International Animal Rescue (IAR) want to protect and preserve the orangutan. Here they explain the dangers faced by the species, and what they are doing to prevent further reductions in numbers.
In Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, numerous species of wildlife and plants are in danger of extinction. There are many threats posed to the area’s rich biodiversity and include the conversion of forests to plantations and agriculture, illegal logging, hunting, wildlife trade, mining and poor forestry management. Since the 1990s clearing of rainforests is common practice in Indonesia. After the collapse of the Suharto regime in 1998 huge tracts of forest were cleared and burned.
These days, forests in Kalimantan are mainly threatened by the expansion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations, whose monocultures provide no suitable habitat for forest-dwelling species. Research in 2009 showed that of the 8.09 million hectares of land that had been given to oil palm developers, 3.3 million hectares had been forested. It has been estimated that in Kalimantan about 40 threatened animal species live within areas designated for oil palm conversion, including the Bornean Orangutan.
The orangutan is the only great ape in Asia. The two species, the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) live only on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo where they suffer from all the pressures mentioned above. It is estimated that Bornean orangutan numbers have declined by more than 50% over the past 60 years, a trend likely to continue because wild populations are, for the most part, living outside protected areas. 750,000 hectares of Bornean orangutan habitat (5.5% of the total habitat) fall within forest promised to oil palm concessions. Between 2000 and 2003, population estimates for the Bornean orangutan were put at between 45,000 and 69,000 individuals.
As a result of forest degradation and deforestation, the remaining forests have become more accessible for poachers. Indeed, many orangutans are in desperate need of rescue after ending up in the illegal wildlife trade. International Animal Rescue (IAR) has a team in West Kalimantan Province that rescues orangutans from the wildlife trade or from captivity and provides them with expert medical care and rehabilitation. After a rehabilitation process of up to several years, most orangutans can be reintroduced into the wild.
In just the past two years IAR has received numerous requests to rescue orangutans, from small babies that have been captured by plantation workers to adults that were originally bought from plantation workers by local villagers and have spent years in captivity. Since IAR’s team still operates from a small temporary location, only the most desperate cases can currently be rescued.
Surprisingly, many of the orangutans that IAR has rescued over the years originated from members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Since its establishment in 2004, the RSPO has been trying to find a solution to the booming palm oil industry and the concurrent destruction of the rain forests. Through compliance with several criteria relating to social, economic and ecological factors, producers can claim that their palm oil is sustainable.
This sustainable palm oil should be the alternative for consumers in the West to turn to – however, observations in the field show that members of the RSPO can operate without being held to account, and even receive certification for some plantations while the RSPO is aware that regulations are being violated at others. Since the origins of palm oil cannot be traced, this highly dubious practice shows there is as yet no sustainable alternative.
For the orangutans at IAR’s rehabilitation centre it also means that their chances of being reintroduced into the wild are reduced. It becomes increasingly hard to find suitable forests for orangutans and IAR is working with several conservation groups to find release forests for them. The equally serious challenge will be to protect these precious forests from conversion in the future.
To find out how you can support IAR’s work to save the orangutan, visit the International Animal Rescue’s page on Charity Choice.
This article first appeared in Charity Choice magazine.
