INDONESIA ESTH HIGHLIGHTS: NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 000090 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, OES/ETC, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/PCI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV TPHY TBIO TRGY ENRG ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA ESTH HIGHLIGHTS: NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2007 IN THIS ISSUE -------------- -- Jakarta Students Win Competition with Eco-Film -- Governor of East Java Sued Over Polluted River -- Clashes Between Humans and Elephants Blamed on Declining Habitat -- High Tides Force Fish Farmers to Speed Up Harvests -- Urban Communities Gather for a "Zero-Waste" Art Festival -- Ground Kangaroos Released in Papua -- Giant Rat Discovered in Papua -- Surabaya Boy Wins Award at International Event for Inventors -- Bengkulu Holds an Earthquake and Tsunami Drill -- Weather Monitoring Instruments Installed in East Java -- Health Services Extended to the Poor -- HIV/AIDS Spreads in Jambi and East Java Provinces -- Majority of Wells in Yogyakarta Found to Contain E. Coli -- Sex Education Campaign Launched in East Jakarta ENVIRONMENT -------------- JAKARTA STUDENTS WIN COMPETITION WITH ECO-FILM -------------- --- ¶1. Three Jakarta junior high school students won a video news competition on November 22 with a five-minute documentary on a mangrove forest in Pulau Rambut, Kepulauan Seribu Regency. The short film focused on the forest as a wildlife habitat and protector against coastal erosion. The competition, part of the "Kids Witness News" contest and sponsored by PT Panasonic Gobel Indonesia, featured entries from 236 elementary and junior high schools around the country. GOVERNOR OF EAST JAVA SUED OVER POLLUTED RIVER -------------- -- ¶2. Members of the group Environmental Watch filed a lawsuit against the Governor of East Java on November 22 over the level of pollution in the Surabaya River. The Director of the Surabaya Legal Aid Foundation, the lawyers representing Environmental Watch, stated that an independent study found that the level of contaminants in the river far exceeded acceptable limits. He added that his organization had twice sent legal reprimands to the governor's office, but had never received a response. CLASHES BETWEEN HUMANS AND ELEPHANTS BLAMED ON DECLINING HABITAT -------------- --- ¶3. The Ministry of Forestry blamed ongoing conflicts between humans and elephants in Riau Province on the declining habitat of wild elephants and the lack of sufficient rangers patrolling Tesso Nio National Park. Elephants have reportedly ravaged at least 700 hectares of palm oil and 120 hectares of rubber plantations, resulting in the destruction of more than 40,000 oil palms and 35 homes. Riau Deputy Governor Wan Abu Bakar has established a team to begin drafting new ordinances to try to reduce the number of clashes. HIGH TIDES FORCE FISH FARMERS TO SPEED UP HARVESTS -------------- -------------- ¶4. High tides in the Indramayu Regency of West Java have forced farmers to harvest their fishponds earlier than expected to avoid losses. Nono Sudarsono, head of the Indramayu Fish Farmers Association, explained that since November 27, high tides had gradually flooded about 100 hectares of traditional fish farms. The environmental NGO Workers and Environment Foundation urged fish farmers to replant coastal areas with mangrove trees to act as barriers against the tidal surges. URBAN COMMUNITIES GATHER FOR A "ZERO-WASTE" ART FESTIVAL -------------- --- ¶5. Representatives of under-privileged communities from 15 urban centers gathered in Jakarta for a "zero-waste" art festival on JAKARTA 00000090 002 OF 003 December 9. The event, geared towards raising awareness of poverty issues, also featured participants exhibiting recycled products, and organizers encouraged visitors to compost their organic waste produced at the event. GROUND KANGAROOS RELEASED IN PAPUA -------------- ¶6. The Merauke regency administration released 21 ground kangaroos (Thylogale brunil) into Wasur National Park in Marauke, Papua on December 11. Officials are seeking to build up the population of the endangered species, which is under threat due primarily to unregulated hunting. The kangaroos are indigenous to Papua Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. GIANT RAT DISCOVERED IN PAPUA -------------- ¶7. On December 18, the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) and Conservation International announced the discovery of a new species of rat in the Foja Mountains of Eastern Papua during a June expedition. Scientists reported the Mallomys "giant" rat to be about five times the size of a typical city rat or tiny possum, weighing in at about 3 pounds. Conservation International has dubbed the region where the rat was found as a "Lost World" because of its isolation from humans. Previous expeditions have identified several new species of palms and butterflies in the area. The June expedition team also reported the discovery of a pygmy possum, one of the world's smallest marsupials. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY -------------- SURABAYA BOY WINS AWARD AT INTERNATIONAL EVENT FOR INVENTORS -------------- -------------- ¶8. Judges named Wira Dibya Ratno Pama of Surabaya's Al-Hikmah high school the favorite inventor at the 4th International Exhibition for Young Inventors on November 30. Wira won for his creation of a remote control device that enables users to turn electronic devices on and off from a distance using a home or cellular phone. The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and Yogyakarta provincial administration organized the event, which featured 78 inventions from more than 100 young inventors from around the region. BENGKULU HOLDS AN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DRILL -------------- --- ¶9. Bengkulu provincial authorities held an earthquake and tsunami emergency response drill on December 10 to help the public anticipate the impacts of these events. Thousands of drill participants, mostly women and children, fled their homes on instruction for higher ground after local authorities sounded an earthquake alarm. Governor Agusrin Maryono Najamuddin and Bengkulu City Mayor Ahmad Kanedi also participated in the drill. WEATHER MONITORING INSTRUMENTS INSTALLED -------------- ¶10. The government of East Java has installed new weather monitoring instruments in six locations (Tuban, Gresik, Lamongan, Malang, Jember, and Trenggalek). The instruments will provide data on weather and climate conditions, which can provide early warning for possible earthquakes, floods and tsunamis. East Java officials stated that the province, which has 38 regencies/cities, will need at least 14 weather monitoring instruments. The East Java government is also distributing information from BMG (Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics) about weather and climate conditions in order to increase people's awareness about possible natural disasters. HEALTH -------------- HEALTH SERVICES EXTENDED TO THE POOR -------------- ¶11. On November 29, the East Java government signed an MOU with regencies/cities in East Java on health services for the poor. The provincial and local governments signed the agreement in anticipation of limited budgets from the central government. Through the MOU, provincial and local governments will share budget JAKARTA 00000090 003 OF 003 responsibilities to provide health services for poor people. Currently, health services for the poor are the responsibility of the central and provincial governments. The East Java government hopes that this cooperation can be a stepping-stone to form "Jamsosda" (a local social guarantee). ¶12. Dr. Renny Lamadjido, the head of Anutapura Hospital in Palu, Central Sulawesi, announced that the Palu administration had allocated RP 700 million ($77,700) from its regional funds to provide free health treatment to the poor. According to Dr. Renny, the fund will provide oxygen and various kinds of medicine to patients confirmed as eligible by their respective sub-district offices. Administration records classify 31.39 percent of the 288,955 Palu residents as poor. HIV/AIDS SPREADS IN JAMBI AND EAST JAVA PROVINCES -------------- -------------- ¶13. Officials of the Orang Kito Consultation Information Center Foundation announced on December 11 that the number of people with HIV/AIDS in Jambi province has risen to 282, with 49 deaths. A member of the foundation, S.T. Parlaungan Siregar, stated that most of the cases were caused by drug use through the sharing of syringes. ¶14. East Java has the fourth highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia, after Papua, DKI Jakarta, and Riau, with the city of Surabaya as the center of transmission, according to a December 2007 report. As of December, 20,810 people were living with HIV/AIDS in East Java -- an increase from 18,783 people last year. East Java Province has established an AIDS Handling Committee and was the first province in Indonesia to issue a local regulation (Perda) on HIV/AIDS. The province allocates at least RP 1 billion per year for HIV/AIDS handling efforts. MAJORITY OF WELLS IN YOGYAKARTA FOUND TO CONTAIN E. COLI -------------- -- ¶15. Yogyakarta officials announced on December 12 that about 90 percent of wells in Yogyakarta that serve as residents' main source of drinking water are contaminated by the Escherichia coli bacteria. The Head of Waste Management for the Yogyakarta Environmental Agency stated that the high contamination levels are caused by traditional septic tanks that are mostly built near the wells. He added that the mayoral administration planned to establish communal septic tanks at residential sites to prevent the bacteria's spread. SEX EDUCATION CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED IN EAST JAKARTA -------------- --- ¶16. The National Family Planning Board (PKBI) launched an outreach campaign in December to provide young people in East Jakarta improved access to sexual and reproductive health services and information. The program, with support from the United Nations Population Fund, seeks to encourage open dialogue with youth on sexual and reproductive health-related issues by recruiting and training "peer educators". The program manager for the initiative estimated that it had reached around 2,000 teenagers in the market areas so far. HUME