PT NAS's Land Clearing is Harming the Orangutan

Indonesia, November 5, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Land clearing undergone by PT Nasional Agro Sejahtera (NAS) in Wahau, East Borneo, is putting the survival of the Bornean Orangutan in great danger because the cleared land is adjacent to a conservation area managed by Wehea customary institution of Nehes Liah Bing village. Observations conducted by the Protection of Forest & Fauna (PROFAUNA) in July and October 2014 showed that PT NAS has removed vegetation coverage on the area contiguous to a conservation forest in Melnyie, which is inhabited by the orangutan and many other willdife.

This risky business has become a serious threat for the orangutan because their habitat will be fragmented. “PT NAS should not have cleared that land, and instead they could have set it as a conservation area verging on the conservation forest of Wehea,” said Bayu Sandi, the coordinator of PROFAUNA Borneo.

"It is a must, beside being an ethical thing, that palm oil companies have to be responsible for the environment, including the wildlife, if they want to sell their products to the international market."

Rustam, wildlife ecology researcher from Mulawarman University

The conservation forest in Melnyie encompasses an area of 1,465 hectares. Not only the orangutan, other wildlife species like the sunbear and hornbills also live there. With such a high biodiversity and conservation value, this area should be well protected and preserved.

Drh. Wita Wahyudi, one of PROFAUNA’s advisory board members who also possesses a comprehensive experience in wildlife rescue, added “If their habitat is destructed, those wildlife species would be stressed and this will magnify the possibility of human-animal conflict , for instance conflict between the orangutan and oil palm plantation.

PROFAUNA, which is the largest grassroots organization in Indonesia working for the protection of wildlife and their habitats, urges PT NAS to stop the land clearing activity and restore the land into conservation forest. Bayu Sandi emphasized that this is essential to avoid conflicts.

In different occasion, Rustam, a wildlife ecology researcher from Mulawarman University stated “It is a must, beside being an ethical thing, that palm oil companies have to be responsible for the environment, including the wildlife, if they want to sell their products to the international market.”

 “If PT NAS keeps on doing this land clearing by neglecting the sustainability of the orangutan and other wildlife species, PROFAUNA will initiate a global campaign to ban the products of PT NAS. With our huge number and worldwide supporters, we are taking this as a serious issue,” averted Bayu Sandi.

For further information, please contact:

Bayu Sandi (coordinator of PROFAUNA Borneo)

Mobile: (+62) 82233606482 , 85755067691, Email: borneo@profauna.net