Palm Oil Everywhere

Indonesia is now the third largest of emitter of carbon in the world. Why? Because of deforestation. Why? To feed the West’s demand for cheap bio-fuel made from palm oil. Palm oil plantations are now big businesses, and are taking over Sumatra and Kalimantan. Yet there is huge price to pay for this booming business – global warming, since it is largely peat rainforests which are burnt to make room for the plantations. Willie Smits who has now begun a reforestation programme in Indonesia explains further;

“And those are the peat swamp forests on 20 meters of peat, the largest accumulation of organic material in the world. When you open this for growing oil palms you're creating CO2 volcanoes that are emitting so much CO2 that my country is now the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world after China and the United States, and we don't have any industry at all. Only because of this deforestation.”

To view his whole speech, please visit:

http://www.ted.com/talks/willie_smits_restores_a_rainforest.html

So according to the economic model of supply and demand, we can all help a little bit to curb this destructive cycle of deforestation – by decreasing the demand for palm oil products every time we visit the supermarket. Palm oil is a cheap product which is now being used in everyday items such as potato chips, soap, chocolate and cooking oil. The problem is being able to detect it since palm oil companies are getting clever and the oil is rarely printed as simply palm oil, but can be called various names such as “vegetable oil”. In fact nearly all products made in Asia which use the term “vegetable oil” contain palm oil. A comprehensive list of alternative names for palm oil as well as products which contain palm oil can be found here:

http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/palm-oil.php

So what can you eat in Indonesia?

Most cooking oils that I have come across are made from palm oil. So I’ve swapped for a tastier and healthier option – olive oil, although sunflower oil is another commonly found alternative option.

Bertoli Olive Oil bought in Jogjakarta, Java.

Olive oil is mainly grown in the Mediterranean although Australia now produces a large quantity which is now being imported to Indonesia. Produce imported from Australia would have a smaller carbon footprint too since it requires to less air miles to transport the product to Indonesia. I bought this bottle of Bertoli in Jogjakarta in a shop called Waroeng Steak and Shake. Olive oil can also be found in health food stores, large supermarkets as well as international shops. In Malang, East Java the market Lai Lai stocks olive oil and Australian olive oil. In Surabaya, East Java, I have seen various supermarkets containing olive oil.

This golden oil is also good for your health since it contains antioxidants which are not found in other oils. It is also high in monounsaturated fats; diets high in levels of monounsaturated fats have been linked with reduced risks of coronary heart disease.

So what are you waiting for...why not try a light olive oil to fry your bread in the morning? It might taste strange the first few times, but after that you’ll be hooked like me and there’s no going back...

ProFauna teaches Villagers in East Java about Conservation using Film

ProFauna teaches Villagers in East Java about Conservation using Film
ProFauna’s educational visit to a village on the edge of the National Park of Bromo Tengger Semeru (TNBTS) - Traditional Javanese Dances, Conservation Films and an Investigation into Deforestation in the Park.

The journey to the final village before the national park began, was not easy. The sloping road, thick with bulging sand was a fortress, penetrated only by experienced motor-bike drivers and four-wheel drives. Luckily we had taken a Jeep and with a rope, we helped pull up some fellow ProFauna supporters in their little car who were struggling in the falls and rises of the sand. Yet after an hour or two we eventually arrived at our destination and were greeted by the tinny sounds of xylophones. Soon a dance was performed for us. Since ProFauna intended to teach the villagers about conservation, it was important to watch the dance and learn more about the culture of the people in the village...


...Gamelan music played by the villagers.


It was the first time I had witnessed a traditional Javanese dance; this one was called the kuda lumping. Six children with white horse adornments held between their legs began to dance in time with the music.




Soon, the dance began to speed up until...

...all of sudden, the crowd went wild, dispersing and screaming in delight as one of the dancers wildly bucked in their direction like a horse, spraying dust in the air. The chief of the village quickly grabbed the child and waving a red, woven stick over his forehead, the child began to calm down.

However, the children looked as if they were in a trance, lost completely in the dance, with eyes wide and white, staring continuously up into the sky.

Soon, three members of the audience, suddenly began to convulse excitedly, rolling on the floor, before the chief calmed them with his stick and they joined in with the dance which lasted around three hours. One ProFauna supporter who studied psychology at a university in Malang told me that the dancers had reached a state of unconsciousness. Another man told me that the dancers believed they were contacting their ancestors through the smoke which was being waved in their faces by the chief. He also mentioned that a man who had been whipping some of the dancers was from Ponorogo in Eastern Java and practised black magic. Only a select few were able to dance. It seemed clear that there was an elite here in the village, where those with knowledge in the black arts kept their secrets about this dance, and the rest of the villagers, mesmerised by the art were not able to participate.

Later in the evening, after dinner, the villagers were sat down in front of a screen we had prepared and we all watched a film. Rosek, the chairman of ProFauna had devised a strategy to play a commercial film first to get the villager’s initial attention, he then interrupted the film half-way with a conservation film. This educational film explained about the importance of conserving the forest for the benefit of mankind but also for animals, such as the threatened Javan Langur. The villagers learnt about the forest and problems such as deforestation or hunting. The crowd were then asked a series of questions after the film and those with the correct answers were offered small prizes. Everyone seemed interested in the conservation film and the crowd cheered when they saw footage of traditional farming methods, which they had probably never seen in film before.

The next morning we woke at dawn and the chief of the village offered to take us into the forest. In this photo, ProFauna staff and supporters can be seen and on the far left, the chief of the village can be seen.

We began our walk across a ridge overlooking the valley near the village. The mountains had been stripped of trees in order to grow crops, however, further expansion into the park is forbidden. We wanted to investigate any evidence of illegal deforestation in the national park.

We headed down to a river. A villager passed us, returning home after a morning of collecting thick leaves called memikul, which are fed to cows or goats. The river had been dammed by the villagers due to river flooding during the wet season. Flooding is often exacerbated by deforestation, since without a root infrastructure, landslides are common and the loosened soil eventually makes its way to the water course, causing the water level to rise and the river to flood.

We found large paw prints of cat of some kind in the mud on the riverbank. Just before we reached the river, the chief of the village had showed us the position of a cave above the river, deep in the hillside where a Javanese leopard lived. These cats are now classified as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List.

After the river, we took a steep and tough path up the sandy hillside into the forest. At the top of the hill, the view below of thick, towering trees, lush and green, was spectacular.

Yet as we ventured into the park, we noticed signs of illegal deforestation. This tree had only been hacked, however we later found evidence of slash and burn...

Slash and burn is when trees and foliage are burnt in order to clear the land for growing crops. The ash supplements the soil, meaning that no fertilisers are needed.

Finally we reached the end of the path. Here the chief showed us the grave of the forest’s protector who was buried on the hillside. As the chief quietly said a prayer, we all bowed our heads in silence, with great respect for a forest that needs our protection.