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The following paper presents the first published record of the cryptic Borneo Earless Monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis Steindachner, 1877) from West Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). This sole member of the family Lanthanotidae is endemic to Borneo. Since its description in 1877, all locality records of specimens refer to Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo). The recent discovery of this “living fossil” in an oil palm estate under development in Landak District expands its known distribution southward to Kalimantan. This paper (i) describes the circumstances of the discovery, characteristics of the individual and microhabitat structure in which it was found, (ii) provides results from local community interviews about the local distribution of the species, suggesting it is found more broadly in the Landak District and possibly elsewhere, and (iii) places this information in a broader context of current knowledge and high conservation value of L. borneensis.

This article describes the first application of systematic conservation planning for prioritizing REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) strategies and agricultural expansion. For a REDD+ program in Indonesian Borneo, we find that the most cost-effective way to reduce forest-based emissions by 25% is to better manage protected areas and logging concessions. A more ambitious emissions reduction target would require constraining agricultural expansion and logging, which incurs opportunity costs. We discover, however, that these impacts can be mitigated by relocating oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) agricultural leases to areas that store, on average, 130 tons less carbon per hectare and are 8% more productive for oil palm. This reduces the costs of meeting REDD+ targets, avoids conflict with agriculture, and has the unanticipated effect of minimizing impacts on logging. Our approach presents a transparent and defensible method for prioritizing REDD+ locations and strategies in a way that minimizes development trade-offs and promotes implementation success.

Several studies suggest that protected areas conserve forests because deforestation rates are lower inside than outside protected area boundaries. Such benefits may be overestimated when deforestation rates within protected areas are contrasted with rates in lands where forest conversion is sanctioned. Here, we reexamine protected area performance by disentangling the effects of land use regulations surrounding the 110,000 km 2 protected area network in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming mainstream strategic business planning for the oil palm industry. At its core, CSR aims to align business values with the needs and expectations of a broader range of stakeholders, beyond just investors and shareholders. In oil palm, this entails taking responsibility for social and environmental impacts, often beyond what is required by law, to build social and environmental capital in pursuit of a local “license to operate.” Third-party certification standards are a popular tool for guiding and monitoring the impact of CSR programs and have taken root in oil palm through the multi-stakeholder Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Eight years running, the RSPO has made substantial inroads to improve the environmental and social performance of Southeast Asia's largest and fastest growing plantation industry. Yet serious challenges remain for RSPO to mainstream environmentally sustainable and socially responsible practices throughout the supply chain. Based on experiences working with multi-stakeholder groups to implement RSPO, including industry, government, local communities, and NGOs, we highlight areas where change is required not only among growers but also the broader RSPO membership to build on recent achievements and accelerate progress. Major challenges include (1) improving corporate governance of plantation companies to translate boardroom CSR decisions into conservation actions on the ground; (2) pushing RSPO member processors, traders, manufacturers, and retailers, who profit from palm oil, to share the cost burden of implementing sustainability, (3) strengthening NGO partnerships with companies to provide the social and environmental expertise companies require but still lack, and (4) creating a more supportive regulatory structure in producer countries to implement sustainability. Challenges to RSPO progress can be overcome, but will require coordinated action to ensure that the scale and pace of change is sufficient to deliver long-term benefits for the environment before it is too late.

The post-partum reproductive performance of suckled and non-suckled Afrikaner cows was compared in order to assess the importance of suckling in the resumption of post-partum ovarian function in this breed. Non-suckled cows were weaned at 3 days post partum whilst calves in the control group had continuous access to their dams. Commencement of ovarian activity was significantly (P 0.05) be more easily observed in non-suckled cows than in their suckled contemporaries. Suckling altered the diurnal distribution of coitus, with non-suckled cows showing the highest frequency for this component of oestrus before 09.00 h and after 15.00 h, whilst in suckled cows coitus appeared to be more evenly distributed throughout the day.

Earlier studies in the Afrikaner cow indicated that suckling exerts a profound influence on the resumption of cyclic ovarian activity and conception post partum. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of once a day suckling on the resumption of ovarian activity and conception within 100 days of calving. Partial weaning significantly (P < 0.01) reduced the number of cows which were anovulatory for 100 days post partum from 1332 of normally suckled (NS) cows to 233 in partially weaned (PW) cows. Conception rates were significantly (P < 0.001) improved from 1632 in NS cows to 3033 in PW cows. Within the cows which ultimately ovulated, reduced suckling intensity did not significantly shorten the post-partum interval to first rise (0.27 ng/ml) in plasma progesterone concentration (55 ± 5 days in NS cows to 52 ± 4 days in PW cows). Considering all cows in the study, partial weaning reduced (P < 0.01) the mean post-partum interval to first ovulation by at least 20 days. Within cows which conceived, the mean interval to conception was 72 ± 5 days in NS cows and 69 ± 3 in PW cows; once again if all cows are considered in the analysis, partial weaning shortened (P < 0.01) the mean post-partum interval to conception by a minumum of 21 days. The probability of conception appeared to be highest 55–65 days post partum, regardless of whether or not this was preceded by an oestrous cycle of normal duration. Total progesterone output during a shortened luteal phase was estimated to be 10% of the output during a normal luteal phase (5.9 ng/ml·days ± 1.1 vs. 51.8 ng/ml·days ± 5.8, respectively). A reduction in the suckling stimulus had no significant effect on any parameter of luteal function measured in this study. However, the resumption of ovarian activity in Afrikaner cows appears to be suppressed to varying degrees by the constant attentions of a suckling calf. In this study post-partum anovulation was the primary cause of conception failure within 100 days of calving.