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Oil palm is the most productive vegetable oil crop per unit area and is crucial to the economy of developing countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. However, it is also highly controversial due to the impact it has on biodiversity. Inputs of herbicides to control understory vegetation in plantations are high, which is likely to harm native biodiversity, but may be unnecessary in protecting oil palm yield. In this study we investigate the effects of understory manipulation using herbicides on soil fauna, litter decomposition rates, and soil abiotic variables: pH, soil organic carbon, soil water content, nitrogen, carbon/nitrogen ratio, potassium, and phosphorous. Understory vegetation was manipulated in three treatments: enhanced understory complexity (no herbicides, developed understory), normal understory complexity (intermediate herbicide use with some manual removal) and reduced understory complexity (heavy herbicide use, no understory vegetation). Two years after treatment, soil macrofauna diversity was higher in the enhanced than the normal, and reduced understory treatment. Furthermore, both macrofauna abundance and litter decomposition was higher in the enhanced than the reduced understory treatment. By contrast, soil fertility did not change between treatments, perhaps indicating there is little competition between oil palms, and understory vegetation. The reduction of herbicide use should be encouraged in oil palm plantations, this will not only reduce plantation costs, but improve soil biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning.

This paper reports the results of formative and outcome evaluation of two ongoing community-based intervention programmes for integrated non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention and control in urban low-income settings of Ballabgarh near New Delhi, India, and in Depok, West Java Province of Indonesia. At both sites, a coalition of community members facilitated by academic institution and the World Health Organization, planned and implemented the intervention since 2004. The intervention consisted of advocacy and mediation with stakeholders, training of volunteers and school teachers, communication campaigns, risk assessment camps and reorientation of health services. The formative evaluation was based on the review of documents, and outcomes were assessed using the standardized surveys for NCD risk factors in 2003-2004 and 2006-2007. The baseline surveys showed that tobacco use, low intake of fruits and vegetable, suboptimal levels of physical activity and obesity were prevalent in both the communities. A frequent change in local administrators and lack of perceived priority for health and NCDs limited their involvement. Pre-existing engagement of community-based organizations and volunteers in health activities facilitated its implementation. The reach of the programme among the population was modest (25-32%). Health system interventions resulted in increased diagnosis and better management of NCDs at health facilities. Early outcome measures showed mixed results of change in different risk factors. The experiences gained are being used in both countries to expand and provide technical support to national efforts. This paper adds to the knowledge base on the feasibility of designing and implementing large-scale community-based interventions for integrated prevention of NCDs through modification of risk factors.

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During the maturation of snake fruit (Salacca edulis Reinw) Pondoh, the contents of sucrose, glucose, fructose, and volatile compounds changed drastically. The glucose, fructose, and volatile compounds contents showed their maximum levels at the end of maturation; however, the sucrose content decreased. During maturation, the flesh firmness tended to increase; however, at the end of maturation (6 months), the flesh became soft. The major volatile aroma in solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and solvent extracts were identified to be methyl esters of butanoic acids, 2-methylbutanoic acids, hexanoic acids, pentanoic acids, and the corresponding carboxylic acids. Furaneol (4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone) was also identified as a minor aroma constituent in the SAFE residue. The methyl esters were found to increase dramatically during stages 4-6 (5-6 months after the pollination) to exceed the amounts of carboxylic acids, whereas the acid amount increased gradually until stage 5 (5.5 months after the pollination) to reach the maximum at stage 6 (6 months after the pollination).

BackgroundMortality statistics from death registration systems are essential for health policy and development. Indonesia has recently mandated compulsory death registration across the entire country in December 2006. This article describes the methods and results from activities to ascertain causes of registered deaths in two pilot registration areas in Central Java during 2006-2007. The methods involved several steps, starting with adaptation of international standards for reporting causes of registered deaths for implementation in two sites, Surakarta (urban) and Pekalongan (rural). Causes for hospital deaths were certified by attending physicians. Verbal autopsies were used for home deaths. Underlying causes were coded using ICD-10. Completeness of registration was assessed in a sample of villages and urban wards by triangulating data from the health sector, the civil registration system, and an independent household survey. Finally, summary mortality indicators and cause of death rankings were developed for each site.FindingsA total of 10,038 deaths were registered in the two sites during 2006-2007; yielding annual crude death rates of 5.9 to 6.8 per 1000. Data completeness was higher in rural areas (72.5%) as compared to urban areas (52%). Adjusted life expectancies at birth were higher for both males and females in the urban population as compared to the rural population. Stroke, ischaemic heart disease and chronic respiratory disease are prominent causes in both populations. Other important causes are diabetes and cancer in urban areas; and tuberculosis and diarrhoeal diseases in rural areas.ConclusionsNon-communicable diseases cause a significant proportion of premature mortality in Central Java. Implementing cause of death reporting in conjunction with death registration appears feasible in Indonesia. Better collaboration between health and registration sectors is required to improve data quality. These are the first local mortality measures for health policy and monitoring in Indonesia. Strong demand for data from different stakeholders can stimulate further strengthening of mortality registration systems.

Despite the dramatic changes in land-use arising from expansion of the palm oil industry, soil biodiversity in oil palm plantations has been little investigated. The present study aims to assess the effect of organic waste recycling (empty fruit bunches, EFB) on soil biodiversity in a mature plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. A chronosequence was delineated taking into account the time between the applications of EFB and soil sampling; intervals of 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months were compared with control plots without EFB application. Soil physical and chemical characteristics and macrofauna and nematofauna populations were analysed. The findings highlighted three distinct periods: a first disturbance period (0-6 months) showing a marked increase in pH, potassium content, base saturation and macrofauna abundance, especially ants, whereas earthworm, millipede and nematode populations were substantially reduced; a resilience period (6-18 months); and a final period (18-24 months) showing an improvement in most soil fertility parameters and a high density of earthworms, millipedes and nematodes. The impact of EFB application on soil quality changed as a function of time, and the present results explain the apparent discrepancy of some previous published results. This research is the first stage towards developing new strategies for enhancing soil biodiversity and related services for sustainable oil palm cultivation. (Résumé d'auteur

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