporary (Proforest, 2009).

The industry has come under attack from various organisations such as Friends of the Earth (2008) which has blamed the industry for displacing farmers and pushing them into the Amazon, for causing deforestation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and for expanding into the biodiverse savannah, Cerrado. However a regulatory body, UNICA (2009) dismisses such accusations as myths, claiming that any future expansion into the Amazon, Cerrado or other sensitive areas has been prohibited in new legislation, although this does not deny that previous expansion may have occurred or that it is happening illegally.

There have also been complaints against the industry for its poor working conditions; since many workers are paid according to the volume of cane cut that day, many exhaust themselves working long days (Proforest, 2009) with dangerous tools such as machetes (Smeets et al., 2006). Such piece rate work often uses child labour and can discriminate against women (Rossi and Lambrou, 2008). It has also been described as modern-day slavery (Friends of the Earth, 2008), however, UNICA, (2008b) refutes the claim that a workforce of up to 1 million could be enslaved, and that since Brazil has signed the International Labour Organization’s Pact for the Eradication of Slave Labour, it claims that the industry is very transparent with such matters.

The Brazilian Ministry of Labor has taken out lawsuits against sugarcane employers for poor conditions where workers are subjected to inhaling dust and smoke from the burning of sugarcane which has been linked to many health problems and many have simply died of exhaustion (Martinelli and Filoso, 2008).

UNICA (2008b), in its defence of the industry claims that its member companies have invested some R$ 160 million in 618 projects within cultural, social, education, environmental, sport and health areas, benefiting around 480 thousand people. UNICA (2008b) and the Federation of Registered Rural Workers of the State of São Paulo (FERAESP) have also made recommendations for rural labourers such as better transportation of workers to and from the field. Yet some claim these schemes are never free of bias and cases from Brazil have shown that certification systems such as the Forest Stewardship Council have committed fraud (Friends of the Earth, 2008).

References

Friends of the Earth Europe (2008) ‘Sustainability as a smokescreen: The inadequacy of certifying fuels and feeds,’ [Online] Available at: http://www.foeeurope.org/publications/2008/sustainability_smokescreen_fullreport_med_res.pdf (Accessed 2nd May 2010)

Martinelli, L.A., and Filoso, S., (2008) ‘Expansion of Sugarcane Ethanol Production in Brazil: Environmental and Social Challenges,’ Ecological Applications, 18(4), pp. 885–898

Proforest (2009) RFA annual report: Case study on Brazilian sugarcane, [Online] Renewable Fuels Agency. Available at: http://www.renewablefuelsagency.gov.uk/_db/_documents/Case_study_-_Brazilian_sugar_cane_-_ProForest_for_RFA.pdf (Accessed 6^th April 2010)

Smeets, E., Junginger, M., Faaij, A., Walter, A. and Dolzan, P. (2006) Sustainability of Brazilian Bio-ethanol, [Online] Copernicus Institute NWS-E-2006-110. Available at: http://np-net.pbworks.com/f/Smeets+et+al+(2006)+Sustainability+of+Brazilian+bioethanol,+Copernicus+Institute+&+Unicamp.pdf (Accessed 21 April, 2010)

UNICA (2008a) Sugarcane Industry in Brazil [Online] UNICA. Available at: http://english.unica.com.br/multimedia/publicacao/ (Accessed 1^st April 2010)

UNICA 2008b) Partial list of factual errors and unsubstantiated claims contained in the report “fuelling destruction in Latin America”, distributed by the non-government organization “friends of the earth” on September 10, 2008 [Online] UNICA. Available at: http://www.unica.com.br/downloads/documents/factualerrors.pdf (Accessed 31 March 2010)

UNICA (2009) Brazilian Sugarcane Ethanol: Get the Facts Right and Kill the Myths [Online] UNICA. Available at: www.unica.com.br (Accessed 1^st April 2010)

Voluntary Work Opportunities in the UK

2009-09-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Assam Foundation – India is looking for a volunteer International Fund-raiser / Marketer and Web Designer to begin working with the organization ASAP on the SAVE THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER campaign. This is currently the only campaign working in Assam on a variety of environmental problems facing the river.

International Fund-raiser / Marketer

You should be interested in some or all of the following:

• Global environmental problems
• The Brahmaputra River
• Water related environmental problems
• Indian culture – ideally Assamese culture

You will be responsible for:

• Publicity – the campaign has already been well received by the Indian media, appearing on prime-time TV, the Times of India and other popular magazines including the Eclectic. We are hoping to branch into the UK market in the same way.
• Marketing the campaign at international level.
• Applying for grants on behalf of the Foundation.
• Liaising with distributors across the UK in order to promote the Foundation’s literature in the UK only.
• Organizing fund-raising events in the UK.

You should have experience in some or all of the following:

• Fund-raising
• Publicity
• Applying for grants
• The book publication field
• Voluntary work
• Environmental knowledge / experience.

Web Designer

You will be responsible for:

• Designing a web page for the campaign SAVE THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER as launched by the Assam Foundation – India.
• Helping with technical problems / issues as and when they arise.

You should have experience in some or all of the following:

• Web designing
• Technical knowledge / background
• Ideally – an interest in global / environmental problems.

The SAVE THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER campaign was launched by the Assam Foundation – India (Registration No. RS/KAM/240/H/287) on the 31st July 2009.

The Assam Foundation – India is a voluntary organization and therefore cannot provide financial help or reimburse any travel expenses.The Foundation will provide free membership to the successful candidates leaving the opportunity for them to work for the Foundation in India in the future if they so wish.

Please contact Tess Joyce, International Co-ordinator at savethebrahmaputra@hotmail.co.uk for more information.

Agenda for SAVE THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER

2009-09-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

ASSAM FOUNDATION – INDIA
Registration No. RS/KAM/240/H/287
‘SAVE THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER’
Project Launching Programme
Date : 31 July 2009 / 11 AM
Venue : GUWAHATI PRESS CLUB, GUWAHATI CITY, INDIA.

The basic AGENDA for the campaign of ‘SAVE THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER’ shall be as follows :

I Creation of awareness for prevention of waste disposal and/or dumping in the River Brahmaputra;

II Prevention of tree-felling on the banks of Brahmaputra and creation of alternative agricultural so as not to affect Brahmaputra & to prevent erosion;

III To find scientific & eco-friendly ways to prevent flooding by Brahmaputra and to improve current flood measures & procedures to improve the living conditions of those affected by floods;
IV To raise awareness of the threats faced by declining species that live in or around the River Brahmaputra, and to find ways of ameliorating these threats;

V To create awareness of the potential dangers of national and international dams already constructed or awaiting constructions or planning permissions in and around Brahmaputra River, in Assam, India, Tibet and China.

A Stanza of Sunlight on the Banks of Brahmaputra

2009-08-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

Above: Front and back cover design of the new release "A Stanza of Sunlight on the Banks of Brahmaputra" by Arnab Jan Deka and Tess Joyce.

Above: The two authors, Arnab Jan Deka and Tess Joyce (far right, and second right) at the book release function on the 31st July 2009 together with eminent Indian novelist Dr. Lakshmi Nandan Bora (second left) and feminist Bengali writer Suparna Lahiri Barua (far left) published in the local paper.

"What is happening at the banks of the Brahmaputra in the 21st century? Two writers, one from England and one from Assam, India, have encapsulated the hidden beauty of the Brahmaputra River and its surroundings in both abstract and descriptive poems. A real glimpse into two worlds which have been united through the power of nature."

These two writers are Arnab Jan Deka, a famous writer who has authored over 100 books and Tess Joyce, a writer from London, who is currently staying in Assam, India.

Both writers have composed poems concerning the Brahmaputra River, the riverine people and their cultures and have then translated these poems into both English and Assamese.

Their admiration for the Brahmaputra River was so great that both authors agreed that all authors' proceeds will go to the charity SAVE THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER launched by the Assam Foundation-India (Registration No. RS/KAM/240/H/287)

The book was published by Spectrum Publications in association with Philling Books on the 31st July 2009 and is available in stores across India. The book will be reaching UK shores shortly.

For more enquiries please contact the authors @:

Tess Joyce - tess.joyce@hotmail.co.uk
Arnab Jan Deka - janarnab@yahoo.co.uk