Category Archives: The Environment

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Published articles, The Environment

Factory farming seen to trigger next global pandemic: choose plant-based meat alternatives to reduce the threat

October 21, 2020 Angela Jelita Leave a comment

First published in South China Morning Post.

Experts say the next pandemic will be a bird flu, H7N9, which so far has killed 40 per cent of people infected, making it 100 times deadlier than Covid-19 virus.

It will start in battery chicken farms, so consuming less cheap, factory-farmed meat and eggs and eating more plant-based alternatives can help head it off.

At the online PlantFit Summit this month, 38 of the world’s health experts weighed in on how to improve our health and well-being by adopting a more plant-based diet.

Opening the summit was US doctor Dr Michael Greger, The New York Times bestselling author of How Not to Die and internationally recognised speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health. He spoke about the next killer flu, which he believes is brewing in battery chicken farms. “The leading candidate for the next pandemic after Covid-19 is a bird flu virus by the name of H7N9, which is a hundred times deadlier than Covid-19,” Greger says. “Instead of a 0.4 per cent case mortality rate [which is what we’re seeing with Covid-19], H7N9 has killed 40 per cent of the people it has infected.”

“The leading candidate for the next pandemic after Covid-19 is a bird flu virus by the name of H7N9, which is a hundred times deadlier than Covid-19.”
– Dr. Michael Greger

The first reported incidence of H7N9 was in China in March 2013. Since then, sporadic annual human infections have been reported, with China currently experiencing its sixth epidemic. During the virus’ previous and fifth epidemic, from 2016 – 2017, the World Health Organization reported 766 human infections, making it the largest H7N9 epidemic to date.

The H7N9 virus is of special concern because most patients who contract the virus experience severe respiratory illness, such as pneumonia.

Influenza AH7N9 as viewed through an electron microscope. Both filaments and spheres are observed. ©Center for Disease Control and Prevention

According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Asian lineage H7N9 virus is rated by the Influenza Risk Assessment Tool as having the “greatest potential to cause a pandemic”, as well as posing the highest risk of severely impacting public health if it were to achieve sustained human-to-human transmission.

Over the past few decades, hundreds of human pathogens have emerged – a rate unheard of in human history. They all have one thing in common – they came from animals. HIV, the virus that causes Aids, originated from the butchering of primates for the bushmeat trade in Africa. Sars and Covid-19 have been linked to the exotic-animal trade, and swine flu in 2009 arose from a wet market in Asia but was, according to Greger, “largely made in the USA in industrial pig operations”.

According to the CDC, the eight genes of the H7N9 virus are closely related to bird flu viruses found in domestic ducks, wild birds and domestic poultry in Asia.

The virus likely emerged from “reassortment”, or mutation, a process where two or more influenza viruses co-infect a single host and exchange genes, producing a new strain of the virus.

Experts believe the H7N9 virus underwent multiple mutations in live-bird and poultry markets, where different species of birds are bought and sold for food. Infected birds shed bird flu virus in their saliva, mucus and faeces. Human infections with bird flu viruses can happen when enough virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled.

H7N9 reassortment diagram ©Center for Disease Control and Prevention

“That’s what viruses do best – they mutate and may find the lungs and become an airborne pathogen,” explains Greger.The last time a bird flu virus jumped the species barrier and triggered a pandemic, it caused one of the worst plagues in human history – the 1918 Spanish flu,. This disease was triggered by a flu virus that bred in the crowded, stressful trench warfare conditions of World War I, and had a two per cent mortality rate, killing 50 million people.

Greger says: “We have the same trench warfare conditions today in every industrial egg operation and industrial chicken shed where the animals are confined, crowded, stressed – but by the billions, not just millions.”

Michael Greger MD believes the next pandemic is waiting in the wings of chickens. ©Dr Michael Greger

It matters how we raise animals around the world, regardless of what we choose to eat, because we are all put at risk by animal farming. “When we overcrowd thousands of animals into cramped football-field-sized sheds, beak to beak or snout to snout, atop their own waste, it’s a breeding ground for disease,” Greger says.

The overcrowding of animals in such conditions leads to stress, which cripples their immune systems. This is made worse by ammonia from their decomposing waste burning their lungs, as well as a lack of fresh air and sunlight. “Put all these factors together and you have a perfect storm environment for the emergence and spread of super strains of influenza,” he adds.

Just as eliminating the exotic-animal trade and live-animal markets may go a long way towards preventing the next coronavirus pandemic, reforming the way we raise animals for food may help forestall the next killer flu.

Companies are developing plant-based foods in response to demand for alternatives to meat as a source of protein. They are primed to expand production as more consumers turn away from cheap, factory meat products.

Such a change is happening in the dairy industry, where cow’s milk sales have fallen as consumers become aware of, and are given a choice of, non-dairy milk alternatives. Dairy produce sales fell by 22 per cent between 2006 and 2016, according to Cargill, the world’s biggest producer of animal feed. In the same period, sales of plant-based milk alternatives tripled.

“All the major meat producers – Tyson, Smithfield, Hormel, Purdue, JBS – have started innovating us out of this precarious situation by making plant-based meat alternatives,” says Greger.

Cargill, the largest private corporation in the United States, is now producing plant-based lines of sausages and chicken nuggets. The world’s largest fried chicken chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken, has started rolling out “Beyond Fried Chicken” plant-based alternatives at dozens of stores in the US in the hopes of going national. Starbucks, the largest coffee-house chain in the world, which has been offering plant-based dairy alternatives for several years now, last month introduced a line of Impossible meat-free options in Asia, including a wrap and pasta salad bowl, which can be found in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Global fast food chains such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, who use battery cage farming to raise their chickens, have started selling a plant-based alternative.

If more people choose these products, corporations will make more of them and the world would be at less threat.

Although doctors recommend eating whole plant foods rather than processed plant foods, Greger says that if you’re at a fast-food chain and you’re going to order something, opting for these plant-based alternatives is not only healthier than the meat option, but from a pandemic disease standpoint “poses zero risk”.

Ocean Robbins is co-author of Voices of the Food Revolution – You Can Heal Your Body and Your World – With Food.

Ocean Robbins , author of Voices of the Food Revolution and professor at Chapman University. ©Ocean Robbins.

He serves as an adjunct professor for Chapman University in Orange, California, and is the CEO of the online Food Revolution Network, which advocates for affordable and accessible healthy food for all.

Livestock gain weight faster, which increases profits, when they’re fed antibiotics with every feed, and because of this, factory farms have become breeding grounds for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Robbins says. He adds: “We are creating inevitable future pandemics every day when we take 80 per cent of our antibiotics and feed them to livestock.”

Echoing Greger, Robbins explains that a big way to make a difference as an individual is to eat lower on the food chain, opting instead for whole plant food options.

“You’re not going to be supporting antibiotic use in factory farms if you don’t eat the products of factory farms,” he says.

Photography, Published articles, The Environment, Travel

Into the Heart of the Jungle

August 23, 2018 Angela Jelita 1 Comment

Get close to wild orangutans from the comfort of a river liveaboard that helps keep local cultures and wildlife alive.

First published in Garuda Colours inflight magazine in August 2018

“The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.” – John Muir, naturalist and environmental philosopher.

If Indonesia was a person, Borneo would be her soul. Sitting right on the Equator, this giant island has drawn explorers from all over the world for centuries, who come searching for a piece of the lost world, a land that time forgot.

Borneo belongs to three countries: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, with Indonesia holding the largest portion, which we know as Kalimantan. The name itself is derived from the Sanskrit word Kalamanthana, meaning “burning weather island”, describing her hot and humid tropical weather.

Borneo is home to ancient rainforests, approximately 130 million years in age, making it one of the oldest in the world. These forests are home to thousands of species of flora and fauna, many endemic to this island, and some critically endangered like the Bornean orangutan.

There is money to be made from tourism and keeping the forest and local cultures alive. This is being educated to locals by social enterprise Wow Borneo, created by two British expats, Gaye Thavisin and Lorna Dowson-Collins. These ladies converted a traditional riverboat known as a rangkan into a magnificent cruise boat that goes by the name Rahai’i Pangun. They claim to have been the first jungle cruise on the Rungan River in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, when they started operating in 2007.

Our three-day, two-night journey onboard the Rahai’i Pangun began at Palangkaraya’s river harbour. She was the largest boat docked at the harbour, and our guide Indra Setiawan helped us alight. Rahai’i Pangun is a floating wooden marvel with five air-conditioned bedrooms and an open-air dining area and living room with a large observation deck.

Departing from the harbour at 9am, we began cruising upstream in what felt like a floating dream. With a cup of local coffee in my hands, I enjoyed observing villages of wooden stilted houses on the river’s edge, and canoe-like fishing boats go by. Children waved enthusiastically at us from both sides of the river, some running alongside trying to keep up.

As man’s world started fading away, the forest world engulfed us, and all we could hear, see and smell was the river and peat forest. A couple of hornbills flew gracefully overhead, their large wings wooshing.

Within a couple of hours of relaxed cruising through forest, we reached the island of Kaja, a 25-hectare sanctuary for rehabilitated orangutans, managed by Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF). Kaja has dense greenery as far as the eye can see, and spotting the furry orange friends in the trees was a sight to behold.

There are 57,350 individuals of the Pongo pygmaeus orangutan species left in the wild in Kalimantan, and 14,470 of Pongo abelii, a related species in Sumatra, according to a joint report published by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Indonesian Orangutan Forum, the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, and other environmental groups earlier this year.

Conservation efforts have paid off, and numbers are up since the first edition of the report was published in 2004. The number of Sumatran orangutans was down to 6,600 at that time. There’s no count for the number of individuals Borneo orangutans in the first study, but the current population is slightly higher than what researchers expected for this year.

That’s in part due to sanctuaries like Kaja, where rescued animals are reintroduced into the forest to form new populations, for example after they have strayed into palm oil plantations due to the loss of their habitat.

Wow Borneo aims to show locals that through tourism, there is value in preserving the forest and the culture of the local Dayak people. It donates US$25 to BOSF per visitor onboard one of its river cruises.

Nico Hermanu, BOSF’s communications officer, later told me that Wow Borneo tours also help visitors gain a better understanding of the orangutans, beyond superficial interest. “They also get to see that this great ape live on the high canopy of trees, help disperse seeds, and maintain the quality of a forest area.”

Our boat continued upstream. Every now and then we passed illegal gold miners working on mobile gold-sifting units along the river, expelling smoke and loud noises from their engines.

“The river water is brown due to these miners churning up silt from the riverbed,” Setiawan said. “Tomorrow I will take you where the river is black – that is the true colour of the river.” He explains that as vegetation decays, the leaching of highly soluble tannins creates water that is darkly stained, resembling tea.

We traversed further upstream until we landed at Kanarakan, a traditional Dayak village. Greeted by friendly yet curious children, we were given a traditional Dayak welcome ritual. White paint made of rice porridge with pandanus leaf was smeared on our faces to cleanse our spirits and protect us. I donned my leaf headdress with pride.

A highlight was sampling betel nut, the region’s equivalent to South America’s coca leaves. An ibu (mother) sliced the orange fruits into smaller pieces and wrapped them in betel pepper leaves before handing them over to us to chew. She laughed hard as she watched our grimacing faces bite down into a foul and bitter taste. The kick you get rivals that of coffee, which explained why so many of the village elders had dark red-stained teeth and gums.

Early next morning, we departed on smaller boats to an island surrounded by the mysterious black water Setiawan had told us about. Cruising through dense jungle on either side, we felt removed from our realities. On engine-powered canoes, we were able to get much closer to the orangutans, this time spotting seven in total. They groomed and played with one another, oblivious to our curious stares.

After lunch, we continued upriver through small and windy tributaries on another motorised canoe to Bapallas Island, a 14-hectare reserve, where ten orangutans were hanging out. One in particular caught my attention. Her name is Kesi and one of her hands is a stump. She had been rescued from a palm oil plantation, where she had been attacked and mutilated by plantation workers who are often frightened of the creatures they consider pests.

Seeing these stunning animals in the wild, albeit rehabilitated and protected by rangers, is both a hopeful sight and one with a poignant reminder that our continued development threatens their survival.

Wow Borneo’s cruises create livelihoods that replace some of the common jobs found here like fishing, logging, or gold mining. Employing 20 local people, the venture provides fair wages, family health cover, insurance, as well as termination payments to its staff.

“We work with community tourism groups in each village we visit, who provide guide services, cultural events, and canoe hire for a price agreed annually,” says co-founder Thavisin. “Since we started our company, a total of US$200,000 has gone directly to the community.”

Thavisin explains that her eco-tour has helped to revive sangar, the local dance groups, which were disappearing in the region as tradition started to fade. We watched the lively and colourful traditional Dayak dances being performed to us by enthusiastic young people in Kanarakan village, an experience I will never forget. Like true tourists, we wore the yellow selendang (shawl) and joined in the festivities, although nowhere near as graceful as the locals.

Returning back to civilization after two nights sleeping in the depths of the forest was – like betelnut – a hard nut to swallow. It is heartwarming to know that the windy river of Rungan, with its sprawling jungle on either side, still exists in Central Kalimantan, and that this social enterprise is helping to preserve it. I feel as though I left a part of my soul on that sleepy river, and I would go back in a heartbeat to find it.

Published articles, The Environment

Freezing in the Tropics: ASEAN’s Air-Con Conundrum

May 16, 2018 Angela Jelita Leave a comment

Contributing writer to Tim Hill’s white paper published on Eco-Business.com

Published in January 2018

Published articles, The Environment

What Has 2016 Meant For Indonesia And Climate Change?

February 20, 2017 Angela Jelita Leave a comment

2015 was a devastating year for global greenhouse gas emissions, with Indonesia ranking fourth on the list of top emitters after vast forest fires released 1.62 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Under immense pressure at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21) last year, Indonesia announced its commitment to reduce its emissions from peat land fires. Now that a year has passed, do experts believe the government is doing enough to prevent future cataclysmic events from happening?

COP22 ran from 7- 18 November in Marrakesh, Morocco and was centred on the implementation of the Paris Agreement of 2015. Indonesia’s Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya spoke at the conference about how Indonesia – throughout 2016 – has taken many operational steps and policies that have had a direct impact on the reduction of emissions.

Nurbaya listed Jokowi’s moratorium, the restoration of peat land, the control of forest fires, and the prevention of deforestation as part of the measures being taken to reduce carbon emissions. According to the Minister, these actions have clear indicators that “can be measured, monitored and verified”.

Recent data show no signs of deforestation slowing down, which is a direct contradiction to Minister Nurbaya’s speech at COP22. While independent scientific sources indicate a strong increase in deforestation over the last decade, the Ministry of Forestry reported stable deforestation levels and emissions.

Deforestation on the rise

Indonesia’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), released in September last year, includes an unconditional 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 29 percent below business-as-usual (BAU) and a conditional 41 percent reduction below BAU by 2030 (with sufficient international support).

In stark contrast, according to independent scientific analysis consortium Climate Action Tracker, “Indonesia is the only main deforesting country where a strong increase in deforestation emissions can be expected in the period to 2030.” The group claims that Indonesia has a contradictory climate policy, where renewables are being pushed to play a stronger role in the energy mix, while a growing demand for coal is leading to continually rising emissions. They predict a 70 percent increase in emissions above the 2010 level by 2030 from energy and industry sectors.

A weak commitment

Environmental activists on the ground believe Indonesia’s commitment is weak and not ambitions enough. Annisa Rahmawati is the Forest Campaigner for Greenpeace Indonesia. She was shocked to hear the government is planning an increase in global greenhouse emissions of around one third by 2030. “Deforestation and peat land destruction accounts for approximately 60 percent of Indonesia’s emissions, but Indonesia’s measures to protect peat lands is insufficient,” she told Indonesia Expat. “The government is even planning 13 million hectares of further deforestation in the next three decades as revealed in the INDC.”

An ineffective moratorium

Jokowi’s moratorium on new palm oil concessions, according to Rahmawati, up until now still has no legal binding form, rendering it useless. “The President’s ban on new developments on peat land seems not to be obeyed by the industry, and the lack of law enforcement has added to its complication,” says Rahmawati. The problem is, “The moratorium is not permanent and doesn’t apply to land where permits have already been granted.” According to Greenpeace, there are approximately 10 million hectares of forest currently under threat in existing oil palm, pulp and mining concessions.

Environmental activist Chanee Kalaweit, who works saving animals in the fire hazard zones of Kalimantan and Sumatra, believes the peat land fire threat is still very much alive. In 2015 Kalaweit became a household name when his video addressed to the president taken from the thick of the forest fire haze in Kalimantan went viral. He believes the only reason we are seeing fewer fires this year is because of the La Niña weatherfront, not because of any measures being taken by the government.

“This year it’s La Niña, which always comes the year after El Niño,” he tells Indonesia Expat. “We are experiencing a lot of rain with no real dry season in Borneo. Next year the dry season will be normal, and every year it will be longer until the next El Niño in 2020/2021,” he warns. Kalaweit believes the next El Niño will be catastrophic in terms of forest fires and Indonesia’s contribution to climate change.

What actions should be taken?

Like Rahmawati, Kalaweit believes the government is not doing enough to prevent further peat land forest fires. He has observed that many landowners are converting their land status to Areal Penggunaan Lain (APL) or Area for Other Uses, which is exempt of the moratorium, allowing them to continue as palm oil plantations. What he believes should be done to prevent further fires is; 1) focus prevention funds on peat land forests only; 2) Prepare water pumps at every problem area; 3) forbid any form of fire creation in the dry season in peat land areas, as he says they do in Europe on pine forests. Kalaweit also believes the government must forbid the opening of large-scale land in any APL region.

Both activists believe in order to prevent future fires, the plantation industry must move away from peat lands and start to remedy the damage that has already been done. This can be done through blocking canals and rewetting as a first step to restoring peat lands to their natural condition – an effective measure based on Greenpeace Indonesia’s experience in Riau and Central Kalimantan.

In the space of seven days, Indonesia received 174 fire alerts, 42 percent occurring on indicative moratorium areas. Courtesy of Global Forest Watch.

Ambitious plans of bringing together land use, land tenure and other spatial data into a singular incorporated database for Indonesia, known as the One Map initiative, began under the previous government, but has yet to be completed. Rahmawati believes that without transparency of baseline data and methodology, enabling independent monitoring and accurate calculations about what is actually happening on the ground – while understanding who owns the land and who is responsible for fires and environmental destruction – both the moratorium and One Map policy “will be meaningless”.

In the length of time it took to write this article, the Global Forest Watch reported that Indonesia received 174 fire alerts (see map). Fourty-two percent of the fires occurred on indicative moratorium areas.

First published in Indonesia Expat on December 13, 2016

The Environment, Travel, Videos

Saving the Orangutan: Ecotourism in Borneo

Video November 10, 2016 Angela Jelita Leave a comment

A short video I made to expose the great work being done by social enterprise Wow Borneo, who are helping to save the endangered orangutan and preserving local culture and tradition through ecotourism in Central Kalimantan. For more information, visit their website.

Published articles, The Environment, Travel

The Bare Necessities: Gunung Leuser National Park

October 28, 2016 Angela Jelita Leave a comment

Trekking Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra in search of endangered orangutans in another world.

Ever since Leonardo DiCaprio hit local and international news headlines with his short but sweet visit to North Sumatra’s Gunung Leuser National Park, I couldn’t stop thinking about the place. It wasn’t only the 41-year-old actor-cum-environmentalist who drew me to visiting this area, but the message he conveyed through his Instagram channel: that this was a special place that needed to be protected.

The lowland forests of the Leuser ecosystem are still home to ancient elephant migratory paths followed by some of the last wild herds of Sumatran elephants, numbering less than 1,000. “But the expansion of Palm Oil plantations is fragmenting the #forest and cutting off key elephant migratory corridors,” DiCaprio said on his Instagram page, which is making it “more difficult for elephant families to find adequate sources of food and water.” DiCaprio’s self-named foundation supports the protection and conservation of the Leuser ecosystem.

Gunung Leuser National Park covers an area of 7,927 km2 in Sumatra, and sits right on the border of North Sumatra and the Shariah-governed Aceh province. Along with Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat national parks, Gunung Leuser forms a World Heritage Site known as the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra. This is the only place in the world where the orangutan, elephant, rhinoceros and tiger still coincide. Today, the Leuser ecosystem exists at a shaky crossroads, however ecotourism is playing an important role in assisting in the conservation of this glorious stretch of pristine rainforest that is under siege from palm oil plantations and other development projects.

Although you’re highly unlikely to encounter a tiger or rhinoceros in these forests unless you hike for many days deep into its depths, you will almost always have the chance to see orangutans on a two-day hike. These gorgeous creatures can sometimes even be seen right from the balcony of your accommodation in Bukit Lawang.

Bukit Lawang

The gateway to the national park can best be described as a hyper tourist village. Bukit Lawang sits on the edge of Bahorok River, and has a cemented path large enough for two motorbikes that runs through its entirety. The river is the only thing that separates mankind from the wilderness.

In 2003, a terrible flash flood swept away almost the entirety of the village – which back then was made up of only a few cottages. Thirteen years later, Bukit Lawang has developed into a happening tourist hub filled with orangutan enthusiasts and those in search of a more simple and chilled existence.

The drive is approximately 4 hours from Medan international airport. Upon arrival, you’ll be greeted in English with “Welcome to the jungle, brother!” and the rushing sounds of the river will start to relax those tired-from-travelling minds. The village is filled with riverside cafes, Bob Marley bars, and ‘eco’ accommodation.

Lodging in Bukit Lawang is simple sans air-conditioning or hot water. Electricity isn’t stable, but this adds to the charm. People come here to experience wildlife and trek into the jungle, not to lounge around in five-star luxury.

Jungle fever

Most accommodations can organize a range of trekking options for you. On our two-day, one-night hike into the national park, we spotted our first orangutan in the trees above us only an hour into the hike. Semi-wild and used to people, you can get really close to these endangered animals, who have been given names by the locals.

An orangutan in Gunung Leuser National Park

The hike itself is quite strenuous, as the region is hilly – which is actually the saving grace for why it has not been exploited by oil palm plantations. It’s extremely humid and hot, therefore not suitable for elderly hikers or people without a moderate level of fitness. Although the hike is a bit tough, you can stop and rest whenever the need arises.

We trekked 6.5 kilometres through the dense jungle, stopping for a light snack of fruits and a lunch of nasi goreng. One thing I noticed is that the trail is extremely clean, with no litter to be found. The guides have been taught from the beginning that rubbish means no guests, which in turn means no money, so even cigarette butts are brought back to Bukit Lawang, a refreshing change from other hikes in Indonesia.

Glamping

We arrived at our riverside camp at 4.30 pm; with accommodation made of bamboo and tarpaulin. Our guide, Ipong (we like to call him Mowgli as he was so in tune with the forest) made a fire while we delighted in a refreshing bathe in the crystal clear waters of the river, with virgin rainforest towering above us on either side.

A campsite in Gunung Leuser National Park

A team of cooks prepared a delicious dinner and we dined on the ground under the stars. It’s rare that we have the chance to experience pitch-black darkness – a welcome change from the incessant lights of the city. You will be provided with a yoga mat to sleep on, and although sleeping bags are provided, an extra set and a blow-up pillow wouldn’t hurt to act as a buffer from the hard ground beneath you.

Waking up to the sights and sounds of the rainforest – and hundreds of macaques frolicking and being their cheeky selves – was nothing short of spectacular. After breakfast, we walked upriver to bathe in a stunning little waterfall that has enough pressure to rip your swimming gear off.

Tired legs from the tough hike of the previous day were relieved when we were able to ‘tube’ back to the village on giant inflatable tyres, tied together to form a raft. Ipong made each one of us a leaf crown, donned tribal face paint made out of mud, and we were off downstream. Tubing gives you a completely different perspective of the forest, actually allowing you to see it rather than be right in the thick of it.

Of all the trips I’ve done in Indonesia, this one takes the cake. It was truly special and an experience I plan to repeat again, next time visiting the elephant sanctuary at Tangkahan and possibly doing a longer seven-day trek into the jungle to rediscover my inner Mowgli. I urge other outdoor lovers to visit this other-worldly place before it’s too late.

Fast facts: Gunung Leuser National Park

Getting there: Daily flights available with local airlines to Medan’s Kualanamu International airport. Flights also available from neighbouring Singapore or Malaysia. Ask your accommodation to arrange airport transfer (approximately Rp.600,000 one way) to Bukit Lawang, which takes around 3.5-4 hours.

Where to stay: Eco Travel Cottages or Riverside Guesthouse offer cheap and clean accommodation with fans. Riverside has a viewing deck with stunning views of Bukit Lawang and the forest. Eco Travel Cottages is situated right on the river.

What to bring: Sun block, mosquito repellent, headlamp, hiking shoes/trainers, long pants and long-sleeve top for the evenings, shorts and a light top for hiking, backpack, cash (the nearest ATM is half an hour away), camera.

What to do: Hiking, photography, orangutan watching, tubing, elephant excursion in Tangkahan, dancing to the live band on Saturday nights, relaxing.

Suitable for: Adventure junkies, animal enthusiasts, reggae fans.

Charities, Interviews, Published articles, The Environment

The Gibbon Whisperer: Meet Chanee Kalaweit

January 21, 2016 Angela Jelita Leave a comment

Chanee Kalaweit is a former French national, who in 2012 gained his Indonesian citizenship. Since the tender age of 12, Chanee has dedicated his life to the gibbon, apes living in Asia’s tropical and subtropical rainforests, including in Sumatra, Borneo and Java. Chanee rose to fame when he created a video that went viral, addressing the president of the haze crisis of Sumatra and Kalimantan. We caught up with him in Palangkaraya to find out the full story of his NGO Kalaweit; the biggest gibbon protection programme in the world.

When did you first come to Indonesia?

I left for Indonesia at the age of 18 in May 1998. The first thing I did was go to Borneo for three months to survey and see how bad the deforestation situation was. After three months I realized that a project like mine was needed and the first gibbon programme was born in September 1999.

Why gibbons?

As a kid in France I always loved primates, and the first time I met a gibbon in a zoo, it looked into my eyes so sadly. It was alone and I wanted to help and understand what was wrong. I learned that gibbons are monogamists, which makes it difficult for zoos to carry out successful mating programmes.

I asked the director of the zoo if I could come for free every Wednesday when I wasn’t at school. I did this for five years, from the age of 12. Eventually I started helping other zoos in France with their gibbon programmes.

How did you raise funds to come and set up your charity Kalaweit in Indonesia?

When I was 16 I published a book on gibbon behaviours. Journalists were interested because I was a 16-year-old who wasn’t outside playing soccer with friends. Actress Muriel Robin called me and said, “You want to go to Asia to help gibbons, I want to help you.” She funded me, and to this day she still watches the development of the organization and we are good friends.

Tell us about the work your charity does in protecting the gibbon and other animals in threat.

Kalaweit covers all of Sumatra, Borneo and Mentawai. We have two sanctuaries and a reserve.

We help by:

1) Giving a second chance to animals detained as pets or who are victims of deforestation by rehabilitating and returning them to the wild. 285 gibbons are under our care right now. 2) Securing forestland for conservation – I buy land where biodiversity is very high to make micro-reserves. In Sumatra we have 281 hectares, and in Borneo we have 20 hectares, which we hope will reach 100 hectares by the end of the year. 3) Involving locals in our fight through our radio station and TV programmes.

We also aid the government in protecting reserves. I am a paramotor pilot and I fly over every location once a month – I also do this to illustrate deforestation.

How much does the forestland you buy for conservation purposes cost?

In Sumatra it costs around Rp.15 million per hectare and in Borneo around Rp.25 million per hectare.

Do any palm oil concession owners get involved with conservation?

You see big companies who own thousands of hectares of forestland trying to do good to protect their image. Some companies will actually keep 10 percent of their concession as a sanctuary for animals.

In Sumatra I released siamang gibbons into a 2,000-hectare reserve owned by a private guy in a palm oil concession. It will be very difficult for him to change his mind now, as I’ve released animals into his forest which we accompanied with a big publicity campaign.

Chanee made a video addressed to the president of Indonesia about the haze crisis of 2015

The video you shot during the haze crisis went viral and really helped to raise awareness about this serious issue. Can you tell us what inspired you to make this video?

When you fight this industry you have to protect yourself by making yourself well-known. I was very upset as a father to see my kids very sick and people dying because of smoke and palm oil.

I never imagined the video would go viral. When I uploaded it, the next morning there were 35,000 views. The Minister of Forestry asked me to come to Jakarta, but it just felt like they didn’t want me to cause any more ‘problems’. I really feel like nothing will change. This year, if we have a dry season, the same thing will happen.

What is the biggest challenge you face?

The lack of law enforcement in Indonesia. There are also still many high profile people in Indonesia who work for the government yet still keep protected animals in their homes – because they can and they don’t care. When law enforcement doesn’t work, you can’t expect much.

You state that the forests of Indonesia will disappear by 2030. Do you see any progression from the government towards stopping this?

It’s the biggest frustration because you feel just like a witness. After logging takes place, forests still remain, although in bad shape. My goal was to secure forestland after logging to protect the animals left behind, but since 2000 every single piece of land is being converted to palm oil plantations.

The government thinks that companies who own concessions for palm oil don’t operate outside of their boundaries, but in fact there is a lot of land being used for palm oil plantations outside of these concessions, which are under private ownership, and are destroying forest, even on peat land. There is a moratorium, but this only applies to companies and not individuals.

With all the frustrations and difficulties you face, are you still optimistic that you can make a difference?

Every hectare of land and every animal saved is a victory.

I learned that the goal is less important than the process. If I know that the end of the world will be next week, I will still save gibbons because it’s what I do. I don’t want to be pessimistic because I will lose the energy to keep fighting. We just have to act.

Are you seeing a positive response from the listeners of your radio station Kalaweit Radio in Palangkaraya?

Our station started in 2003 and targets young people by airing good music and funny shows. Every hour we air messages about gibbons and the forest. 70 percent of the rescued animals we see are actually from our listeners. At schools, kids will tell their friends off for owning pet gibbons and in the end they hand them over to us for rehabilitation.

Tell us about your TV show Kalaweit Wildlife Rescue.

The second season on Metro TV starts in March. The cameras follow my team saving animals all over Sumatra, Borneo and Mentawai. It’s the first TV show on conservation shot in Indonesia. Having millions of people watching is the best way to help. On primetime French television I’m also in the middle of shooting a documentary series where we travel the world trying to save different endangered animals.

How can readers help?

The first thing is to say no to palm oil.

We have a lot of forest to save, but we need the money to buy the land. We require €550,000 a year to survive, which does not include money to buy forestland. We are 100 percent funded by donations.

Thank you, Chanee. Visit www.kalaweit.org for more information on how you can help this noble cause.

Photos courtesy of Kalaweit Foundation.

Charities, Interviews, The Environment

Then Trash Became Ffrash: Meet Karin van Horssen and Renate Suurd-Joossink

November 11, 2015 Angela Jelita Leave a comment

Ffrash produces high-quality, sustainable design furniture and home interior products from trash, giving former street children a chance at a better life. Their values? 100 percent trash, 100 percent sustainable, 100 percent design and 100 percent not-for-profit. We meet the two ladies in charge to find out more.

What are your professional backgrounds and what brought you to designing interior products out of trash in Bekasi?

Renate: I came to Jakarta in 2013, having worked for more than 15 years for Wegter Consumenten BV in the Netherlands, where I developed concepts for kitchen and tableware in many different styles.

Accompanying my husband to Indonesia, Ffrash was the logical step to share my professional experience and contribute to this great opportunity. Jakarta, with its more than sufficient amount of trash and high number of street youths, needs awareness and support. Giving former street youth a second chance by providing them shelter, training, work experience in combination with sustainable design products from trash, is the perfect way for me to support the Indonesian society.

Karin: After having different marketing jobs in the Netherlands, I decided to start my own business in 2008. By creating clothes for women and girls, I combined creativity and entrepreneurship. My husband’s work brought me and my family to Indonesia in 2013. When I first saw the design products of Ffrash and heard the story behind the project, I was really impressed. So, when I had the opportunity to join this beautiful project, I didn’t hesitate. With Ffrash, again, I can combine creativity and entrepreneurship, but more important: give the former street children of Jakarta a second chance.

Where do you source your recyclable items from?

The wine bottles are generally given to us by friends and we work with some restaurants to acquire their used wine bottles, too. We are always in need of wine and glass water bottles. The table vases are made from fishing boat bulbs, which were once thrown overboard when broken. We buy the majority of our other materials directly from the trash pickers.

I actually own one of your vases made out of a fishing boat’s light bulb. Where did you get your inspiration for this unique design?

The vase was designed by the Dutch designers Guido Ooms and Karin van Lieshout. They travelled to Indonesia several times to visit trash dumps in search of the right materials. After having designed the Ffrah collection, they trained the team on how to handle the tools and machines and the various aspects of product design.

What creative designs are you working on now?

At the moment we are working with Indonesian designers, Karsa, and we are looking for new designers who can develop and add a new Ffrash collection.

Tell us about the children that you work with and train as artisans. These children used to live on the streets before becoming a part of Yayasan Kampus Diakonia Modern (KDM) and entering into your programme. What positive developments have you noticed in their characters from being a part of Ffrash?

Ffrash works closely with KDM, a local foundation that offers shelter to former street children. Ffrash believes that every child deserves the right to a sustainable future in a clean environment. With this vision, we created an opportunity for the street children to become skilled workers who can turn trash in beautiful design products. Ffrash provides the former street children aged 16 to 19 years, 18 months’ training, but also endows these youth with knowledge and skills to start their own companies.

At Ffrash, they learn how to use and develop their skills in different ways. They work in the Ffrash workshop from Monday till Friday. Further, we offer them schooling – English courses and safety training. We notice that some children are becoming more responsible and more self-confident.

Do your artisans get paid for their work? How do you ensure your work with the children is sustainable?

The artisans receive pocket money for their work. There are three key factors – economic growth, environmental issues, and poverty – that must be addressed in order for sustainable development to take place. Poverty in particular often prevents sustainable use of natural resources, and so it must be handled intelligently to reverse the trend. By integrating environmental conservation on one hand, and economic development on the other, sustainable development can be achieved. In other words, sustainability requires a balance between ecological, economic, and social considerations.

Ffrash went in search of new applications for reusing trash to provide more benefits to the less fortunate youths around Jakarta, while also reducing the energy required for recycling. In this way, Ffrash contributes to sustainable development by creating a better balance between consumption and conservation. It is a fact that the processing of wood, whether for the purpose of furniture-making or wood crafting, is part of the Indonesian culture and tradition. Ffrash does not chop down more trees to make its furniture and interior design products. Instead, Ffrash makes furniture and other products by re-using trash, thus showing people that you can create new products without using wood as a raw material.

Additionally, ‘upcycling’ offers a solution to the problems around waste processing in Indonesia. And lastly, by training youths in furniture-making, Ffrash empowers them to succeed in society. Vocational training and professional coaching support the street children to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty. The children learn to create a better future for themselves in an environmentally sustainable manner, while learning a trade and entrepreneurial skills.

What is the most moving experience you’ve had while working at Ffrash?

The whole experience has been moving. There are success stories, but sometimes also some sad stories. It has its ups and downs. That’s how it goes in real life…

Are there any challenges that you face working with ex-street children?

It’s obvious that their background is totally different from ours. Sometimes it is difficult to empathise. For us it’s important to keep in mind that their backgrounds are different and to react the right way.

From your work in this industry, how have you found the Indonesian mentality towards rubbish?

There is a still a lot of work to do in Indonesia. It’s going slowly, step by step. This will take years after years to change. We have just started to notice the presence of more public rubbish bins around Jakarta, encouraging people to separate and dispose of their rubbish more thoughtfully.

What can we expect to see from Ffrash in the near future?

We want to make a beautiful high design interior collection which is much more expanded. We also want to generate more selling points. On the other hand, we will try to help the former street youth as much as we can, giving them a second chance and a better future. All profits are divided between the children and the running of the workshop. We invest in their further development and training to give them a second chance.

Thank you! To get in touch, please email: renate.joossink@gmail.com

Interviews, The Environment

Producing Durable Pallets from Recycled Plastic Waste

November 11, 2015 Angela Jelita Leave a comment

Bali (and Indonesia) has received a lot of negative press in recent years with regards to plastic litter. This issue, we meet with PT Enviro Pallets, a manufacturer of nestled pallets made entirely from recycled plastic waste which would otherwise have ended up in landfills. We meet General Manager, Lars Armstrup, to find out more about where the innovative company sources their plastic waste, the manufacturing process, and the their environmentally-conscious values.

Enviro Pallets was founded by Matthew Darby in New Zealand – when and for what reason was the plastic recycling plant opened in Bali?

We started in 2012, moving the equipment across from the previous factory in Christchurch, New Zealand. In visits to Indonesia, Matthew saw a very significant plastic waste issue across the nation, and discussions with the National Investment Agency highlighted the added issues surrounding this in Bali. A strong local desire for solutions to help tackle the plastic waste problem, and to keep Bali Clean, ultimately led to the decision to set up our first Asian factory here.

What excited you about coming onboard?

Having worked for 30 years in logistics and industrial manufacturing in six different Asian countries, I am intimately aware of the challenges around raw-material requirements to keep supply chains moving, specifically the high demand for timber to produce pallets for the movement of finished products.

Global estimates state that more than 40 percent of the world’s sawn timber is used to produce wood pallets. Our unique Thermo Fusion™ technology allows us to use the recycled plastics others do not want, thus benefitting from a low raw-material cost, making our plastic pallets directly competitive with wood pallets, at the same price.

We truly believe we will introduce a real alternative to the use of wood, and the infinite re-use of plastics over and over again. Not only do we use 100 percent recycled plastic, but our products are also themselves 100 percent recyclable, enabling us to use the same plastic raw material multiple times.

Can you give us a brief explanation of the Thermo Fusion™ production process?

We take mixed plastics, shred it and subsequently subject it to heat and pressure, mechanically binding the polymers of the different types of plastics. This results in a malleable plastic substance that under very high pressure is formed into the finished product of a pallet.

The uniqueness of our equipment is that we are able to use mixed plastics of all types in one combined process. This is different to what normally happens in the recycling of plastics. Normally, polymers must be segregated, to for example only contain PET or only HDPE, which is then converted to granules and mixed with virgin plastics for injection moulding processes.

How many tonnes of plastic do you process a day?

We just started our second production line, and with that we can now process more than 600 MTS of plastic per month – most of which would have gone to landfills.

How do you collect the plastic waste used to make your pallets?

We work with recyclers in Bali, who supply steady volumes of plastic to us. We have recently established programmes with the Bali Government’s departments of Sanitation, Gardening and the Environment, allowing us to work directly with the island’s nine regencies and their sub-districts. Two of these are now our active suppliers of recycled plastics, and we continue to engage with the remaining, expecting to have covered all during 2016. Supplies also come from schools and brand retail shops, where we engage with them on campus and in-store to facilitate their efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle.

How much do you pay per kilogram of plastic waste that people bring to you?

First of all, we want clean and dry plastic. Clean means free from non-plastic material such as cardboard, paper, glass, aluminium foil, etc. We can deal with varying degrees of these in the process, but we run the most efficient when these are not present. But for the plastic types themselves we do not distinguish between the different kinds of polymers, as we readily mix them all together in our process.

Our pricing starts at Rp.1,200 per kg of plastic and increases with the cleanliness and dryness of plastic that we receive. Being willing to pay for something that people normally throw away is having a positive impact in the communities that we work with.

Besides the fact that they’re created from plastic waste, what else makes your pallets special?

There are literally hundreds of different pallet sizes and functionalities in use around the world – our process allows us to produce all of them. Plastic is stronger than wood, and therefore gives a better performance over time compared to wood. Even though our pallets will eventually break, the difference with wood is that a damaged wooden pallet has very limited use at the end of its short life. Wood pallets are either burnt (for energy), grinded up (for mulching purposes), or in the vast majority of cases disposed of to rot. Because our process uses 100 percent recycled plastic, we simply take back the damaged pallets, grind them up and run them through our production process again, to be reborn as new pallets.

Please tell us about your expansion plans, especially to Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta.

We have significant ambitions both on a national and global basis. We do expect to expand into Java and beyond in the very near future.

Bye Bye Plastic Bags have been given a MoU by the provincial government in Bali to stop giving away free plastic bags in 2016 and ban plastic bags altogether by 2018. How will this affect production at your plant?

Melati and Isabel, who founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags, are such an inspiration – amazing girls. I met with them recently and banning plastic bags is definitely the way to go. I believe other cities around Indonesia are working on similar schemes. Unfortunately, the global production of plastic continues to rise at about four percent annually, and the sad fact is that even if all plastic bags were banned, it would still only make a small reduction in the total plastic output. There is so much new plastic being made every day.

We cannot function as a world without plastic, but through what we do, we believe we help to move us to a point of ‘no new plastic being put into the world’, as we can infinitely recycle the same plastics again and again, even though they are all mixed.

Lars Armstrup, General Manager of PT Enviro Pallets, Bali

As the General Manager of a business that actively contributes towards a cleaner world, you must be extremely passionate about what you do. What work ethics that you hold dear to your heart would you like to see other business owners embody?

I love what we do. Few people are given the opportunity to head up an enterprise that truly holds the potential to change a segment of the world, and in this respect our team and I are very fortunate. I am not sure that I am necessarily any different from other business leaders, however I am fuelled by passion – because I believe that is the only way to achieve excellence.

My work ethics are a real sense of purpose, strong determination and focus, which allow you to work through the unavoidable challenges and road blocks that are always present in business. Ultimately though, ‘Deliver The Promise’. What we promise to our customers, all my colleagues, our suppliers and communities is vital, as that is the only way in which we can achieve long-term sustainability both on the environmental front and for ourselves as a business.

Thank you, Lars. To get in touch, email: marketing@enviropallets.com

Charities, Published articles, The Environment

Caught for a Song: Rehabilitating Captured Wildlife with Animal Sanctuary Trust Indonesia

June 10, 2015 Angela Jelita Leave a comment

Indonesia is blessed to be one of the most naturally biodiverse countries in the world; however this blessing comes with a curse: it is also one of the most densely populated, leading to tremendous impacts on wildlife habitat destruction and illegal wildlife trade. The animal trade in Indonesia is largely uncontrolled, due to weak enforcement, and has led to the highest number of threatened mammals and birds in the world.

According to statistics by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, 1.5 million wild birds are caught and sold at pasar burung (bird markets) on the island of Java alone every year. Indonesia is considered one of the world’s top traders of non-timber forest products – a key supplier to external markets. Driving this trade is the end consumer, for instance tiger parts fuel a lucrative export trade to China, where their skins and bones are sold as souvenirs, talismans and ingredients for traditional medicines. People also purchase live animals as pets, drawn in by their attractiveness as infants, however once the animal reaches adulthood – especially with tigers – the owner is no longer able to look after the animal and looks to sanctuaries to take them off their hands.

The Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry works in collaboration with animal rescue NGOs to apprehend poachers and intercept trafficking rings, confiscating illegally-held animals. Inadequate resources and staff, however, often hamper control of poaching from protected areas, and the small number of rescue centres complicates the rescue of illegally-held animals across the country.

Javan gibbon gelagah being relocated from ASTI to Javan gibbon centre

Annette Pipe is Co-Founder of Animal Sanctuary Trust Indonesia (ASTI) and entered into a life of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in 2008, along with Co-Founder Andy Kindangen. “We felt we needed to take some action to assist with the conservation of Indonesia’s animal biodiversity, and could no longer stand by and watch species disappearing without trying to do something about it,” Annette says.

ASTI rehabilitates displaced endangered species and assists in their conservation by eventually releasing them back to their natural habitats. Acting as a transit centre, ASTI is able to rescue and look after around 70 animals at any given time. On average, the sanctuary takes in 30-40 animals per year, and attempts to release or relocate the same number to make way for more animals in need. Rehabilitation rate and success depends on the species in question and on the condition of the animal on arrival at ASTI.

Since beginning operations, the centre has had many incredible cases of rescue, recovery and release. One in particular is that of a Javan leopard rescued six years ago from a deer snare in Banten province. “The leopard, named Aceng, was rescued in collaboration with the government and other NGOs,” Annette says. “Aceng quickly recovered from his wounds, and after ten months he left ASTI for release back to his forest in Pandeglang, Banten. ASTI still receives updates from the local people in Pandeglang that Aceng is alive and well – they recognise him from the scar around his abdomen.”

Agile gibbon Melly having a bath after her handover to ASTI

Sadly not all animals can be rehabilitated – some are too badly injured by poachers and would not survive life in the wild. In these circumstances, ASTI provides long-term care so that these animals can live healthy and happy lives in captivity. Currently the sanctuary has a few non-releasable animals, including an owl and an eagle – both with wing bones cut by the poachers – a cockatoo with no feathers, and a gibbon with liver problems.

Although extremely rewarding, working in wildlife rehabilitation is not without its challenges. A recurring issue is that rescued animals have been eating food meant for humans, like fried rice or noodles, and must learn to eat their natural diet upon arriving at ASTI. Animals often pick up viruses or bacteria at animal markets, some of which can be serious and difficult to treat. Oftentimes poachers and traders have mutilated the animals, for instance wing bones of eagles and owls are clipped, or teeth of slow lorises are cut or removed. Animals can also be traumatised from being held for years in small, dirty cages; in this case ASTI pays attention to their mental as well physical conditions. ASTI also faces the difficulty of finding suitable centres in other parts of Indonesia to accept their animals when they are ready for final rehabilitation and release.

Recently ASTI completed the rehabilitation of a leopard cat named Margo. Wild cats live in forested areas of Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan and unfortunately many people like to keep them as pets. Margo was handed over in January from a private home and luckily was healthy – her blood tests revealed that she was free from viruses often plaguing leopard cats who have been crammed together in animal markets – and was still quite wild, enabling her to respond well to the rehabilitation program. Margo is now ready to be released into a conservation area not far from ASTI.

The amazing work ASTI do is funded through kind donations. Donors can even sponsor a particular animal for a period of time, helping to cover the cost of food, shelter and medical expenses. Besides donating or sponsoring animals, Annette encourages people to make a difference by not buying protected animals from animal markets, and not visiting such markets at all, as animals in these markets are taken directly from the wild.

“While it is tempting to buy, for example, a baby monkey from a market in an effort to save that one individual, and to keep him as a pet, it is important to remember that for the traders to get the baby they almost certainly had to kill the mother,” Annette explains. “If you buy that baby, the poachers will replace him with another one, and another mother will be killed. The baby will most likely die anyway, from trauma at losing his mother and because survival rate without the mother is extremely low.”

Sometimes well-intentioned people buy these babies and other animals and bring them directly to ASTI, which Annette and Andy ask people do not do either, as the poachers will still go out and catch more from the wild. The cycle can only be broken by the consumer, Annette says. “We need to break the cycle; if nobody buys the animals, the poaching will stop.”

To find out how you can help ASTI please visit www.animalsanctuarytrustindonesia.org

Angela Jelita Richardson