How toilet paper is threatening Indonesia's tigers

Precious tiger habitat also disappearing

February 2012: Our choice of toilet paper could be contribute to the destruction of Indonesian rainforest and tiger habitat, according to a World Wildlife Fund.

A new WWF report finds that Asian Pulp & Paper (APP), the fifth-largest tissue producer in the world and a subsidiary of the Sinar Mas, is rapidly expanding into the American market with paper that is linked to rainforest destruction, originating from areas that are the last home for critically endangered species such as Sumatran tigers, elephants, and orangutans.

Products made with APP fibre, such as toilet paper, paper towels and tissue, are increasingly landing in American grocery stores, restaurants, schools and hotels across the country under the Paseo and Livi brand names.

Retailers are removing APP products from storesEight large retailers – BI-LO, Brookshire Grocery Company, Delhaize Group (owner of Food Lion chain), Harris Teeter, Kmart, Kroger, SUPERVALU, and Weis Markets – have decided to stop carrying tissue products made with APP fibre during the past several months.

‘We applaud the decision by these companies to remove these products from their stores,' said Jan Vertefeuille, head of WWF's Tiger Campaign.

Since it began operating in Indonesia in 1984, WWF estimates that APP and its affiliates have pulped nearly 5 million acres of tropical forest on the island of Sumatra, which equals an area roughly the size of 4 million football fields or larger than the state of Massachusetts.

Consumers aren't aware about the impact on faraway forests‘Consumers shouldn't have to choose between tigers and toilet paper,' said Linda Kramme, a WWF forest expert. ‘We're asking retailers, wholesalers and consumers not to buy Paseo or Livi products until APP stops clearing rainforests in Sumatra.'

The report adds: ‘More than 50 per cent of shoppers say they consider sustainability when they shop, but people may not be aware that products used every day, like paper and tissue, can be linked to devastating impacts on forests in faraway places.'

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/rainforest-tissue.html

Can the jungle law save orangutans?

Panut Hadisiswoyo and Gunung Gea, Medan | Tue, 02/07/2012 10:52 AM

There have probably been at least 2,800 confiscations of illegally kept orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra since the early 1970s. In the same period, millions of hectares of orangutan forest have also been destroyed for plantations and other uses, and thousands of orangutans killed, starved and burned to death in the process. 

This species cleansing has occurred despite the fact that the orangutan has been legally protected in Indonesia since 1924. Quite simply, in the last 40 years the number of legal cases brought against pet keepers, traders and orangutan killers can be counted on the fingers of one hand. 

There was a case in November 2006 of people shooting a Sumatran orangutan (62 times with an air rifle) that had been released at the edge of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Jambi in October 2004. Six villagers received six-month jail sentences, but later the prison term was extended to eight months. Leuser, the orangutan in question, is now residing at a quarantine center run by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) near Medan, in North Sumatra. He still has 48 air rifle pellets in his body and is blind in both eyes due to pellets lodged there. 

There were also two prosecutions in June 2010 of people trading orangutans illegally in West Kalimantan. The seller was sentenced to eight months in prison and fined Rp 1 million (US$110). The buyer received a meager one month and 15 days in prison. A third person involved managed to evade prosecution altogether.

Yet, seemingly all of a sudden, a number of legal actions in support of orangutan conservation are finally hitting the headlines. 

Many people will have seen recent articles in the media concerning the brutal killing of orangutans on an oil palm plantation in East Kalimantan, where they were slaughtered en masse for a bounty paid by the Malaysian company PT Khaleda Agroprima Malindo (PT KAM). For each orangutan killed, workers were allegedly paid Rp 1 million. This is an extremely shocking and disturbing case, but it is also an open secret that such practices are commonplace on new plantations. 

An article on Dec. 9, 2011 in The Jakarta Post showed how the remains of more slaughtered orangutans were found in a concession belonging to PT Sarana Titian Permata II, part of the Wilmar International group, in Central Kalimantan. But no one there has yet been arrested or charged.

While the PT KAM case has attracted media attention, very few people are aware of an ongoing trial related to orangutans in Kabanjahe, North Sumatra. It concerns Julius, a 4-year-old male Sumatran orangutan confiscated in Mardinding, Karo regency, in July 2011. Forestry police arrested a man, identified by his initial as S, who was transporting Julius and offering him for sale. Unfortunately, however, the alleged “owner” of the orangutan, identified as R, has not yet been arrested or charged.

The law relating to protected species is actually simple. Law No. 5/1990 on the Conservation of Biodiversity and Ecosystems states clearly that keeping, injuring, capturing, trading and transporting protected species are criminal offenses, carrying sentences up to five years in jail and a Rp 100 million fine. 

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Julius’ case in North Sumatra will be taken seriously by the three judges and the prosecutors. If not, and the defendant is acquitted, e.g. on some minor technicality, it really will reinforce the prevailing impression among conservationists that the Indonesian authorities, and society in general, really aren’t interested in protecting their country’s unique and exceptionally rich biodiversity.

Besides Law No. 5/1990, there are several other regulations that support orangutan conservation, which also seem to be routinely flouted and ignored. The Spatial Planning Law No. 26/2007, and its subsequent Government Regulation No. 26/2008, established the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra as a National Strategic Area for Environmental Protection. Presidential Instruction No. 11/2011 prevents the issuance of any new plantation and concession permits in primary forests and peat lands. 

As the Leuser Ecosystem is home to around 80 percent of all the remaining Sumatran orangutans in the world, and as the peat swamps of Aceh province have the highest density of orangutans anywhere in the world, effective enforcement of these two laws alone would be an important step for orangutan conservation. 

And so to another case currently making the news, in which it is claimed that a new permit issued for an oil palm plantation in the Tripa peat swamp forests on the west coast of Aceh, within the Leuser Ecosystem, is illegal, and that its issuance constitutes a criminal act or felony on the part of Aceh governor and a number of other key individuals involved in the process. 

The Tripa peat swamp case actually consists of several different legal initiatives. A consortium of concerned NGOs has challenged the legality of the new permit in the Court of Civil Administration in Banda Aceh. Meanwhile, representatives of the communities living directly in Tripa, already fed up with losing their livelihoods, lands and lifestyles due to the destruction wreaked so far, have reported the governor of Aceh, who issued the permit, the company that received it, PT Kallista Alam, and a number of others at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta. They claim the issuance of the permit is a clear contravention of the National Spatial Planning law. 

If these Aceh cases were to fail, the orangutan population in Tripa, recognized by the United Nations-backed Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP) as critical for the survival of the species, will continue to be devastated and ultimately be destroyed completely. 

Perhaps for the first time, and long overdue, we finally seem to be seeing some clear sustained developments in law enforcement pertaining to conservation in Indonesia. But, it is probably too early to draw any solid conclusions.

Furthermore, even if convicted, the deterrent effect of these cases still depends on appropriate punishments being meted out. If sentences are too short or fines too little, it will once again bring into question the seriousness of those involved in enforcing the law in environmental and conservation cases. 

Panut Hadisiswoyo and Gunung Gea are respectively chairman and vice chairman of FOKUS (Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Forum

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/07/can-jungle-law-save-orangutans.html).

Sumatran elephant upgraded to critically endangered status

Species has lost half its population and 69% of its habitat through deforestation in the past 25 years.

The Sumatran elephant has been placed on the list of critically endangered species after losing half of its population in a single generation, prompting calls from conservation groups for emergency measures to halt the destruction of its habitat.

Deforestation is seen as the primary reason for the collapse in numbers in Indonesia, which until recently was seen alongside India and Sri Lanka as one of the last great refuges for elephants in Asia. The animal is now at risk of becoming extinct within decades.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) upgraded the risk assessment after tracking the loss of 69% of the animal's habitat over the past 25 years. With their home forests burned, felled or converted to plantations, the wild population has fallen to no more than 2,800.

In its latest "red list" of threatened species, the IUCN noted that many of the remaining elephant communities were likely to disappear because they do not live in protected areas and there is a high risk of conflicts with humans. It cited studies showing that at least six herds disappeared between 2007 and 2009 in Riau province - a centre for the paper, pulp and palm oil industries. "That this pattern will continue seems certain," it warned.

As plantations have expanded, Sumatra has experienced some of the worst deforestation rates in the world. Conservation groups said the Indonesian island has lost more than two-thirds of its natural lowland forest - the most suitable habitat for elephants - in the past 25 years.

With the upgrading of the risk assessment, WWF called for an immediate moratorium on habitat destruction. "The Sumatran elephant joins a growing list of Indonesian species that are critically endangered, including the Sumatran orangutan, the Javan and Sumatran rhinos and the Sumatran tiger," said Carlos Drews, director of WWF's global species programme.

"Unless urgent and effective conservation action is taken these magnificent animals are likely to go extinct within our lifetime." The organisation advised the government to assess large habitat patches that could be designated as protected areas, and linked with smaller habitat through a network of conservation corridors. In the longer term, it suggested the authorities consider habitat expansion and forest restoration.

"It's very important that the government of Indonesia, conservation organisations and agro-forestry companies recognise the critical status of elephants and other wildlife in Sumatra and take effective steps to conserve them," said Asian elephant expert Ajay Desai. "Indonesia must act now before it's too late to protect Sumatra's last remaining natural forests, especially elephant habitats."

However, without more public pressure or more funds, the Indonesia authorities are likely to continue to support or turn a blind eye to the loggers and plantation owners. The threat upgrade follows a flood of grim conservation news due to poaching, habitat loss and a lack of awareness among consumers.

The Javan rhino was declared extinct in Vietnam in October after the last one was found dead with a bullet in its leg and its horn sawn off. A month later, it was followed by Africa's western black rhinoceros and warnings that the Sumatran rhino is on the brink of extinction in Indonesia.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/24/sumatran-elephant-upgraded-critically-endangered?intcmp=122

Tiger sanctuary being felled by paper giant

Two million hectares of forest have been destroyed

December 2011: The Senepis Tiger Sanctuary - a prominent feature of the massive international greenwash campaign of paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) - is being subject to clear cutting operations by one of the company's wood suppliers, an investigation by WWF and partners finds.

A new report, called The Truth Behind APP's Greenwash, has been released by Sumatra-based NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest and it estimates that APP, part of the Sinar Mas Group, has pulped more than two million hectares of Indonesia's tropical forests since it started paper production there in 1984.


Deap peats are being drained to make way for plantations

According to Eyes of the Forest, APP's continued clear-cutting of forests including elephant, tiger and orang-utan habitat and the immense climate change impacts of draining deep peats to establish high turnover plantations is completely contrary to the image of environmental responsibility it is pushing through front groups and media advertising.

The report details how the company made the same promise on moving to 100 per cent plantation sourcing of timber for major pulp mills four times - missing self-imposed deadlines to stop using native forest timber in 2004, 2007 and 2009.

APP is now announcing it will meet its commitment on timber sourcing by 2015 - a deadline Eyes on the Forest says it expects APP to also miss.

APP's claims are greatly exaggerated
Through field investigations in June and October 2011 and historical satellite image analysis, Eyes on the Forest found that the APP supplier, PT Ruas Utama Jaya has been clear cutting tropical forest inside the Senepis Tiger Sanctuary.

‘This is clear proof that the global advertising claims of APP that it actively protects Sumatran tiger are highly exaggerated,' said Anwar Purwoto of WWF.

The investigation shows a tiger sanctuary reality vastly different from the picture being pushed to the world media and through various front groups by APP.

After apparently trying to halt a government-proposed Senepis National Park that would have protected tiger habitat targeted by APP for pulping, the company switched to advertising a leading role in creating the Senepis Tiger Sanctuary in 2006, claims the Eyes of the Forest report.

It alleges a very minor additional APP conservation contribution for Sumatra's critically endangered tigers - some 86 per cent of the sanctuary is located on the already-protected forests of a Forest Stewardship Council-certified logging concession held by unrelated company PT Diamond Raya Timber.

'They are misleading customers about the brutal reality on the ground'

Now, according to the report, at least one APP supplier is engaged in clear cutting and drainage of the small areas that were APP's only real contribution to the sanctuary.

‘It's appalling that APP is pulping even the small blocks of forest it had told the world it would protect as tiger habitat,' Hariansyah Usman of WALHI Riau said. ‘This report shows a different picture to this and other, much-touted APP "conservation projects".

‘We would like the Sinar Mas group's buyers and investors who read this report to realise how APP's media campaigns are exploiting their lack of knowledge or inexperience about Indonesia and how they mislead their customers about the brutal reality on the ground.

‘APP is interested only in feeding its giant mills with as much tropical forest wood as possible, and hoping that customers and investors will continue to believe conservation commitments and advertisements that past experience shows to be unrealistic.'

Muslim Rasyid, of Jikalahari, NGOs network In the Netherlands, said: ‘We urge global buyers and investors to no longer support Asia Pulp & Paper's continuing shameless destruction of Indonesia's tropical forests and the homes of Sumatra's last surviving tigers.'
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/senepis-felling.html

Sabah's proboscis monkeys in crisis

Habitat is being destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations

December 2011: Sabah's proboscis monkeys are suffering as the riparian forest on which they depend are destroyed to plant oil palm, and mangrove areas reclaimed for development.

‘The proboscis monkey is declining in numbers because we have oil palm plantations planting all the way down to the river edge and in areas closer to towns we have seen their habitat lost as the mangrove areas they occupy are reclaimed and built upon,' said director of the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), Dr Laurentius Ambu.

Only 6,000 proboscis monkeys are left
‘The oil palm industry does not have to plant all the way down to the river edge, they should leave the riparian forest with a buffer of preferably 1km for wildlife and also as a measure to protect our waterways for as the water is also ultimately used for human consumption,' he added.

Sabah had given much for oil palm production and, said Laurentius, it was now time for the industry to give back by replanting riparian areas in particular.

He also expressed his frustration that many areas unsuitable for oil palm plantation due to regular flooding were being planted with the crop then destroyed as they become submerged by water.

We need to create forest corridors

The SWD estimates that there are only 6,000 proboscis monkeys left, with five viable populations in Sabah .

‘We have one population on the West Coast, one in the South and three on the East Coast including the Lower Kinabatangan where oil palm has had a dramatic effect on a variety of Sabah wildlife including this large nosed monkey,' said Laurentius.

Conversion of small patches of forest for oil palm in the area has also seen the orang-utan population decline. Without these small patches of forest, wildlife is unable to disperse and mate nor have access to adequate food sources at times.

‘This is why we have been continuously pushing for forest corridors particularly along the riparian areas. They are crucial not just for primates but all wildlife particularly in the Lower Kinabatangan , which is heavily broken up between protected areas and non-protected areas,' said Laurentius.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/proboscis-monkey.html

Five rare wild cat species caught on camera in Sumatra but forest is being destroyed

‘This should remind us how much we can lose'

November 2011: After an amazing five of the seven wild cat species found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra were recently caught on camera in a tract of forest being rapidly lost to deforestation, WWF-Indonesia is urging companies and authorities to take immediate steps to save the valuable area.

Conducted in a forest of rich biodiversity known as Bukit Tigapuluh or Thirty Hills, the WWF survey captured on camera the Sumatran tiger, clouded leopard, marble cat, golden cat, and leopard cat. All of the wild cats were found in an unprotected forest corridor between the Bukit Tigapuluh forest landscape and the Rimbang Baling Wildlife sanctuary in Riau Province. The area is threatened by encroachment and forest clearance for industrial plantations.

These fragle forests are being lost‘Four of these species are protected by Indonesian Government regulations and are listed as threatened by extinction on the IUCN Red List,' said Karmila Parakkasi, coordinator of the WWF-Indonesia tiger research team. ‘This underscores the rich biodiversity of the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape and the forest corridors that connect to it. These amazing cat photos also remind us of how much we could lose as more of these fragile forests are lost to logging, plantations and illegal encroachment.'

During a three-month systematic sampling in the forest corridor this year, the camera trapping resulted in 404 photos of wild cats, including 226 of Sumatran tigers, 77 of clouded leopards, 70 of golden cats, four of marbled cats, and 27 of leopard cats.

Call for further protectionIn May 2011, WWF-Indonesia released video footage from a camera trap of three young tiger siblings playfully chasing a leaf. That footage was taken in the same area of the current batch of wild cat photos.

‘Unfortunately much of the natural forest area in the landscape is threatened by large scale clearance for industrial logging, pulp and paper, as well as illegal encroachment for palm oil plantation development,' said Aditya Bayunanda WWF-Indonesia's Coordinator for the Global Forest Trade Network Programme.

‘The abundant evidence of these five wild cat species suggests that the concession licenses of companies operating in these areas, such as Barito Pacific, should be reviewed and adjusted. WWF-Indonesia has also called on protection for areas bordering Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, either by expanding the park or managing it under the current forest ecosystem restoration scheme,' he continued.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/sumatra-cats.html

Russia’s logging rights auction derailed after public outcry

Logging would have threatened few remaining Amur tigers

November 2010: Public outcry has derailed an auction planned for the end of last month by the forestry administration of Primorsky Province in the Russian Far East that would have opened up critical Amur tiger habitats for logging.

The Forest Management Department said that its director Pyotr Diuk departed Tuesday on holiday, and the commission responsible for conducting the auction, highlighted by Wildlife Extra last month - Amur tiger habitat threatened by Russian auctions - was a no-show.


The Forest Management Agency of Primorsky Province had announced that it would conduct an auction on October 26 for logging rights for 16 harvest sites in the Bikinsky and Pozharsky Korean Pine Nut Harvesting Zones, and the proposed Middle Ussuri wildlife refuge, by making them available for so-called intermediate harvesting.

The failed auction comes after WWF-Russia alerted the press to the auction and demanded the exemption of protected forests in the Bikin River Basin of northern Primorsky Province from a timber auction authorised by the provincial Forest Management Department.

Public reaction was universally negative
WWF experts and representative to the Legislative Assembly Aleksandr Ermolayev spoke out against the proposed auction. Their testimony then was sent to the Forest Management Department and Primorsky Province Ecological Prosecutor's office for review.

Public reaction to the auction, in Russia and abroad, was universally negative, especially because Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has invited all heads of government from tiger range states to participate next month in the Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Putin said that a full public statement was pending an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the auction, according to WWF-Russia. Also, the Russian Federal Forest Agency sent a telegram to Primorskii Province's governor with a request to investigate within ten days the legality of the proposed logging of Korean pine stands.

Logging would increase access for poachers
Intermediate harvesting is a widely abused legal loophole which allows loggers to cut valuable Korean pine, oak and ash timber in protected forests. This practice greatly increases poaching access to remote tiger territories (through forest road building), destroys key breeding, feeding and overwintering habitat for tigers and their prey, and significantly reduces the supply of pine nuts and acorns on which tiger prey species survive.

The logging rights up for auction would have allowed loggers to cut down forests that protect salmon breeding grounds and are crucial habitats for Amur tigers.

The endangered Amur tiger, numbering fewer than 500 in the wild, is found primarily in southeastern Russia and northern China.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/logging-russia02.html

Russia’s logging rights auction derailed after public outcry

Logging would have threatened few remaining Amur tigers

November 2010: Public outcry has derailed an auction planned for the end of last month by the forestry administration of Primorsky Province in the Russian Far East that would have opened up critical Amur tiger habitats for logging.

The Forest Management Department said that its director Pyotr Diuk departed Tuesday on holiday, and the commission responsible for conducting the auction, highlighted by Wildlife Extra last month - Amur tiger habitat threatened by Russian auctions - was a no-show.


The Forest Management Agency of Primorsky Province had announced that it would conduct an auction on October 26 for logging rights for 16 harvest sites in the Bikinsky and Pozharsky Korean Pine Nut Harvesting Zones, and the proposed Middle Ussuri wildlife refuge, by making them available for so-called intermediate harvesting.

The failed auction comes after WWF-Russia alerted the press to the auction and demanded the exemption of protected forests in the Bikin River Basin of northern Primorsky Province from a timber auction authorised by the provincial Forest Management Department.

Public reaction was universally negative
WWF experts and representative to the Legislative Assembly Aleksandr Ermolayev spoke out against the proposed auction. Their testimony then was sent to the Forest Management Department and Primorsky Province Ecological Prosecutor's office for review.

Public reaction to the auction, in Russia and abroad, was universally negative, especially because Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has invited all heads of government from tiger range states to participate next month in the Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Putin said that a full public statement was pending an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the auction, according to WWF-Russia. Also, the Russian Federal Forest Agency sent a telegram to Primorskii Province's governor with a request to investigate within ten days the legality of the proposed logging of Korean pine stands.

Logging would increase access for poachers
Intermediate harvesting is a widely abused legal loophole which allows loggers to cut valuable Korean pine, oak and ash timber in protected forests. This practice greatly increases poaching access to remote tiger territories (through forest road building), destroys key breeding, feeding and overwintering habitat for tigers and their prey, and significantly reduces the supply of pine nuts and acorns on which tiger prey species survive.

The logging rights up for auction would have allowed loggers to cut down forests that protect salmon breeding grounds and are crucial habitats for Amur tigers.

The endangered Amur tiger, numbering fewer than 500 in the wild, is found primarily in southeastern Russia and northern China.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/logging-russia02.html

Chaco forest preservation funds appeal

John Vidal's piece describing the Chaco forest as the "last agricultural frontier", where "great swaths of … virgin thorn forest … are being turned into prairie-style grasslands to rear meat for Europe and grow biofuel crops for cars" could not have been more timely (Chaco deforestation by Christian sect puts Paraguyan land under threat, 6 October).


At the World Land Trust we have identified the situation in the Chaco as one of the worst examples of wanton destruction in the natural world. Vidal's article clearly lays out the issues confronting this habitat of rich biodiversity: "home to about 3,400 plant species, 500 bird species, 150 species of mammals, 120 species of reptiles, and 100 species of amphibians".

He describes how Mennonite farmers, who settled in the region in the 1930s, together with Brazilian ranchers, have bought an estimated 2m hectares (5m acres) of land, and have rapidly developed "a $100m-a-year meat and dairy agri-business". Their rapid development of the land has led to at least 10% of this forest being cleared. The methods used in this deforestation – fire and bulldozers – will undoubtedly lead to desertification and erosion, and the destruction of a unique ecosystem. The rate of this destruction has accelerated dramatically in the past two years and shows little sign of slowing down.

However, Vidal fails to highlight the most important point facing conservationists – the lack of available funding needed to protect this wilderness. This is also hampered by the fact that many people are simply unaware of where the Chaco is and why it is so important to conserve it. The forest covers an area of 240,000 sq km and encompasses parts of Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. Deforestation of this area and the resultant carbon emissions will have a serious impact on the world's climate.

The World Land Trust has been striving to raise funds to help local conservationists acquire critical areas of Chaco land, in order to protect this unique habitat. So far we have been able to fund the purchase of more than 20,000 hectares, which are now owned and managed by Guyra Paraguay, a national conservation non-government organisation.

Raising funds for basic measures, such as enforcing existing legislation to protect the land, is difficult, but the results can be extremely rewarding. We are at present funding five rangers to protect an area of 5m hectares. It costs about £5,000 a year to put a ranger in the field – in the Chaco, a combination of land acquisition, together with keeping trained rangers in the field, benefits not only the biodiversity but also the indigenous peoples living in the forests.

When I visited the Chaco last month, as well as seeing the extent of both illegal and legal deforestation, I was able to see areas deforested 80 years ago in the Chaco war of the 1930s (when Bolivian troops invaded the region) that still have not fully recovered. This gives some indication of how fragile this ecosystem is. As Vidal says, "the region's remoteness and the government's lack of resources for monitoring or prosecuting law-breakers has encouraged rampant, illegal felling of this dense, slow-growing forest". It simply must not be allowed to continue.

John Burton,
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/20/chaco-forest-funding-conservation

Chaco forest preservation funds appeal

John Vidal's piece describing the Chaco forest as the "last agricultural frontier", where "great swaths of … virgin thorn forest … are being turned into prairie-style grasslands to rear meat for Europe and grow biofuel crops for cars" could not have been more timely (Chaco deforestation by Christian sect puts Paraguyan land under threat, 6 October).


At the World Land Trust we have identified the situation in the Chaco as one of the worst examples of wanton destruction in the natural world. Vidal's article clearly lays out the issues confronting this habitat of rich biodiversity: "home to about 3,400 plant species, 500 bird species, 150 species of mammals, 120 species of reptiles, and 100 species of amphibians".

He describes how Mennonite farmers, who settled in the region in the 1930s, together with Brazilian ranchers, have bought an estimated 2m hectares (5m acres) of land, and have rapidly developed "a $100m-a-year meat and dairy agri-business". Their rapid development of the land has led to at least 10% of this forest being cleared. The methods used in this deforestation – fire and bulldozers – will undoubtedly lead to desertification and erosion, and the destruction of a unique ecosystem. The rate of this destruction has accelerated dramatically in the past two years and shows little sign of slowing down.

However, Vidal fails to highlight the most important point facing conservationists – the lack of available funding needed to protect this wilderness. This is also hampered by the fact that many people are simply unaware of where the Chaco is and why it is so important to conserve it. The forest covers an area of 240,000 sq km and encompasses parts of Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. Deforestation of this area and the resultant carbon emissions will have a serious impact on the world's climate.

The World Land Trust has been striving to raise funds to help local conservationists acquire critical areas of Chaco land, in order to protect this unique habitat. So far we have been able to fund the purchase of more than 20,000 hectares, which are now owned and managed by Guyra Paraguay, a national conservation non-government organisation.

Raising funds for basic measures, such as enforcing existing legislation to protect the land, is difficult, but the results can be extremely rewarding. We are at present funding five rangers to protect an area of 5m hectares. It costs about £5,000 a year to put a ranger in the field – in the Chaco, a combination of land acquisition, together with keeping trained rangers in the field, benefits not only the biodiversity but also the indigenous peoples living in the forests.

When I visited the Chaco last month, as well as seeing the extent of both illegal and legal deforestation, I was able to see areas deforested 80 years ago in the Chaco war of the 1930s (when Bolivian troops invaded the region) that still have not fully recovered. This gives some indication of how fragile this ecosystem is. As Vidal says, "the region's remoteness and the government's lack of resources for monitoring or prosecuting law-breakers has encouraged rampant, illegal felling of this dense, slow-growing forest". It simply must not be allowed to continue.

John Burton,
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/20/chaco-forest-funding-conservation