Make way jungle, we want oil!
Palm oil is THE major threat to the survival of the Orangutans.
On Location: Central Kalimantan, Borneo.
UPDATE 18 DEC 2006
Unsustainable palm oil is the single greatest threat to the future of orangutans in the wild. Forest clearance for oil palm plantations is moving at an incredible speed. When George Bush visted Indonesia recently he pledged support for the Indonesian palm oil industry in support of the development of biofuels... does he know the impacts of palm oil on natural forest? Does he know that by clearing natural forest for oil palm the carbon released is 65 times greater than the amount of carbon that can be fixed annually by those plantation trees? These figures just don't add up when the max lifespan of an oil palm is about 30 years...
This is a serious worry.
Why do politicians keep screwing things up?
There's a whole load of degraded land in Indonesia that would benefit from oil palm development, but whilst many in the industry are willing to clear forest for windfall timber revenues then the industry continues to have a net negative impact on global climate, biodiversity and often land rights of traditional people. All these problems on a supermarket shelf.
You might not know this but palm oil is present in 1 in 10 UK supermarket products. It is often labelled as vegetable oil, so you can't avoid it.
Find out more: www.films4.org
FIRST POSTING
This is the nursery for a new oil palm plantation. In the distance you can see the forest still standing. This nursery is smack in the middle of 40,000 hectares of primary forest that has been given as a concession to a PT Oil Palm group for conversion into an Oil Palm plantation.
This means that by the end of the year this land will have been logged of all its valuable hard wood trees. The land will then be totally clear cut. Not a tree will be left standing. Land movers will cut down to the soil layer. The whole landscape will be empty. Then the palm oil will be planted.
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation that rescue orangutans from the plantations in this area put their best estimate at about 600 orangutans (BREAKING NEWS - NEW SCIENTIFIC SURVEY NOW PUTS THE POPULATION OF ORANGUTANS IN THIS AREA AT BETWEEN 1600 AND 2000) living in this concession that is earmarked for imminent conversion. The fragments of natural forest left are saturated - i.e. they have reached their carrying capacity for orangutans, who need large home ranges for their survival. Hundreds of orangutans will no doubt die. I don't know where the others will end up. Many in the illegal pet trade. Driving through the rough jungle track for an hour on the back of a tractor I saw the mighty forest all around me. I smelt the sickly sweet smell of fermenting fruit that you know is the smell of an orangutan. It was right there in the trees nearby, or had been very recently. Deer crossed our path and maroon leaf monkeys were in the trees. All this is about to be lost.
There are vast areas of land standing empty in Kalimantan. Huge expanses of grasslands that were once forest. No crops have been planted here, but still what little primary forest left standing is at risk of conversion for oil palm. The simple reason for this is the value of the hardwoods these forests contain. It is a one time windfall, it is not sustainable, and it is a tragedy. Orangutans are not the only animals to suffer. I have chosed just one species as an example, a flagship, one of our closest cousins, and sadly endangered.
Comments and faves
dlemieux, .ch-ching, Emiko Hime, ianturton, and 39 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Fericci (81 months ago | reply)
Great shot!!!
Irene Rx (aka Kittenclaw) (81 months ago | reply)
Nick, thank you so much for getting the word out about these things. I don't know if humans realize the incredible cost to wildnerness and environment that is resulting from over-consumption.
I'm going to check out your site. In the meantime, we can do things such as buying non-toxic products that are not from large corporations, ride our bikes, recycle, etc.
shimmertje (81 months ago | reply)
That's so sad.
Emiko Hime (81 months ago | reply)
that's sickening- it's so evil- sometimes I can't imagine how humans can be so cruel!
KönigChristian (81 months ago | reply)
... and your picture gives a pretty good idea of what we will get in return.
Mi Xavier (81 months ago | reply)
Fantastic!!
Films4Conservation (76 months ago | reply)
New scientific research puts the population figures for this area between 1,600 and 2,000
Please come and find out what you can do - www.cockroach.org.uk and click the take action link.
Elizabeth_ jE. (76 months ago | reply)
Very sad yes. But they look lovely and healthy..great angle!
littleredtelephone (76 months ago | reply)
Thank you so much for posting these photos, though it is a sad sight indeed.
JeanKern (76 months ago | reply)
Sad, sad, sad ! I think about it every day ! I will go to Nyaru Menteng by the end of july with € 2000,- and maybe more. I look forward to it, but at the same time I know it will not be a holiday !
Chris&Oli (75 months ago | reply)
great
Mysteroius (72 months ago | reply)
>sigh< dam humanities desire for money!
some great work you guys are doing
Films4Conservation (70 months ago | reply)
New video footage posted on our website now: www.cockroach.org.uk/stories
Films4Conservation (70 months ago | reply)
Our most recent trip yielded even more scary images. The Indonesian friends that I was working with at the time referred to this sight as being "worse than the tsunami"!!!
ıssɐq ıɐɔ oılnıƃ q°ן°p (70 months ago | reply)
bella foto ........ otima inquadratura .... complimenti!
Films4Conservation (66 months ago | reply)
Two of the six hundred orangutans at BOSF Nyaru Menteng. These are palm oil orphans.
Fotoptikon (66 months ago | reply)
gosh. Looks terrible. Thanks for sharing photos and explaining the things.
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Seen in Kalimantan (?)
arimoore (66 months ago | reply)
Amazing image. Thanks for posting this in Animal Rights.
Films4Conservation (18 months ago | reply)
just a quick note to say that I'm happy this is our most viewed photo. also a little annoyed to find it is the most stolen image from our deforestation collection - seems to be cropping up in articles all over the place. we do request a small payment for image usage - this is what allows us to buy the kit that allows us to do the work. the tropics are not kind to cameras and its an expensive business, so have a thought before using the picture. not asking for much, but something will help.
cheers :)
Films4Conservation (18 months ago | reply)
I'd encourage you to also look at the films as well as the photos - free to view 2 full length documentaries from Indonesia and an eight part mini series - www.films4.org/forests
Love to hear what people thought having watched them.
Cheers,
N
Irene Rx (aka Kittenclaw) (18 months ago | reply)
Perhaps you can put a Films 4 Conservation watermark on the photo...There is a way to do so in Photoshop. This will better guard your photo.
Thank you so much for all the work you do.