Illegal Logging in Indonesia Threatens Survival of Orangutan
The orangutan, one of the world’s few great apes, is
making its last stand in the jungles of Indonesia as illegal
logging accelerates at a far faster rate than previously thought,
and emergency action is needed now to ensure their survival,
including international initiatives to curb demand for the
lumber, a new United Nations report warned today. The study-Last
stand of the orangutan: State of emergency - says natural
rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo are being cleared so rapidly
that up to 98 per cent may be destroyed by 2022 without urgent
action, outstripping projections of an earlier UNEP report
by 10 years due to an acceleration in the past five years
of illegal logging, estimated to account for more than 73
per cent of all logging in Indonesia. Overall loss of orangutan
habitat is happening at a rate up to 30 per cent higher than
previously thought. The report notes that Indonesia is active
in fighting illegal logging and has worked with a series of
international programs and initiatives to reduce the logging.
But most long-term initiatives, like reducing corruption and
certification of timber, require the substantial support of
the international community including recipients of illegally
logged timber, as well as “massive changes” in
management regimes and long-term institutional change. (February
6th 2007, UN News)
US Warns of Bird Flu Threat from Indonesian Cats
The US embassy on Wednesday (7/2) warned its citizens to avoid
cats in Indonesia following reports that they may carry the
deadly H5N1 bird flu virus. An Indonesian scientist recently
discovered that 20 percent of live cats in areas which had
been affected by bird flu, in poultry or humans, were infected
with the virus. “While there have been no documented
cases of feline-to-human transmission of H5N1, it is important
to avoid contact with wild and stray cats, and to ensure that
domesticated cats do not eat or interact with sick or dying
poultry,” it said. It said pet cats which mainly live
indoors should not be at risk of catching bird flu. Cornell
University College of Veterinary Medicine in the United States
says two scientific reports have shown that domestic cats
can become infected if they eat uncooked meat from H5N1-infected
chickens and can pass the infection directly to other cats.
(February 6th 2007, AFP/)
Jailed Bali Bombers have Cell Phones Seized
Indonesian authorities have seized at least nine cellular
phones from militants jailed for their role in two separate
bombings on Bali amid reports that their leader has preached
from prison, local press said Thursday (8/2). The cell phones
belong to five convicts in the October 2002 nightclub bombings,
in which 202 people were killed, and four others in the October
2005 triple suicide bombings that claimed 19 lives in Bali.
They are currently serving various jail terms in Bali’s
Kerobokan State Prison. The mobile phones were smuggled by
relatives or friends, said prison head Ilham Djaya, adding
that guards had begun searching and confiscating mobile phones
Wednesday (7/2). The move came after National Police Chief
Sutanto said Bali bombing leader Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas
had preached Muslim militants via mobile phone from the Bali
prison. Sutanto told legislators Monday (5/2) that Mukhlas
had delivered teachings to militants in the troubled Central
Sulawesi town of Poso. Mukhlas is one of three convicts on
death row for the 2002 bombings. They have been moved to a
high security prison island off the Java coast. (February
6th 2007, Xinhua)
Internet Café Opened at the Denpasar Ngurah Rai Airport
An internet lounge and hot-spot to service international travelers
has been launched at the Denpasar Ngurah Rai Airport on Monday
(12/2). The Parai Cyber Lounge will be available to all international
travelers departing from Ngurah Rai. There will be a surcharge
of USD $15.00 to use the facility which also provides snack
foods, drinks, television and smoking / non-smoking areas.
The lounge is situated alongside departure gates 7, 8, and
9 as is run by the El John group. The airport facility is
one of 55 similar cyber lounges run by the company, the other
lounges being situated at other strategic locations around
the country. (February 13th 2007, Radar Bali)
British Man Arrested for Possession of Heroin-Kuta
A British citizen, Mr. Ramsay Ronald Watson was arrested in
the car park of a small supermarket on Jln dewi Sartika, Tuban
in Kuta on Monday (12/2). The man was caught red-handed at
about 2pm with 0.1 grams of heroin in his possession. Police
approached the man after receiving a tip-off that a transaction
had just taken place at the supermarket.(February 15th 2007,
Radar Bali)
Renewable Energy to Power Indonesian Villages
Indonesia aims to have 2,000 energy self-sufficient villages
powered by hydro, solar or bio-fuel resources by 2009, according
to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro.
The country currently has 140 villages capable of meeting
all their own energy needs, the official Antara news agency
quoted him as saying late Wednesday (15/2) after a cabinet
meeting. “President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants to
increase the number of energy-self-sufficient villages. 140
increased to 200 this year and to 2,000 by the end of the
present cabinet’s tenure in 2009,” Yusgiantoro
said. The villages have developed micro-hydropower plants
or solar, bio-gas and bio-fuel energy schemes which also create
jobs and reduce reliance on fossil fuel reserves to help meet
growing energy demands in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Yudhoyono has asked the relevant ministries to arrange to
disburse the necessary funds to the villages involved in the
scheme, Antara said. Yusgiantoro said the villages were eventually
expected to produce an energy surplus which they could then
sell. The scheme was hoped to reduce the number of unemployed
by one million by 2009, the minister said, adding that 45
percent of Indonesia’s 70,000 villages were underdeveloped.
Around a third of Indonesians have no access to electricity,
the World Bank says. One pioneer village, Tanjung Harjo in
Central Java, was already using vegetable energy resources
to meet all its needs and was selling its surplus power to
a nearby sugar factory, the agency said. (February 16th 2007,
Antara)
Indonesia to Resume Sending H5N1 Samples to WHO
Indonesia will resume sharing bird flu samples with the World
Health Organization (WHO), but under a new mechanism aimed
at ensuring developing nations get access to vaccines, the
health minister and the WHO said on Friday (16/2). In a controversial
move, Jakarta last week declared it would only share its H5N1
bird flu virus samples with parties who agreed not to use
them for commercial reasons and had stopped sharing them with
the WHO. “We agree to responsible sharing practices
and we’re going to do it soon,” Health Minister
Siti Fadillah Supari told reporters. She said that a proposal
would be drawn up that would be fair and guarantee access
for any products resulting from the sharing of samples to
other developing countries. WHO spokesman David Heymann told
reporters that there would be a meeting of health ministers
from the Asia Pacific region and select countries in March
to look into the new mechanism. (February 16th 2007, Reuters)
Pollution Threatens Jakarta Water Supply
The Asian Development Bank says pollution threatens the main
water supply of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and could
raise the price of tap water. The ADB says it is pitching
in funds to address the serious water quality problems in
the West Tarum canal, which provides 80 per cent of the freshwater
supply to the sprawling metropolis. The cost of the project
has not been disclosed. Jakarta’s water supply has suffered
from regular cuts in recent years as pollution enters the
canal from communities living alongside it, as well as from
adjacent rivers. The pollution also increases the cost of
treating the water before it is piped to Jakarta’s consumers.
(February 16th 2007, ABC)
Warden Accused of Giving Bali Bomber Laptop
A prison warden supplied convicted Bali bomber Imam Samudra
with a laptop computer which allowed him to plot other attacks
from his cell on death row, an Indonesian court heard on Monday
(19/2). Benny Irawan, alias Abu Hanafi, 29, went on trial
in Semarang district court, Central Java, today accused of
receiving a package containing a laptop and other equipment
on May 5, 2005, while he was a warden at Bali’s Kerobokan
jail. He then wrapped the laptop in old newspapers and gave
it to Samudra in his jail cell later the same day, ElShinta
radio said. Mr. Irawan was later transferred to work at another
jail in Purwokerto, Central Java. Mr Samudra - sentenced to
death over his key role in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings
that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists - has been
accused of using the laptop to stay in contact with other
Muslim militants. (February 19th 2007, AFP)
Measles Kills 30,000 Indonesian Children Each Year
Around 30,000 children die of measles and its complications
annually in Indonesia, a minister said here on Monday (19/2).
“And it means that one child dies in every 20 minutes
due to measles,” Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari
said.She explained that measles sufferers could get killed
or disabled due to complications triggered by the disease,
such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and inflammation of ear and brain.
Measles is one of the country’s main deadly diseases
which cause a lot of deaths among one-year-old babies and
infants between one and four years old. Since 1984, the Indonesian
government has launched routine immunization programs against
the disease which is caused by the paramyxo virus. “Measles
immunization as well as other immunizations have managed to
decrease infant deaths up to 48 percent,” she said.
This year, the government will launch major immunization programs
in Banten, Jakarta, West Java and East Java on February 20,
2007 and in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara
(NTB) in August 2007. (February 19th 2007, Antara News)
50 Injured, 500 Buildings Damaged in Jogja Tornado
At least 519 houses in four sub districts were badly and lightly
damaged by a whirlwind that hit Yogyakarta on Sunday (18/2)
afternoon. “The damaged houses are located in the subdistricts
of Gondokusuman, Umbulharjo, Pakualaman and Danurejan,”
Head of the People`s Protection and Fire Department of the
Yogyakarta city administration Wahyu Hidayat said here Sunday
night. Wahyu also said that at least 45 victims of the whirlwind
had been rushed to hospitals and 500 others had taken refuge.
Meanwhile, Yogyakarta`s mayor Herry Zudianto said the victims`
medical teatment costs would be paid by the Yogyakarta city
administration which would be supported by the provincial
administration. (February 19th 2007, Antara News)
Pet Dogs and Strays Captured and Sold for Satay
Satay warungs (local cafes) are buying stray dogs and unwanted
pets for as little as Rp 35,000 per dog to sell as satay.
Dog satay warungs (code named “Sate RW”) are now
springing up and advertising quite publicly along the main
roads of Sanur, Gianyar, Bangli and Denpasar. Dogs are traditionally
eaten by many ethnic groups throughout Indonesia, mainly from
the NTT region, but also include Bataks and those from the
Island of Manado. Many indeed believe that the meat is an
aphrodisiac or has medicinal qualities. Some locals are making
“dog catching” a main source of income as the
sale of the dog to the cafe is 100% profit if the dog is caught
on the street. Occasionally families sell their pets for as
little as Rp 10,000 if the dog has become a nuisance or can
no longer be cared for; which still represents a profit margin
of Rp 25,000 for the dog catcher. (February 20th 2007, Radar
Bali)
