Saving Sumatra's last lowland rain forests.

[Guest guest]

Saving Sumatra's last lowland rain forests.

 

02/18/2003

Jakarta Post

P18

© 2003 The Jakarta Post

 

Jeni Shannaz, BirdLife Indonesia, Bogor, West Java, jshannaz

 

Sumatra's lowland rainforests are disappearing fast, and many of the

spectacular birds that depend on them face extinction.

The cause of the forests' destruction include political upheaval in

Indonesia, and investment and purchasing decisions made by European

companies and consumers. However, innovative action by local groups in

Sumatra has shown that local people care about the future of their

rainforests, and that the situation is not hopeless.

 

Indonesia has 117 globally threatened bird species, more than any other

country. Nowhere in Indonesia is the birds' plight more dire than on the

island of Sumatra, where a shocking 90 species are listed as globally

threatened or near-threatened. Among these species are the gorgeous

Red-naped Trogon and the spectacular Rhinoceros Hornbill.

 

The World Bank has predicted that virtually all of Sumatra's lowland

rainforests will be lost by 2005 if the present rate of logging

continues.

 

It is not only birds that will suffer if these forests are lost. Many

other forms of wildlife will be affected, including the Sumatran

orangutan, the Sumatran tiger and the Sumatran rhinoceros, all of which

are critically endangered, as well as Rajah Brooke's birdwing butterfly

and Rafflesia, the world's largest flower.

 

The rainforest is being cleared legally and illegally for timber, for

pulp wood to make paper, and to make way for oil palm plantations.

Indigenous people's rights are being ignored in the rush for timber and

land, as are statutory limits on how much timber can be logged in

logging concessions, government land-use plans and laws protecting

conservation areas. Tragically, more and more of Sumatra is becoming

useless, eroded scrubland.

 

Without action by both Indonesian local and provincial governments,

little can be done. Many local groups are now pushing for forest

conservation and community rights, and in some places their efforts are

having an impact. A new national park has been created to protect

indigenous rainforest peoples and wildlife, and in an existing park,

local people are taking action to control illegal logging.

 

However, the problem cannot be solved within Indonesia alone. Much of

the investment driving the logging of Sumatra's rainforests comes from

Europe, and much of the palm oil and paper made in Sumatra is sold to

Europe. In 1997, EU bought more than a third of Indonesia's palm oil for

use in potato chips, biscuits, ice creams, margarines, soaps and

cosmetics.

 

There is an alternative to the process of destruction. Some 3.8 million

hectares of land already cleared in Sumatra could be used for

plantations to supply the pulp industry. In addition, oil palm estates

could manage their lands and trees with methods and strategies aimed at

sustainability, instead of continually clearing new areas.

 

Some European banks and companies have already acted to avoid funding

the destruction of Sumatra's rainforests. Changing the attitudes of

other investors and consumers means raising public awareness and

focusing concern where it can have an effect.

 

Institutions that finance the industries involved could ensure that they

do not fund illegal or unsustainable practices, and that pulp wood from

rainforests is replaced with pulp wood from sustainable sources,

certified by independent bodies such as the Forest Stewardship Council

(FSC). Paper buyers could also ensure that they purchase from

independently certified sources.

 

Sumatran groups campaigning for their rainforests need our help to tell

the outside world what is happening.

 

This is a big and complex problem, and we are running out of time to

tackle it.

 

Since last year, BirdLife Indonesia has been working with local groups

in Sumatra to identify the most important remaining areas of lowland

rainforest. Field surveys and discussions with local people have been

turned into action plans at five of the sites where we can make a

difference.

 

These sites are: Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park, which is one of the

largest areas of remaining lowland rainforest; two logging concession

areas, where logging is not yet widespread or destructive; and two

nature reserves, which are threatened by forest clearance around them

but are still in good condition. In total, these sites contain more than

7,000 square kilometers of critical habitat.

 

With support from the British Birdwatching Fair, BirdLife Indonesia will

work at these five key sites. At each site, local groups that have a

stake in the future of the rainforest, including local communities,

conservation societies, student groups and researchers, will combine

forces to campaign for business and government to stop the uncontrolled

destruction.

 

Copyright 2003 The Jakarta Post.

 

 

 

Folder Name: Asia Conservation Tiger

Relevance Score on Scale of 100: 80

 

____________________

 

To review or revise your folder, visit http://www.djinteractive.com or

contact Dow Jones Customer Service by e-mail at custom.news

or by phone at 800-369-7466. (Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 609-452-1511

or contact your local sales representative.)

____________________

 

Copyright © 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.