Ecology
news.mongabay.com
cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/3600404 > - The Indonesian government is embarking on yet another project to establish a massive area of farmland at the expense of forests and Indigenous lands, despite a long history of near-identical failures. > - The latest megaproject calls for clearing 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) in the district of Merauke in the eastern region of Papua for rice fields. > - Local Indigenous communities say they weren’t consulted about the project, and say the heavy military presence on the ground appears to be aimed at silencing their protests. > - Similar megaprojects, on Borneo and more recently also in Merauke, all failed, leaving behind destroyed landscapes, with the current project also looking “assured to fail,” according to an agricultural researcher. > > >JAKARTA — Indigenous Papuans say they’ve been caught off guard by helicopters flying over their villages and excavators tearing down their forests in their area, all while accompanied by the Indonesian military. > > >What they’re being subjected to is one of the largest deforestation projects in the world, which will see the development of 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of rice fields in Merauke, a district in Indonesia’s Papua region that borders Papua New Guinea. > > >The military is involved in the project because it’s led by the Ministry of Defense and has been designated a project of national strategic importance. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who will be sworn in as Indonesia’s next president on Oct. 20, has appointed the hugely controversial Jhonlin Group to help administer the project. > > >The military’s involvement, coupled with the lack of free, prior, informed consent (FPIC) from Indigenous communities living in the area, have fueled concerns that the project will create new conflicts in the region. > > >Indonesia has maintained a heavy military presence in the Papua region since annexing it in 1963, with security forces frequently accused of committing human rights violations under the justification of cracking down on a low-level independence movement. > > [Full article](https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/past-failures-cant-stop-indonesia-from-clearing-forests-indigenous-lands-for-farms/)
phys.org
These findings may also explain the "missing plastic problem" that has puzzled scientists, where about 70% of the plastic litter that has entered the oceans cannot be found. The team hypothesizes that coral may be acting as a "sink" for microplastics by absorbing it from the oceans. Their findings were published in the journal [Science of the Total Environment](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176210).
news.mongabay.com
cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/3466683 > by Basten Gokkon > > - Indonesia’s recently revised conservation law retains a heavy focus on terrestrial protection and largely ignores marine and fisheries issues, experts say. > - Despite improvements such as clearer authority for managing marine and coastal conservation areas, critics argue the law still falls short in addressing urgent marine conservation needs. > - The law strengthens penalties for illegal activities and outlines responsibilities for protecting fish species and marine life, but many fear the minimal inclusion of maritime conservation will worsen illegal fishing and environmental degradation. > - Indigenous groups have also slammed the new law, citing its failure to include Indigenous participation and protect their rights over customary lands and forests. > > >JAKARTA — Indonesia’s recently updated conservation law continues to prioritize terrestrial protection, raising concerns over much-needed improvements to the management of the country’s rich marine ecosystems and resources. > > >Parliament passed revisions to the 1990 conservation law this past July, seven years since it was submitted for legislation. The update introduces 24 provisions that modify or expand provisions in the 1990 version, while also repealing some provisions from the 2019 law on water resources. > > >And while the 2024 conservation law now adopts provisions on protection of coastal areas and small islands, it continues to focus for the most part on forestry and land-based conservation, said Arisetiarso Soemodinoto, an adviser at the NGO Fisheries Resource Center of Indonesia. > > >“Two-thirds of Indonesia’s territory is waters, the rest is land,” Arisetiarso told Mongabay. The few mentions in the law of marine, coastal areas, small islands and fisheries thus comes across as the bare minimum, he added. > > >Indonesia is home to some of the most diverse marine life on the planet, especially in its eastern region that falls within the Pacific Coral Triangle, an area renowned for its richness of corals and reef fish. The country’s maritime sector also holds untapped potential as a vast carbon sink. > > [Full article](https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/indonesia-conservation-law-marine-maritime-fisheries-sustainable-protection-fishers-indigenous/)
monthlyreview.org
cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2426198 > Read this article. > > It's great. > > And not too long.
www.newsweek.com
A critically endangered critter has been sighted on a farm in the middle of nowhere. The central rock rat is one of Australia's rarest animals, and experts feared it had gone totally extinct a few years ago.
www.france24.com
Paper : https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado4083
www.peoplesworld.org
cross-posted from: [https://lemmygrad.ml/post/4078219](https://lemmygrad.ml/post/4078219) > > > From the first part of the article: > > > --- > > > > > > > Shaman Davi Kopenawa says: “Salgueiro’s honoring the Yanomami is going down in the history of the people—of the forest and of the city.” > > > > > > > > In a conversation with the website Brasil de Fato (The Real Brazil), Davi Kopenawa, principal leader of Yanomami Land, celebrated his first experience of taking part in the parade of the Salgueiro Samba School in the 2024 Rio de Janeiro carnival last month. > > > > > > > > “For all those who want to know my thoughts [after the parade], I speak with love, I speak with love. I love the Land, I love my Amazonia, the coordinator of the Hutukara Yanomami Association declared. > > > > > > > > He spoke movingly of the happiness he felt passing through the Sapucaí parade grounds on top of a thematic float beside his “warriors.” Furthermore, the leader reiterated his demand that the illegal miners leave the territory. > > > > > > > > “[The parade] was very good, very good, very strong, healthy and joyous. This is history that we’re bringing to Rio de Janeiro. This is historical and it’s going to remain in our future Yanomami generations and in the future generations of the city people,” he said. > > > > > > > > On Sat., Feb. 17, Salgueiro returned to the Sapucaí for the Parade of Champions, beginning at 10 p.m. The samba school, which came in third this year, will follow first- and second-place winners Vila Isabel and Portela. > > > > > >
www.abc.net.au
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/7838159 > Even ScoMo would be proud. Escaped in a cloud of diarrhea
cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/3983568 > From Xi Jinping: > > >Second, we must accelerate the transition to a green and low-carbon development model > > > >Upholding green and low-carbon development as a fundamental approach to resolving environmental problems, we will work faster to promote eco-friendly ways of production and life, and lay a green foundation for high-quality development. > > ---- > > Check it out and let me know what you think of Xi Jinping's speech.
