In May, Malaysian Minister of Plantations and Commodities - Johari Abdul Ghani - submitted a controversial plan proposing to send orangutans abroad as a diplomatic gift, to allay international concerns about Palm oil production negatively affects the habitat of this animal.
However, the above plan faced strong opposition from conservation organizations, concerned that this could adversely affect the welfare of orangutans.
This move aims to protect the critically endangered orangutan species, while promoting cooperation with palm oil importing countries to protect forests.
On August 18 local time, at a press conference in Sabah, northern Borneo island, Minister Johari Abdul Ghani announced a revised version of this plan, affirming that animals will not leave their natural habitat. their nature.
"We have to keep them here. Then we will discuss with the countries that import our palm oil if they want to cooperate to protect and preserve these forests forever," he emphasized. .
This change of plan shows that Malaysia seeks to respond to concerns about environmental conservation, especially in the context of a serious decline in orangutan populations.
According to the WWF Nature Conservation Organization, currently the number of orangutans on the island of Borneo is less than 105,000 individuals and protecting their habitat is essential to ensure the survival of this species.
Malaysia - the world's second largest palm oil producer - faces a lot of international pressure on forest exploitation to grow palm trees, causing wildlife habitat to seriously shrink.
The "orangutan diplomacy" plan was initially made public after the European Union approved a ban on imports of items linked to deforestation, a move that Malaysia said was discriminatory.
To support the conservation plan, Minister Johari said companies that adopt orangutans will make financial contributions to NGOs and local authorities in Sabah. The money raised will be used to monitor and protect the forest areas where orangutans live, ensuring their safety and maintaining their numbers.
Mr. Marc Ancrenaz - Scientific Director of the NGO Hutan - expressed hope that this plan can help fund habitat conservation projects, such as building ecological corridors connecting The forests are divided. These corridors are necessary to maintain large and biologically viable wildlife populations.
