Tuesday, April 28, 2015

1) Indonesia will never respond to calls to give up West Papua: academic

1) Indonesia will never respond to calls to give up West Papua: academic
2) Islands in focus: Papua  gunrunner nabbed in Luwuk 

3) Over 80% of future deforestation confined to just 11 places

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1) Indonesia will never respond to calls to give up West Papua: academic
Updated 28 April 2015, 16:20 AEST
An Indonesian human rights academic says Melanesian countries are unlikely to be able to affect Indonesian policy on West Papua if the question of sovereignty is raised.

Budi Hernawan says they may get more of a hearing if they concentrate on issues of human rights in the largely Melanesian western half of New Guinea Island.
He says the situation there is now complicated by the makeup of the population, which has seen the proportion of Melanesians shrink to below fifty per cent of the total.
Mr Hernawan says that there is no way Indonesia will listen to any proposals which might involve them losing sovereignty.
Presenter: Bruce Hill
Speaker: Budi Hernawan, research fellow at the Abdurrahman Wahid Centre for Interfaith Dialogue and Peace at the University of Indonesia
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2) Islands in focus: Papua  gunrunner nabbed in Luwuk 
The Jakarta Post, Palu | Archipelago | Tue, April 28 2015, 6:40 AM - 

A Papuan identified only by the initials YY was arrested by detectives from the Banggai Police in Central Sulawesi on April 26 as he was about to board a plane to Jayapura, Papua, from Syukuran Aminuddin Amir Airport in Bubung village, Luwuk city, Banggai regency.

Central Sulawesi Police chief spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Hari Suprapto confirmed the arrest. Police seized from him 5.56 mm ammunition for the SS-1 assault rifle and his police identification card with the rank of second sergeant at the West Papua National Police. 

“YY is currently undergoing questioning at the Banggai Police,” Hari said on Monday morning.

According to him, based on a preliminary investigation, YY admitted he often obtained ammunition from a colleague in Batui district, Banggai regency.

Hari added that police were building the case and pursuing a colleague of YY in Batui district. - 
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http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?245370/Over-80-of-future-deforestation-confined-to-just-11-places

3) Over 80% of future deforestation confined to just 11 places

Posted on 28 April 2015    
Jakarta: Eleven places in the world – 10 of which are in the tropics – will account for over 80 per cent of forest loss globally by 2030, according to research released today by WWF.
 
Up to 170 million hectares of forest could be lost between 2010 and 2030 in these “deforestation fronts” if current trends continue, according to findings in the latest chapter of WWF’s Living Forests Report series. The fronts are located in the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest and Gran Chaco, Borneo, the Cerrado, Choco-Darien, the Congo Basin, East Africa, Eastern Australia, Greater Mekong, New Guinea and Sumatra.
 
These places contain some of the richest wildlife in the world, including endangered species such as orangutans and tigers. All are home to indigenous communities. 
 
“Imagine a forest stretching across Germany, France, Spain and Portugal wiped out in just 20 years,” says Rod Taylor, Director of WWF’s global forest programme. “We’re looking at how we can tackle that risk to save the communities and cultures that depend on forests, and ensure forests continue to store carbon, filter our water, supply wood and provide habitat for millions of species.”
 
The report builds on earlier analysis by WWF showing that more than 230 million hectares of forest will disappear by 2050 if no action is taken, and that forest loss must be reduced to near zero by 2020 to avoid dangerous climate change and economic losses.
 
Landscape solutions vital to halting deforestation
 
Living Forests Report: Saving Forests at Risk examines where most deforestation is likely in the near term, the main causes and solutions for reversing the projected trends. Globally, the biggest cause of deforestation is expanding agriculture – including commercial livestock, palm oil and soy production, but also encroachment by small-scale farmers. Unsustainable logging and fuelwood collection can contribute to forest degradation, or “death by a thousand cuts,” while mining, hydroelectricity and other infrastructure projects bring new roads that open forests to settlers and agriculture.
 
“The threats to forests are bigger than one company or industry, and they often cross national borders. They require solutions that look at the whole landscape,” says Taylor. “This means collaborative land-use decision-making that accounts for the needs of business, communities and nature.”
 
The report is being released at the Tropical Landscapes Summit: A Global Investment Opportunity, an international gathering of political, business and civil society leaders in Jakarta, Indonesia.
 
“The summit is an opportunity to advance green investment and build transformational public-private partnerships,” says WWF International Director General Marco Lambertini, who will address the summit. “Indonesia has a major opportunity to transition into an innovative green economy that prioritizes human prosperity and well-being as much as a healthy environment. Choosing to retain healthy and natural forests for multiple purposes and to optimize the productivity of the surrounding land will be a compelling example of this approach. We need smart land-use planning that recognizes the long-term value of healthy forest landscapes.”
 
Indonesia in focus
 
Despite a recent slowdown, deforestation remains a major issue in Indonesia. Sumatra has lost more than half of its natural forests due to paper and palm oil plantations, and the remaining forest is severely fragmented. WWF projections show that another 5 million hectares of forest could be lost by 2030. Forest cover in the Borneo deforestation front, including Malaysia and Brunei, could be reduced to less than a quarter of its original area by 2020 if current trends continue. New Guinea, which includes Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, could lose up to 7 million hectares of forest between 2010 and 2030 if large-scale agriculture development plans materialize.
 
“The Indonesian government and local policymakers can shift from development plans that yield short-term gains to land-use approaches that will safeguard forests and provide economic opportunities,” Taylor says. “The moratorium on new forest conversion permits provides an opportunity to assess what can be done to halt these deforestation fronts and develop a greener, more inclusive economy.” 
 
full report

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