KUCHING: Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has dispelled the notion that the growth of oil palm plantations is threatening the orangutan population in the state.
He said a decline in the orangutan population in Sarawak had actually occurred before the 1960s.
“From the historical record and current policy initiatives, it is clear that the expansion of oil palm plantations is in no way a threat to the habitat of orangutans and other wild animals as stated by some vested interests.
“The decrease in the orangutan population did happen before the 1960s. The European Union Reforestation Regulation (EUDR) that was introduced recently is not relevant in this context,” he said.
He said this in his speech read by Deputy Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh at the Joint Meeting of the International Primatology Association – Malaysian Primatology Association 2023 (IPS-MPS 23) at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK), here, yesterday.
Moreover, he said the state’s conservation efforts not only include protecting animals inside the park but also outside the park.
He said orangutans became an attraction until the end of the 1800s and that more than 200 orangutans were exported to Europe from Sarawak in the early 1900s.
“A global estimation by the Zoological Society of London in 1960 estimated that there were at least 248 orangutans in zoos worldwide.
“In the 1960s, it was estimated that one animal in captivity meant that three animals had died during the capture and transport process.
“However, according to a 2014 Sumatran Orangutan Association report, the ratio is actually higher; for every orangutan in captivity, at least six to eight have died during capture and transport,” he said
If the 2014 ratio is used, between 1800 and 1960, he said at least 1,950 to 2,600 Sarawak orangutans could not be saved, as at least 325 animals were reportedly exported.
“This is a minimum figure as the 325 animals are not included in the global estimate by the Zoological Society of London,” he added.
Hence, Abang Johari stated, by 1983, the first protected area for orangutans in Sarawak was established – the Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, with an area of about 168,700 hectares, more than 2.5 times the size of Singapore.
He said the state government in 2020 decided to have a full entity to conserve wildlife and protected areas.
