An Orang Utan story worth telling
Joe FernandezPublished: Jul 6, 2009 8:11 AM | Updated: Jul 6, 2009 8:18 AM
Orang Utan conservation efforts in Sabah have come of age as the world's most endangered species has won permanent sanctuaries in rich jungle settings and illegal logging practices have almost died out although other threats lurk.
Orang Utan conservation efforts in Sabah have come of age as the world's most endangered species has won permanent sanctuaries in rich jungle settings and illegal logging practices have almost died out although other threats lurk.
This is the assessment of Dr Birute Mary Galdikas, 63, the world's leading expert on the conservation of orang utans, who wants to bring the story to the world after her current tour of Sabah ends. She lectures extensively in the United States and Indonesia in particular.
"I am so impressed that the state government is creating corridors to protect wildlife. We need to do more for the future and I am glad that you are already doing it," said the Lithuanian-born Canadian, Galdikas, who is now an Indonesian citizen.
"The diversity and richness of wildlife in the Danum Valley, which has 5,000 orang utan, just simply takes one's breath away. The only forest in the world that comes even close to Danum is the re
Galdikas injected a note of caution when she warned that the oil palm is the "number one enemy" of the orang utan. In Kalimantan Tengah for example, 50 to 70 percent of the land has been cleared for oil palm and this compares with the 20 percent so far in Sabah.
"Creatures are being annihilated because of the mass destruction of rain forests for oil palm plantations and timber estates," lamented Galdikas.
"Tropical rainforests constitute the orang utan species' only natural habitat. But what is happening makes me worried about the future of the orang utan. Their population has declined in recent years. Maybe there are about 30,000 orang utan left.
“You can see the forests being destroyed. Where there were trees five years ago, there is now an oil palm plantation,” she added.
Poaching and habitat destruction
Galdikas doesn't think that the world is losing the fight for the orang utan "but we are not winning either as a result of continued poaching and habitat destruction due to deforestation."
"As long as we can save some trees, and some forests, we can save the orang utan and make a difference," said Galdikas. "But the problem is that we may at best be fighting a losing battle."
Galdikas has been touring places of interest to her in Sabah and comparing notes with the Tanjung Putting National Park in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.
"In Tanjung Putting where I work, we have recorded something like 200 types of birds but in Danum alone, there are 400 different types of birds," marveled Galdikas. "That in itself tells you about the richness of the Danum Valley and I am so glad that it is being protected."
She was particularly struck by plans for the Kinabatangan Corridor of Life (KCol). This involves the state government purchasing privately-owned land at zones neighbouring the fragmented Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary to ensure the longterm survival of the orang utan, the rhino and the unique Sabah pygmy elephant in particular.
Conservation efforts in the Malua Forest Reserve, where illegal loggers are on the run from the long arm of the law, have also come in for praise from Galdikas. This is another sanctuary for an estimated 3,000 orang utan. Here, 250,000 hectares of lowland forests have been set aside for the orang utan.
Another thing that she noted with great interest was the gated checkpoint set up by the Wildlife Department at the Tabin Wildlife Centre to curb illegal poaching.
Making comparisons between Sabah and Kalimantan Tengah, now her home province, Galdikas noted that there is massive tourism in Sepilok.
"The real work, like what is being done in Sepilok, gets done in non-public facilities, so we don't have the visitors. We get a few thousand foreigners a year," she said.
Infrastructure in Sabah, although a long way off from that in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, was also relatively much better than that in Kalimantan Tengah.
This is attributed to the fact that the forests in the Indonesian part of Borneo were much poorer and did not generate as much wealth. At the same time, the Indonesian government had many other pressing problems to deal with in the world's fourth largest nation besides worrying about conservation efforts.
'Sabah is very fortunate'
"Sabah has been very fortunate because it has magnificent forests that allow great prosperity. In KalimantanTengah, the forests are not as tall and don't have as much valuable timber," said Galdikas.
"So the prosperity that was made possible in Sabah by the abundant resources you have here by your history simply does not exist in Kalimantan Tengah. It's the poorest of all provinces in Kalimantan. However, there are no beggars in the province," she added.
Initially, Galdikas revealed, she applied to work in Sabah in the late 60s after graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Zoology and Master's degree in Anthropology from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).
"But there was no reply from the Sabah government or the Malaysian government. So, we wrote to the Indonesian Government and they replied. I think that I was fated to go to Indonesia," she said.
Galdikas presently heads the Orang Utan Care Centre and Quarantine in Pangkalan Bun. This is an official cooperative programme between Indonesia's Nature Conservation Agency and the Los Angeles-based Orang Utan Foundation International which she heads.
Between 1996 and 1998, Galdikas was senior adviser to Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry on orang utan issues.
In June 1997, she won the Kalpataru, Indonesia's 'Hero of the Earth' award for outstanding environmental leadership.
Despite threats and harassments and kidnap attempts, she has successfully lobbied the Indonesian government to set aside parks and curb illegal logging and orang utan trading.
This is the assessment of Dr Birute Mary Galdikas, 63, the world's leading expert on the conservation of orang utans, who wants to bring the story to the world after her current tour of Sabah ends. She lectures extensively in the United States and Indonesia in particular.
"I am so impressed that the state government is creating corridors to protect wildlife. We need to do more for the future and I am glad that you are already doing it," said the Lithuanian-born Canadian, Galdikas, who is now an Indonesian citizen. "The diversity and richness of wildlife in the Danum Valley, which has 5,000 orang utan, just simply takes one's breath away. The only forest in the world that comes even close to Danum is the re
Galdikas injected a note of caution when she warned that the oil palm is the "number one enemy" of the orang utan. In Kalimantan Tengah for example, 50 to 70 percent of the land has been cleared for oil palm and this compares with the 20 percent so far in Sabah.
"Creatures are being annihilated because of the mass destruction of rain forests for oil palm plantations and timber estates," lamented Galdikas.
"Tropical rainforests constitute the orang utan species' only natural habitat. But what is happening makes me worried about the future of the orang utan. Their population has declined in recent years. Maybe there are about 30,000 orang utan left.
“You can see the forests being destroyed. Where there were trees five years ago, there is now an oil palm plantation,” she added.
Poaching and habitat destruction
Galdikas doesn't think that the world is losing the fight for the orang utan "but we are not winning either as a result of continued poaching and habitat destruction due to deforestation."
"As long as we can save some trees, and some forests, we can save the orang utan and make a difference," said Galdikas. "But the problem is that we may at best be fighting a losing battle." Galdikas has been touring places of interest to her in Sabah and comparing notes with the Tanjung Putting National Park in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.
"In Tanjung Putting where I work, we have recorded something like 200 types of birds but in Danum alone, there are 400 different types of birds," marveled Galdikas. "That in itself tells you about the richness of the Danum Valley and I am so glad that it is being protected."
She was particularly struck by plans for the Kinabatangan Corridor of Life (KCol). This involves the state government purchasing privately-owned land at zones neighbouring the fragmented Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary to ensure the longterm survival of the orang utan, the rhino and the unique Sabah pygmy elephant in particular.
Conservation efforts in the Malua Forest Reserve, where illegal loggers are on the run from the long arm of the law, have also come in for praise from Galdikas. This is another sanctuary for an estimated 3,000 orang utan. Here, 250,000 hectares of lowland forests have been set aside for the orang utan. Another thing that she noted with great interest was the gated checkpoint set up by the Wildlife Department at the Tabin Wildlife Centre to curb illegal poaching.
Making comparisons between Sabah and Kalimantan Tengah, now her home province, Galdikas noted that there is massive tourism in Sepilok.
"The real work, like what is being done in Sepilok, gets done in non-public facilities, so we don't have the visitors. We get a few thousand foreigners a year," she said.
Infrastructure in Sabah, although a long way off from that in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, was also relatively much better than that in Kalimantan Tengah.
This is attributed to the fact that the forests in the Indonesian part of Borneo were much poorer and did not generate as much wealth. At the same time, the Indonesian government had many other pressing problems to deal with in the world's fourth largest nation besides worrying about conservation efforts.
'Sabah is very fortunate'
"Sabah has been very fortunate because it has magnificent forests that allow great prosperity. In KalimantanTengah, the forests are not as tall and don't have as much valuable timber," said Galdikas.
"So the prosperity that was made possible in Sabah by the abundant resources you have here by your history simply does not exist in Kalimantan Tengah. It's the poorest of all provinces in Kalimantan. However, there are no beggars in the province," she added. Initially, Galdikas revealed, she applied to work in Sabah in the late 60s after graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Zoology and Master's degree in Anthropology from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).
"But there was no reply from the Sabah government or the Malaysian government. So, we wrote to the Indonesian Government and they replied. I think that I was fated to go to Indonesia," she said.
Galdikas presently heads the Orang Utan Care Centre and Quarantine in Pangkalan Bun. This is an official cooperative programme between Indonesia's Nature Conservation Agency and the Los Angeles-based Orang Utan Foundation International which she heads.
Between 1996 and 1998, Galdikas was senior adviser to Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry on orang utan issues.
In June 1997, she won the Kalpataru, Indonesia's 'Hero of the Earth' award for outstanding environmental leadership.
Despite threats and harassments and kidnap attempts, she has successfully lobbied the Indonesian government to set aside parks and curb illegal logging and orang utan trading.
View Comments0