Sabah Heeds Threat to Orang Utan Population
Posted on: Sunday, 5 February 2006, 21:00 CST
By Jaswinder Kaur
KOTA KINABALU, Sat. - Wildlife geneticist Dr Benoit Goossens' warning that the orang utan population in Sabah is declining has prompted immediate action by authorities here.
The Sabah Forestry Department, acknowledging that the orang utan is a "flagship" species, is taking measures to save the species from extinction.
Department director Sam Mannan said among the steps taken were to continue with the Sustainable Forest Management and Natural Forest Management policies and to restore forests in fragmented areas.
He said based on 17 years' experience at the Deramakot Forest Reserve, 200km from Sandakan, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, the orang utan population had remained stable at around 900 to 1,000.
"After 10 years of Reduced Impact Logging in Deramakot, the orang utan population remains stable. It is proven that the orang utan, even with logging as a component of operations, can survive and thrive.
"Following the success of Deramakot, the Government has allocated more areas to be managed under the sustainable forest management concept, covering 276,395ha.
"Another 190,000ha of natural forest in central Sabah will be certified soon by the Forest Stewardship Council," Mannan said in a statement.
He said it was the vision of the Government to have not less than 320,000ha of forests certified by 2010, covering six times the area of Deramakot.
A three-year study saw Goossens and his team extract DNA from hair and faecal samples of 200 primates during boat surveys at the Kinabatangan River. Fourteen genetic "microsatellites" were used to determine patterns of genetic diversity.
The research found the likely time-frame of the decline was within the last 100 years, with most of the destruction in the last few decades coinciding with rampant deforestation in the region from the 1950s to 1970s.
Goossens, a research associate with Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, said a major threat to long-term survival of the species was linked to oil palm plantation development and forest destruction.
Mannan also said multiple indigenous fast-growing trees were being planted through the forest restoration strategy in degraded forests, generating a better environment for wildlife.
"Another strategy is to restore forests outside forest reserves. This is done in co-operation with landowners, especially in vital ecosystems such as in the Lower Kinabatangan," he said.
"The State Government has also allocated land outside reserves for tree plantations to increase forests. This restores degraded environments and benefits wildlife, especially in reconnecting pockets of forest."
Mannan pointed out that the Tabin Wildlife, Maliau Basin and the Danum Valley forest reserves were totally protected areas and home to the orang utan.
WWF Malaysia lauded the State Government for recognising the need to reverse the decline in orang utan populations.
WWF, in a statement, suggested that forest conversions to plantations be stopped in the range of orang utan populations, and to continue restoring and connecting forests.
WWF, through the Sabah Orang Utan, Rhinoceros and Elephant Landscape (Sorel) project, is working with several departments to map conditions at the Mahua and Ulu Segama forest reserves, which are significant habitats of the primate.
The Sorel study is looking into impacts of logging on orang utan behaviour and distribution in the forest.
Source: New Straits Times
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