Nature Alert: Protected peatland at risk of disappearing

Tuesday 16 February 2010

Protected peatland at risk of disappearing

Personal note:

Tens of millions of pounds given to Indonesia by the EC and DFID etc, and protected forest is disappearing for the lack of half a dozen marshals costing less than the average UK government/EC official claims for expenses each year. So. Where is all this taxpayers money going?

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Protected peatland at risk of disappearing

Tue, 02/16/2010 2:59 PM | The Archipelago The Jakarta Post

JAMBI: The protected peat forest in Tanjung Jabung regency is in danger of disappearing, authorities say, blaming the problem on the dearth of forest marshals.

Local forest conservation office head Riko Yuda Wirya said Monday there were currently only four marshals - far fewer than the ideal figure of 10.

Despite assistance from the local police, he added, the force was considered too weak to effectively guard the vast area against illegal logging and fires.

"We hope the Forestry Ministry will allocate more employees for the post when they hold their entry tests for new civil servants," Riko said. - JP

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/16/protected-peatland-risk-disappearing.html

Hall of Shame for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Palm Oil Industry.

Nothing can prepare one for the sight of the systematic extermination of orangutans by the government of Indonesia.

Look at the photos and news articles on these pages in the context of a statement the President made to the media on 10th December 2007.

“In the last 35 years about 50,000 orangutans are estimated to have been lost as their habitats shrank. If this continues, this majestic creature will likely face extinction by 2050,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the launch of an orangutan conservation plan at the climate talks in Bali.

“The fate of the orangutan is a subject that goes to the heart of sustainable forests … To save the orangutan we have to save the forest.”

Statements like these are most welcome, but unless backed up by action, such words fall on deaf ears within the Ministry of Forestry....who are busy granting licences to cut down the very forests the President says they should protect!

When you think you are to busy to help, please could you reflect for a moment on .........

The following extract refers to environmental problems in general. I just hope you find it as thought provoking and relevant to orangutans as I have.

"This is such a shocking and unpalatable fact that most people deny it, or they just don't want to think about it. They believe as individuals, they can do little about it, so push it to the back of their minds. But I can't do that.

When something has to be done, we need to do it. It doesn't matter how big the challenge is or how hard the solution; if I know something is wrong, and I am in a position to help, I will do my best to make it right." Duncan Bannatyne, successful British businessman.