Aceh, Indonesia Orangutans Threatened By Forest Fires And Land Clearing

JAKARTA, March 28 (Reuters) - Forest fires and land clearing by palm oil firms could kill off within weeks about 200 orangutans in a forest in western Indonesia, an environmental group said on Wednesday.

The orangutans, part of a population of around 6,600 on Sumatra island, used to live in a lush forest and peatland region called Rawa Tripa on the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province. But more than two-thirds of the area has been divided up into palm oil concessions, said the Coalition to Save Tripa.

Graham Usher, a member of the coalition and a landscape protection specialist, said satellite images showed forest fires had been burning in Tripa since last week, and if allowed to continue they could wipe out orangutans already forced onto the edge of remaining forests.

"If there is any prolonged dry spell, which is quite likely, there's a very good chance that the whole piece of forest and everything in it, so that's orangutans, sun bears, tigers, and all the other protected species in it, will disappear in a few weeks and will be gone permanently," he told a news conference.

The palm oil industry has expanded to make Indonesia the world's top producer and exporter of the edible oil, used to make good ranging from cooking oil and biodiesel to biscuits and soap to feed growing Asian consumer demand.

Deforestation has threatened animals like the Sumatran tiger and Javan rhino and pushed up carbon dioxide emissions. The Bali tiger and the Java tiger have disappeared in the last 70 years.

A two-year moratorium on new permits to clear primary forests came into effect in Indonesia last year, part of a $1 billion deal with Norway to cut emissions and slow expansion of plantations. But the moratorium was breached in Aceh on its first days, an environmental group has said.

The last Aceh permit for palm oil was issued by former Aceh governor Irwandi Yusuf in August last year to PT Kallista Alam, prompting environmental group Walhi to file a legal suit against Yusuf. A court verdict is expected next week.

"If Kallista Alam win the case they will burn it and that whole bit of forest will disappear and we can say goodbye to the orangutan of Tripa peat swamps," Usher said.

Kallista Alam could not be reached for comment. (Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu; Editing by Neil Chatterjee and Ron Popeski)

Comments

[popdiva500]

06:30 PM on 03/31/2012

Sad!! This world has no compassion towards animals.

[olitenup]

02:48 PM on 03/30/2012

This is a catastrophe. That the world is allowing the impending death of these creatures is alarming.

Palm oil plantation farmers have put a price on the heads of our beloved orangs and WE need to stop our consumption. Their blood is on our hands.

[Neil20]

11:05 AM on 03/30/2012

Indonesia is one of the world's most corrupt countries. It is learnt that the governor of Aceh, Irwandi Yusuf, is a very corrupt Indonesian official who has amassed a large fortune by doling out licenses after being paid huge bribes. The destruction of Indonesia's rain forests and consequently the reduction of the number of orangutans in the country is the result of the western need for palm oil. If Americans stop using palm oil things may improve. Everyone knows that palm oil corporations destroy vast stretches of valuable rain forests. The American and European demand for palm oil is insatiable. The chocolate industry, the cosmetic industry and the fast food industry (including the millions of restaurant across the US and Europe) are the greatest consumers of palm oil. If the rain forests and the animals that live in them are to be saved then consumer habits of all Americans must change. Use alternative cooking medium and shun anything that comes from Indonesia. If Americans are planning a trip to the country cancel it. Americans must also use diplomacy and all political leverages to persuade Indonesia to stop these corporations from plundering the rain forests because at this rate Indonesia will be a desert soon. Greed and corruption are having such a disastrous impact on the environment and wildlife of the country that it will be a tragedy if Indonesia loses all her endangered wildlife.

[MegalosaurusWins]

09:37 PM on 03/30/2012

Aceh is an independent enclave within Indonesia, they're granted the rights in exchange of stopping their separatist movement, and Irwandi Yusuf was the rebel leader. So you can say that the Central govt has less bargaining power to stop whatever happens in Aceh than say, other parts of Sumatra or Borneo.Now that Indonesia is the biggest palm oil producer, stopping all of their activities wouldn't make much sense, too many factors are involved, or in the Wallstreet parlance, "they're too big to fail". In Indonesia, those corporates usually violated their licenses, it's not illegal for local/central govt to grant license to corporates to clear land, but in practice, they usually bribes their way to get accesses to bigger land, or to get away from prosecution. Law enforcement is very weak, not only due to the "corrupt nature" but also due to geography. For an archipelago, distribution/transport of people, law enforcement, etc are a lot harder than other countries, compounded by lack of infrastructure/technology most developed countries take for granted, and the fact that those corporates employ locals/provide jobs more than Indonesian govt c/w/should. The other part of the problem is actually the multi-party democracy in Indonesia currently in place, too many political parties with their own self-interests (case in point: A ministry from an Islamic party who try to put forth a pornography law that includes banning of mini-skirts in public, though it's very unlikely to pass).

[MegalosaurusWins]

09:40 PM on 03/30/2012

Indonesia's deforestation is a legacy from previous govt where Indonesia became a military dictatorship since 1966/1967 and that's when deforestation of Sumatra and Borneo started (but that time also marked Indonesia's development). It's very hard and would take a long time to get rid of the legacy system.
Rainforest destruction is a prolonged problem and Indonesia couldn't come up with a viable solution. It's development vs destruction more than greed/money per se. No country in the world has a good model for development that's environment friendly. Brazil has approximately the same problem with Indonesia. China is actually worse, and in fact, most corporates in Indonesia are owned by the Chinese (Indonesian, malaysian, or from mainland) and they usually have Western counterparts in their businesses. Personally, the ideal solution is for Indonesia to move quickly to service based sectors and to rely less on natural resources. But this is a long road to take, education is still a luxury and a large number of people cannot afford education. Short and medium term solution (which is not easy for Indonesia) is eradication of corruption and stronger law enforcement, concurrently with providing jobs to the locals. Sustainable development is key, but Indonesian govt has no good concept of it, much less how to implement it.

[Neil20]

10:19 AM on 03/31/2012

I agree with most of what you've said. What I find is that the Indonesian government does not seem to focus on a very important aspect of development which is good western education. The government ought to set its priorities straight. It should strengthen its national educational system. Education and environmental awareness should spread hand in hand throughout the country. It seems there are too many religious and political vested interests that are contributing to this sort of environmental disaster. One reason why poverty in this country is widespread is because of the lack of education. Unfortunately, the Islamic religion determines the kind of education Indonesians receive and there are too many powerful Islamic interests in the political hierarchy to allow the spread of modern,liberal education. At the same time the government seems to be very weak-willed to make strong laws to counteract the logging mafia and criminals. In order to save Indonesia from its own perils, the central government should and must intervene in places like Aceh. This corrupt man Irwandi Yusuf should not be allowed to be king over this territory. Are you trying to tell me that there are no sensible, dedicated and patriotic leaders in Indonesia to stop this man from ruining the country or getting the government to put its act together? Is he a self-made dictator? Are you saying that sustainable development does not work in Indonesia? Then what hope does this country have?

[Neil20]

11:04 AM on 03/30/2012

Why can't Obama use his office to convince his Indonesian counterpart to stop this destruction? After all when he paid his first visit to Indonesia he tried to sound pretty convincing to the Indonesians by bragging about his Indonesian heritage. Why doesn't he make his heritage useful by persuading the Indonesian president to get the palm oil magnates out of the rain forests?

[SukiTheCat]

08:17 AM on 03/29/2012

really sick what we are doing to this world

[karen lyons kalmenson]

04:58 AM on 03/29/2012

orangutans,
this is their world,
too,
palm oil industry
time for you to
be through!!!!

[Gary Strehlow]

09:07 PM on 03/28/2012

The palm oil industry is destroying the international wetlands in Costa Rica where I live. Every day we can see more and more land being burned and cleared to make way for more palm oil plantations. It's sad to see.

[Al Schrader]

07:16 PM on 03/28/2012

The palm as the source is not what makes palm oil desirable, but that the palm trees grow in areas with incredibly low wages. But, as much as I am against doing anything to the orangs, I still believe us humans come first. As a farmer I can tell you that these areas of high rainfall are prime ag land that has become infested with weeds and insects. Moving the orangs is a solution....Al-

[Maater]

10:34 AM on 03/29/2012

Your attitude is short sighted, ignorant and selfish. Just the attitude that is ruining this beautiful planet for all the living creatures including us.

[john649]

01:01 PM on 03/29/2012

yea for stupid humans!!! do you REALLY think humans can survive without animals?

[rav1267]

05:55 PM on 03/28/2012

The death of several species just to sastisfy human consumption and greedy businessman.

[bad spelling grammar]

04:58 PM on 03/28/2012

Indonesia is home to the last remaining Javan rhinos left in the world, 400 Sumatran tigers and they have the largest orangutan population left in the world. What ignorant people don’t understand is that it took millions of years for these animals to evolve into what they are today and once human’s wipe these animals out there is no brining them back. It’s clear that a lack in education and morals is the reason why so many people can just look the other way while these iconic species which are a true testament to life on earth are wiped out. Anyone who understands biology would know how much time, chance, and effort it took for these animals to exist. If you have ever studied animals in the wild you would know how difficult life is for them. Every day is a constant struggle to survive and the last thing they need is people showing up and killing them off through various methods such as deforestation and poaching. I hope the people of Indonesia wake up to the fact that the world is robbing them of their most precious resources. Sumatran tigers are going extinct because of a certain type of toilet paper…can you believe it TOILET PAPER! Are we really going to let a sub species of tiger go extinct for toilet paper? Come on now we put a man on the moon, we can solve this toilet paper issue.

[ohiopositive]

04:41 PM on 03/28/2012

sad to hear

[RosieRetro]

04:37 PM on 03/28/2012

Our nation and others have an obesity problem. They need to cut the amount of fats they eat.

[Phate James]

04:10 PM on 03/28/2012

This is a tradegy that will affect the world forever unless something is done asap. When manufacturing and commerce affects the natural habitats of endangered species it should become a matter for the united nations and action should be taken. As usual, greed will win in the end and the world will have its palm oil at the expense of several species.

[Caroleeena]

02:37 PM on 03/28/2012

This is so sad! What is palm oil in? How do we avoid buying it?

[Candice Batista]

04:50 PM on 03/28/2012

It's in almost everything we buy, from Kit Kat's to fuel. Its on the labels as palm oil and in many cases listed as vegetable oil.

[soapboxguy]

06:59 PM on 03/28/2012

"We are watching a global tragedy." Indonesia is letting these greedy criminals rape their resources until there is nothing left.

To answer your question, evil palm oil is everywhere -- but because of consumer outrage the companies are starting to change their evil, greedy ways, but it might be too late. You need to not only read labels but you must write to the corporations that still use palm oil (there's really no such thing as "sustainable" palm oil yet, but hopefully it's on the horizon. I have some responses to my emails on my blog, if you're interested. It can be found here:

http://gettingonmysoapbox.wordpress.com/

[Caroleeena]

11:25 PM on 03/28/2012

Thank you. I will check it out.