JAKARTA — A new study on certified oil palm plantations and their links to past deforestation has sparked a debate over whether they can be considered sustainable if they’re established on once-forested land. The study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, analyzed highly detailed satellite images from 1984, the oldest available, to […]
Tag: Orangutan
For world’s rarest great ape, COVID-19 is latest in a litany of threats
JAKARTA — The COVID-19 pandemic has become the latest threat to the Tapanuli orangutan in Indonesia, the rarest great ape species of all and one already under severe pressure from a range of human threats. The critically endangered species, Pongo tapanuliensis, found in a single patch of rainforest in northern Sumatra, shares 97% of its […]
Palm Oil Deforestation: A Threat to Orangutan Populations, Indigenous People and Biodiversity
The California fires in November 2018 were more severe than ever and yet – the amount of forest that was lost in the combined fires makes up only a fraction of Indonesian forest that is burned every year in slash-and-burn practices to clear palm oil plantations. In 2015 alone,the area of Indonesian forest burned was […]
Where the logging ends in Indonesian Borneo, the forest clearing begins
Logging for timber by definition reduces tree cover. But what happens when logging stops? Anew study has found that in concessions where timber firms have stopped operating, deforestation actually appears to increase, thanks to illegal clearing for agriculture and industrial plantations. An inactive logging concession therefore creates a conservation risk, but also a conservation opportunity, […]
Burning and bullets: Forest fires push Bornean orangutans into harm’s way
PONTIANAK, Indonesia — As the forests of Indonesian Borneo burned during fires last year, a female orangutan was forced to leave her burning home. When she was rescued from a small farm, experts found signs of recent pregnancy and wounds on her body. The orangutan, later named Epen by her rescuers, was found foraging at […]
These 16 Amazing Animals are Going Extinct and Here’s How You Can Help!
These 16 animals are on the verge of going extinct and are listed on the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Nature’s list of “Critically Endangered” species. Read on to learn more about these creatures and to learn how you can help. First up, the Amur Leopard, listed by the WWF lives in the Russian Far […]
Petition: Urge Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Governments to Crack Down on Palm Oil and Save Forests and Orangutans!
According to the United Nations, palm oil is found in approximately half of all products in supermarkets. But palm oil is destroying forests and killing animals. Orangutans, especially, are losing their homes and lives to the production of palm oil. Palm oil is taken from forests that house 10% of the world’s biodiversity and provide […]
Petition: Protect Pebble Island And Its Penguins!
Too many animals around the world are being driven to extinction because of habitat loss. The blue-throated hillstar hummingbird was just recently discovered and is already facing extinction because its natural habitat is home to metals that people want to get their hands on. Orangutans are suffering greatly because of deforestation for palm oil production. […]