Focus on forest conservation, not gifting orangutans, govt told

KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s recent proposal to gift orangutans to its palm oil trading partners has drawn criticism from conservationists.

Dr Henry Chan, Conservation Director of WWF-Malaysia suggested there were more effective alternatives to demonstrate Malaysia’s commitment to orangutan conservation.

“Orangutans are wildlife that live in the forest,” he told Astro AWANI. “We should improve our forest management and enhance our commitment towards the sustainable production of palm oil.”

He said another more impactful strategy would be for palm oil companies to manage wildlife within their plantations as part of their natural assets, also known as in-situ conservation.

Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani has said the country's orangutan programme hoped to emulate China's panda diplomacy.

He added that the great apes would be offered as gifts to major palm oil importers such as China, India and the European Union, but gave no further details of the initiative.

Henry warned that if Malaysia followed in China's footsteps, recipient countries would face high maintenance costs to care for their orangutan gifts.

He also said that China had worked to prevent the extinction of pandas since the 1960s by protecting large areas and managing them effectively for conservation.

“It is in this context that we find it hard to see how the few panda offspring born in foreign zoos have contributed to preventing the extinction of pandas in the wild.”

The Bornean orangutan has been listed as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature status since 2016.

While orangutan populations in Sabah and Sarawak have stabilised in recent decades, climate change, forest fires, mining and forest conversion for agriculture remain threats.

Significant areas of forest in eastern Sabah have also been converted to palm oil plantations over the past 30 years, severely impacting orangutan habitat and leading to a 30 per cent decline in the local population of the Tabin Wildlife Reserve compared to the early 1970s.

Instead of sending the apes as gifts, Henry urged the government to invite Malaysia's trading partners and the international media to learn more about the country's orangutan conservation projects and to provide financial support.

“We must ensure that all pockets of forests found in palm oil plantations are retained and reconnected through corridors to larger forest reserves to ensure long-term sustainability.”

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