Wildlife Conservation Indonesia Project #27470

Protecting Rainforests for Wild Orangutans

by Sumatran Orangutan Society

Protecting Rainforests for Wild Orangutans

Project Report | Oct 14, 2019
Sustainable Palm Oil Cities

By Lucy Radford | Fundraising and Communications Officer

As you know, the cultivation of palm oil, an ingredient found in up to half of packaged food products on supermarket shelves, has led to the loss of vast swathes of rainforest in the countries where it is produced. In Sumatra, the palm oil industry has had a devastating impact on the forest habitat of orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinos. The solution is not to boycott palm oil, however. It's a productive crop and has helped lift millions of Indonesians out of poverty. Instead, we need to help the industry become sustainable by creating demand for deforestation-free palm oil.

When our friends at Chester Zoo in the UK came up with the concept of Sustainable Palm Oil Cities, we thought this sounded like a great way to engage people in taking positive action for wildlife and rainforests. We were delighted to help them kick off the first Sustainable Palm Oil City campaign in Chester in 2017 and cheered them on when they achieved Sustainable Palm Oil City status in March 2019. Now we're launching the campaign in our hometown, Oxford. We have high hopes that Oxford can join together as a community, committed to sustainable palm oil and therefore delivering real conservation impact.

By striving for change in our own community, we know we can make a difference in Sumatra by creating a demand for sustainably-produced palm oil. This will stop the chainsaws and bulldozers and keep Sumatra's precious rainforests standing.

Thank you for being part of our global team of people who want to make a difference.

Links:

Learn more about palm oil.

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Jul 17, 2019
Palm oil: it's complicated.

By Lucy Radford | Fundraising and Communications Officer

Intact rainforest in Sumatra. Photo by A Walmsley.

One of the questions we are most frequently asked by our supporters is, 'is it okay to buy products containing palm oil?' Some people choose to avoid all palm oil in their shopping to send a message to companies that they are outraged by the negative impacts of the palm oil industry. However, the question we encourage people to think about is, 'will this help orangutans, forests and communities?'

The answer is an unequivocal no. Boycotting palm oil altogether can lead to unintended consequences: if the international market for palm oil disappears, corporations and smallholder farmers alike could switch to producing an alternative crop. Oil palms are the most productive oil crop in the world, which means that a switch to another type of oil crop, such as soybean oil, would require up to ten times as much land to produce the same yield. This, of course, would lead to more deforestation, not less.

A recent article on The Conversation website explores the complex intersections of global agriculture, politics and forest loss in a very balanced and accessible way. One quote that particularly stood out to us was:

"We know that consumers around the world will eventually demand around 250 to 350 million tonnes per year more vegetable oil than today...Without palm oil, the future demand for vegetable oils would require cultivation land areas almost as large as the Australian continent."

All agriculture has an impact, and with over 4.5 million people in Indonesia alone relying on the palm oil industry as their primary source of income, palm oil is here to stay. What we need to do is ensure that it is cultivated in the least damaging way possible and that intact rainforest is protected. That's why we work hard to keep funding patrol teams, education programmes and community initiatives in Sumatra, and outreach in the UK. Palm oil is here to stay, but deforestation doesn't need to be. Thank you for your support in helping us to keep rainforest standing.

Working with farmers is vital. Photo by A Walmsley

An orangutan in intact forest. Photo by A Walmsley

Links:

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May 2, 2019
An update on the Tapanuli orangutan

By Lucy Radford | Fundraising and Communications Officer

Male Tapanuli orangutan. Photo by Andrew Walmsley.

As you will know from our previous reports, the proposed development of a new hydro dam within the Batang Toru ecosystem - one of Sumatra's areas of precious primary forest - threatens the livelihoods of over 100,000 local people, as well as the survival of the recently discovered Tapanuli orangutan, the world's rarest great ape.

In March, the state administrative court in North Sumatra's capital, Medan, ruled that construction on the dam can continue, despite a large body of evidence that the environmental impact assessment for the dam was deeply flawed. This was devastating news, but the fight is not over. Walhi, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, will appeal the court's decision, and pressure against the project's funders continues to mount.

Along with other environmental groups and members of the public, SOS recently took part in an International Day of Action for the Tapanuli orangutan. We hand-delivered a letter to the Chairman of the Bank of China and led a protest outside one of the bank’s London branches, urging them to reconsider funding the construction of a dam in such a disastrous location. A few days after the International Day of Action, the Bank of China responded to the concerns expressed by environmental organisations and the global community. They released the following note:

Bank of China took note of the concerns expressed by some environmental organisations about the hydroelectric dam project in Batang Toru of Indonesia recently.

We attach great importance to corporate social responsibility in our global operations and ensure that our business activities abide by local laws and regulations. We are committed to supporting environmental protection globally and upholding the principles of green finance.

Bank of China will evaluate the project very carefully and make prudent decisions by duly considering the promotion of green finance, the fulfilment of social responsibility as well as the adherence to commercial principles.

We appreciate your kind attention to Bank of China.

This shows that everyone's voice matters, and everyone can make a difference in keeping forests standing and conserving the animals within them. Your donations to this project help us keep our work on situations like the Batang Toru dam going - you really are helping us to conserve intact forests. Thank you.

Batang Toru forest. Photo by Andrew Walmsley.

Links:

Do more for orangutans

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