Bioclime - Biodiversity and Climate Change

Endangered Sumatran rhino gives birth in Indonesia

A Sumatran rhinoceros has given birth at an Indonesian sanctuary in a success for efforts to save the critically endangered species.

The International Rhino Foundation said the female calf was born on Thursday, weighs about 45 pounds ( 20 kilograms ) and looks healthy and active.

"We haven't stopped smiling since the moment we were sure she was alive and healthy," said IRF's executive director Susie Ellis in a statement. "While one birth does not save the species, it's one more Sumatran rhino on Earth."

source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/05/13/endangered-sumatran-rhino-gives-birth-in-indonesia-.html

Govt to Issue Peatlands Restoration Guidelines

Jakarta. The government has prepared guidelines to boost peatlands restoration programs after disastrous forest and land fires affected some provinces last year, an official said on Tuesday (10/05).

The newly-established Peatlands Restoration Agency, or BRG, has gone further by preparing the roadmap and guidelines for peatlands management and restoration programs which will be coordinated with authorities and stakeholders in affected areas.

Forest fires blamed for coral reef bleaching

An environmentalist has warned of the impact of forest fires on the sustainability of coral reefs.

Coral reef biotechnologist Indra Junaidi Zakaria of Padang’s Andalas University cited that forest fires in Sumatra had whitened coral reefs in waters around the island. Coral reef bleaching has been occurring since February and continues to worsen, affecting 90 percent of the coral reefs along the western coast of West Sumatra. The condition is predicted to continue until June, with western parts of Sumatra the worst hit to date.

Norway to Help Indonesia Developing Peatland-friendly Agriculture

TEMPO.CO, Pekanbaru-The Norwegian Ambassador to Indonesia Stig Traavik said that Norway is ready to help Indonesia to develop peatland-friendly agriculture. "We'll help Indonesia in mastering how to cultivate plants without drying the peatlands, and how to increase the value added of the plants. There are some plants that can grow without drying the peat, such as sago," Traavik said in Jakarta on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, adding that the country will also help to market the commodities produced through peatland-friendly agricultural practices.

DNA test proves bone-like material not rhinoceros horn

The West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency ( BKSDA ) said a DNA test had proven a bone-like material confiscated by Supadio Airport authorities during a recent passenger security check was not a rhinoceros horn.

The agency said an extraction process performed by the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology in Jakarta on a 125 cubic centimeter sample could not find any rhinoceros DNA in it. The test also failed to determine the type or species of the sample as it was contaminated with the DNA of other species, the agency added.