The news we’ve all been waiting for is here! Shangri-la Rasa Ria Resort’s exploitation of orangutans to end in April! Please see the article at this link for more information.

The resort made it look like there are voluntarily ending the exploitation, and we will soon respond to it. But without your support for our campaign we assure you the exploitation would never stop.

In early February one orangutan was sent back to Sepilok.

Our petition will remain open until we know the remaining two infants at the resort are returned to Sepilok in April, and we will inform all supporters and declare victory! In the meantime please sign and share our petition and tweet to Shangri-La.

THANK YOU for your support. Without it this news would never come!

Friends of the Orangutans are currently looking to employ a full-time Forest Campaigner. Please see details below:

Responsibilities:
• Collect and analyze remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) data from opan source databases
• Create and manipulate GIS data
• Produce detailed map graphics for a diversity of projects using GIS
• Develop, coordinate and manage projects on forest resources management and conservation of orangutan habitat, hard-hitting campaigns including existing ones
• Write news releases, letters to the media for publishing
• Communicate with media outlets, government agencies, zoos, NGOs, etc
• Perform any other duties assigned by the Director

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in forestry/conservation biology/natural resource management or other related field
• Knowledge of principles, practices and application of GIS; representation of synthetic result maps
• Knowledge in remote sensing data and be willing to learn the use of highly specified software (e.g. CLASlite 3.2)
• Expansive knowledge interest in the Malaysian landscape in regards to environment and wildlife conservation, palm oil industry, forest management
• Fervent passion and beliefs in animal rights and environmental issues
• Meticulous and consistent approach to work, and ability to produce quality results
• Minimum 1 year experience in conservation
• Proficient in Bahasa Melayu and English, written and spoken
• Ability to multitask, work independently and meet deadlines with limited supervision
• Willing to relocate and travel, in and outside Malaysia
• Computer proficient
• Commitment to the objectives of the organization
• Applicant must be a Malaysian citizen

How to apply:

•Email us your resume & include a covering letter to explain why you want to be part of Friends of the Orangutans (FOTO), at info@fotomalaysia.org
•Include two (2) contactable referees in your resume.
•Applications without a covering letter and referees will be rejected.
•State your starting expected salary.

Full time position only – on a annual contractual basis
Deadline for application: 25 March 2016
Employment begins in mid-April
Only short-listed candidates will be notified.

Alternatively, you may apply through Jobstreet at this link.

http://www.jobstreet.com.my/en/job/2880020

On 22nd January, Mr. Pierre Bois d’Enghien, an RSPO auditor and self-proclaimed “environmental expert” produced an extremely misleading article published by The Star. In it, d’Enghien claims Malaysia’s forests have grown and that “forest loss has effectively fallen to zero”. You can read d’Enghien’s article in full here.

Below is Friends of the Orangutans’ reply to d’Enghien’s piece:

It is with disappointment that we read Pierre Bois D’Enghien’s summary (‘Malaysia is green and growing’, The Star, 22 January) of the Malaysian forest situation as published in the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) 2015 report. D’Enghien implies states that “Malaysia’s forest area is increasing, not decreasing.” This is misleading as researchers and scientists have shown Malaysia as having an extremely high rate of deforestation, which contrasts the claims made by D’Enghien.

Closer inspection of the FRA report by the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations] shows that the figures have not been prepared by an independent international committee, but rather by the Malaysian government. In view of long-standing concerns about greenwashing by the Malaysian government, it is especially important that claims about the Malaysian rainforest are cross-checked by independent environmental groups locally and by reliable & independent international monitors. While some of the contentious claims made by D’Enghien are worth correcting.

D’Enghien’s piece states that Malaysia’s forest area today is 22,195,100ha or 67.6% (more than two-thirds) of the land area.  ‘Forest area’ is a dubious term as forest areas area might not have any natural forest in it. The correct term to use is ‘forest cover’. 

He also claims Malaysia’s forest cover, according to Global Forest Watch [GFW], stands at 29,000,000 hectares, an “upward of 80%”. The term used by GFW is ‘tree cover’ and not forest cover. Tree cover describes all trees and vegetation taller than 5m, including palm oil plantations, but palm oil plantations cannot be classified as forest as it cannot match natural forests in terms of carbon storage, biodiversity and maintenance of our precious ecosystems. D’Enghien – an ‘ambassador’ of The Oil Palm, initiated by Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) – is trying to tell Malaysians we have an abundance of natural forests left when the reality on the ground is different.

A finding by National University of Singapore (NUS) scientists revealed Malaysia had (at best) 45.4% forest cover in year 2010, a loss of 13.2% since 2000. Between those 10 years our country lost an astonishing 45.3% of forest cover on peatland. More recent data shows between 2012 and 2014 our country suffered 484,700 hectares of forest cover loss.

Thus it is extremely misleading and unethical, when the writer claims that Malaysia’s “forest loss has effectively fallen to zero.”

Meanwhile, the FRA report states that between 1990 and 2015 Malaysia gained over a million hectares of primary forests, which is highly impossible and contentious considering the rate of deforestation. Our government has possibly reclassified certain areas as primary forests.

D’Enghien invites us, the Malaysian people, to be proud of the FRA report. He suggests we “should look to its findings to challenge the international media and those who intentionally spread misinformation about Malaysian palm oil.” We, as Malaysians, have looked at this report and other reports and found nothing to be proud of. We have lost the Sumatran rhino in Sabah, orangutan & elephant numbers are dwindling, indigenous locals’ lands are stolen for plantations and rampant deforestation, including on peatland, continues. Here is just one example.

Our palm oil industry has helped many Malaysians to make a better living (we don’t mean the opulent corporations). Palm oil is a productive crop but production must not be at the expense of the environment and people.

While the MPOC may be a lobby group for the Malaysian palm oil industry, it has the moral obligation not to mislead the Malaysian public including through greenwashing, which the MPOC will be very familiar with. By all means, extol the putative health benefits of palm oil if you must; but distortions of fact and outright lies are not only ethically unsound, in this case they are also robbing us of our natural home. Malaysia may be “green and growing,” as proclaimed in the title of D’Enghien’s opinion piece, but in this sea of green, we could ultimately die of thirst and polluted air, wiping out Malaysian wildlife along the way.

Upreshpal Singh,

Director, Friends of the Orangutans (Malaysia)

Mardia and her daughter Icha are two Bornean orangutans at the Melaka Zoo in Malaysia. Early last year Friends of the Orangutans provided assistance to this zoo to help them reduce the weight of Mardia, who can be seen as obese in the first photo below (from November 2014). Last month, our visit to Melaka Zoo showed Mardia has lost much weight and is now more active in the orangutan enclosure.

We have also assisted the zoo with their enrichment plans. And so have other organizations. The zoo now provides enrichment to Mardia and Icha. In one photo below both orangutans are seen in a hammock playing with browse.

Obesity, short inter-birth interval and human rearing are some of the factors influencing the longevity of captive orangutans.

November 2014:

December 2015:

On Tuesday, 12th January, Indonesian NGO Scorpion Wildlife Trade Monitoring Group and their supporters protested against Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort & Spa exploitation of orangutans, outside the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta! More photos available at the bottom of this post.

Opposition to Shangri-La’s disgusting exploitation is growing. We would love to have you to join our campaign and organize a similar protest in your country. Please email us at info@fotomalaysia for more information.

Remember to sign and share the petition:

https://www.change.org/p/shangri-la-group-stop-the-orangutan-exploitation

Tweet to Shangri-La:

http://ctt.ec/tcDc0

Take a photo of yourself with this poster and send to us at the email above:

https://www.fotomalaysia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Rasa-Ria-Poster-Campaign.pdf

Thank you for your support, and remember:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead.

Together, we WILL win for the orangutans!

Since last July and after 3 months FOTO is still pushing companies for a commitment not to purchase crude palm oil (CPO) from the Kinabatangan areas highlighted by Abram et al 2014 scientific paper titled ‘Synergies for improving oil palm production and forest conservation in floodplain landscapes’. These specific areas have been defined as non productive for agriculture, being in the same time the host land of endemic threatened species as the orangutan and the pygmy elephant for example.

At the beginning of October, FOTO was disappointed to note that most of the remaining companies which we are still expecting a reply from have been difficult to convince in regard to the commitment we asked them. We could establish contact with all palm oil companies but we are still expecting the competent authorities of each of them to manifest themselves on this matter.

Felda Global Venture, Wilmar International, KLK and the IOI Group declared that they will comply with their policies in regard to environmental matters. We are now happy to announce that Kwantas recently declared their commitment towards Kinabatangan’s forests (25,000 ha mentioned in the academic paper) protection!

The Kinabatangan region’s future remains insecure until the 25,000 hectares, partly owned by the Sabah government and partly on NCR lands, are not protected from development. This will be helped by the palm oil companies acting in the region committing to not use palm oil products sourced from the regions pointed out!