Roy Goh New Straits Times 27 Jan 12;
A WILDLIFE sanctuary and three forest reserves stretch over the Lower Kinabatangan area in Sandakan, but still the number of orang utans has been declining over the years.
Experts put the slide at 30 per cent of its estimated 1,000 population in the last eight years within the area of about 100,000ha. The main reason behind this is the loss of habitat because of fragmented forests.
Policies on land use, public attitude and awareness have been identified as key factors that could ensure survival of the species. However, the message does not appear to have reached its target -- stakeholders such as oil palm planters, local communities and government agencies.
Land for oil palm plantations is still being cleared, disconnecting forests where the apes and even other endangered species, such as the proboscis monkeys and pygmy elephants, are found.
Local communities, too, have not entirely embraced the idea of co-existing with the wildlife where many of them have long regarded orang utans as threats to their fruit orchards, plantations or even threats to their safety.
The only consolation lies in the tourism industry where the iconic orang utans along with Mount Kinabalu are considered the flagship products. The ever growing number of tourist arrivals at popular sites within Lower Kinabatangan, such as Sukau and Bilit, are testament to this.
It has helped raise awareness of how important wildlife is to boost the economy for those directly involved in the tourism industry, but the challenge to this are the high crude palm oil prices and the fact that many locals have become smallholders.
A Sukau-based resort executive Don Booysen said orang utans could be seen most days especially when certain trees are fruiting although there are times when none are around.
"Overseas guests are fascinated with orang utans and many of them come here specifically to see the apes. On our part, we do a special activity at Gomatong Caves to look for orang utans because that is probably the best place to see them," he said.
The prime example of how popular orang utans lies north of the Lower Kinabatangan area at the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre which attracts tourists, including day trippers who fly over from Kota Kinabalu, to catch a glimpse of the apes in the wild.
Sabah Wildlife director Dr Laurentius Ambu recently cited the conversion of small patches of forests for oil palm planting was the main cause for the decline of the orang utan population in Lower Kinabatangan.
"Without these small patches of forests, the wildlife within is not able to disperse and mate," he said and pointed out that the animals also did not have enough food sources because of the fragmentation of the land.
Ambu said the department had consistently pushed for the formation of forest corridors that linked pockets of forests, a crucial policy for Lower Kinabatangan that is "heavily broken up between protected and non-protected areas".
Within Lower Kinabatangan, an area of about 26,000ha has been gazetted as a wildlife sanctuary along with three forest reserves -- Trusan Kinabatangan Forest Reserve (40,471ha), Kulamba Wildlife Forest Reserve (20,682ha) and Kuala Maruap-Kuala Segama Forest Reserve (17,650ha). The three forest reserves also make up the biggest Ramsar site in Malaysia.
A non-governmental organisation known as the Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project or Hutan, with the support of other NGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund Sabah, Borneo Conservation Trust and Danau Girang Field Centre had surveyed and monitored the apes in the area. Hutan has been doing this from 2003 and has come up with a proposal that has since been implemented to stem the decline in their numbers.
Its director, Dr Marc Acrenaz, had proposed and thereafter built "bridges" that connected fragmented forests across rivers to allow orang utans and other wildlife species to meet and breed or find food. It also prevents "in-breeding" among orang utans.
In Sabah, the orang utan population is estimated to be around 11,000 and despite being a "stronghold" for the species, it has since 2000 been listed as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.
