The Malaysian Palm Oil Council says the 30% decline in orangutan population refers to protected forest areas surrounding oil palm estates.
Its CEO Kalyana Sundram said the 30% decline referred to protected forest areas surrounding oil palm estates.First, the accuracy of orangutan population estimates in Sabah had improved due to increased survey efforts. Second, the orangutan population in Sabah had been stable for over 15 years from 2002, and third, the small population of orangutan surrounding oil palm plantations had declined at varying rates.
“WWF also stated that further studies are needed to determine the exact reasons for the change in numbers,” Kalyana said in a statement today. Reuters, which reported the WWF findings yesterday, said at least 650 orangutan were lost in protected areas of Sabah’s eastern lowlands between 2002 and 2017, while the overall population of orangutan in Sabah remained steady at around 11,000.