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Orangutans depart on 'wildlife diplomacy' Bangkok Post - 11/22/2006 Jakarta (dpa) - A group of 48 orangutans who were used as kick boxers at an amusement park in Thailand returned home to Indonesia on Wednesday, ending one of the world's largest trafficking cases of the great apes. The animals arrived aboard an Indonesian military transport plane at Halim Air Force Base in Jakarta Wednesday morning, said Teguh, a spokesman for the Ministry of Forestry. "They will be taken to Central Kalimantan province for rehabilitation before being released into the wild," he said. The province lies on the Indonesian side of Borneo Island, one of only three places in the world where orangutan are native, and which has rehabilitation centres for the animals. Two years ago, environmental officers raided Bangkok's Safari World theme park, where the apes were made to do mock kickboxing bouts for visitors. Park officials claimed the orangutans had been bred domestically but DNA test confirmed they were from Borneo. A total of 115 orangutans had been seized but dozens of the animals died or disappeared amid legal battles involving the park, wildlife activists and the Thai government. The animals had been due to return to Indonesia in September, following the end of legal proceedings, but the plan was delayed by a military coup in Thailand. Wildlife protection groups hailed the repatriation of the apes as a triumph for "wildlife diplomacy." "It's a big step forward," said Steve Galster, director of WildAid, a non-governmental organization dedicated to fighting animal smuggling. "This is basically a start for wildlife diplomacy. Prior to this, Asian wildlife authorities wouldn't conduct wildlife diplomacy themselves, but left it up to their foreign ministries," said Galster in Bangkok. There was almost a last-minute hitch with Wednesday's orangutan charter flight when Indonesian authorities refused to accept seven of the 48 orangutans when they were discovered to be infected by the Hepatitis B virus. "We discussed it and in the end the Indonesian side agreed to take them all," said Pornchai Pathumrattanatarn, head of Thailand's Khao Prathap Chang wildlife centre where the apes have been kept for the past two years. Six of the original orangutans are still undergoing DNA testing. The orangutan repatriation operation has been a test case for regional cooperation under the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, set up in Bangkok on December 1, 2005. Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian authorities met in Bangkok in April, this year, to determine where the 54 primates originated. Orangutans are indigenous to Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia, but not to Thailand. Thailand's failure to quickly repatriate the 54 orangutans was heavily criticised at the last meeting of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) members that was hosted by Bangkok in November and December of 2005. One of the concrete measures to emerge from that CITES meeting was the launch of a new ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network to facilitate cooperation in cracking down on the flourishing illegal trade in wildlife in the region. "They've cut their teeth on this deal," said Galster. "And the lesson they've learned is that they should put more emphasis on prevention of wildlife smuggling in the future, because repatriation is an expensive and complex procedure." Orangutans, which are an endangered species, are only found in the wild on Borneo, Indonesia's Sumatra Island, and in Malaysia. Due to destruction of their habitat by illegal logging and human encroachment, their numbers have dwindled to as few as 15,000 in the wild. One of the first UNESCO World Heritage sites, the spectacular Galápagos Islands host a unique flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth. Through our Galápagos Islands Ecology Program, Ecology Project International students from the Galápagos and around the world work in partnership with the Galápagos National Park and local institutions to conserve the archipelago. Students travel to several locations on three different islands, studying and experiencing this magical place. Ecology Project International students will be a part of the conservation solution in Galápagos while learning through hands-on research, service and cultural exchange. Conservation Impact Scientists in Galápagos use Ecology Project International students' work to improve conservation efforts for the archipelago. As students collect data on a diverse range of native and introduced species, they help protect these remote and beautiful islands. Academics and Education During their time in the field, Ecology Project International students serve as volunteers for Latin American conservation institutions. Under the leadership of our outstanding instructors, every student conceives, develops, analyses, and presents a field-based research project and attends ecology, island biogeography, evolution, art, and journaling classes. Cultural Exchange More than half of our participants at this project site are from Galápagos. Ecology Project International's commitment to local communities provides a unique cultural exchange opportunity for international students who participate in our study abroad programs. After each group completes the field research, students meet their international peers and share their experiences and academic projects at a local school. WildAid's mission is to decimate the illegal wildlife trade within our lifetimes. Unique among the world's challenges, we believe we can end the illegal wildlife trade within an immediate timeframe and realistic economic parameters. In describing WildAid as the new face of environmentalism, the New York Times Magazine called our approach 'aggressive, but economically comprehensive.' Our programs disrupt the trade at every level by reducing poaching, targeting illegal traders and smugglers, and drastically lowering consumer demand for endangered species parts and products. We are also revolutionary in our funding - sending 100% of online donations directly to the field. WildAid is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization headquartered in San Francisco with offices in China, India, Vladivostok, Cambodia, Thailand, Galapagos, Quito, London, Washington, D.C., and New York City. WildAid provides direct protection for wildlife in danger. Our goals under this mission are: To decimate the illegal wildlife trade in our lifetimes To bring wildlife conservation to the top of the international agenda To effectively and affordably protect wilderness areas To ensure that endangered species populations rebound To enable people and wildlife to survive together We believe that the ecological damage, cruelty and corruption involved in the illegal wildlife trade are both unnecessary and morally unacceptable - that these activities constitute a theft from future generations. We believe that it is the duty of both the governments and citizens of wealthier nations to provide technical and financial support to less wealthy nations to protect our common heritage. We want a world where our invaluable natural riches are not ravaged, one in which local communities can improve their lives without destroying their environment, and where humanity can survive together with wildlife for generations to come. The Endangered Species Act at Thirty is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary review of issues surrounding the Endangered Species Act, with a specific focus on the act's actual implementation record over the past thirty years. The result of a unique, multi-year collaboration among stakeholder groups from across the political spectrum, the two volumes offer a dispassionate consideration of a highly polarized topic. Renewing the Conservation Promise, Volume 1, puts the reader in a better position to make informed decisions about future directions in biodiversity conservation by elevating the policy debate from its current state of divisive polemics to a more-constructive analysis. It helps the reader understand how the Endangered Species Act has been implemented, the consequences of that implementation, and how the act could be changed to better serve the needs of both the species it is designed to protect and the people who must live within its mandates. Volume 2, Conserving Biodiversity in Human-Dominated Landscapes, examines the philosophical, biological, and economic dimensions of the act in greater detail. As debate over reforming the Endangered Species Act heats up in the coming months, these two books will be essential references for policy analysts and lawmakers; professionals involved with environmental law, science, or management; and academic researchers and students concerned with environmental law, policy, management, or science. Sumatran Rhino In The Wild Captured On Video The following video clip of a Sumatran rhino was captured by SOS Rhino's protection and survey unit staff during a daytime routine patrol. This sighting and rare video footage documenting the Sumatran rhino in its natural habitat is indeed very exciting. SOS Rhino has been working with the Sabah Wildlife Department in protecting these animals for almost ten years now, and although tracks and signs of these rhinos have been documented, this is a first actual sighting of this highly endangered animal. Species Information Threatened and Endangered Animals and Plants Before a plant or animal species can receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, it must first be placed on the Federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. Our listing program follows a strict legal process to determine whether to list a species, depending on the degree of threat it faces. An “endangered” species is one that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A “threatened