Table Of ContentUNEP
^V^*^
^ • RAPID RESPONSEASSESSMENT
THE STAND^il^
LAST
OF THE ORANGUTAN
STATE OF EMERGENCY: ILLEGAL LOGGING, FIRE
AND PALM OIL IN INDONESIA'S NATIONAL PARKS
RequestedlothJanuary2007;Submitted27thJanuary,Launched
February 6th 2007. Nellemann, C, Miles. L.. Kaltenborn, B. P.,
Virtue, M., and Ahlenius, H. (Eds). 2007. The last stand ofthe
orangutan - State ofemergency: Illegal logging, fire and palm
oil in Indonesia's national parks. United Nations Environment
Programme, GRID-Arendal, Norway,www.grida.no
ISBN No:978-82-7701-043-4
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miiHMnMiniiin
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Christian Nellemann (EditorinChief)
Lera Miles
BJ0rn P. Kaltenborn
MelanieVirtue
and HugoAhlenius
RAPID RESPONSEASSESSMENT
THE STAND
LAST
OF THE ORANGUTAN
STATE OF EMERGENCY: ILLEGAL LOGGING, FIRE
AND PALM OIL IN INDONESIA'S NATIONAL PARKS
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PREFACE
Globalization and international trade are generating wealth on Inthepastfiveyears morethan 90%ofover40 parkshave now
anunprecedentedscaleandliftingmillionsoutofpoverty. How- been impacted putting at risk national and regional attempts to
ever,thegrowthofglobalmarketsisalsoputtingpressureonthe meetthe 2010biodiversitytarget.Thedrivingforces arenotim-
Earth's ecosystems or natural assets that in many ways are the poverished farmers, butwhatappears tobeweU-organizedcom-
foundationofwealthcreationinthefirstplace. panieswithheavymachineryandstronginternationallinkstothe
globalmarkets.
Theplanet'stropical forests are someoftheseextraordinaryand
economically important assets - ecosystems playing a vital role UNEP applauds the Indonesian government's new initiative fo-
in moderatingthe atmosphere, sequestratinggreenhouse gases, cusingonnewandspeciallytrainedrangerunitstowinbackthe
delivering watershed management and are home to a rich and nationalparks. Itisstartingtoshowsomepromisingresultswith
biologicallyimportantarrayofplantsandanimals. illegal logging halted in two parks in 2006. But the authorities
need moreassistance. National parks represent a common heri-
This UNEP Rapid Response report, carried out on behalfofthe tage and their protection and enforcement is essential in inter-
UN-led Great Ape Survival Project, has used the latest satellite nationalconservation. UNEPthereforehopestoworkevenmore
imagery and data from the Government ofIndonesia to assess closely with Indonesia's government in the coming years and
changesintheforestsinonepartofsouth-eastAsia. supportthem in thisvitalworkthatmayholdpromiseforother
nationstoo.
The results indicate that illegal logging, fires and plantations of
crops such as palm oil are now intpiding extensivelyinto Indo- Achim Steiner
nesia's nationalparkswhich, forexample, arethelastsafe-holds ExecutiveDirector
oftheorangutan. UnitedNations EnvironmentProgramme
SUMMARY
Orangutans are native to Indonesia and Malaysia. Their survival lybyinternational markets andwell-organised timber supply net-
is seriously endangered by illegal logging, forest fires including works.ThispattemisalsoseeninothertropicalareasincludingLat-
thoseassociatedwiththe rapid spreadofoil palm plantations, il- inAmericaandAfrica.Iftheimmediatecrisisinsecuringthefuture
legalhunting and trade. In thelastfewyears, timber companies survivaloftheorangutanandtheprotectionofnationalparksisnot
haveincreasinglyenteredthelaststrongholdsoforangutansinIn- resolved,veryfewwildorangutanswiUbeleftvrithintwodecades.
donesia:thenationalparks.OfficialIndonesiandatarevealthatil- AscenarioreleasedbyUNEPin2002suggestedthatmostnatural
legallogginghasrecendytakenplacein37of41surveyednational rainforestin Indonesiawouldbedegradedby2032. Giventherate
parksinIndonesia,somealsoseriouslyaffectedbyminingandoil ofdeforestationindiepastfiveyears,andrecentwidespreadinvest-
palmplantationdevelopment. Satelliteimageryfrom 2006 docu- mentinoilpalmplantationsandbiodieselrefineries,thismayhave
mentbeyondanydoubtthatprotectedareasimportantfororang- beenoptimistic. Newestimatessuggestthat98%oftheforestmay
utans arebeingdeforested. Theuse ofbriberyorarmedforceby bedestroyed by2022, the lowland forestmuch sooner Since ma-
loggingcompaniesiscommonlyreported,andparkrangershave tureforestisbeinglostfromlargeareas, tliesupplyoftimberwill
insufficientnumbers,arms,equipmentandtrainingtocope. declineftirtherThismeansthattheincentivetologprotectedareas
will grow. The rate and extent ofillegal logging in national parks
Ifcurrentloggingtrends continue, mostofIndonesia's national may, ifunchallenged, endangerthe entireconceptofprotectedar-
parks are likely to be severely damaged within the next decade, easworldwide.Atcurrentratesofintrusionintonationalparks,itis
becausetheyareamongstthelastareastoholdvaluabletimberin likelythatmanyprotectedareaswillalreadybeseverelydegradedin
commerciallyviableamounts.Thesituationisnowacuteforboth threetofiveyears,thatisby2012.
the Bomean orangutan and Sumatran orangutan. These species
areclassedasEndangeredandCriticallyEndangeredrespectively Indonesiahasworkedextensivelywithothercountriestoreduceil-
bytheWorld Conservation Union (lUCN), and arelistedonAp- legallogging,butthisobjectiverequiresthesubstantialsupportof
pendixIoftheConventiononInternationalTradeinEndangered theinternationalcommunity,includingrecipientsofillegallylogged
Species ofWUd Fauna and Flora (CITES). The rapid rate ofre- timber.Effortstointroducetimbercertification,andotherworkto
moval offood trees, killing oforangutans displaced by logging reducelevelsofillegaltiadearecritical,butmostlikelytohaveim-
and plantation development, and fragmentation of remaining pactsoverthelong-term.TherecentIndonesianinitiativeofbetter
intact forest constitutes a conservation emergency. More than tiainingandequipmentofparkrangers,includingthedevelopment
onethousand orangutans are livingin rescue centres in Borneo ofRangerQuickResponseUnits(SPORC-SatiaanKhusus Pohsi
alone,withuncertainchancesofeverreturningtothewild. KehutananReaksiCepat)isthereforetliemostpromisingcounter-
measure, but requires substantial stiengthening todealwith the
Aseriesofinternationalandnationalinitiativeshavebeendevel- scaleoftheimmediateproblem.Currentiy,35nationalparkshave
opedtoaddressillegallogging. However,itisevidentthatAsian, 2155ordinaryfieldrangerstopatrolanareaof108000km^.
EuropeanandNorthAmericanmarketsarestillmajorrecipients
ofillegallyloggedwoodproducts,whichoftenchangeownership Theserangershavelittleaccesstogroundvehicles,helicopters,aero-
and recorded country-oforigin multiple times during tiansport. planes,communication,necessaryarmsorparamilitarylong-range
Anestimated73-88%ofalltimberloggedin Indonesiaisillegal. patroltrainingthatwouldenablethemtointerceptandstopillegal
Lessthan20%issmuggledoutaslogs,andtheremainingwood intrusionsatthesescales.Thetraining,sufficientarmingandequip-
isprocessedinsaw,paperorpulpmillsandlaterexported.These pingofthese rangers and SPORC units tolocate, intercept, arrest
mUls have a capacity oftwo to five times greater than the legal andrepelcompaniesfromprotectedareasappeartobeamongthe
supplyoftimber. mostpromisingcriticalemergencyresponses. Ifsuchprogrammes
arestrengthenedtobecomefirUyoperationalinthemostthreatened
Thisassessment,basedonaseriesofindependentstudies,shows parks,theymayserveasglobalrole-modelsforthecontinuedprotec-
thatthedisastroussituationin Indonesia'sforestsisdrivenmain- tionofnationalparksforbiodiversityconservation.
CONTENTS
5 PREFACE
6 SUMMARY
9 ORANGUTANSON THE EDGE
12 AN IRREPLACEABLE HABITAT
14 ORANGUTAN UPDATE
i6 ILLEGALLOGGING
l8 ILLEGALEXPLOITATIONOFNATIONALPARKS
23 INTERNATIONALDRIVERSOFILLEGALLOGGING
25 MULTINATIONALNETWORKS
2g OILPALMPLANTATIONS
31 ' FORESTSON FIRE
34 ILLEGALINTERNATIONALTRADE IN LIVE '
ORANGUTANS
35 30% INCREASE IN ORANGUJAN HABITATLOSS
UW
37 ENFORCEMENT RESPONSESTO ILLEGAL
FORESTRYACTIVITIES
.
3» COUNTERING ILLEGAL LOGGING
CONCLUSIONSAND RECOMMENDATIONS*
43r
46 CONTRIBUTORS.
_47 REFERENCES ^ ' •
V^'
I
<
Pongopygmaeus
Uppir
Kkiabaongan
Lokvef
KlnabatanganWS
Figurei: Bornean orangutan dis-
tribution, with priority popula-
IKTE tions highlighted. Reproduced
from Caldecott &. Miles (2005);
OfangutParnesdelnstlrattbuiimlkonno(wInnddtevntsdiutaylp«rkm*) A•p-p^roxiSmuabt-*sopreacniegsutdaMnSjtoanxonomy CTraOocovar(porctnt) updated with GRASP priority
^^mm o11..s05---2t1.n£5 1mm m,IASCuotn>s-eprvoaptiiMolnoanretafsvblon IIII—111 046"11--1--«06t)0oo &pMoepiujlLaaaatrcidkomnase.nt-ASanlo.currce(enfsoa;rzthAcno(cm2ri0en0ng4a))z;;
• City I 1 Water Meijaard et al. {2004); Singleton
Ptiofjtypopulatioo River etal. {2004).
ORANGUTANS ON THE EDGE
Orangutans survive only in the dwindling tropical rainforests of
Borneoand northern Sumatra, beingdependenton theforestfor
food and nesting sites. Orangutan populations are seriously af
fectedwhen their forest is destroyed orlogged, notleastbecause
theyareoftenlolledformeatortoprotectnewlyplantedcrops.For
example,intheSebangauswampforestsofcentral Borneo,orang-
utans fled from illegal logging operations, moving into less ideal
habitat(Hussonetal.2002).Tlieresultingovercrowdingledtoan
increased death rate among young orangutans, and fewer births
amongstfemales.Whentheforeststartedtoregenerate,tlieorang-
utans were able to return. In Malaysia, the Kinabatangan Orang-
utan Conservation Project has studied the effects ofthe tiansfor-
mationwroughtbyloggingondipterocarpforests.Theremovalof
mostlargetreesmeansthattheheavyadultmaleorangutanswere
forcedtomovealongtheground,increasingtheirvulnerability,but
on theotherhand, the invasion ofthe logged forestbyvines and Orangutan biology
pioneerspecies soon resulted in an increased abundance offruit
(Ancrenazetal. 2005). Iftheyarenotkilledintheprocess,orang- Orangutansareintelligent,strong,largeprimates,andliveasemi-
utansinthesehabitatscansurviveselectivelogging.Evidencefrom solitarylifeinthetrees.Abalancedorangutandietconsistsoffruits
KetambeandGunimgLeaserin Sumatrasuggeststhattheability and seeds, but they are also able to eat foodstuffs such as bark,
leaves and insectstosurvive in times ofshortage. Fresh sleeping
oftheseforeststosupportorangutansinitiallydeclineswithselec-
nestsarebuiltfrom branchesand leavesalmosteveryevening.
tivelogging, butcanrecoverovertime. Over Borneoand Sumatra
as awhole, illegallogginghas ledtohugedeclines inorangutans Sumatran orangutans {Pongoobeli!) areonlyfound in Indonesia,
andotherwildlife.Whereforestsareconvertedtoplantationsofoil and Borneanorangutans {Pongopygmaeus) onlyin Indonesiaand
palm {Elaeisguinecnsis) orothercrops, theconsequencesareeven Malaysia, v/ith occasional males reported aswandering into Bru-
moreserious,withmanyorangutansstarving. nei Darussalam.The BorneanandSumatranspecieshaveformed
separatebreedingpopulationsforaroundonetotwomillionyears,
like all great apes, orangutans have long lifetimes, long "child- differing in genetics, behaviour, diet, life historyand morphology
hoods" and relatively low reproductive rates, which makes it dif (MacKinnon etal. 1996; Delgado&.van Schaik 2000, Wich etal.
ficult forthem to recoverwhen large numbers are killed. Recent 2004; McConkey2005;Wichetal. 2006a,b;Taylor2006). Neither
estimatessuggestthatthereare45000to69000 Bomeanorang- speciesisterritorial, butfullydevelopedadultmalestendtoavoid
utansandonly7300 Sumatranorangutansremaininginthewild oneanother, andoccasionallyfightiftheydomeet. j^_
(Caldecott& Miles 2005). The Bomean orangutanis classifiedas
EndangeredbylUCN (theWorldConservation Union), indicating TheSumatranorangutanisclassifiedasCriticallyEndangeredby
that it has a very high risk ofextinction in the wild in the near lUCN, indicatingthatithasanextremelyhighriskofextinction
fiature.ThereareatleastthreesubspeciesofBomeanorangutans: inthewildinthenearfuture. Since1900,thenumberofSuma-
Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus (northwest), Pongo pygmaeus wurmhii tran orangutans is thought to have fallen by about 91%, wdth a
(central)andPongopygmaeusmorio(northeast) (Figurei).Thecen- rapidlyacceleratinglosstowardstheendofthetwentiethcentury
tral Bomean orangutan is the largest, followed by the northwest (McConkey2005).Asaresultoflogging,infrastructuredevelop-
subspecies,andthenortheastsubspeciesisthesmallest. ment,internalmigrationandplantationdevelopment,Sumatra's
forest area was reduced by 6i% between 1985 and 1997. The There is a serious need for conservation action on bothislands,
remaining orangutan population is therefore fragmented, with because even within these fonnally protected areas, orangutans
thecoreofits rangebeingthe LeuserEcosystem.Thisconserva- are under pressure. Priority populations for conservation action
tionareaisitselfrecognisedinIndonesianlaw,andcontainsthe (Figure i, 2) havebeen identified by scientists working withthe
Gunung Leuser National Park, which forms part oftheTropical GreatApes Survival Project(GRASP).Thegoalistoretainviable
RainforestHeritageofSumatraWorldHeritage Site. populationsofbothorangutanspeciesandallthreeBomeansub-
species in their natural habitats wherever they exist, conserving
theirgenetic,culturalandecologicaldiversity.
