Land conversion, forest fires threaten Kalimantan's orangutans
Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has been urged to stop deforestation in order to
protect the rapidly decreasing orangutan population on the island of
Kalimantan.
"We demand the government, in this case the Forestry Ministry, re-
evaluate and stop forest deforestation and conversion to oil palm
plantations," chairman of the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP)
Hardi Baktiantoro said Wednesday.
"They are a threat to the existence of orangutans."
Hardi said at a press conference on orangutan protection that the
species was mostly seen by plantation companies as a pest because it
ate palm oil buds.
"Our organization is not anti the palm oil industry, which produces
green energy or biofuel. However, many of their workers will cruelly
do anything to the primates to protect their crops," he said.
"This is a violation of the 1990 Conservation Law. Violators may face
up to five years in prison or a fine of Rp 100 million."
Also present at the press conference were chairman of the Orang Utan
Republik Education Initiative of Indonesia, Barita O. Manullang, and
Harvard University anthropologist Cheryl D. Knott, who is also
chairman of the Palung Foundation in West Kalimantan.
The COP estimates that at least 1,500 orangutans were killed in
Central Kalimantan alone last year as a direct result of forest
conversion to oil palm plantation.
"Kalimantan still has about 34,000 orangutans left. Plantation
companies should try to use critical or abandoned land instead,"
Hardi said.
However, Forestry Ministry spokesman Masyhud said the figure was
"bombastic, because there are not many oil palm plantations in
Central Kalimantan," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone.
"Converted forests are those already set for production purposes and
not for conservation purposes."
Kalimantan orangutans are also struggling to survive in their natural
habitat because of fires set to clear land.
Barita said that people should not rely too much orangutan mortality
rate figures as they were only extrapolations of other data.
"Even the Forestry Ministry asks us NGOs for orangutan mortality
statistics," said Barita.
Knott said that empowering local communities to cultivate other type
of plants for consumption could help in fostering biodiversity.
Separately, Central Kalimantan governor Teras Narang said that
despite the administration's efforts to save the orangutan and its
habitat, a better set of protection laws was still needed.
"The laws are yet to lean on primates or biodiversity protection,"
Teras said over the phone, adding that he opted for multicultural
rather than monoculture plantations due to their greater ability to
conserve biodiversity.
"Moreover, what we have tried to conserve here would be pointless if
the central government, in this case the Forestry Ministry, keeps
issuing massive concession permits," he said.
HARDI BAKTIANTORO
CENTRE FOR ORANGUTAN PROTECTION
PO.BOX 2406 JKP 10024
JAKARTA - INDONESIA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.orangutanprotection.com