The government of Malaysia has announced plans for a trading arrangement that would see them gift orangutans to some of their biggest trading partners who buy palm oil from them.
The motivation for the scheme is to ease concerns over the environmental impact of palm oil production and signal the country as both serious about its economy and the environment.
This will seem a surprising and even ironic move to many, given that the production of palm oil is one of the primary threats to the survival of these enigmatic great apes.
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The 'ape for palm oil’ plan
Malaysia is the world’s second-biggest producer of the ubiquitous oil crop, which is found in everything from shampoo to digestive biscuits.
The enormous global demand for palm oil has seen the south-east Asian country give over more than 15% of its total land area to palm plantations. This has resulted in large amounts of deforestation, stripping orangutans of their habitats.
The species is listed as critically endangered and is thought to have suffered a more than 80% decline in its population in just three generations.
The scheme however aims to give the crop a better image, by ostensibly using its trade to signal commitment to conservation.
Malaysia's Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani said on social media “we need to show the countries of the world that Malaysia is a sustainable oil palm producer and is committed to protecting forests and environmental sustainability”. He suggests that in giving orangutans to trade partners like China, India and the EU, they can “prove to the global community that Malaysia is committed to biodiversity conservation”.
The scheme takes inspiration from China’s successful ‘panda diplomacy’ model. From 1941 to 1984 the nation’s government gifted giant pandas as gestures of friendship, eager to establish official diplomatic relations with other countries such as the USA and the UK. Since 1984 pandas have been loaned rather than gifted, with zoos charged huge amounts of money for the privilege, which is then spent on conservation projects. These exchanges have both promoted and funded the conservation of the species.
Many conservationists however disagree that this is a line Malaysia should go down, with any promotion and encouragement of the palm oil trade is seen as counterproductive to orangutan conservation. Working to preserve the country’s remaining forests is seen as the more important step, making sure that orangutan populations are supported within their home ranges, rather than sending them away.
There is also thought to be a great difference between what China has done for pandas, with its state-of-the-art facilities and established protected areas that have been crucial to the scheme, and what Malaysia is suggesting and can even feasibly hope to achieve.
WWF Malaysia has urged for the government to instead focus on setting aside safe wildlife corridors and halting the expansion of palm plantations. In a statement to Reuters they said "WWF supports in-situ conservation of wildlife, and would urge that trading partners are brought to Malaysia to support this initiative, as opposed to sending orangutans out of the country."
Other critics have been less ‘diplomatic’, with renowned conservationist Stuart Pimm calling the plans “obscene, repugnant and extraordinarily hypocritical” in comments made to CNN.
Whichever way you slice it, giving away orangutans in exchange for a crop that contributes to the destruction of the rainforests they call home is going to be a hard sell.
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