sumatra news from mongabay.com

New Google Earth tool maps deforestation, threatened forests in Sumatra

2012-05-24T13:30:00Z

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and a coalition of Indonesian environmental groups known as Eyes on the Forest have released a new Google Earth-based tool that maps forests, land use, carbon stocks, and biodiversity across the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

KFC linked to destruction of Indonesia's rainforests

2012-05-23T23:10:00Z

Fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is linked to the destruction of Indonesia's rainforests through its packaging sourcing practices, alleges a new report published today by Greenpeace.

Pictures: mama and baby orangutan saved from palm oil developers

2012-05-19T04:24:00Z

A mother orangutan and its baby were rescued from an area of forest that was being bulldozed for an oil palm plantation in Sumatra, reports the Orangutan Information Centre (OIC), which participated in the translocation of the red apes.

Asia Pulp & Paper to temporarily suspend rainforest clearing in Indonesia

2012-05-16T11:48:00Z

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a forestry giant that has been heavily criticized for destroying rainforests and peatlands in Indonesia, will temporarily suspend clearing of natural forest areas until conservation assessments have been conducted.

Indonesia's Environment Ministry to sue APP, APRIL in $225B illegal logging case

2012-05-03T22:18:00Z

Indonesia's Ministry of Environment is planning to sue 14 pulp and paper companies for illegally logging forests in Riau Province on the island of Sumatra, reports Tempo Magazine. 12 of the 14 companies are linked to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and Asian Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL), pulp and paper giants that have been heavily criticized by environmentalists for destroying rainforests and peatlands that serve as critical habitat for endangered tigers, elephants, and orangutans.

In sustainability push, Unilever aims to build palm oil processing plant in Indonesia

2012-04-25T20:56:00Z

Unilever is in talks to build a $130 million palm oil processing mill in Indonesia as part of its commitment to use more environmentally-friendly palm oil in its products, reports The Wall Street Journal. The mill, which would be located in Sumatra, would produce about 10 percent of Unilever's annual consumption of palm oil, which is produced from fruit from the oil palm tree. Unilever is the world's largest single consumer of palm oil, using 1.36 million tons a year for beauty and food products, including Dove soap, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and Vasoline.

Picture: Orangutan rescued from peat forest endangered by palm oil, fires

2012-04-18T18:56:00Z

Conservationists today rescued an adult male orangutan from a pocket of forest in Tripa, an area of deep peat that is at the center of battle over Indonesia's commitment to reducing deforestation.

Indonesia's Environment Ministry to probe destruction of protected peat forest for palm oil

2012-04-17T19:52:00Z

Indonesia's Environment Ministry will investigate a permit issued for an oil palm plantation in heart of Tripa peat forest on the island of Sumatra, reports The Jakarta Globe. The decision comes after the head of the country's REDD+ Task Force called for a probe into the concession, which spurred international outcry led by orangutan conservation groups and local environmental NGOs.

Indonesia to investigate contested oil palm concession as governor loses election in Sumatra

2012-04-12T17:37:00Z

A high ranking Indonesian official is investigating the controversial grant of an oil palm concession within an area of protected peat forest in Aceh on the island of Sumatra, reports the Jakarta Globe.

Green groups may call for boycott of Indonesian palm oil over forest destruction in Sumatra

2012-04-11T21:47:00Z

Environmental groups are escalating their battle over an area of peat forest in Tripa, Sumatra that has been granted for oil palm plantations.

Featured video: wild Sumatran elephants on camera trap video

2012-04-11T17:20:00Z

A video camera trap project called Eyes on Leuser has captured wonderful footage of a very curious herd of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in the island's Leuser ecosystem. The project has already documented a wealth of species, including imperiled and elusive animals like the Sumatran tiger, marbled cat, and white-winged duck.

How a crippled rhino may save a species

2012-04-09T15:34:00Z

On December 18th, 2011, a female Sumatran rhino took a sudden plunge. Falling into a manmade pit trap, the rhino may have feared momentarily that her end had come, but vegetation cushioned her fall and the men that found her were keen on saving her, not killing her. Little did she know that conservationists had monitored her since 2006, and for her trappers this moment had been the culmination of years of planning and hope. A few days later she was being airlifted by helicopter to a new home. Puntung, as she has become called, was about to enter a new chapter in her life, one that hopefully will bring about a happy ending for her species.

Governor of Aceh who signed palm oil permit: plantation in Tripa "morally wrong"

2012-04-05T22:36:00Z

The former governor of Aceh, Irwandi Yusuf, told The Sydney Morning Herald today that an oil palm plantation he approved was "not wrong legally, but wrong morally." Irwandi, who is currently seeking re-election, signed off on the hugely controversial plantation in deep peat forest last August, but the issue came to a head this week as satellite images showed a dozen fires burning in the concession area known as Tripa. Environmental groups, which are running an online campaign, warn that the burning is imperiling an important population of Critically Endangered Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii).

Featured video: the battle for Tripa is about people too

2012-04-05T18:32:00Z

Environmentalists have largely focused on the plight of orangutans as fires burn in Aceh, Sumatra to clear rainforest for a hugely controversial palm oil plantation, however as the video above highlights, local people will also feel the impacts of the destruction of forest for palm oil.

Environmentalists, orangutans lose court case over palm oil

2012-04-03T16:50:00Z

Environmentalists were handed a set back in a dispute over a palm oil plantation granted in a protected peat swamp that is home to a population of critically endangered orangutans, reports the Aceh Globe and the Sydney Morning Herald.

Asia Pulp & Paper loses another customer: Danone

2012-04-02T18:15:00Z

French food company, Danone, has suspended all purchases from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) following a Greenpeace investigation that linked APP to illegal logging of ramin, a protected tree species, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Danone is only the most recent company to publicly sever ties with APP following the Greenpeace report, including National Geographic and Xerox among others.

NASA imagery confirms fires burning in orangutan hotspot

2012-03-27T20:03:00Z

Satellite data from NASA confirms that fires are burning in an orangutan hotspot slated for conversion to oil palm plantations.

Fires raging in peat forest at center of legal case in Indonesia

2012-03-27T09:06:00Z

Fires are burning in a peat forest that is the center of contentious court case.

Palm oil case against 'Green Governor' in Indonesia heats up

2012-03-22T00:43:00Z

Environmental activists have launched an urgent appeal calling for a 'just decision' in a court case that has pitted Aceh's 'Green Governor' and palm oil developers against efforts to save endangered orangutans in a Sumatran peat forest. In letters directed toward judges weighing the case in Sumatra's Aceh Provice, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the country's REDD+ authority, the World Bank, and the Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF), a coalition of conservation groups says the outcome of the case could have substantial implications for efforts to conserve Indonesia's remaining forests and peatlands.

Xerox: we no longer buy from Asia Pulp & Paper

2012-03-21T22:42:00Z

Xerox no longer buys paper products from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a Singapore-based paper giant under fire for its forest management practices in Indonesia, according to a statement published on the company's official blog late last week.

APP affiliates in U.S., Australia, pledge to drop controversial pulp supplier linked to deforestation

2012-03-17T22:52:00Z

Two affiliates of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) have announced they are severing at least some ties with the beleaguered paper giant, according to the Northern Virginia Daily and Greenpeace, an environmental group whose recent undercover investigation found ramin, a protected species, at APP's pulp mill in Sumatra.

Ministry of Forestry signed off on clearing of forest with protected species in Indonesia

2012-03-15T18:55:00Z

Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry signed off on a plan by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) suppliers to log areas of forest that contained protected ramin species, according to documents released by Greenomics-Indonesia, an activist group. The micro-delineation documents, which are required to win approval for forestry projects in Indonesia, confirm that APP suppliers were aware that ramin trees were present in the concessions, which have since been converted to wood-pulp plantations.

After illegal logging allegations, certifier lodges complaint against paper giant APP

2012-03-07T22:18:00Z

Less than a week after Greenpeace released evidence that protected tree species were being illegally logged and pulped at an Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) mill in Sumatra, a major certifier, the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), has lodged a complaint and asked for an investigation. In addition to PEFC's move, the National Geographic Society (NGS), which was found to be sourcing from APP recently, has publicly broken ties with the company, and Greenpeace has handed over its evidence to Indonesian police who told the group there would be an investigation.

Investigation links APP to illegal logging of protected trees

2012-03-01T18:59:00Z

A year-long undercover investigation has found evidence of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) companies cutting and pulping legally protected ramin trees, a practice that violates both Indonesian and international law. Found largely in Sumatra's peatswamp forests, the logging of ramin trees (in the genus Gonystylus) has been banned in Indonesia since 2001; the trees are also listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and thus require special permits to export. The new allegations come after APP, an umbrella paper brand, has lost several customers due to its continued reliance on pulp from rainforest and peatland forests in Sumatra.

National Geographic linked to rainforest destruction

2012-03-01T18:32:00Z

A new report by Greenpeace has found a direct link between National Geographic Society (NGS) products and rainforest destruction in Indonesia that threatens tigers and orangutans. An analysis on National Geographic books found Sumatran rainforest fiber from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a brand whose suppliers have been linked to rainforest destruction in Sumatra, and, in the most recent Greenpeace report, alleged illegal logging of protected rainforest trees. One of the world's largest non-profit science and educational organizations, National Geographic is known worldwide for its magazines, documentaries, and award-winning photos. The organization also has a long-standing history of championing environmental and conservation issues. However, National Geographic says it has not sourced APP paper for "several years."

Model airplane used to monitor rainforests - conservation drones take flight

2012-02-23T20:27:00Z

Conservationists have converted a remote-controlled plane into a potent tool for conservation. Using seed funding from the National Geographic Society, The Orangutan Conservancy, and the Denver Zoo, Lian Pin Koh, an ecologist at the ETH Zürich, and Serge Wich, a biologist at the University of Zürich and PanEco, have developed a conservation drone equipped with cameras, sensors and GPS. So far they have used the remote-controlled aircraft to map deforestation, count orangutans and other endangered species, and get a bird's eye view of hard-to-access forest areas in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

Busted: orangutan trafficker prosecuted and sent to prison in Sumatra for the first time

2012-02-23T18:40:00Z

For the first time in Medan, North Sumatra, an orangutan trader has been prosecuted and sent to prison for trafficking in the endangered apes, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Palm oil firm pays 'precedent-setting' fine for unauthorized land-clearing in Indonesia

2012-02-23T18:29:00Z

A subsidiary of agribusiness giant Cargill has paid a $1 million fine for clearing land for oil palm outside its concession, a move that could set an important precedent for palm oil developers operating in Indonesia, according to Greenomics-Indonesia, a Jakarta-based environmental group.

Photos of the day: Sumatran tigers celebrate Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T13:29:00Z

The Sumatran tigers at the London Zoo received an early Valentine treat of pillows scented with Calvin Klein's Obsession. "Tigers are territorial creatures and these strong smells encourage their natural scent-marking behaviors by making them rub themselves against the perfumed hearts," Zookeeper Teague Stubbington said in a press release. "We’ve tried lots of different scents and spices, and CK Obsession has proved by far to be their favorite—and as we saw today it certainly helps encourage some romance between them!"

Some toilet paper production destroys Indonesian rainforests, endangering tigers and elephants

2012-02-09T20:59:00Z

American consumers are unwittingly contributing to the destruction of endangered rainforests in Sumatra by purchasing certain brands of toilet paper, asserts a new report published by the environmental group WWF. The report, Don't Flush Tiger Forests: Toilet Paper, U.S. Supermarkets, and the Destruction of Indonesia's Last Tiger Habitats, takes aim at two tissue brands that source fiber from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a paper products giant long criticized by environmentalists and scientists for its forestry practices on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The brands — Paseo and Livi — are among the fastest growing, in terms of sales, in the United States.

Sumatran rhino pregnant: conservationists hope third time's the charm

2012-02-07T19:49:00Z

Ratu, a female Sumatra rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is in the eleventh month of her third pregnancy raising hopes for a successful birth of one of the world's most imperiled big mammals. Ratu suffered two prior miscarriages, but researchers believe the current pregnancy—which still has four to five months to go (for a total term of around 15-16 months)—could produce what Indonesian officials have long hoped for: a bundle of joy at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Sumatra. With only around 200 Sumatran rhinos surviving today in Indonesia and Bornean Malaysia, many conservationists see such breeding efforts as the last and best chance to save the Critically Endangered species from extinction.

5 shot in conflict over oil palm plantation in Sumatra

2012-02-03T23:08:00Z

Five villagers were shot in Indonesia's Riau Province on the island of Sumatra during a clash in a land dispute over an oil palm plantation, reports The Jakarta Post and Republika.

Sumatran elephant population plunges; WWF calls for moratorium on deforestation

2012-01-24T02:57:00Z

The Sumatran elephant subspecies (Elephas maximus sumatranus) was downgraded to critically endangered on IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species on Tuesday, prompting environmental group WWF to call for an immediate moratorium on destruction of its rainforest habitat, which is being rapidly lost to oil palm estates, timber plantations for pulp and paper production, and agricultural use.

Levi's new forest policy excludes fiber from suppliers linked to deforestation

2012-01-17T19:49:00Z

Levi Strauss & Company had issued a new policy that will exclude fiber from controversial sources from its products. The move will effectively bar Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) as a supplier, according to the Rainforest Action Network, a green group that is campaigning to reform APP's sourcing practices, which the NGO says come at the expense of rainforests in Sumatra.

Extreme mouth-sewing protest in Indonesia leads to logging inquiry

2012-01-09T23:27:00Z

A protest in which 28 Indonesian sewed their mouths shut has led to an inquiry into a logging concession on Padang Island. The Ministry of Forestry has formed a mediation team to look into the controversial concession, reports Kompas. Around a hundred natives of Padang Island rallied for weeks against the logging concession held by PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), which covers 37 percent of the island's total land.

Mouths are sewn shut in protest against deforestation in Indonesia

2012-01-03T16:00:00Z

Twenty-eight Indonesians have taken the extreme measure of sewing their mouths shut in a protest turned hunger-strike against a forest concession on Padang Island, reports the Jakarta Globe. Around a hundred protesters, mostly natives of Padang Island, have camped outside the Indonesian Senate building since December 19th to protest a logging concession held by PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) on their island, which lies off the east coast of Sumatra.

'Christmas miracle' for endangered rhinos

2011-12-24T16:13:00Z

Conservationists and wildlife officials in the Malaysian state of Sabah airlifted a young female Sumatran Rhinoceros — one of the world's most endangered animals — to an area of forest where she would encounter a potential partner, reports the Sabah Wildlife Department and Borneo Rhino Alliance. Sumatran Rhinoceros populations are so low, some individuals live in areas where they have no hope of ever finding another rhino.

Kroger, America's largest grocery chain, stops carrying APP products due to deforestation concerns

2011-12-22T22:34:00Z

Kroger, America's largest grocery store chain, will stop carrying products sourced by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) due to concerns about deforestation, according to a statement on the company's web site. The move comes after a Greenpeace campaign targeting Paseo, a fast-growing toilet paper brand owned by APP.

New analysis supports claim that paper giant cleared part of its tiger sanctuary in Indonesia

2011-12-21T20:26:00Z

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP)'s supplier PT Ruas Utama Jaya has indeed cleared an area of forest it pledged to set aside as a tiger conservation reserve in Sumatra reports a legal analysis by Greenomics, an Indonesian environmental group. The Greenomics' analysis supports allegations originally set forth in a report published last week by Eyes of the Forest, a coalition of green groups, and seems to refute a press release issued by APP that called the deforestation allegations 'fiction'.

Indonesia grants exemption from logging moratorium for 3.6m ha of forest

2011-12-21T01:58:00Z

Indonesia exempted 3.6 million hectares of forests and peatlands from protected status under its two-year moratorium on forest concessions, according to a revised version of its moratorium map released near the end of climate talks in Durban. The new Indicative Map includes 10.7 million hectares of peatlands, down from 15.5 million hectares in the previous version of the map that defines areas off-limits for new concessions. Some 1.2 million hectares of previously unprotected "primary forest" has been added to the moratorium area, resulted in a net decline of 3.6 million hectares under the moratorium, according to analysis by Daemeter Consulting, an Indonesia-based forestry consultancy.

Indonesia to investigate beheadings allegedly conducted by palm oil security forces

2011-12-17T06:52:00Z

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered an investigation into a grisly beheading of two men alleged by security forces hired to defend an oil palm plantation, reports The Jakarta Post.

WWF: Asia Pulp & Paper misleads public about its role in destroying Indonesia's rainforests

2011-12-16T19:28:00Z

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) continues to mislead the public about its role in destroying rainforests and critical tiger habitat across the Indonesian island of Sumatra, alleges a new report from Eyes on the Forest, a coalition of Indonesian environmental groups including WWF-Indonesia. The report, titled The truth behind APP’s Greenwash, is based on analysis of satellite imagery as well as public and private documentation of forest cleared by logging companies that supply APP, which is owned by the Indonesian conglomerate, Sinar Mas Group (SMG). The report concludes APP's fiber suppliers have destroyed 2 million hectares of forest in Sumatra since 1984.

Paper commitments for the Indonesian industry

2011-12-13T20:15:00Z

The Indonesian group Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) has been the target of many NGOs for years due to its alleged negative impacts on tropical forests. This culminated in a spectacular campaign launched by Greenpeace in 2011 based on Ken "dumping" Barbie. The rationale was that toy brand Mattel was accused of using APP paper products linked to the clear-cutting of natural forests in the Indonesian archipelago. APP organized a counter-attack in the media with the daily publication of advertisements promoting its sustainable development practices. Journalists from all over the world were also invited to attend guided tours of APP concessions to demonstrate their conservation efforts, and a number of articles were subsequently written.

Controversial pulp and paper companies underwrite Indonesia's climate change pavilion in Durban

2011-12-10T21:43:00Z

A 'significant proprtion' of Indonesia's $3.3. million pavilion at climate talks in Durban was funded by Indonesian pulp and paper companies companies, reports Reuters Alertnet.

Aceh's 'green' governor breaks Indonesia's moratorium by granting oil palm plantation, alleges group

2011-11-23T21:44:00Z

Aceh governor Irwandi Yusuf may have broken Indonesia's moratorium on new concessions in peatlands when he approved an oil palm plantation in the Tripa peat swamp in August this year, alleges WAHLI, an Indonesian environmental group.

Palm oil giant misled the public on violent conflict with local communities

2011-11-21T06:45:00Z

Palm oil giant Wilmar Corp misled the public over a conflict between local communities and one of its subsidiaries in Sumatra, according to a new report published by the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP).

Photos: five wild cat species documented in Sumatran forest imperiled by logging

2011-11-16T21:35:00Z

A single forest corridor in Sumatra has yielded camera trap photos of five wild cats species, including the Critically Endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). Photos were also taken of the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), the marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata), the Asian golden cat (Pardofelis temminckii), and the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis). The five species were all filmed by a WWF camera trap survey in a single forest corridor linking the forest of Bukit Tigapuluh and the Rimbang Baling Wildlife Sanctuary in Riau Province. Unfortunately this forest remains unprotected.

First ever survey shows Sumatran tiger hanging on as forests continue to vanish

2011-11-10T16:08:00Z

The first-ever Sumatran-wide survey of the island's top predator, the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), proves that the great cat is holding on even as forests continue to vanish. The study, carried out by eight NGOs and the Indonesian government, shows that the tiger is still present in 70 percent of the forests surveyed, providing hope for the long-term survival of the subspecies if remaining forests are protected.

Malaysia must take action to avoid extinction of its last rhinos

2011-11-05T21:11:00Z

Malaysia must take immediate action to prevent the extinction of the handful of rhinos that survive on the island of Borneo, says a coalition of environmental groups.

Toymaker Hasbro cuts deforestation from its supply chain

2011-11-01T14:37:00Z

Hasbro, the second largest American toy company, today announced a new packaging policy that excludes the use of fiber produced via destruction of rainforests, reports Greenpeace.