by Hans Nicholas Jong on
5 September 2017
The
finding is part of a new report led by the Indonesian government.
The study
confirms that orangutan populations have plunged over the past decade.
It
recommends several strategies for protecting the primates, including working
with plantation companies to preserve forests within lands they have been
licensed to develop.
Four
fifths of wild orangutans in Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo, live
outside national parks and other protected areas, according to a new study by
the Indonesian government.
The
study, called the 2016 Orangutan Population and Habitat Viability Assessment,
was led by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Released last month, it is
the third of its kind, with the last one done in 2004.
The study
confirms that orangutan populations have plummeted as their forest habitats
continue to be flattened by the expansion of industry. So too has an illegal
pet trade taken its toll on remaining populations.
The study
estimates that 57,350 critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)
remain in Kalimantan. That’s 13-47 individuals per 100 square kilometers, down
from around 45-76 in 2004.
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