苏门答腊的雨林希望倍增

苏门答腊的雨林希望倍增

日前印尼政府正式批准苏门答腊的哈拉潘森林（哈拉潘是印尼语“希望”之义）的面积扩充一倍。这片低地森林本来是伐木林，但在国际鸟盟及印尼、英国的加盟团体支持下，开了先例的成为印尼封“地”育林的例子。这片林子里面有很多苏门答腊低地雨林的濒危动物，包括虎、貘、豺狗等。森林的面积接近十万公顷，也就是差不多等于香港（连新界离岛）的总面积。

Restoration model set to transform Indonesia's forest sector

18-06-2010

Indonesia's forests, which have been severely diminished by logging and burning in recent decades, have received a boost as the Government of Indonesia doubled the size of the country's first forest for 'ecosystem restoration'.

Indonesian Forest Minister Zulkifli Hasan has announced that he will expand the 52,000 hectare concession held by Burung Indonesia (BirdLife Partner), the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and BirdLife International in central Sumatra to a total area of 98,000 hectares. The restoration area now equals two-thirds the size of greater London and is greater than the size of Singapore.

This welcome news comes as other applications for 'forest restoration' licences are flowing in to Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry – a sign that the BirdLife consortium's pioneering work has inspired others to follow. In 2009, the Ministry received as many applications for forest restoration licences as it did for logging concessions. Applications for forest restoration totalled a further two million hectares, and are now being assessed.

Harapan Rainforest is one of the last remaining areas of dry lowland Sumatran forest and is one of the most threatened rainforests in the world. It is home to a host of rare animal and plant species, including the Critically Endangered Sumatran Tiger Panthera tigris sumatrae, of which fewer than 300 remain in the wild. It supports an amazing 55 mammal species, including the globally threatened Asian Elephant Elephas maximus sumatranus and Malayan Tapir Tapirus indicus, as well as the world's rarest stork – Storm's Stork Ciconia stormi – and a rich diversity of other wildlife.

An initial licence of 52,000 hectares was granted to the environmental consortium in 2008, allowing them to protect, nurture and restore the forest in a former logging concession. Burung Indonesia, the RSPB and BirdLife International can boast considerable achievements from the project's first phase:

[list]

[*]More than 170 'green jobs' have been created in forest conservation, almost all for the local community, and several for the indigenous Batin Sembilan community.

[*]A massive programme of planting more than five million trees has begun in the most degraded areas of the forest, to link up the fragments of rich forest into continguous wildlife habitat.

[*]Illegal logging has been significantly decreased and forest fires, which once released significant carbon dioxide emissions, have been all but stamped out. Not only is the forest an important carbon store, but the tree planting programme in Harapan Rainforest is capturing more carbon from the atmosphere.

[*]Asiatic Wild Dog or Dhole Cuon alpinus about which little is currently known, has been photographed by camera trap in the forest. We have also captured images of Malayan Tapir, Great Argus Argusianus argus, and Sumatran Tiger, each identifiable by their unique stripes. Harapan Rainforest is a habitat of global importance for the Sumatran Tiger.

[*]As part of extensive biodiversity surveys, the ‘tawny costa’ butterfly Acraea violae has been recorded for the first time on the island of Sumatra.

[*]Botanic experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the UK have identified a plant growing in the forest, Emblemantha urnulata B.C. Stone that is unique to the area and had only been recorded twice before.

[*]Village natural resource management agreements have been negotiated between the project and neighbouring communities, allowing for sustainable use of forest resources to support family livelihoods and the local economy.

[/list]

"Harapan Rainforest breaks new ground in Indonesia as the first forest for ecosystem restoration and we hope it will act as a model for other similar initiatives around the country" —Marco Lambertini, BirdLife International

"The Ministry of Forestry had the foresight to create a new form of forest management in 2004 with the 'ecosystem restoration' licence. We're delighted that ecosystem restoration is now an integral part of forest management strategies in Indonesia. As a result, Burung Indonesia is already planning to expand our portfolio of ecosystem restoration concessions", said Agus B. Utomo, the Executive Director of Burung Indonesia.

'Sixty million hectares of Indonesia's forest land is categorised as production forest, but much of this forest, like Harapan Rainforest, has significant density of trees and an amazing richness of biodiversity. It makes sense for our economy and our natural environment to turn areas of great potential like Harapan Rainforest into thriving centres of forest restoration. When such forests are burned or converted to agriculture, it’s an invaluable loss to our heritage and the natural resource base that sustains us all.'

Dr Marco Lambertini, Chief Executive of BirdLife International, said: "Harapan Rainforest breaks new ground in Indonesia as the first forest for ecosystem restoration and as such, we hope it will act as a model for other, similar initiatives around the country as well as in other countries across the tropics."

Since work began in Harapan Rainforest in early 2007, at least four other applications for 'ecosystem restoration' licences have been submitted to the Government of Indonesia, these are at various stages of approval.

The extension of Harapan Rainforest is important to the area's ecology. Dr Dieter Hoffmann, the RSPB's Head of Global Programme, said: "By extending the area under conservation management, we significantly increase the populations of threatened species we are able to protect, such as Sumatran Tigers, Asian Elephants, Agile Gibbons, and the nine hornbill species we have on site. Larger areas are able to hold larger populations and these tend to be much more sustainable. We also anticipate being able to protect a far greater diversity of plant and animal life."

The Harapan Rainforest initiative is funded by a range of agencies including the German Government's Ministry of Environment international climate initiative, through KfW Entwicklungsbank, the Global Conservation Fund of Conservation International, the European Union, BirdLife Partners organisations in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Singapore and the Netherlands, various other foundations and agencies and thousands of individual donors.

BirdLife International has created the Forests of Hope programme to bring together and build on its successful forest conservation and management programmes throughout the tropics. BirdLife is working in tropical countries around the world, to identify and pilot innovative management, financing and governance systems for forest and biodiversity conservation and restoration, generating local and national economic benefits for sustainable development, and combating climate change.

The aim of the programme is the prevention of deforestation and the restoration of natural forest at up to 20 sites covering at least five million hectares of tropical forest by 2015. The programme will also promote replication of the conservation, governance and financing models being developed, so that forest can be conserved and restored over very much larger areas.

The Forests of Hope programme links forest conservation on the ground to its policy and advocacy work at national and international levels, making impacts in three crucial areas.

[list]

[*]Conserving biodiversity

[*]Combating climate change

[*]Maintaining ecosystem services and sustainable livelihoods for local people

[/list]

Simba 2010-6-19 00:27

希望之林工程的连接

http://www.birdlife.org/forests/index.html[/url]

Simba 2010-6-22 02:40

说回来，这就是我在2008年度过一个夏天的森林。不能忘记的经历，也随时准备再回去。

張嘉穎 2010-6-25 17:37

一个很重要的项目...能够有机会在这森林待一段日子, 实在是难得的经历, 一切难忘!

Simba 2010-6-26 03:18

[quote]原帖由 張嘉穎[/i] 于 2010-6-25 17:37 发表 [url=http://www.chinabirdnet.org/BBS/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=9974&ptid=1755]

你在那边跟老虎同眠？:8c460310 [/quote]

老虎并不可怕。有更可怕的东西的。

Simba 2010-7-16 12:04

睡眠？也是跟睡眠有关的一首英诗

Ample make this Bed

Make this Bed with Awe

In it wait till Judgment break

Excellent and Fair.

Be its Mattress straight

Be its Pillow round

Let no Sunrise' yellow noise

Interrupt this Ground

Simba 2010-8-21 03:37

最新消息

摩纳哥的亲王和新加坡航空公司也宣布支持这一项工程

Tropical rainforests get major boost from Royal and Corporate support

20-08-2010

BirdLife’s efforts to save threatened rainforests around the globe have received a major boost following the support of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and Singapore Airlines at events held in Singapore today.

Royal support

Speaking to delegates from governments, the private sector and conservation organisations at an evening event hosted by the Nature Society (Singapore) (local BirdLife Partner), HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco stressed that: “… the work of BirdLife allows whole areas to be protected and preserved – unique areas of the globe whose importance is key both for our survival and for our knowledge of the world”.

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco used the event to underline the importance of tropical forests, and announced his support to BirdLife's Forests of Hope programme. “The conservation and restoration ‘Forests of Hope’ projects co-ordinated by BirdLife and its Partners in tropical forests around the world … are now better known, and above all, let us hope, on the way to being saved”.

“I am particularly pleased that my Foundation - whose commitment to biodiversity and protection of the planet - is a faithful partner of BirdLife International, and has signed a framework partnership allowing our efforts to be united and our approaches to be shared on several projects throughout the world.”

The BirdLife Global Partnership has been deeply engaged in forest conservation across the tropics for years, and is achieving significant successes on the ground. BirdLife’s ‘Forests of Hope’ programme is building on this wealth of experience, and expanding this work across the globe.

It uses an innovative approach towards large-scale forest restoration and conservation which addresses biodiversity conservation, eco-services preservation, social development and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Delegates at the event heard how Burung Indonesia (BirdLife Partner) and the RSPB (BirdLife Partner in the UK) and BirdLife International are conserving and restoring around 20% of Sumatra’s remaining lowland forest through the Harapan Rainforest Initiative.

Harapan Rainforest – the Indonesian word for ‘hope’ - is located on the island of Sumatra, the largest island in Indonesia. The dry lowland forest is home to over 290 species of birds, along with other charismatic and Globally Threatened animals like Asian wild dog, Malayan Tapir, Asian Elephant and a significant proportion of the world’s Sumatran Tiger.

The Harapan concession has been recently licensed to the BirdLife consortium by the Indonesian Government under a completely new regulation that allows forests to be set-aside and managed for their long-term conservation and restoration. Harapan is the world’s first forest restoration concession of this type, and the license has been granted for nearly 100 years. Real hope.

The BirdLife consortium have employed over 200 staff - mainly from local communities - to ensure that the 100,000 hectares of forest are safe from fires and illegal logging. “We are working hard to ensure the indigenous communities who still live sustainably in the forest feel the benefits of the project, with many social development and employment opportunities being made available”, said Dr Marco Lambertini - Chief Executive of BirdLife International.

“Just three years into the project the results are already impressive, with a sharp decline in forest fires, illegal logging and poaching”, added Dr Lambertini.

Singapore Airlines contributes to 'Harapan Fund'

Recognising the effectiveness of BirdLife’s approach to tropical forest conservation and restoration, earlier today Singapore Airlines announced a US$3 million contribution to establish a 'Harapan Fund' managed by BirdLife.

"Forests are among the world’s chief carbon stores, and the arrestment of deforestation is a key step towards combating climate change,” said Mr Bey Soo Khiang - Singapore Airline’s Senior Executive Vice-President Marketing and Corporate Services. “The money contributed will be used to finance ongoing core operations such as the employment of forest patrols to prevent illegal logging and forest fires as well as plant and species protection programmes”.

"Singapore Airlines is pleased and excited to be a part of this initiative which has tangible environmental benefits not just for Indonesia, but the international community as well," he added.

"We are delighted that Singapore Airlines has decided to help us conserve tropical forests like Harapan”, said Dr Lambertini. “This will help to preserve their invaluable biodiversity and crucial eco-services, and combat greenhouse emissions from deforestation and forest fires. Singapore Airlines has shown real long-sighted vision and corporate environmental responsibility at a time when tropical forests need more help than ever".

Conserving forests across the tropics

Finally, delegates from the business world heard how BirdLife intends to grow a new global ‘Forest and Climate Fund’ to conserve a portfolio of sites identified from across the tropics. These sites include Cambodia’s Western Siem Pang Important Bird Area (IBA) - one of the last areas of the dry and semi-evergreen forests of mainland South-East Asia.

“This site is of global conservation importance and supports populations of five Critically Endangered bird species making it globally unique”, said His Excellency Chea Sam Ang - deputy chief of Cambodia’s Forestry Administration - at the evening event.

In Cambodia, the Forestry Administration and BirdLife International have a long-established collaborative programme to conserve IBAs in The Kingdom. “The Forestry Administration looks forward to further strengthening our collaboration with BirdLife and to working together to secure the conservation of Western Siem Pang”, announced His Excellency Chea Sam Ang.

Wider corporate support needed

To conserve sites like Harapan and Western Siem Pang, BirdLife needs others to join Singapore Airlines and invest in tropical forest conservation action around the globe.

“The combination of biodiversity conservation, haze prevention and tangible contribution to combat global warming, creates a strong ethical and business case for companies to invest in tropical forest conservation”, said Dr Geh Min from the Nature Society (Singapore). A global market of carbon credits from natural forests was discussed by the world’s governments in 2008 under the UN Convention on Climate Change, but is likely to take a decade to come into action.

“We can’t wait this long”, said Dr Geh. “Millions of hectares of tropical forests across the tropics are being lost - now is the time to invest in their restoration.

This is a wonderful chance for Singapore to do her part to save the Earth, benefit ourselves and our neighbours - a shared dream come true”.

Simba 2010-8-21 03:46

鸟盟的新闻用来用去都是那几张照片，我贴两张2008年夏天我在那边拍的吧。

Simba 2010-9-8 06:20

再顶一下，很有意义的一个项目啊。