Hello and thank you for visiting our web site. How I wish I had the resources to keep you all better updated. I regret there are simply not enough hours in the day, so I can only apologise for providing you with only a snapshot of all that Nature Alert is involved with regarding saving orangutans.

We have recently received more photos of orangutans being exploited for profit by Malaysian zoos. Please click here for more details

What follows is some very good news from two leading UK retailers. We are hopeful another household name retailer will also make a positive announcement soon. Make no mistake, retailers are responding to public opinion; they did not all wake up one day and think, ‘oh I know, we will source orangutan-friendly palm oil and in doing so save orangutans and rainforests.’

Your opinion and the postcards are making a major difference to the buying and eating habits of milliions of people in the UK alone. The level of awareness of what is happening in Indonesia especially, has never been greater. Things in Malaysia are different, though, not necescarily better – many Malaysian companies own oil palm companies in Indonesia, whilst others are involved in illegal logging. Malaysia companies ARE part of the problem, arguably a very large part.

If you live in the UK, please can you help us keep the momentum going with the postcard campaign? We need more cards to be sent to the food retailers. We have the cards – so, will you please help by asking us for more cards and then getting your friend and family to post them? If so, tell us how many sets of four postcards you would like us to send you? Email sw@naturealert.org We really do need lots more cards sent – so please do try and help, it’s easy, and a very cheap as well as effective way to help orangutans.

ASDA SET TO INTRODUCE FRONT OF PACK NUTRITIONAL LABELLING THAT COMBINES THE BENEFITS OF ‘TRAFFIC LIGHT’ AND GDA SYSTEMS

95% of consumers favour the ASDA system over other supermarkets’ alternatives

ASDA has announced it will become the first of the big four supermarkets to introduce a new food nutrition labelling system which gives customers the best of what both the ‘traffic light’ and GDA (guideline daily amount) systems have to offer.

The move follows extensive consumer research and a customer trial by the supermarket to determine the style and format of nutritional information its customers want to see.   

Over 95 per cent of respondents favoured the system that ASDA will now be adopting over other rival versions, and 64 per cent of Tesco customers favoured the new ASDA nutrition label over Tesco’s own GDA version.  Key reasons for preferring the ASDA design were that they liked the bright traffic light colours which achieved stand out on pack and that the label was easy to read and understand.

The result is a supermarket labelling system, which provides customers with the most detailed, easy-to-understand information available in the retail market today and appeals to both nutritionally aware and less knowledgeable customers alike. ASDA’s new nutrition label has been welcomed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and health minister, Dawn Primarolo, and is based on the FSA’s own traffic light labelling system.   

It uses the distinct colours green, amber and red to highlight low, medium and high levels of sugar, fat, salt, saturated fats and calories in each product. In addition, it also includes the precise amount of each nutrient in grams per serving and the percentage of the guideline daily amount (GDA) this represents.

It is specifically designed to be read and easily understood in under two seconds – the average length of time that many busy customers are prepared to spend reading a label – and will enable customers to see at a glance how best to choose foods which will give them a healthy, balanced diet.

The move is bound to cause a fuss with rival supermarkets who have chosen to adopt either the easy-to-understand traffic light labelling system (Sainsbury) or the more complex GDA labelling system (Tesco and Morrisons), as it demonstrates that customers can have the benefits of both in a clear, simple format. It will also cause consternation among leading big brand companies who have been reluctant to introduce any system which they feel could highlight the sugar and fat content of their products.

Said ASDA’s chief executive, Andy Bond:  “Our new nutritional labelling system is the common sense solution to something that shoppers can find very confusing.  It’ll give our customers the best of both worlds – the simplicity and transparency of the traffic light labelling system, alongside the more detailed GDA information that some customers demand. “An overwhelming majority of our shoppers have told us this is the style of labelling they want to see, so that’s exactly what we’re going to give them.”

The new nutrition labels will be displayed prominently on the front of pack of over 1,000 different ASDA own-label food products. Packaging is already being re-formatted and the first products bearing the new labels will hit the shelves in September with the project due to be completed by the end of the year.   Commenting on ASDA’s new nutritional labelling, health minister Dawn Primarolo said: “We welcome this move by ASDA.  It’s great news for consumers who can find nutrition labelling on food confusing. 

 We know from research that the traffic light colour code is quick and easy for people to use when they shop.  We hope that many more retailers adopt the labelling in the future.” ASDA’s new nutritional labelling system is just the latest in a long list of initiatives the supermarket has launched to help promote a healthy, balanced diet. A major project to completely remove any artificial colours or flavours, hydrogenated fat or flavour enhancers, such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), from its own-label food and soft drink products will be complete by January 2008. 

In addition, the supermarket is replacing Aspartame in low calorie products with Sucralose, a sweetener made from sugar that tastes like sugar.   

All ASDA’s own label product ranges will also meet or exceed the Food Standard Agency’s salt targets by the end of the year, more than two years ahead of the 2010 deadline, following the removal of 156 tonnes of salt this year alone.

The Body Shop announces new initiative on sustainable palm oil to tackle global threat to biodiversity

The Body Shop International has became the first cosmetics and toiletries retailer to introduce sustainable palm oil into the global beauty industry. The company has made this pioneering move as a response to the continued and rapid destruction of the world's ancient rainforests caused by irresponsible palm oil production. It will source the sustainable palm oil from a plantation in Colombia.

This move represents a major practical step by a global retailer and equates to 14.5 million bars of soap sold per annum in more than 2,200 stores across 57 countries across the world. The Body Shop are now calling on other manufacturers and retailers to follow their lead to help slow the drastic environmental and social effects of unsustainable production and ensure that within the next two to three years, the majority of palm oil is produced sustainably.

Palm oil is one of the world's most popular vegetable oils. It is used in countless everyday items including cosmetics, household products and foods and is regularly consumed by over a billion people worldwide.

A huge growth in demand - a six-fold increase since the mid 1980s and still rising - has led to the clearance of vast areas of primary rainforests for plantations, particularly in South East Asia. At current rates of destruction, around 1.3m hectares of forest - equating to around six football pitches per minute - will be cleared this year in Borneo alone to allow for new plantations.

Production impacts on the rights of indigenous populations, often creates poor labour conditions and has severe health implications for women working on the plantations. Deforestation's most drastic effect is on endangered animal species such as orang-utans in Borneo and Sumatra, Sumatran rhinoceros and Asian elephant and tigers, all of which are heading towards extinction due to the loss of natural habitat.

The Body Shop has focused on tackling the palm oil issue for some years and is a leading figure on the global Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). When The Body Shop joined the organising committee of the RSPO in 2004, membership numbered just 10 organisations. Three years later, over 250 organisations have committed themselves to finding solutions to the grave issues posed by palm oil production, including a number of major retailers who now make up a 20 strong group within the RSPO. The Body Shop now calls for more retailers to join the RSPO, and for those who have already made this commitment to begin sourcing RSPO certified sustainable palm oil as soon as it becomes available later this year.

Over the past six months The Body Shop has worked in partnership with Daabon, a certified organic producer in Colombia, which works extensively with local cooperatives, to implement sustainable production of palm oil. Daabon has been audited against the RSPO Principles & Criteria for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil.

Peter Saunders, Chief Executive Officer of The Body Shop said today:

"The switch to sustainable palm oil is a landmark step forward for The Body Shop and a potentially groundbreaking development for the whole cosmetics industry. Many people who use soap everyday will be unaware that they are contributing to a major environmental catastrophe: the destruction of ancient rainforests and the extinction of endangered species. Our ambition is for the majority of the world's palm oil production to be sustainable within the next two to three years but this will not be achieved by The Body Shop in isolation - our decision must inspire other businesses to join us and tackle the problem head on."

Matthias Diemer, palm oil expert, WWF Switzerland, commented:

"The Body Shop is the first global cosmetics company to introduce sustainable palm oil into its product lines. This is the start of the growth of sustainable palm oil in the cosmetics sector and we hope that many more companies will follow suit. We also applaud the pioneering role The Body Shop has taken in helping to formulate strong standards for sustainable palm oil production through the RSPO."

Background:
Palm oil is an important and versatile raw ingredient, accounting for more than 29 million tonnes of the world's annual 95 million tonnes of vegetable oil.

Palm oil used by The Body Shop will now be sourced from Daabon, in Colombia, South America. Daabon has been at the forefront of both environmental and social responsibility for many years. For almost 20 years, Daabon has focused on certified organic production, and has since started focusing on social standards, such as SA8000, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance. Daabon works extensively with local cooperatives, providing training and market access.

Sustainable palm oil production means the use of far less destructive planting methods, and therefore helps protect rainforest biodiversity. Through The Body Shop Foundation, the retailer has provided practical advice to plantations and small-scale farmers, funding projects which will help make this happen in other parts of the world.

The Body Shop has commissioned an audit of the Daabon operation to ensure that neither environment, people nor wildlife are under threat from the cultivation of palm oil. The audit used the Principles & Criteria developed by the stakeholders of the RSPO, which will form the basis of a certification scheme for sustainable palm oil by the end of 2007.

The Body Shop will continue to positively engage with the major players in the palm oil supply chain to encourage the switch to an effective sustainable option. The RSPO has developed a set of Principles & Criteria for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil and a full certification scheme is expected to be finalised in November 2007. In the meantime, move to sustainable palm oil by The Body Shop means that the business can ensure that its use of palm oil does not contribute to deforestation and that conditions can begin to improve within the industry.

Land conversion, forest fires threaten Kalimantan's orangutans

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has been urged to stop deforestation in order to protect the rapidly decreasing orangutan population on the island of Kalimantan.

"We demand the government, in this case the Forestry Ministry, re-evaluate and stop forest deforestation and conversion to oil palm plantations," chairman of the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) Hardi Baktiantoro said Wednesday.

"They are a threat to the existence of orangutans."

Hardi said at a press conference on orangutan protection that the species was mostly seen by plantation companies as a pest because it ate palm oil buds.

"Our organization is not anti the palm oil industry, which produces green energy or biofuel. However, many of their workers will cruelly do anything to the primates to protect their crops," he said.

"This is a violation of the 1990 Conservation Law. Violators may face up to five years in prison or a fine of Rp 100 million."

Also present at the press conference were chairman of the Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative of Indonesia, Barita O. Manullang, and Harvard University anthropologist Cheryl D. Knott, who is also chairman of the Palung Foundation in West Kalimantan. The COP estimates that at least 1,500 orangutans were killed in Central Kalimantan alone last year as a direct result of forest conversion to oil palm plantation.

"Kalimantan still has about 34,000 orangutans left. Plantation companies should try to use critical or abandoned land instead," Hardi said.

However, Forestry Ministry spokesman Masyhud said the figure was "bombastic, because there are not many oil palm plantations in Central Kalimantan," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

"Converted forests are those already set for production purposes and not for conservation purposes."

Kalimantan orangutans are also struggling to survive in their natural habitat because of fires set to clear land. Barita said that people should not rely too much orangutan mortality rate figures as they were only extrapolations of other data.

"Even the Forestry Ministry asks us NGOs for orangutan mortality statistics," said Barita.

Knott said that empowering local communities to cultivate other type of plants for consumption could help in fostering biodiversity. Separately, Central Kalimantan governor Teras Narang said that despite the administration's efforts to save the orangutan and its habitat, a better set of protection laws was still needed.

"The laws are yet to lean on primates or biodiversity protection," Teras said over the phone, adding that he opted for multicultural rather than monoculture plantations due to their greater ability to conserve biodiversity.

"Moreover, what we have tried to conserve here would be pointless if the central government, in this case the Forestry Ministry, keeps issuing massive concession permits," he said.
 

Indonesia smokes out the lungs of the world

July 7th, 2007 by Rebecca Henschke (Asia Calling)

Indonesia’s rapid clearing and burning of peat-land forests has contributed to its ranking as the world’s third biggest polluter of green house gases. Ironically it’s the expanding Palm Oil industry that is fuelling the rapid deforestation. Palm oil, mixed with diesel to produce bio-fuel, was hailed as a potential saviour for the environment; a clearer alternative to fossil fuel. However closer investigation reveals peat-land forests are being cleared to make way for the plantations. sending huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Rebecca Henschke travelled across Central Kalimantan to see first hand what’s taking place.

It’s a misty morning after a night of rain. Birds and monkeys move through this pristine forest of ten feet tall majestic trees. Soon this thick low-land rainforest in Katingan in Central Kalimantan will be cleared to make way for rows and rows of palm oil trees. The Makin Group, owned by Indonesian cigarette giant, Gurang Garam, is planning to destroy 40 thousand hectares of this peat-land forest. Busuki Suwarno, the Site Manager, says they are just waiting on word from Jakarta and they will start the clearing.

On a tour of the site they tell me they have already cleared 80 hectares of the forest. This forest is home to more than a thousand orang-utans. says Nandang Hermawan from the government Department of Conservation.

That land is virgin forest! I deeply disagree with thousands of hectares this forest being destroyed only for a palm oil plantation which will create a dangerous mono-culture. Once this is cleared we will never be able to return it to this pristine forest it’s lost forever.

Hardi Baktiantoro the Director of the centre for Orang-utan protection of COP says in meeting in May this year he warned MAKIN of the environmental damage but the company responded by saying they have invested millions of dollars into the site and will not back down.

Indonesia is opening up millions of hectares of forest, much of it peat-land forest, to make palm oil in Kalimantan and Papua. The Indonesian palm oil industry and the government insist the new plantations are being created on already logged and degraded land. But evidence on the ground tells a very different story.

I am standing in a sea of two year old palm oil plants owned by the Malaysian company, Kulling Group for as far as the eye can see are rows and rows of small palm oil trees in the midst of burned out forest. I am here with Nordin from the local NGO Save our Borneo.

When we see this burnt out forest and burning wood everywhere like this its damning evidence that this was once thick forest and it’s has been cleared by burning. Every time peat-land is cleared and burnt like this it sends enormous amounts of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere, explains Laura Green from the international peat-land research centre or CINTROP at the Palangkaraya University.

Peat-land forest is really, really important when we talk about Climate change. Firstly the forest soaks up carbon dioxide in the leaves and bark but also the peat beneath the trees stores large amounts of carbon dioxide. It acts as this giant sponge that stops carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere and creating climate change. If you remove the trees the peat becomes exposed and it burns more frequently and erodes and this allows all the carbon dioxide that has been stored out into the atmosphere creating climate change. Every year huge forest fires from these opened peat-lands blanket much of south-east Asia in toxic haze.

The opening up and burning of peat-land makes Indonesia the third-largest green house polluter in the world. Norman is with the local pressure group Palm oil watch. Investigations by Wetland International found 27 percent of palm oil plantations are created by clearing pet land wetlands. Over a period of 10 years this releases 5 times as much green house gases as the massive fires in 97 and 98 that destroyed 10 thousand hectares of forest. So from just 27 percent the environmental impact is enormous.

Palm trees need around 12-24 litres of water per day he says and this means the surround area dries and is easy to burn. In the face of mounting criticism the Palm Oil industry has formed the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil or RSPO with Malaysian companies.

Sitepu, the Estate Manager of another MAKIN Group plantation, says they are trying to improve the industry’s image. We are committed to a zone burning practice when clearing land, we also conduct sustainable practices that means we try to work with the least possible impact on the environment that includes protecting the water ways, the land and the air.

On a tour of the plantation he points out how they have covered the land between the trees with a low creeper plant, to stop erosion and hold in water. But Norman says the roundtable of sustainable palm oil or RSPO is just a public relations campaign. Before further expanding the industry we need to deal with this huge environment impact the demand for bio-fuel is creating. If anyone thinks it’s environmentally friendly, they are very, very wrong.

Global demand for alternative forms of energy-such as palm oil- is putting pressure on Indonesia’s shrinking carbon sinks. It’s an irony that the global community will need to address if green energy is going to help stop climate change, rather than accelerate it.
 

Orangutans losing their final frontier

Endangered orangutans on Borneo are being deliberately killed by workers on Indonesian palm oil plantations because they eat seedlings.
 

Endangered orangutans on Borneo are being deliberately killed by workers on Indonesian palm oil plantations because they eat seedlings.

Hardi Baktiantoro, director of the Centre for Orangutan Protection, said at least 1,500 orangutans perished in 2006, most as a result of deliberate attacks but also due to their jungle habitat making way for palm oil plantations.

"Orangutans have become the victims of torture by plantation workers as they wander and eat palm oil seedlings for survival," Baktiantoro said yesterday. The workers had to pay concession companies for the loss of seedlings, he said, so they saw no choice but to pursue the primates.

He showed video footage of dead orangutans with severe head wounds allegedly inflicted by workers as well as severely injured animals being treated by COP and other rescue teams.

"Central Kalimantan is the final frontier of the orangutan population in Indonesia," said Baktiantoro. "If the forest clearing continues, we will soon lose our national treasure." Scientists say about 34,000 orangutans remain in Kalimantan.

Source: TheStandard
 

July 24, 2007 19:29 PM - Bernama News Agency (Malaysia)
Wildlife Syndicate Using Oil Palm Plantations As Cover For Illegal Trade

By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa
 

JOHOR BAHARU, July 24 (Bernama) -- Stores or what syndicate members refer to as "terminals" come equipped with cages and freezers to keep live animals and fresh meat.

The stores located deep in oil palm plantations to avoid detection were set up by a syndicate behind the wildlife illegal trade, said a researcher with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) here today.

"The stores act as temporary holding centres until the protected animals and meat are smuggled out of the country or ordered by restaurants serving exotic dishes," the researcher who declined to be identified told Bernama.

The researcher who feared for his safety said the stores supply restaurants which put exotic dishes on the menu including the much sought after tiger meat. The syndicate members also conduct regular patrols to protect the stores from intruders. "I wanted to snap photographs of the stores but was prevented by a collegue who said it was too risky as the members carry firearms," said the researcher.

Assistant director (Enforcement) of the Wildlife Protection and National Parks (Perhilitan) Wildlife Crime Unit, Celescoriano Razond admitted the stores' existence. "The stores are located in remote oil palm plantations and Orang Asli settlements making detection difficult." He refused to reveal their locations as it would disrupt investigation by his department.

Rezond said exotic dish restaurants rarely keep wildlife meat at their premises. "The meat is taken from the stores after orders are received," he added. When contacted, Johor Perhilitan director Abdul Razak Majid said the department would investigate the researcher's claim. Recently, Perhilitan's Wildlife Crime Unit seized some 950 monkeys destined for China and Holland from a rambutan orchard in Pontian. Perhilitan had also raided several stores in oil palm plantations used to keep protected animals and fresh meat.
 

UK illegal-logging campaign steps up a gear

By Paul Eccleston, UK Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:01pm BST 23/07/2007
 

The long-running campaign to outlaw sales of illegally logged or traded timber in Britain is to be stepped up. The UK is Europe's largest importer of illegal wood and the third largest in the world, with an estimated 3.2 million cubic metres of stolen timber worth around £700 million imported into the country each year.

Now the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) which works to investigate and expose environmental crime is demanding new laws to stop demand in consumer countries driving illegal logging. The EIA says voluntary schemes are not working and importers and stores throughout Europe cannot currently be prosecuted for trading illegal timber.

More than 360 MPs have already signed a Commons Early Day Motion calling for European legislation and now the EIA is asking them to support new UK laws which would make it an offence to trade illegally sourced timber in Britain. Many consumers have no idea their home improvements may be made from illegally-sourced trees and that by buying wood they may be unknowingly contributing to deforestation, climate change, corruption in developing countries, and even supporting criminal gangs.

Trees that are stolen from the rainforest by criminals are converted into flooring, fitted kitchens, patio chairs, conservatories and garden furniture, exported, and legally sold in UK stores. In Indonesia, where up to 2.8 m hectares of forest is destroyed annually, up to 80 per cent of tree felling is illegal.

Faith Doherty, EIA senior forests campaigner, said: "The Conservatives want this trade outlawed, the Liberal Democrats want it outlawed, and the timber industry wants it outlawed. Consumers assume it is already banned, but are still unwittingly buying illegal wood every day.

"Hopefully these MPs can change all that. There is a recognised link between deforestation and carbon emissions and closing this enormous market in illegal stolen timber could make such a difference."

In March the British Government indicated support for legislation on illegal timber at the EU level, in a response to a consultation document issued by the European Commission. But the EIA claims that, despite overwhelming backing, it could take years for all the EU's member states to agree and to implement legislation and it wants the UK to take the lead.

A new briefing paper issued to MPs and available on the EIA website,"Receiving Stolen Goods", outlines how failure to legislate against timber stolen from countries such as Indonesia undermines many of the government's own priority foreign policy and development policies.

Both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders have put on record support for legislation to restrict illegal logging. In June, Conservative leader David Cameron said his party would consider making the possession of illegally logged timber an offence, though officials stressed that any new laws would be aimed at dealers and the supply chain, rather than individuals.

Announcing the stepping up of their campaign an EIA spokesman said: "We are seeking to consolidate existing support from MPs to make it an offence to trade illegal timber in this country. We believe we are pushing at an open door - with unprecedented industry and cross party political support, the UK can act now and set the pace and a precedent to ensure a decade of talks succeeds."