Help protect the Orangutans of Borneo!

  • by: Harry Thomas
  • recipient: Sultan/PM of Brunei Hassanai Bolkiah, Crown Prince of Brunei Al-Muhtadee Billah, President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono of Indonesia, King Abdul Halim of Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak of Malaysia

The Bornean orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus, is a species of orangutan from the island of Borneo, it is a member of the only genus of great apes native to Asia.

The Bornean orangutan is an endangered species, with deforestation, oil-palm plantations and killing posing a serious threat to its continued existence.

The Bornean orangutan is endangdered according to the IUCN Red list of mammals, and is listed on Appendix I of CITES. The total number of Bornean orangutans is thought to be less than 14 percent of what it was in the recent past (from around 10,000 years ago until the middle of the twentieth century) and this sharp decline has happened mostly over the past few decades due to human activities and development. Species distribution is now highly patchy throughout Borneo: it is apparently absent or uncommon in the south-east of the island, as well as in the forests between the Rejang River in central Sarawak and the Padas River in western Sabah (including the Sultanate of Brunei). There is a population of around 6,900 in Sabangau National Park, but this environment is at risk. According to an anthropologist at Harvard University, it is expected that in 10 to 20 years orangutans will be extinct in the wild if there is no serious effort to overcome the threats that they are facing.

This view is also supported by the United Nations Environment Program, which stated in its 2007 report that due to illegal logging, fire and the extensive development of oil palm plantations, orangutans are endangered, and if the current trend continues, they will become extinct.

A November 2011 survey, based on interviews with 6,983 respondents in 687 villages across Kalimantan in 2008 to 2009, gave estimated orangutan killing rates of between 750 and 1800 in the year leading up to April 2008.These rates were much higher than previously thought and confirm that, the continued existence of the orangutan in Kalimantan, is under serious threat. The survey did not quantify the additional threat to the species of habitat loss due to deforestation and expanding palm-oil plantations. The survey found that 73% of respondents knew that orangutans were protected by Indonesian law.

However the Indonesian government rarely prosecutes or punishes perpetrators. In a rare prosecution in November 2011, two men were arrested for killing at least 20 orangutans and a number of long-nosed proboscis monkeys. They were ordered to conduct the killings by the supervisor of a palm oil plantantion, to protect the crop, with a payment of $100 for a dead orangutan and $22 for a monkey.

There are international guidelines and laws to protect orangutans. Notably, the World Conservation Union has developed criteria to identify threatened species and published the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), under which trade in orangutans or orangutan parts is illegal.

PLEASE SIGN NOW AND URGE THE MALAYSIAN, INDONESIAN AND BRUNEI HEADS OF STATE AND CITES MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION, TO OFFER THIS BEAUTIFUL CREATURE THE PROTECTION IT DESERVES AND TO INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE ANY INDIVIDUAL OR ORGANIZATION THAT POSES ANY RISK TO THE SAFETEY OF THIS SPECIES, AND FOR CITES MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES TO UPHOLD AND IMPLEMENT THE ORANGUTANS APPENDIX I CITES STATUS, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

THIS PETITION WILL BE SENT, WITH LETTER OF SUGGESTED ACTIONS, TO THE ABOVE NAMED INDIVIDUALS, AND THE FOLLWING CITES MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES OF THE REGION AS FOLLOWS - The Director of Agriculture and Agrifood of Brunei, The Director of Forestry of Brunei, The Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation of Indonesia, The Directorate of Investigation and Forest Protection of Indonesia, Madam Zurinah Pawanteh of the Biodiversity and Forest Management Department of Malaysia, The Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, The Director of Forestry of the
Forest Department Headquarters of Sarawak.

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