Indonesia

The mass destruction of Indonesia's rainforests and carbon-rich  peatlands for palm oil and paper is the main reason why Indonesia is the world's third largest emitter of climate changing greenhouse gases. Greenpeace is campaigning for an immediate moratorium on forest and peatland destruction in Indonesia, and for zero deforestation by 2015.

Indonesia is a treasure chest of biodiversity; it is home to between 10 and 15 per cent of all known species of plants, mammals and birds. Orang-utans, elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, more than 1,500 species of birds and thousands of plant species are all a part of the country's natural legacy.

But many of these unique forest-dwelling animals, including the orang-utan and the Sumatran tiger, are endangered.

It's not just these wonders of our natural world that are disappearing. The lives of millions of Indonesians who depend on the forests for food, shelter and livelihoods are changing beyond recognition as the forest disappears.

This destruction also threatens our wider world; peatlands are perhaps the world’s most critical carbon stores, and Indonesia's peatlands are vast, storing about 35 billion tonnes of carbon. When these peatlands are drained, burned and replaced by acacia, eucaylptus or palm oil plantations, carbon dioxide is released.

Indonesia's irreplaceable rainforests and carbon-rich peatlands are being destroyed to make the disposable consumer products we find in our shops - paper for our glossy magazines, toilet paper and packaging and palm oil for products like toothpaste and chocolate. 

Greenpeace is campaigning for an immediate moratorium on the destruction of Indonesia's forests and peatlands, for a meaningful international deal (and funds) to protect them, for a new green development pathway and for zero deforestation in Indonesia by 2015 (and globally by 2020).

To achieve this, we investigate the global supply chain that turns forests in Indonesia into consumer products around the world, and we expose the companies that are destroying forests. Over the past few years, our campaigns and pressure from our supporters have led Nestlé, Unilever and other corporate giants to cancel vast contracts with notorious rainforest destroying suppliers like Sinar Mas.

We are also working alongside Indonesian civil society and NGOs who, recognising that Indonesia's low carbon development goals need not depend on deforestation, are campaigning for a better future for Indonesians, their forests, biodiversity and the global climate.

Today, Indonesia stands at a crossroads; will it choose to allow industry to relentlessly and unnecessarily expand into natural rainforests and carbon rich peatlands, or to announce a moratorium on all existing rainforest and peatlands, with the help of the international community?

Source: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/forests/asia-pacific/?accept=e069d9a4dbfc93d0129c7a69618c2116

Garuda Indonesia

A Glimpse Into 'Street Ballad: A Jakarta Story'

A sip of Bali wines

Bali wines are made by people who believe they can start a new wine trend, in a land where holly books rule.

Bali wines are beginning to gain the respect they deserve, as evidenced by the wine poetry by St. Regis Bali Resort’s Sommelier, Harald Wiesmann. 

But to truly love them, you have to know them better. 

Hatten Wines

Hatten Wines is a local wine pioneer. Starting the trend with the launch of its Rosé in 1994, Hatten — with its Aga Red, Aga White and Alexandria as well as Tunjung and Jepun sparkling wine —are now known internationally. In Bali, it is present at every turn, from luxury resorts to small restaurants. 

“Hatten is a Japanese word meaning progress. So we’re always progressing, always improving and never satisfied,” explains Franklin, the director of sales and marketing at Hatten Wines.

The wines have won several medals. Alexandria, for example, received a bronze medal in 2003 from the International Wine & Spirit Competition in the UK, as well as a silver medal from the Wine Style Asia Award in 2011. 

Tunjung Brut Sparkling, the regions only locally produced sparkling wine, is made from Bali’s best kept secret — a grape variety called Probolinggo Biru — which is only grown at Hatten’s vineyard. 

This wine received the honor of recommended sparkling in 2012, awarded, again, by the International Wine & Spirit Competition. 

Currently, Hatten’s owner, IB Rai Budarsa, decided to concentrate supply to the local market, despite once exporting to Holland, Maldives, UK and Singapore until the time when Bali was hit by the bombing.

“Around 90 percent of our market is from the tourism industry. I hope in the future Hatten can become Indonesia’s identity so people come to Indonesia to drink Hatten. It can be recommended or bought as a souvenir,” 
said IB Rai Budarsa. 

Not only having wines made from locally grown grapes, Hatten also has offers options for wine lovers, who are missing conventional wine flavors through the brand Two Islands. The varieties available for Two Islands are Shiraz, Carbenet Merlot, Chardonnay and Riesling.

Artisan Estate

Before Craig and Noela Newton took over, the Artisan Estate was known as Wines of the Gods. Since 2009 the couple has brought a new kind of experience to drinking wine — serving the soul of Australian grapes in each of wine bottle. 

“The challenge starts with the fruit selection and getting each variety from the region where it grows best and of course — getting the fruit at the best possible price. That is why our Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc come from Pemberton Western Australia — a cool climate area that produces fantastic wines. The Shiraz grapes come from the Swan Valley and we are developing another red variety from the Margaret River region,” Artisan Estate wine marketing specialist Craig Newton explains. 

The complicated process of delivering the fresh juice to Bali takes about three weeks; usually the juice is first shipped from Australia to Singapore, then onto Surabaya before finally reaching Bali. Newton is in charge in the process from the day the grape is harvested in Australia until it is bottled.

Artisan means craftsman and at the moment they have several wine collections. Classic and Chardonnay were the first arrivals both are white wines that sell well in Bali. 

They were later followed by Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc. These whites are known as a favorite drink on the island as they are fresh and are best suited for a sunset drink. Their Classic, claims Craig, is best paired with Asian foods. 

Cape Discovery

Looking at the label, one will not recognize that Cape Discovery is a locally made wine. This brand, famous for its Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé, was released at the beginning of 2012 in response to the classic problems when purchasing wine in Indonesia — price and quality.

Their winery is located in Singaraja and is equipped with German carbon dioxide sensors that allow fermentation to be controlled perfectly. They choose the location in Singaraja so that the wine would not be suffer as a result of inconsistent transport and storage practices.

The international quality of the Sauvignon Blanc has gained a lot of compliments and has especially won the hearts of wine experts, including St. Regis’ Wiesmann and Erick Hardiansyah of the Nikko Bali Resort and Spa.

In response to wine demand in Indonesia, especially Jakarta and Bali, Cape Discovery will launch further collections such as a Sparkling Chardonnay, Sparkling Rose, Moscato, Red blend and White blend. They source the grapes from Margaret River in Western Australia. 

Sababay Wine

Sababay borrows its name from the winery’s location, Saba, a village in Blahbatu, Gianyar regency, is famous for its Saba Beach. The winery overlooks the Saba Bay. 

It offers two wine collections - Black Velvet; a red wine, and Pink Blossom; a rosé - both are made from the Alphonse Lavallêe grape that is grown in North Bali. 

Sababay sources grapes from farmers in Buleleng, below the Asteroid R & D Vineyard, who have formed a partnership with Sababay to exclusively trade grapes for a fair price. According to Donald Manoch, director of sales and marketing at Sababay Wine, before joining the partnership farmers could only earn Rp 1 million (US$104.41) annually, selling their grapes at a price as low as Rp 500 per kilogram. 

Through the partnership, the price of one kilogram of grapes has risen to Rp 4,000 per kilogram; farmers can now earn decent money for a living. 

In addition, through the partnership, Asteroid R&D Vineyard also give interest free loans that are payable after the harvest, which support innovation in agricultural technology so that the best quality of grapes can be produced.

Consequently, they ensure quality seeds, develop new varieties and also empower the farmers’ wives who help with the harvest and are paid by Asteroid Vineyard. 

The result — a high quality black grape — that later, by the hand of the winemaker, Vincent Desplat, turns into beautiful wine.

Desplat is a French winemaker with a degree in oenology (the science and study of all aspects of wine and winemaking), who trained at Chateau Clarke in Medoc, Bordeaux, in Minervois and graduated from the prestigious school of Agronomy in Montpellier, France.

At the winery, the black grape is processed for about two months in total to turn it into red wine, while the rosé takes up to six weeks of processing. 

You can pair Pink Blossom with gado-gado (mixed vegetables served in peanut sauce) or sate lilit (minced fish and grated coconut on skewers), while the Black Velvet is best for rendang beef stew or ayam bumbu rujak (seasoned chicken). 

Finally, Manoch adds, “You can find Chardonnay all around the world but you can only find Alphonse Lavallêe in Bali.”

Intan Tanjung, Contributor, Bali | Lifestyle | Sun, October 14 2012, 2:27 PM

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/14/a-sip-bali-wines.html

Why Tourism?

Tourism – an Economic and Social Phenomenon

Over the decades, tourism has experienced continued growth and deepening ‎diversification to become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world. ‎Modern tourism is closely linked to development and encompasses a growing number ‎of new destinations. These dynamics have turned tourism into a key driver for socio-‎economic progress.‎

Today, the business volume of tourism equals or even surpasses that of oil exports, ‎food products or automobiles. Tourism has become one of the major players in ‎international commerce, and represents at the same time one of the main income ‎sources for many developing countries. This growth goes hand in hand with an ‎increasing diversification and competition among destinations.‎

This global spread of tourism in industrialised and developed states has produced ‎economic and employment benefits in many related sectors - from construction to ‎agriculture or telecommunications.‎

The contribution of tourism to economic well-being depends on the quality and the ‎revenues of the tourism offer. UNWTO assists destinations in their sustainable ‎positioning in ever more complex national and international markets. As the UN agency ‎dedicated to tourism, UNWTO points out that particularly developing countries stand to ‎benefit from sustainable tourism and acts to help make this a reality.‎

Key numbers

Current developments & forecasts

• International tourist arrivals grew by nearly 4% in 2011 to 983 million;
• International tourism generated in 2011 US$ 1,032 billion (€ 741 billion) in export earnings;
• UNWTO forecasts a growth in international tourist arrivals of between 3% and 4% in 2012.

For more information on Facts & Figures please visit: http://www.unwto.org/facts/menu.html

A microlight adventure flying around Komodo National Park, Flores, Adonara, Lembata, Pantar & Alor Islands in Indonesia.

Derawan, Sangalaki and Kakaban Islands are in the province of East Kalimantan in Indonesia.