Figure 1: Clearing on the margins of an unregistered plantation in the Siak Kecil area of Riau Province When I first saw this image it saddened me. I had already travelled through the region, not precisely this spot at 0° 59' 54.9996' N, 101° 53' 3.0012' E, but further to the north and west. Travelling … Continue reading Unregistered Plantation in Riau Encroaching on Giam Siak Kecil Biosphere Reserve
Category: environment
#Change in Riau from closed canopy forest to plantations
This morning my colleague Prayoto Tonoto sent me a diagram. It illustrated the stages in the transformation of forests from closed canopy systems to the monocultural plantations that are such a major feature of Riau's landscape. In an earlier blog post, I made mention of these stages Stage 1: Selection Logging Selective logging over a 20-year period. … Continue reading #Change in Riau from closed canopy forest to plantations
#Indonesia’s #peatland is burning: the peatland burning #moratorium is failing in Riau Province, Sumatra
Indonesia’s moratorium on peatland burning is failing. Focusing on Riau province, the region with the most extensive of peatlands, in the period 1 to 8 March, 2018, there have been 99 fire alerts in the following areas: Siak 35 Pelalawan 30 Kepulauan Riau Kepulauan 29 Between 2 – 3 March seven hotspots were detected in … Continue reading #Indonesia’s #peatland is burning: the peatland burning #moratorium is failing in Riau Province, Sumatra
Encountering the #Indigenous people of #Riau proved cause for wider reflection
My interest in the rights of Indigenous people dates back many years. As an Australian, of European descent, I acknowledge the prior ownership and customary land rights of Australia's Indigenous nations. This is an interest that I've revealed elsewhere on this blog and one that was well expressed by our former Prime Minister, Paul Keating. … Continue reading Encountering the #Indigenous people of #Riau proved cause for wider reflection
Competition for land in Riau Province: Pressure from Oil Palm and Wood Pulp Corporations
Fred Pearce writing in his book The Landgrabbers: The New Fight Over Who Owns The Earth makes the point that "Until the late 1980s Riau was 80 percent jungle. Today the figure is just 30 percent. I've never met Fred but I have met the people of Sungai Tohor who face the consequences of a systematic destruction of peatland … Continue reading Competition for land in Riau Province: Pressure from Oil Palm and Wood Pulp Corporations
Little ground for optimism for the future of forests in #Indonesia’s #Riau Province
Some would argue that the forests of Indonesia were undisturbed until recently but there can never be virgin rainforest once people are present. Beginning as far back 40,000 years ago a process of incremental transformation unfolded along the Indonesian archipelago. This was sustainable change all but invisible yet the very languages and cultures of the … Continue reading Little ground for optimism for the future of forests in #Indonesia’s #Riau Province
Getting Singapore’s eateries and companies to switch to #sustainable palm oil
Here is a short digest of news I’ve written for the PM.Haze October Newletter. A full list of past newsletters can be found on the PM.Haze site. How to fight the haze three times a day The first part of my news analysis addresses an excellent article, How to fight the haze three times a day, written … Continue reading Getting Singapore’s eateries and companies to switch to #sustainable palm oil
Where Australia Collides with Asia – by Ian Burnet
Some historical narratives can be difficult to follow when they are punctuated by countless footnotes and bibliographic references, or broken by a frequent need to delve into appendices. Ian Burnet frees his work from these impediments. By seamlessly embedding his sources he has produced an almost conversational style. The result is an erudite narrative flow, … Continue reading Where Australia Collides with Asia – by Ian Burnet
Peoples’ Movement to Stop the Haze #GoHazeFree
As I approach my 70th birthday I find a need to consolidate my energy and spend time on those matters that present as the more serious and immediate. One of these matters is the health of our atmosphere and the allied issues of climate change and global warming caused by humanity's over dependence on fossil … Continue reading Peoples’ Movement to Stop the Haze #GoHazeFree
#Tigers and orang utan are important but what about the #Indigenous people?
Sound of an approaching motor bike broke a long reflection on the devastation caused by fires that have raged across Indonesia's peatlands in recent years producing suffocating smoke haze across the region. Joining an expedition to explore the causes of the smoke haze was sure to provoke such thoughts. Here on Tebing Tinggi Island, close … Continue reading #Tigers and orang utan are important but what about the #Indigenous people?
Russell Darnley Blog 