Orangutan population faces extinction

Orangutan population faces extinction

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is adored for its natural and cultural
diversity and stands out among the richest countries in the world
in terms of its biodiversity. But at the same time, it is also
losing these assets at an incredibly fast rate.

Dutch researcher Erik Meijaard saw the poor state of the
country's environmental programs in April 1994 when he started
his research on orangutans. On just one of his trips to East
Kalimantan, he encountered 13 caged orangutans.

"This makes it very frustrating to work here, you see a lot of
beauty and you see it being destroyed at the same time," Meijaard
told The Jakarta Post last week.

The research, performed under the guidance of Herman Rijksen,
who has 25 years experience of Indonesian conservation, was
completed last year.

The research was published in the Netherlands last month with
Rijksen as first author, under the title Our Vanishing Relative:
The Status of Wild Orangutans at the Close of the 20th Century.
The book is currently being translated into Indonesian.

The authors' findings estimated that in Kalimantan and Sumatra
-- the only places where the species are found -- no more than
27,000 orangutans were left in the wild, down from an estimated
315,000 at the start of this century.

The apes are spread out over more than 140 habitat fragments
in 84 major sectors. In 54 percent of the fragments, the
situation is critical with orangutans expected to become extinct
there within the next few years. Nowhere, can the situation be
considered stable, i.e. a condition in which a large area is
suffering only minimal habitat degradation so that a normal
population structure of apes may be preserved.

"We estimate that the orangutan is facing extinction in the
wild within 20 years unless some significant changes occur," said
the former activist with WWF-Netherlands, Balikpapan Orangutan
Society and the International Ministry of Forestry -- Tropenbos
Kalimantan Programme.

Meijaard, who obtained a master's degree in tropical ecology
from the Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands in
1994, is currently in Indonesia for PhD research on the
distribution of large mammals.

His research on orangutans found that the number of the
species has sharply decreased due to several factors: the illegal
hunting of the orangutan populations, arson, deforestation and
the accompanying fragmentation due to selective logging. He added
that these issues arise from a range of impediments or ultimate
causes, namely misconceptions, institutional deficiencies and
ecological impediments.

"The problem can be tackled if the will to help the orangutan
survive can be summoned, and a strategic plan is followed," he
said.

Meijaard said the newly published book aims to provide
background knowledge for people to make the right decision
concerning the survival of orangutans.

"Many people are unaware that their decisions concerning wild
lands often result in the death of formally protected orangutans.
We want to inform these decision-makers about what is happening
with the orangutans, in the hope that they can change the present
course of decline."

The research discovered that the decline occurred not only in
the unprotected habitat, but also inside national parks and
nature reserves.

He criticized the government for the low priority accorded
conservation efforts. Such programs received limited support from
people and had a very low status in politics, he said.

In the research, Meijaard worked with different counterparts
from the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations, and also relied on
information provided by local people. He tried to gain
information from logging concessions in Kalimantan, but only six
percent of the concessions returned the questionnaire.

He also researched other species, such as the Malayan sun
bear, the Sumatran rhino, tiger and proboscis monkeys.

He warned that the orangutan could meet the same fate of the
Javan rhino. The rhino was common here several hundred years ago;
people were accustomed to seeing them everywhere, grazing on
riverbanks, but now "there are some 50 left on Java and less than
10 in Vietnam".

The research also proposed the orangutan survival program,
covering two major issues: protection of the orangutan and
protection of its habitat.

He said these two issues require diverse structural activities
in a large number of locations in Sumatra and Kalimantan to be
supported by different national and international sponsors.

The program requires coordination and an organization, which
can handle acquisition, information dissemination, extension,
training, guidance, advisory services, management and the
maintenance of a network of relations, both nationally and
internationally, he added.

In his research, he also noticed that despite all the efforts
of dedicated conservationists, little has improved here.

"The orangutan programs have had an important role in raising
awareness concerning the protected status of the species, still,
orangutans are being shot and captured on an almost daily basis.
Just the other week, three orangutans were found on sale in
Jakarta's Pramuka market," complained Meijaard.

Even in Bogor, located just around the corner from the eyes of
Indonesian conservation authorities, he saw protected species for
sale almost every day.

"Overall, the conservation picture is very gloomy, and much
more is needed to improve the conservation status of Indonesia's
biodiversity," he said.

Even in protected areas, he adds, the implementation of
conservation law is minimal, and often it makes little difference
for wildlife and timber poachers, either poor individuals or rich
corporations, whether an area is protected by conservation and
forestry law or not.

"So without proper political support, both nationally and
internationally, minimal law enforcement, a lack of funds and
also a lack of commitment and dedication it is unlikely that the
situation can be changed easily."

But Meijaard sees no reason to simply give up, since there is
plenty to be saved and there is still hope for improvement.

"A very important step would be if Indonesia's future leaders
would realize that their country's nature represents an enormous
economic value, especially when other countries fail to protect
their own resources."

In his opinion, Indonesia would be acting in a bold and
enterprising manner if it considered the long-term benefit of
protecting resources rather the short-term gain of their
destruction.

"Sadly, it is not how the human mind seems to function and it
will take a visionary and powerful person to realize such
objectives."