Reuters 18 Jul 19;
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Orangutan populations in forest patches found in oil palm estates in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah fell as much as 30% in 15 years, but the overall population of the species in the area is stable, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said.
WWF’s findings, which it says are the result of the most intensive survey ever done on any great ape in the world, show that orangutan numbers fell by 30% and 15% respectively in Kulamba and Tabin, in eastern Sabah, between 2002 and 2017.
Orangutans are found in the rainforests of Borneo, where Sabah lies, and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
At least 650 orangutans were lost in protected areas of Sabah’s eastern lowlands between 2002 and 2017, WWF said. The overall population of orangutans in Sabah remained steady at around 11,000.
“While the orangutan population has stabilized in large forest areas, their numbers declined in forest patches within oil palm landscapes of the eastern lowlands of Sabah,” WWF said in a statement.
“The monoculture nature of oil palm plantations means that they tend not to support species that are dependent on forest environment like the orangutan.”
But forest patches within plantation landscapes allowed orangutans to travel between forested areas and were key to their survival, especially in the lowlands of Sabah, said Augustine Tuuga, director of Sabah Wildlife Department.
Malaysia relies on palm oil - a commodity used in everything from chocolate spread to lipstick - for billions of dollars in foreign exchange earnings and hundreds of thousands of jobs. It is the Southeast Asian country’s largest agricultural crop and export.
Malaysia, the world’s second-largest grower of palm oil after Indonesia, counts Sabah as its top producing state.
The palm oil industry has caused widespread deforestation over the years as land is cleared, often by heavily polluting slash and burn practices, to make way for new estates.
Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Joe Brock and Nick Macfie
WWF M'sia paper: Orang utan population stable, conservation must continue
muguntan vanar The Star 18 Jul 19;
KOTA KINABALU: The orang utan population of 11,000 has remained stable in protected areas in Sabah for the past 15 years, but the state must ensure conservation measures continue, says a WWF Malaysia scientific paper.
Entitled "Changes to Orang Utan Population in Recent Times: 2002-2017", it found that Sabah remains Malaysia's stronghold for the apes with more than 70% found in totally protected areas.
The positive numbers have shown that forest management practices are effective in ensuring orang utan conservation and it is essential that these practices be maintained.
The study specifically noted that surveys by a team led by Donna Simon, carried out in central Sabah areas of Dermakot and Ulu Segama, showed that the orang utan population had remained stable over the last 15 years.
The 15-year research reflected that orangutan populations could be sustained in well-managed logged forests, and this underscored the importance of a continued conservation management in the central forests of Sabah.
The scientific study released on Thursday also noted that the orang utan population remained stable in the area as theu were not hunted.
Sabah's chief Conservator of Forests Datuk Mashor Mohd Jaini said the state forestry department was committed to conserving and protecting Sabah's iconic wildlife species.
"We will continue to manage important wildlife habitat, such as Deramakot and central Sabah forest reserves complex, in accordance with sustainable forest management (SFM) practices and in compliance with both national and international forest certification standards, he said.
According to WWF Malaysia, the research marks the most intensive survey effort ever done on any great ape in the world and the results proved beneficial to orang utan conservation in Sabah as a whole.
WWF-Malaysia's comprehensive survey exercise also discovered another population of at least 1,000 individual orang utans in the Imbak-Kalabakan region of south-west Sabah.
"This survey allows us to advocate for a better land-use plan and identify crucial degraded orang utan habitat to be set aside for restoration and habitat connectivity or for protection.
"The paper shows only a fraction of the overall orang utan conservation work that WWF-Malaysia is doing, and we are glad that Sabah is on track to conserve this critically endangered species," said Donna.
It was noted that while the orang utan population had stabilised in large forest areas, their numbers declined in forest patches within oil palm landscapes of the eastern lowlands of Sabah.
The survey found that orang utan numbers had reduced by 30% and 15% respectively in Kulamba and Tabin areas, which showed that at least 650 orang utans had been lost there since 2002.
The study noted that monoculture nature of oil palm plantations means did not support species that are dependent on forest environment like the orang utan.
Sabah Wildlife Department Augustine Tuuga said that forest patches within the plantation landscape were important in allowing orang utans to use them as stepping stones to travel between adjacent forest areas.
"This connectivity, through wildlife corridors that link patches of forest, is key to orangutan survival at oil palm plantation landscapes, especially in the lowlands of Sabah," Tuuga said.
‘Orangutan safe in protected areas’
The Star 19 Jul 19;
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s orangutan population of about 11,000 has remained stable in protected areas for the past 15 years but the state needs to ensure conservation measures continue to be in place.
According to a WWF Malaysia scientific paper titled “Changes to Orangutan Popula-tion in Recent Times: 2002-2017”, Sabah remains Malaysia’s “stronghold” for orangutans with more than 70% of the apes found in totally protected areas.
The positive numbers proved that forest management is effective in ensuring orangutan conservation and it is essential that these practices be maintained for the continued survival of the endangered species.
The study specifically noted that surveys by a team led by Donna Simon in central Sabah’s Deramakot and Ulu Segama showed that the orangutan population has remained stable over the last 15 years.
The research reflected that orangutan population could be sustained in well-managed logged forests, which also underscores the importance of continued conservation management in the central forests of Sabah.
The study, which was released yesterday, also noted that the orangutan population remained stable in those areas, as they were not hunted.
WWF Malaysia said the research marks the most intensive survey effort ever done on any great ape in the world and results proved beneficial to orangutan conservation in Sabah as a whole.
The survey also discovered another population of at least 1,000 orangutans in the Imbak-Kalabakan region of south-west Sabah.
It, however, noted that while the population has stabilised in large forest areas, the numbers declined in forest patches within oil palm estates of the eastern lowlands of Sabah.
The numbers have reduced by 30% and 15% respectively in Kulamba and Tabin areas that showed that at least 650 orangutans had been lost from protected areas in the lowlands since 2002.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said forest patches within the plantation landscape were important for the orangutans to travel between adjacent forest areas.
“This connectivity, through wildlife corridors that link patches of forest, is key to orangutan survival in oil palm plantation landscapes, especially in the lowlands,” he said.
Chief Conservator of Forests Datuk Mashor Mohd Jaini said the state Forestry Department would continue to manage important wildlife habitat such as Deramakot and central Sabah forest reserves complex in accordance to Sustainable Forest Management practices and in compliance to both national and international forest certification standards.
Sabah on track to maintain orang utan population
New Straits Times 18 Jul 19;
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is on track to maintain the critically endangered Bornean Orangutan population as long as the conservation management measures continue to be put in place.
A scientific paper entitled, “Changes to Sabah’s orangutan population in recent times: 2002 – 2017”, found that the Bornean orangutan population in Sabah shows a mixed picture from different regions.
However, the overall research shows that they have maintained the same numbers of about 11,000 over the last 15 years.
The survey results from WWF-Malaysia’s orangutan team, which is led by Donna Simon, showed that population of orangutans have remained stable over the said period specifically in the central forest of Sabah, in the regions of Deramakot and Ulu Segama.
In 2002, the orangutan population was 5,376. From the most recent survey of 2017, the population slightly increased to 5,933.
WWF-Malaysia’s comprehensive survey exercise also discovered another population of at least 1,000 orangutans in the Imbak-Kalabakan region of south-west Sabah.
“This survey allows us to advocate for a better land-use plan and identify crucial degraded orangutan habitat to be set aside for restoration and habitat connectivity or for protection.
“This paper shows only a fraction of the overall orangutan conservation work that WWF-Malaysia is doing and we are glad that Sabah is on track to conserve this critically endangered species,” said Donna in a statement.
Despite the good news of orangutan population in large forest areas, their numbers declined in forest patches within oil palm landscapes of the eastern lowlands of Sabah.
The survey found that orangutan numbers have reduced by 30 per cent and 15 per cent respectively in Kulamba and Tabin, and showed that at least 650 orangutans had been lost from protected areas of Sabah’s eastern lowlands since 2002.
The monoculture nature of oil palm plantations means that they tend not to support species that are dependent on forest environment like the orangutan.
Nonetheless, forest patches within the plantation landscapes are important in allowing orangutans to use them as stepping stones to travel between adjacent forest areas.
Meanwhile, Sabah Chief Conservator of Forests Datuk Mashor Mohd Jaini said the state Forestry Department is committed to conserve and protect Sabah’s iconic wildlife species.
“We will continue to manage important wildlife habitat such as Deramakot and central Sabah forest reserves complex in accordance to Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) practices and in compliance with both national and international forest certification standards,'' he said.
