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| credit: Rainforest Action Network |
The Indonesian island of Sumatra faces a ecological crisis created by the burgeoning palm oil industry. There is huge demand for the product as a common food additive. PepsiCo, for example, is a major user of palm oil. Producer PT Tualand Raya has cleared a total of 205 hectares of rain forest since the government banned new clearances in 2016. Its concession is located in the Leuser ecosystem which is considered prime remaining habitat for the Sumatran elephant,
Elephas maximus sumatranus, a species on the brink of extinction in the wild. Between 1980 and 2005, 69% of their habitat has been lost to development. In two provinces Riau and Lampung entire populations have been lost due to habitat destruction. Plantation expansion interferes with migration along routes that have been used for centuries by elephants. Herds rely on these paths to find water, food and each other. Destruction of their paths increases the likelihood of human conflict and resulting elephant mortality.
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| credit: N. Sujana |
The Trump government has proposed cutting US support of wildlife conservation programs abroad by 32%. This money represents vital support of programs such as anti-trafficking efforts and community conservation initiatives in Africa and elsewhere. US Fish & Wildlife Services International Species Program would go from a modest $9.15 million in funding, compared to the Pentagon's billions, to zero. This program funds conservation efforts to help elephants, great apes, migratory birds, tigers, rhinos and other iconic species under threat of extinction. Funding to protect new species under the US Endangered Species Act would be cut by 17%. The photo, left above, shows a sick elephant calf separated from his mother in an East Aceh palm oil plantation. Perhaps he is asking for man's help to survive in a world not of his making. He certainly needs it.
For He fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome... Wisdom 1:14
