DAILY EXPRESS NEWS:

NATURE’S HOTHOUSE

Environmentalists say the island, described by Charles Darwin as “one great untidy luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself,” is being stripped of vast swathes of forests by loggers. Mining, lax law enforcement and corruption are also threats.

According to some estimates, Borneo loses forests equivalent to an area of about a third of Switzerland every year, or at a rate of 1.3 million ha (3.2 million acres), much of it to feed the voracious appetite for timber in the West and Asia.

“Indonesia’s forests are being destroyed at a rate of 2 million ha (4.9 million acres) a year,” said Indonesian forestry consultant Dwi R. Muhtaman. “Within a short time the forest in low-lying areas (of Borneo) will be gone.”

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End to oil palm plan along K’mantan border
29 March, 2006ACCORDING to WWF, Wednesday’s announcement also spells the end of plans to create the world’s largest palm oil plantation in Kalimantan along Indonesia’s mountainous border with Malaysia.

 

The scheme - supported by Chinese investments - was expected to cover an area of 1.8 million hectares and would have had long-lasting, damaging consequences on the Heart of Borneo.

WWF repeatedly said new oil palm plantations should be established on degraded, non-forested land.

“WWF considers the Heart of Borneo to be one of its top global priorities,” added Leape. “It is hugely important to maintain a large enough area of Borneo’s forests for the survival of the natural ecosystems.”

“This is critical for sustainable development and WWF stands ready to assist Borneo’s three governments with technical and financial support, so that we can make the conservation vision a reality.”

The Brunei Government’s representative, Mahmud Yussof, said he hoped a tri-country Declaration for the Heart of Borneo could be signed at the fourteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, next May in New York.

Malaysia to increase bio-fuel use

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Malaysia hopes to increase its use of palm oil as fuel Malaysia has announced plans to switch from using diesel oil to a part bio-fuel alternative.  Commodities Minister Peter Chin said laws were being drafted to make the use of such fuel compulsory by 2008. Negotiations have begun with petroleum companies, to persuade them to produce fuel using both mineral and vegetable oils, the government has revealed. The government favours fuel from 19 parts diesel to one part palm oil, and says engines do not need modification. However, environmentalists are likely to have mixed feelings about the move. While it marks a shift away from fossil fuels, it could cause other problems.
Search for alternatives   

As demand for oil rises and reserves dwindle, countries like Malaysia are looking for alternatives, according to the BBC correspondent in Kuala Lumpur Jonathan Kent. Palm oil is made from the fruit of the oil palm, and Malaysia is the world’s largest producer.
Last month, Malaysia announced a joint venture with private partners to build three plants that will make the new fuel for export to Europe. The switch to alternative courses of fuel is not all good news for environmental campaigners.
Malaysia has lost much of its ancient rainforest to palm oil plantations, and Malaysian companies are thought to be behind moves to expand palm oil production in Indonesia.

Conservation groups say that could worsen the destruction of forests on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, and speed the extinction of species like the orang-utan and our PROBOSCIS MONKEY who can only survive in Borneo and nowhere else in this world.

We support the good work of the WWF but what they do in order to save Proboscis Monkey we hope to hear from them soon. Enclosed their recent info:         Distribution, habitat and behaviour

Endemic to Borneo. Can be found along the coastal areas, mangrove swamps and riverine forests of Borneo. In 1977, there were about 6400 of them in Sarawak, but now there are only about 1000 in Sarawak, with perhaps another 2000 in Sabah and 4000 in Kalimantan. Some populations along the west coast of Sabah have disappeared entirely. The only known reserves to have a sustained and secure proboscis population are Tanjung Puting and possibly Mount Palung National Park in Kalimantan.

	Description and natural history
	A very bizarre-looking primate, the tree-dwelling proboscis monkey gets its name from its huge pendulous nose. The nose overhangs the mouth and the monkey has to push it aside in order to eat. The female has a shorter and more snubby version. They have pot bellies and are very noisy primates with their strange honking sounds. Only primate species adapted for swimming with some webbing between its fingers. They are proficient swimmers, moving quietly (so as not to attract its natural predator, the crocodile) using a form of dog paddle, and like to dive off a tree branch high above the water, sometimes with babies clinging to their mothers’ fur. The male averages 24kg in weight, twice as much as the female. Hence it tends to move more carefully than the females or younger males do. Adults have an orangey red coat, greyish on their bottom half, and a long thick white tail. Newborns have deep blue faces with upturned noses, but assume adult colouring when they are about nine months old. Lives on a special diet of leaves, flowers and seeds of vegetation found only in riverine, peat swamps and mangrove forests.
	Threats Because it feeds and lives in mangrove and riverine forests, the draining of wetlands and development along riverbanks for agricultural purposes and human settlement are its biggest threat through habitat loss. Peat fires. Sedimentation of lower river banks that change coastal soil ecology and vegetation.

Conservation

Now listed as an endangered species, their long-term survival is dependent on protection given by gazetted parks and wildlife sanctuaries such as the proposed Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, an important wetland in Sabah. Enforce protection, institute strict regulations on land use of wetlands and pollution management to minimise environmental damage to the specie’s natural habitats.

I am a retired Anthropologist whose has started working with people in Borneo to preserve what is left of the natural and semi-natural habitat, etc. Borneo has created 10 Forest Management Units, but the details of the administration of those units is currently being considered. They are, along with the National parks and preserves, the Proboscis Monkey’s best chance for survival. If you would like to learn more about the Proboscis Monkey there are two books that I know of and both of them are for sale at Borneo Books which has its own website. The owner, is a retired Biologist whose speciality is upper-canopy environments.

Hi everybody!

this is the ProboscisMonkey.org BLOG: this is our modern agora, the “Piazza” where we can meet and share ideas…just comments of u want. But there’s no much time to talk, we must THINK QUICK, our Proboscis Monkeys are disappearing fast, the number of them is now a few thousands, and I underline they can only live in Borneo, and they dye of depression if put in zoos. They can’t be fed properly, too.

We need a sponsor: a famous actress, actor, pop star who can be our “patron” and give money and help, or just talk on a tv show about the monkeys…or just put on a tshirt during a concert.

People don’t follow me or you, follow pop stars and movie or tv celebs.

Scientists dears stay with us too, don’t stay in your world apart. I want a micro world of “us”: the people fashinated by Proboscis Monkeys. A little “utopia” on the Net, with people with good mind and heart and passionate about our aim.

Also, in this blog I’ll put the nice letters I received from elementary school children, who want to help too.

Let’s think together, let’s think fast.

Maybe you are a Rolling Stone’s relative (to make an example) or a multinational’s manager, maybe you know somebody who knows the personal email of somedody who can boost this project. A football player…..anybody popular.

This is not being superficial, understand me, it’s marketing!

We have to advertise the animal, it ’s still too unknown. This makes me so sad: to dye in silence, our Orang Belanda are disappearing and billions of people just won’t notice!

Extinction means death forever. And what is worse, is that I’m starting to think that we deserve it, as human beings, we deserve to loose the beautiful creatures of the Planet, which is not “our” Planet. Is all creature’s Planet. Rethoric, but true.

Kristina

Here I Am, to tell you some news regarding what’s going on with this web site.
We keep working and collecting signatures, and I won’t stop saying thanks to all the people (a lot of people!!) who signed for Proboscis!
The site is a meeting point for everybody concerned about Proboscis Monkeys survival, a lot of students and children included, and we are so glad of it.

The latest news: our Hungarian collaborators group recently went to Indonesian Borneo, East Kalimantan, to check the situation there and visit one of the last places where Proboscis still hardly survive. Deforestation is destroying their habitat, but there is a hope: Mr. Amir and Mr. Whayu project.
Here is what my Hungarian friends write me once back to Europe.

Wanariset Sambodja is an important place of the “Ministry of Forestry” in East Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), where more than 220 orangutans are cared for waiting for their rehabilitation. Mr. Amir has worked with orangutans for approximately 5 years before the Proboscis project began. Now, he’s leading a little group of enthusiasts that are taking major steps towards the conservation of the Proboscis monkeys. He is well qualified for this role as he has a lot of experience and is an open minded person.
Problems regarding Proboscis Monkeys and other primates are:

- They live on the mangrove trees of East Kalimantan along the Sungai Hitam (Black River) where people cut these mangrove trees to build “fish pools”.
- They also live on the upper side of the Mahakam river and the river-delta where they face the same problem.
The aim of Amir’s project is:

- Most importantly to have Sungai Hitam declared as a protected wildlife area.
- They believe that humankind and all animals should be able to live peacefully next to each other and they are searching for a way to make this possible.

We spent one day in Wanariset Samboja where we went to the Sungai Hitam to see Proboscis Monkeys. We saw approximately 4-5 groups around the river. In the area closer to the sea there are already a lot of ‘fish pools’, but the upper river could be saved and protected.
Amir plans to inform local people about the Proboscis situation:

1) by making posters, which holds informations about the probs.
2) he already talked to the local people who understand the problem
and want to help, meaning that nobody is against the protection of the monkeys.
3) he visits the elementary schools in the area holding discussions.

Dear Cristina,

Your staff: Akos Peteri, Noemi Andrea, Revesz Csaba was visited in my
project location. I guided them to see the beautiful probs. There was a great journey and i hope they can tell you how necessary to save Proboscis in Sungai Hitam east Borneo. Would you please to write their journey into your web?

Thank you to concern about us. We don’t have any fund from goverment for protect thats probs. That why we have to raise fund.

The situation in Sungai Hitam (Black River) are near of settlement comunity
and for the future the local goverment has already planned to build a new
settlement and industrial activity arround the habitat of Proboscis Monkey.
The food trees of Proboscis is decreasing and poor so we have plan for
replanting the trees. We have to cooperate with people nearby to do that.
We must start with what we have now to save them an make harmony l
between human beings and nature.

Nederland Embassy for Indonesia has already visited this place. They said “it’s Great! We can meet the probs here after we did not find them in Balikpapan bay before!”

Oo, I think we have to make public warning boards, leaflet to give information to the people who walk or pass near the area. I have a probs picture made by hand draw. it’s nice but we have no money to make T-Shirts.
Local people near Sungai Hitam did not disturb the probs or eat them. They
are a Banjar, Java and Bugis etnik. But we have worried if we don’t do anything right now maybe becomes too late and more complicated problem to save the probs, because at the moment this place is an unprotected area.

Thank’s a lot

Keep The Proboscis Beautiful

Amir Ma’ruf
Wahyu Catur A