Environment Watch: Conservation program nurtures love of animal

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | Fri, 10/01/2010 8:27 AM

Tens of young students from TK ABA kindergarten in Bantul, Yogyakarta, helped release infant turtles into the sea on Goa Cemara beach on Wednesday.

Before the turtles were released, the children were taken to a turtle hatchery set up by residents, who live nearby in Sanden village.

At the hatchery, the children were introduced to the species by Wahadi, chief of the Goa Cemara Beach Tourism Awareness Group.

Wahadi explained in detail about the animal’s life cycle, beginning with when they were eggs, and discussed their role in the ecosystem.

“We hatched the turtles from the eggs found along the beach by residents. We then put them in the hatchery,” he said.

The eggs placed by the residents in the hatchery were then left for 45 days to hatch.

Once hatched, the young turtles, locally known as tukik, were immediately released into the sea. The infants too weak to be released were held by the residents, who will nurture them for about a month before releasing them. The residents finance the program privately.

Wahadi said the hatchery was currently home to 100 turtle eggs, 19 of which had hatched.

“The 19 young turtles were released today. This program is important to make people love animals from an early age,” he said.

He said the turtle conservation program had been started spontaneously when residents launched an environmental program aimed at protecting the beach’s ecosystem in 1994.

The residents, he said, had planted 10 hectares of pine groves behind the beach, prompting residents to rename it Goa Cemara (fir cave) beach.

“In the beginning, the trees were planted to ensure strong winds did not affect coastal plants along the area and as barrier against strong waves,” Wahadi said. “Now, many residents are spending their time relaxing on the beach.”

Dumai customs seize Malaysian ship carrying illegal goods

Antara News, Thursday, September 30, 2010 15:48 WIB

Dumai, Riau province (ANTARA News) - Dumai customs officers have seized a Malaysian ship, KM Rfaida Indah carrying hundreds of sacks of used tires and clothing, an officer said here on Thursday.

The ship was caught on Wednesday (Sept 29) afternoon in the Sungai Kemeli area, Dumai.

"After being checked, the ship proved to contain second-hand tires and clothing products from Malaysia," said the officer adding that the ship was impounded after the captain failed to show official documents related to the products he carried in the ship.

"We took the ship to Pokala harbor for further further legal processing," he said.

Shrimp farmers protest long-stalled refit program

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandar lampung | Thu, 09/30/2010 9:37 AM

Hundreds of shrimp farmers staged a protest outside Lampung provincial administration Wednesday demanding an explanation for farm revitalization development that has not been completed on schedule.

The farmers, who are affiliated with the Windu Shrimp Plasma Farmers Association (PPPUW) of PT Aruna Wijaya Sakti (PT AWS), the company carrying out the project, disclosed that the joint venture agreement cited the revitalization project would be completed in 12 months ending May 2009.

However, the company requested the project be postponed until September 2009, but was still unable to meet the deadline.

PPPUW deputy leader Thowilun said the project had not shown progress since it was taken over by the company in July 2007.

He said the lack of progress has meant many shrimp farmers have not been able to earn a living since the ponds were not in operation while their debts had built up.

He said the farmers had initially welcomed the company that won the tender to carry out the project.

The company had then promised to revitalize the ponds owned by plasma farmers, including its supporting facilities. The move aimed at improving the welfare of farmers, employees and residents.

“However, PT AWS has never fulfilled its promises. Consequently, the shrimp farmers have become miserable,” Thowilun said.

“Now, each of us owe the company between Rp 80 million [US$9,000] and Rp 100 million. The debts will increase if the revitalization project is stalled and farmers cannot work.”

He said that during the management transfer to PT Central Proteinaprima (CP Prima), PT AWS’s parent company, thousands of plasma farmers had hoped for change.

“CP Prima had initially promised to revitalize 16 blocks of shrimp ponds in eight villages but failed

to deliver as only five blocks were completed.”

Thowilun said that farmers had expected an explanation from the company regarding on the revitalization program’s progress.

“When Maritime Affairs and Fishery Minister Fadel Muhammad visited Lampung three months ago, he even emphasized that PT AWS [and CP Prima] should stop operating there if they fail to complete the project,” he said.

During a hearing with a number of Lampung legislators and officials from the provincial administration, the farmers urged the legislature and governor to demand that PT AWS immediately complete the project.

“If necessary, the administration should take over PT AWS and replace it with other companies that have good intentions to improve people’s lives,” said legislator Syukri.

“We demand every debt burdened on farmers due to the delay be fully covered by PY AWS, as the core company,” he added.

Responding to the protest, CP Prima spokesman George Basuki denied the revitalization program had stalled. “So far, the program is still running on schedule,” he said.

Basuki also denied the delayed distribution of shrimp fry. He said the delay only took place in January due to the rainy season.

In response to the revitalization program, Basuki said the company management remained committed to complete it on schedule.

Micro-algae photo-bioreactor absorbs 90% carbon dioxide

Antara News, Thursday, September 30, 2010 12:07 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Micro-algae (phytoplankton) photo-bio-reactor designed by Technology Application and Assessment Agency (BPPT) can absorb 90 percent of carbon dioxide (CO2) from factory chimneys, researcher Nugroho Raharjo said in an exhibition of technology held by the agency here.

"The research showed, for instance, that of 100 ppm (part per million) of carbon producing, 90 ppm are received by micro-algae," the BPPT researcher said.

The photo-bioreactor, he said, is used to react to organism by using solar power. The organism applied in the study is Chlorella sp which employs CO2 to release oxygen (O2) in its photosynthesis.

BPPT has examined two kinds of photo-bio-reactors for two years, namely single tubular airlift photo-bio-reactor (STAP) in 2008, and multi-tubular airlift photo-bio-reactor (MTAP) in 2009 and 2010.

MTAP is able to absorb 1 gram of CO2 per liter of micro-algae culture medium per day, so that 105 liters of one unit of MTAP with seven cells (tubules) can absorb 105 gram of CO2 per day.

The micro-algae culture advantages in photo-bio-reactor process are remained sterile, production controlled, flexible for industry and land-saving.

"Industrial emission is injected to the photo-bioreactor which is placed in a factory`s emission disposal. It will take the carbon in, so that the CO2 in the atmosphere will be reduced," he added.

He also said that the emissions from chimneys will be aspirated by the compressor, then put in a container and distributed to photo-bio-reactor acrylic tubes for processing. The pipes can be expanded for big factories producing more emissions.

Micro-algae culture in photo-bioreactor, besides reducing emissions, also produced oxygen and micro-algae bio-mass.

"If the micro-algae can no longer absorb CO2, they will be seeded to produce new micro-algae, which will take CO2 more actively. The micro-algae seeding can be done twice each day," he said.

Nugroho said the usage of micro-algae to clean CO2 is cheaper than conventional use of carbon cleaning, since it will need Rp50 million to create a photo-bioreactor prototype.

This photo-bioreactor has been used for the emission disposal of Indolacto dairy in Ciracas. ABC battery factory will also apply the photo-bioreactor, according to him.

Nugroho said BPPT will conduct other micro-algae research work to absorb methane produced by rubbish , which is 21 times more dangerous than CO2.

Australian wildlife officers on trail of 'whale rider'

BBC News, 27 September 2010 Last updated at 14:58 GMT

Australian officials are investigating reports of a teenage boy riding on the back of a whale.

The southern right whale migrates along
Australia's coasts

A witness has told authorities that he saw the youngster climb on to a southern right whale near the town of Albany in Western Australia on Friday.

Harassing wildlife is an offence which carries a maximum penalty of A$10,000 (US$9,600).

Conservation authorities say such a stunt would be "foolhardy and reckless".

Mike Shephard from the local Department of Environment and Conservation said: "If you are in the way of a tail slap or when it breaches you are unlikely to survive."

Southern right whales can reach 18m in length and weigh up to 80 tonnes.

In a statement, Mr Shephard said these whales came close to shore to rest and to allow calves to gain strength in calm waters.

"Disturbance or physical contact with them, either deliberate or accidental, not only distresses the whales but also could result in a tragic outcome for a foolhardy person," he said.

Under Western Australian laws, boats must stay at least 100m away from whales while swimmers and surfers must be at a minimum distance of 30m.

The BBC's Phil Mercer says the legislation is meant to keep people away from migrating pods along Australia's east and west coasts.

On Monday, wildlife officers were seen patrolling Albany's beaches to remind people to keep their distance from the whales.

Stately Portuguese Visitor Sails Calmly Into Jakarta

Jakarta Globe, Ismira Lutfia  | September 27, 2010   

Jakarta. The Portuguese training ship Sagres sailed into Jakarta with great fanfare from the Indonesian Navy on Saturday to begin its its five-day stopover here.

The Portuguese Navy’s training ship Sagres in Jakarta’s
 Tanjung Priok port. The ship will be open to the public
 through Thursday on its first visit to Indonesia as part of
 its global goodwill cruise. (JG Photo/Ismira Lutfia)    

Arriving at the Tanjung Priok port after a week-long voyage from Dili, East Timor, Sagres will be open to the public until Thursday before it continues on its journey to Bangkok as part of its 11-month circumnavigation as “a floating embassy of Portugal,” said the ship’s captain, Comr. Luis Proenca Mendes.

“We will continue sailing to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Egypt before reaching Lisbon by December,” said Second Lt. Flavio Eusobio, an officer on the ship.

This is the ship’s first journey to East Timor and Indonesia, Mendes said. The detour from its normal route from China to Singapore added six weeks to the ship’s itinerary.

“The ship’s main purpose is to train cadets from the Portuguese naval academy, who undergo three months’ training on board the ship at the end of their second year,” the captain said as he took journalists on a tour around the vessel, whose 23 white sails bear red crosses.

Sagres left its home port of Lisbon in January. 

The last batch of cadets who trained on the Sagres joined the ship in California, bound for Shanghai, where the ship docked to participate at the Shanghai World Expo.

The 12 cadets worked daily on the ship’s bridge to familiarize them with the working life on board a ship. They also learn navigation, maneuvering and leadership skills as well as how to deal with unpredictable weather.

And for the younger generation, used to being constantly connected with the rest of the world through their gadgets, Mendes said the cadets’ time on the bridge gives them the unique experience of being offline and away from the phone.

“From time to time we also invite foreign cadets to join our training on Sagres,” said Mendes, who was made captain of Sagres in 2007.

Eusobio said Sagres was built in Germany in 1937 along with two other ships of similar type. Its original name was Albert Leo Schalgeter, and it belonged to the German Navy from 1937 to 1945.

It was captured by the American forces in World Ward II and was handed over to Brazil in 1948.

It was named Guanabara under the Brazilian flag before the Portuguese bought it in 1962, when it was commissioned into the Portuguese Navy with the name Sagres.

The ship’s other missions in its 2010 circumnavigation are to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Peace, Friendship and Commerce Treaty between Portugal and Japan in Tokyo and the 500th anniversary of the Portuguese arrival in the Far East.

East Timor was a colony of Portugal in the 16th century until it declared independence in November 1975 but was invaded by Indonesian troops just days later. 

“This is a navy ship but it carries a message of friendship,” Mendes said.

Indonesian`s seafarers support petition to end piracy

Antara News, Sunday, September 26, 2010 13:23 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian seafarers have supported a recent petition to combat piracy launched by several international organizations.

"Every country has been urged to care for and be proactive in the fight against piracy frequently taking ship crew members hostage," Hanafi Rustandi, the president of the Indonesian Seafarers` Association (KPI), said in a press statement received by ANTARA News on Sunday.

The End Piracy Now petition, presented on UN-designated World Maritime Day, September 23, was drawn up by a coalition of 14 seafarers` unions, trade organizations, insurance companies and other relevant bodies, with support from shipowners, trade unions and welfare organizations.

The International Transport Workers` Federation (ITF) has collected around 920 signatories from 185 countries to support the petition calling for action to end Somali piracy.

"Originally intended to achieve half a million signatures, it has far exceeded that figure and definitively proves that immediate action is needed," a statement of ITF said.

KPI and other world seafarers hoped that the petition could stop piracy, a maritime crime which has often made seafarers suffer, according to Hanafi.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has declared the 2010 as the Year of Seafarer. There are about 1.5 million seafarers in the world.

"Starting next year, all seafarers throughout the world will celebrate the Seafarer Year annually," he said.

KPI members and seafarers whose ships are docking at Tanjung Prior harbor, celebrated the International Maritime Day modestly last Friday.

The petition was launched in June this year "as the centerpiece of a campaign to persuade all governments to commit the resources necessary to end the increasing problem of Somalia-based piracy.

Piracy has become a serious problem for tankers carrying oil, petrochemicals and dry bulk commodities around the Gulf of Aden, the east coast of Africa as well as around southeast Asia.

The London-based ITF is a global union federation with membership comprising 759 unions representing over 4,600,000 transport workers in 155 countries.

North Jakarta plants 5,000 mangrove trees

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 09/25/2010 11:38 AM

JAKARTA: The North Jakarta administration rallied around 1,750 residents to plant around 5,000 mangrove trees in the Pantai Indah Kapuk area on Friday to prevent coastal erosion.

“Mangrove trees will protect against waves that erode the coastline,” Jakarta Deputy Governor Prijanto said Friday during the tree planting event, as reported by beritajakarta.com.

“It’s hard to do this without support from residents along North Jakarta’s 35-kilometer coastline,” he said.

Prijanto urged residents from other areas on the North Jakarta coastline, such as Ancol, Pluit, Cilincing and Marunda, to follow suit.

“We also urge the residents to take care of these trees,” he said.

North Jakarta Mayor Bambang Sugiyono praised the public efforts to plant the trees. “Two days ago, my office planted 4,000 mangrove trees in Angke Kapuk natural tourism park,” he said. — JP

Coastal areas may disappear in coming decades

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 09/25/2010 11:24 AM

Four districts on the north coast of Jakarta could be submerged within a century if the city administration does not address environmental issues in its spatial planning policies, an expert said.

“Research shows that the sea level on Jakarta’s coast has increased at a rate of 57 millimeters per year because of the effects of global warming on the polar ice caps,” Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) oceanology department chief Safwan Hadi said Friday.

The districts of Pademangan, Penjaringan, Tanjung Priok and Cilincing in North Jakarta would be flooded by a half-meter of sea water by 2100, Safwan said.

“However, the city will probably lose those areas sooner as we also find that soil in the area is subsiding by between 5 and 12 centimeters each year,” he added.

The Indonesian Water Society previously stated that Jakarta was slowly sinking, warning that North Jakarta will be completely submerged within 50 years when the sea would reach Jl. Hayam Wuruk in Central Jakarta, around 5 kilometers inland.

Safwan criticized the Jakarta administration’s decision to continue development plans in North Jakarta despite expert suggestions to put the plans on hold pending a reassessment to better cope with deteriorating environmental conditions.

If the administration wanted to continue its development plans in North Jakarta, he urged officials to start making plans to prevent the city from sinking, Safwan said.

“The administration can build strong dikes following the Dutch example, where their country’s landscape and features are similar to Jakarta,” he said, adding that about 40 percent of the area in Jakarta was below sea level. (rch)

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The whale graveyard: Around 80 are stranded in mass beaching

Daily Mail, By DAILY MAIL REPORTER, 23rd September 2010

Nearly 60 pilot whales - including a calf - died when a pod of 80 became stranded on a remote beach in northern New Zealand, despite a desperate rescue attempt to save them.

Only 24 animals survived a stormy first night ashore following the second mass beaching this month, officials said.

Yesterday rescuers struggled to move survivors above the tide-line. They spent the night at Spirits Bay trying to keep the whales cool and damp as large waves and strong winds lashed the beach.

Beached: Dozens of pilot whales died after they were stranded
on a remote beach in northern New Zealand

Stranded: Only 24 creatures survived a stormy first night ashore
after the second mass beaching this month, officials said

'As of this morning, there have been 24 live animals moved out of the tide up onto the beach out of harms' way,' Department of Conservation spokeswoman Caroline Smith said.

'The weather is terrible up there. We have 20 knot winds and 1.5 to 2m (5ft - 7ft) swells, so it is not possible to refloat them at Spirits Bay.'

Officials planned to use big nets to lift the creatures - spread out over a three-mile stretch - onto the back of trucks and move them to more sheltered Rarawa Beach, about an hour south, where they will be refloated.

Teacher Te Aroha Wihapi took a group of students to help cover the whales with wet sheets.

'It was quite traumatic for some of the younger ones, she said. 'Two of them wanted to hug one of the whales because they saw its eye was weeping.'

Rescue efforts: crews attempt to save the pilot whales stranded on an
isolated beach at the top of New Zealand's North Island

Team effort: Volunteer Kate Malcolm from Tutukaka, New Zealand,
comforts a whale after it was moved to a nearby stream to rest

Department of Conservation area manager Jonathan Maxwell said at least 25 of the animals were already dead when officials first arrived at Spirits Bay.

Another 15 had died by nightfall and 50 more were spotted just offshore, some of which later beached.

Some of the weakest and most stressed animals had to be put down.

'Pilot whales have very strong social bonds and they try to help each other, so more keep getting stuck,' said Mark Simpson, of marine mammal protection charity Project Jonah.

In mid-August, 58 pilot whales became stranded at nearby Karikari Beach.

Survivors: Whales are transported from the beach to a nearby
stream as rescuers decide how to refloat them

Race against time: Yesterday rescuers struggled to move survivors
above the tide-line. They spent the night at Spirits Bay trying to
keep the 80 creatures cool and damp

Despite hundreds of helpers fighting to save them, only nine were eventually floated off the beach and returned to sea.

A pod of 101 pilot whales were beached in the same place in 2007.

New Zealand has one of the world's highest rates of whale strandings, mainly during their migrations to and from Antarctic waters - one of these begins in September.

Since 1840, the Department of Conservation has recorded more than 5,000 strandings of whales and dolphins around the New Zealand coast.

Scientists have not been able to determine why whales become stranded.

Buleleng welcomes Sail Indonesia yachts

Alit Kartarahardja, The Jakarta Post, Lovina, Buleleng | Wed, 09/22/2010 10:39 AM

More than a hundred yachts from 19 countries are expected to arrive in Buleleng regency on Sept. 22 as one of many port calls for Sail Indonesia 2010.

Buleleng cultural office head Putu Tastra Wijaya told reporters that he had received confirmation from the organizing committee that all 106 yachts participating in the international maritime event would spend four days of their three-month journey, from Sept. 22 to 25, at Lovina Beach.

The annual event was organized by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the Culture and Tourism Ministry, provincial governments and the Cinta Bahari Foundation to promote Indonesia as a maritime country and to showcase the country’s cultural and marine wealth.

Sail Indonesia participants departed from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, on July 24. The yachts stopped to participate at a series of events and cultural festivals at ports throughout Indonesia, including Timor, Banda, Ambon, Buton, Lembata, Wakatobi, Flores, Sulawesi, Bali, Java, Kalimantan and Belitung. The flotilla will continue from Bali to the voyage’s last stop in Batam, Riau Islands; which is just south of Singapore.

Event organizers added port calls at Rote Ndao in East Sumba, and at Saba and Bau Bau. The sailors are expected to visit 22 provinces and regencies during the voyage.

Wijaya said that Buleleng administration has already prepared to cultural and tourist activities to welcome more than 400 Sail Indonesian 2010 participants.

“This is a valuable promotional activity for Buleleng regency. We will take them to visit several tourist sites in North Bali,” he said.

He added that the arrival of Sail Indonesia 2010 vessels would also benefit the regency’s economy as they would stay at local hotels and spend money on food.

If each participant spends US$50 per day, Buleleng would reap Rp 5 billion ($560,000) during the four-day visit, he said.

Unusual behaviour a pre-earthquake phenomena?

TVNZ, Thursday September 16, 2010

It sounds like the stuff of myth and legend, but there are plenty of scientific studies and research about strange phenomena that occur before an earthquake.

Source: Reuters

In Asian countries where earthquakes occur frequently, folklore of legends about earthquake precursor phenomena are abundant.

The old Japanese legend of the earthquake cat fish is one of them. It tells of a large cat fish living underground that causes earthquakes whenever it moves.

Studies recall cat fish violently jumping and twisting out of the water before an earthquake strikes.

Dr Neil Whitehead, one of the world's leading scientists on pre-earthquake phenomena told TV ONE's Close Up that cat fish are very sensitive to very low frequency electromagnetic waves, and that this may create unusual behaviour.

Catfish, locally called `lele`

"Normally cat fish lurk by a bank," he said, but if there were earthquakes, "they go berserk".

He also said changes in weather, water levels, strange animal behaviour and strange electrical movements, such as clocks ticking backwards, have been recorded before an earthquake.

"It could be explained by physical principals."

Whitehead is calling for Canterbury residents to submit their own stories of strange pre-earthquake phenomena on his website.

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Hundreds of sacks of ammonium nitrate seized

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar | Thu, 09/16/2010 10:01 AM

The South Sulawesi Police have seized 489 sacks of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in explosives and fertilizers, that were brought into the country from Malaysia and the Philippines on ships, a senior police figure says.

The sacks, each containing 25 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, were seized near Taka Bonerate National Park in Selayar Islands regency last week and were transported to Makassar on Tuesday.

It is thought the chemicals were to be used to make explosives for fishing.

The sacks had been transported from Malaysia and the Philippines to Indonesia on two ships from the Selayar Islands, the police’s marine unit director Sr. Comr. Agus Sutikno said.

He said the police were holding the captains of the ships as suspects. They were identified as Hasanuddin, captain of KLM Dewi Anjani, and Sukri, captain of KLM Fajar Islam.

KLM Dewi Anjani was reported to have been carrying 2,000 sacks from Malaysia but the police seized 257 sacks. Some 232 sacks were confiscated from a reported total of 1,800 sacks brought from the Philippines on the ship KLM Fajar Islam.

“They had been selling the sacks to locals on their way to Bonerate Island,” Agus said.

The captains of the two ships tried to evade arrest by entrusting their dossiers to local people, Agus said.

However, the police, assisted by the commander of the local military district command, persuaded the crew of the ship to hand over the ammonium nitrate.

The suspects confessed that the explosives had been purchased from Kuantan, Malaysia, and the Philippines at a price of Rp 250,000 per sack. They had sold them to locals around the Selayar Islands for between Rp 600,000 and Rp 1.5 million per sack.

Ammonium nitrate is used as a fertilizer, especially for oil palm trees, and is readily available and legally traded in Malaysia and the Philippines, Agus said.

However, the chemical is banned in Indonesia to prevent it from being used to make explosives.

A kilogram of ammonium nitrate can produce up to four explosive devices suitable for fishing, Agus said.

The 3,311 sacks that the fishermen had already sold could produce 3 millions bombs, he continued.

“You can imagine how enormous an impacts the bombs could have on the environment,” Agus said.

The police are also concerned that ammonium nitrate might fall into the hands of terrorists, Agus said

2,000-Year Old Greek Shipwreck Reveals Medical Secrets of the Ancient World

The Daily Galaxy, September 12, 2010

Twenty years ago, Archaeologists discovered a ship created In 130 BC from wood of walnut trees and bulging with a cargo hold of medicial pills and Syrian glassware, that sank off the coast of Tuscany Italy.

For the first time archaeobotanists have been able to examine and analyse the pills that were prepared by the physicians of ancient Greece. DNA analyses show that each millennia old tablet is a mixture of more than ten different plant extracts; from hibiscus to celery. Most of the medicines are still completely dry according to Robert Fleischer of the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.

“For the first time, we have physical evidence of what we have in writing from the ancient Greek physicians Dioscorides and Galen,” stated Alain Touwaide of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Fleischer analysed DNA fragments in two of the pills and compared the sequences to the GenBank genetic database maintained by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He was able to identify: carrot, radish, celery, wild onion, oak, cabbage, alfalfa and yarrow. He also found hibiscus extract that was probably imported from east Asia or the lands of present day India or Ethiopia.

“Most of these plants are known to have been used by the ancients to treat sick people,” says Fleischer. Yarrow staunched the flow of blood from wounds, and Pedanius Dioscorides, a physician and pharmacologist in Rome in the first century AD, described the carrot as a panacea for a number of problems. “They say that reptiles do not harm people who have taken it in advance; it also aids conception,” he wrote around 60 AD.

The concoctions also provided the archaeobotanists a few surprises. Preliminary analyses suggest they contain sunflower, a plant that is not thought to have existed in the Old World before Europeans discovered the Americas in the 1400s. If the finding is confirmed, botanists may need to revise the traditional history of the plant and its diffusion, says Touwaide – but it’s impossible for now to be sure that the sunflower in the pills isn’t simply from recent contamination.

Drugs described by Dioscorides and another Greek physician known as Galen of Pergamon have often been dismissed as ineffectual quackery. “Scholars and scientists have often dismissed the literature on such medicines, and expressed doubt about their possible efficacy, which they attributed only to the presence of opium,” says Touwaide. He hopes to resolve this debate by exploring whether the plant extracts in the pills are now known to treat illnesses effectively.

He also hopes to discover therian, a medicine described by Galen in the second century AD that contains more than 80 different plant extracts and document the exact measurements ancient doctors used to manufacture the pills. “Who knows, these ancient medicines could open new paths for pharmacological research,” says Touwaide.

The team presented their findings at the Fourth International Symposium on Biomolecular Archaeology in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Pirates Attack Japan Ship in Indonesian Waters

Jakarta Globe, September 12, 2010

Related articles

• Pirates Attack Japanese Tanker off Indonesian Island: IMB  - Sep 6, 2010

 Tokyo. Pirates boarded a Japanese auto transport ship and robbed its crew off Indonesia late on Friday, but no one was injured and the undamaged ship resumed its voyage, Japanese media quoted the transport ministry as saying.

The incident comes at a time over heightened concerns over ship safety after a vessel owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines was damaged near the Strait of Hormuz in July by a suspected explosion.

Pirates boarded the ship named Cheerleader, operated by Japan’s Nippon Yusen KK, tied up members of the crew, stole money and fled while it was sailing off the Indonesian province of Kalimantan in the island of Borneo. The 19 crew were unharmed.

This is the 10th pirate attack on ships operated or owned by a Japanese company so far this year. The tanker was heading to Jakarta from Japan’s Kobe, Sankei newspaper said.

Reuters

34 rescued from China oil platform accident

Yahoo/AP, Tue Sep 7, 11:13 pm ET

BEIJING – Emergency teams with helicopters rescued 34 workers Wednesday from an oil drilling platform that was leaning dangerously in the East China Sea after a storm, and searched for two others still missing, officials said.

The No. 3 drilling platform in the Shengli oil field, operated by Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner by capacity, started tilting over Tuesday, causing four workers to fall into the water and trapping 32 of them on the platform, the Transport Ministry said in a statement on its website.

Rescue helicopters were dispatched to the site from the coastal city of Dalian at around 6 a.m. local time, the ministry said.

The platform was tilting at a 45 degree angle to the sea, around five nautical miles (nine kilometers) from the coast, where the water is 23 feet (seven meters) deep, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

A typhoon caused the platform to tilt, said a man surnamed Sun from the Shengli Oil Management Bureau of Sinopec, also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., in Dongying in Shandong province.

Sun said winds were blowing at up to 55 miles per hour (24.4 meters per second), causing 13-foot (four-meter) waves.

Climate Change`s Impact In Indonesia Becoming Near, Real By Fardah

Antara News, Tuesday, September 7, 2010 12:20 WIB

Jakarta  (ANTARA) - Ode (45), a fisherman of Lebak District, Banten Province, has to sell his belongings to buy food for his family as bad weather has forced him to stay away from open seas over the past two months.

"I recently sold my television set to meet our daily needs," he told ANTARA at a local fish market in Lebak, Thursday (3/9).

Like Ode, other fishermen in Lebak District have also complained about their meager fish catches lately due to continuing bad weather conditions marked by strong winds, rain or huge waves in the Indian Ocean.

The fishermen said they could hardly get any fish because of strong winds, rain and huge waves at night in the Indian Ocean. Besides, the bad weather was dangerous for fishermen, he said.

Another fisherman, Keong (25), told a similar story as he had been unable to fish in the open sea due to bad weather during the past two months.

"We have been able to catch only small fish that sell at very low prices," he said.

Rohman (55), a Panggarangan fisherman, also in Lebak District, said he had switched to farming to earn a living, because fishing with very low fish catches was not profitable.

"Every time I have to fish in the sea, I have to spend Rp40,000 on fuel, while I just manage to get Rp20,000 to Rp30,000 from selling the fish," he said.

Around 2,912 fishermen and fishery workers in Lebak are now jobless due to the drastic decline in fish catches, according to Ade Supriatman, secretary of the Lebak chapter of the Indonesian Fishermen`s Association.

"I am very much concerned about the local fishermen`s economic condition as their fish catches have decreased sharply during the past few months," he said.

In Jakarta, last Tuesday (Aug 31), Gelwin Yusuf, head of the marine and fishery affairs ministry`s marine and fishery research agency explained that the prevailing climate change phenomena had affected Indonesia`s fishery industry and caused the fish catches to dwindle.

"Indonesia`s fish catches have been affected by climate change phenomena," said

"The crucial aspect caused by the climate change is increasing pressure on the food resilience, including a composition balance change in the types of fish catch results," he said.

If the La Nina weather phenomenon which has been triggering wet drought in Indonesia continues until late 2010 or early 2011, sardine fish (Sardinella longiceps) catches in the Bali Strait will drop, he said.

The sardine fish catch decline might reach 24 percent from that in 2009, or 17 percent over the last 25 years.

Besides, climate change has also reduced production of swamp fish in Indonesian waters by 5 percent over the past 13 years.

According to Gelwin, climate change also had the potential of altering the type composition of fish catches.

He cited as an example that in Atlantic Ocean waters, fish catch results had changed from demersal fish species to pelagic species.

Pelagic fish live in water columns of coastal, ocean and lake waters, but not on the bottom of the sea or lakes. They can be contrasted with demersal fish, which do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish which are associated with coral reefs.

Climate change has also altered fish catch results from vertebrate to invertebrate sea animals.

Apart from affecting food resilience, climate change is also putting pressure on coral reefs and marine biota ecosystem, coastal communities, and regional security such as increased competition for fish resources, he said.

Seas and maritime technology could contribute for mitigation and adaptation strategy of the climate change, according to the official.

As part of the adaptation strategy, the fishery and marine affairs ministry has developed some 2,612 climate-change-impact-proof houses in Tengerang (Banten), Pamekasan and Lamongan (East Java), Demak, Pekalongan, Rembang, and Brebes (Central Java), Indramayu and Banjar (West Java), Riau (Sumatra), and Bali.

The ministry also issues forecast maps of fish catch areas twice a week, covering Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Sulawesi, and Maluku, as well as Papua.

Adaptive technology in the aquaculture is also crucial to produce prime varieties immune against the climate change impacts, low-emission fish food, and environmentally friendly aquaculture technology, he added.

Indonesia`s neighboring country of Australia, has also experienced a similar situation. A new Australia`s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) study recently found that climate change is driving a widespread number of fish south as the oceans warm.

CSIRO has identified south-eastern Australia as a climate change hotspot, with well documented changes already occurring over the last 70 years.

CSIRO spokesman Dr Peter Last said a snapshot of the distribution of coastal fish has located 43 types of fish outside their normal range. Those species on the move include rock flathead, tiger sharks and Queensland groupers.

The study also found up to 19 species of Tasmanian coastal fish have undergone serious declines, and some are possibly extinct locally.

Besides the fishery sector, Climate change impacts have also threatened Indonesia`s agricultural products.

Indonesia needs to strengthen its domestic food stock to anticipate extreme climate change, Agriculture Minister Suswono said in Jakarta recently.

The unexpected La Nina during the current supposedly dry season, has caused heavy rains and floods in some provinces such as West Java, South Sulawesi, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Gorontalo (Sulawesi).

Floods have affected around 100,000 hectares of fields, however it is still below one percent of total rice fields that reach 13 million hectares.

Failures caused by pests are found in around 3,800 hectares of fields which is above the average in the last five years.

The minister said the climate change had caused the spread of brown planthoppers but various efforts had already been taken to overcome them such as through development of pest-or drought-resilient varieties.

"We must remain alert towards possible extreme climate change by increasing our food stock," he said, despite a prediction that the country might still enjoy a surplus of 5.6 million tons of rice at the end of the year.

The minister said India, China and Russia had also done the same thing to anticipate climate change that could cause a drop in production.

The minister said the country`s rice surplus of 5.6 million tons by the end of the year would be able to meet national needs if conditions are normal without pest attacks, floods or drought.

"The problem is that the climate change is uncertain. It is not impossible for floods and drought to happen or pests to attack. So we must not ignore food supply. We must strengthen the stock," he said.