Hundreds of orangutans killed

Why when humans have literally spread in to every possible ecosystem, why pray tell for the love of God can't we leave just a little space for Orangutans and other creatures?

Why does human rule of the planet have to be totalitarian? Can someone at least acknowledge that this is ridiculous beyond all measure!

GREEN (Palm Oil Deforestation) - Documentary by Patrick Rouxel

Documentary on the Indonesian rainforest, deforestation and orangutan extinction. It is a silent film (without narration, but with music) which addresses itself both to the Indonesians and the consumers of wood/paper/palm oil around the world.

This important documentary was filmed in the fast disappearing Indonesian rainforest and is not narrated, however, its message is clear and frightening. The home of the Orangutan and many other wildlife species in Indonesia is being decimated at an alarming rate by consumer need and greed. The film features the widespread practice of 'slash and burn' to clear the lush rainforest to make way for extensive palm oil plantations which we, the consumer, support in our demand for our favourite foods, magazines, cosmetics, and, increasingly, biofuel.

The practice has also seen Indonesia move into third place behind the US and China with regard to carbon emissions due to the uncovering of peat soil which has lain, undisturbed, below the tropical rainforest for centuries. The film exposes the illegal pet trade that thrives in Indonesia and the sick, despairing lives of those Orangutan who spend years, often all their lives, locked in small cages, suffering, alone.

The story thread follows the fate of a female Orangutan who has been captured and brought in because her forest home has been decimated. She is one of the lucky ones -- most are slaughtered without mercy when caught. Her fate though, is not a happy one, as her trauma at the hands of man is too great. Your heart will break with resounding pity, but it is even more sobering to know that she is only one of hundreds every week who will suffer a similar fate.

Make sure everyone you know watches this documentary. We owe it to our friends, the gentle Orangutan, we owe it to our planet, and we owe it to ourselves so that we can learn from it.

Still a ongoing Genocide

Indonesia court refuses to rule on peat swamp case

A court in western Indonesia on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit brought by conservationists challenging further development of peat swamp forests they say will threaten the few remaining orangutans who live there.

Indonesia's largest environmental group, Walhi, wanted the court to revoke a license granted by the Aceh provincial government to palm oil company PT Kallista Alam. The license allows the company to convert 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) of the Tripa peat swamp forest into a palm oil plantation.
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The Tripa forest -- which in the early 1990s was home to around 3,000 Sumatran orangutans -- today has just 200. There are 6,600 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild, and the Tripa forest has the densest population in the world!
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Aceh's government and PT Kallista Alam welcomed the judges' decision.

www.businessweek.com...

Orangutans gone by end of 2012 unless deforestation halted

t the present time, the interests of the orangutans, other wildlife and human communities in Tripa are best served by trying to get the current wave of forest destruction and burning in Tripa halted IMMEDIATELY.

Indonesia actually has a lot of legislation that supports good environmental management and conservation: our immediate focus is to cajole government agencies into enforcing their own laws. Thus in this particular case there will be an appeal by WALHI in the higher courts, and we also need to intensify lobbying of the central Government in Jakarta to enforce the law in all the concessions in Tripa.

The many supporters overseas can help with all these efforts, both by expressing their support through petitions etc., but also with funding for the campaign and lobby work itself as these are often difficult to raise money for. Things like press conferences, travelling to government offices in Jakarta and elsewhere, legal analyses, even internet and printing: all cost money and in this case even small donations can make a big difference.

www.digitaljournal.com...