BREAKING NEWS : Sumatran Orangutan Rescue Highlights Action Not Words Needed to Save Orangutan Population in Tripa Peat Swamp Forest, Indonesia.

An adult male orangutan is captured for re-release after it's home forest has quickly been cleared for palm oil plantations in Tripa, Aceh Province, 18 April 2012. The Tripa Peatswamp forest supports the highest density of Sumatran Orangutans anywhere on earth, but are still being cleared by palm oil companies who think they are beyond the reach of the law, the situation is urgent and requires action according to Dr Ian Singelton, Director of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program. Photo: Paul Hilton

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The Coalition to Save Tripa Peat Swamp Forest

Sumatran Orangutan Rescue Highlights Action Not Words Needed to Save Orangutan Population in Tripa Peat Swamp Forest, Indonesia.

18/04/2012

[TRIPA – ACEH PROVINCE – SUMATRA – INDONESIA]

Today a specialist Orangutan rescue team from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari (YEL) and BKSDA Aceh (the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry’s nature conservation agency in Aceh) successfully rescued a large adult male orangutan trapped in a small pocket of forest in the Tripa peat swamps, surrounded by encroaching palm oil plantations.

The large Sumatran orangutan was identified by YEL field staff as being at high risk as the small forested area in which he was isolated is continuously encroached upon for palm oil. The area measuring less than 1 hectare and situated very near the northern end of a palm oil concession currently being contested legally in court, was bare of fruit, and the large Sumatran orangutan was already showing signs of malnutrition. “We first saw this orangutan about 3 months ago and it looks like he’s lost around 30% of his body weight since then”, noted SOCP veterinarian drh Yenny Saraswati, who carried out the capture. “If we hadn’t rescued him now he would eventually have starved to death”, she added. “we’ve rescued several orangutans like this in Tripa over the last few years. We don’t like doing it, its risky for the animals as after they’re darted they fall from the tree and can get serious injuries, like broken bones. It would be much better for them if they could simply stay in the forests, but if the forests are disappearing, we have to try to do something!”

Indrianto, a field worker with YEL, explained, “In these situations it really is a race against time. Many orangutans get killed or captured by plantation workers, some ending up as illegal pets. The orangutan we rescued today had already begun eating the shoots of oil palm seedlings nearby, as he had nothing else to eat, and would almost certainly have been killed for this if we hadn’t intervened.”

“Several palm oil companies are continuing to destroy the habitat of the Critically Endangered orangutans in Tripa, including PT Kallista Alam and PT Surya Panen Subur 2, both of whose concessions begin just a few hundred meters from the rescue location. This is despite a number of legal investigations into their activities”, said SOCP Director Dr Ian Singleton. “We have been forced to take action and rescue this Sumatran orangutan today as otherwise he would have starved to death, and many other orangutans in Tripa are facing the same fate, if legal actions against those companies breaking national laws cannot immediately stop the destruction”.

“The Tripa peat swamp forest supports the highest density of orangutans anywhere on earth, but is still being cleared by palm oil companies who think they are beyond the reach of the law. The situation is urgent and requires action, not words, to save Tripa’s remaining orangutans”.

The Head of the Indonesian Government’s special REDD+ Task Force, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, yesterday announced an immediate detailed investigation to determine if land allocation for palm oil plantations in Tripa has been in accordance with prevailing national laws and administrative procedures, and if the plantation companies are operating on the ground in accordance with national laws.

He demanded that the Ministry of the Environment and the Head of the Indonesian National Police conduct further investigations. If legal evidence of lawbreaking is found, he expects that the Ministry of the Environment and the National Police will take appropriate actions to bring a halt to these activities, to penalize the offenders, and to recover the losses caused by ecosystem degradation within the Leuser Ecosystem National Strategic Area.

These comments and instructions from the head of the REDD+ task force are extremely welcome, and very much supported, but right now Tripa’s peat swamp forests continue to be cleared and drained. The swamps are criss-crossed by a vast network of canals draining this unique wetland ecosystem 24 hours a day, threatening to drain all life out of the remaining forests. . An immediate order needs to be made from President SBY to cease all land clearing activities and palm oil operations while the Ministry of Environment and the National Police gather evidence for prosecution. The companies need to be ordered to cease all activities immediately, and the drainage canals need to be blocked as soon as possible.

 

….ENDS

 

For further media comment please contact:

Dr Ian Singleton, Director Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program

Mobile; +62-811 650 491

Email: mokko123@gmail.com

 

Yuyun Indradi, Greenpeace / Forest Political Campaigner;

Mobile: +62-812 2616 1759

Email: yuyun.indradi@greenpeace.org