Sunday 26 July 2009

Thousands of Orangutans in Central Kalimantan in danger

Personal note: Such publicity is always helful. For all its size and staff employed, I have still never once met anyone from WWF in the field or forest. Long time readers of my blog will know my views of WWF.


WWF failed the tigers (now only about 1000 left in the wild) and I can't see it saving any orangutans. Compared to say COP, how often have you seen WWF actually doing anything worthwhile to save orangutans?

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The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 07/26/2009


The good news is that there are between 6,000 and 9,000 Orangutans still living in Central Kalimantan forests, but the bad news is that their lives are in danger.


Head of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)'s Central Kalimantan project, Rosenda CH Hasih, told Antara on Sunday that that the Orangutans currently living in Sebangau national parks in Central Kalimantan were saved by the failure of the one million hectare peat land rice project in Kalimantan.


Rosenda noted that currently the habitats of Orangutans were in danger from illegal logging as well as from illegal hunting.


"WWF together with Sebangau national parks are now conserving the Orangutan, both by protecting its habitats and improving the welfare of people living around the parks," Rosenda said.


Rosenda added that improving the welfare of local people is important as they live from the forests, either by collecting rattan or certain kinds of woods from the forests or collecting fish from rivers in the forests.


http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/07/26/thousands-orangutans-central-kalimantan-danger.html