palm oil: not a good alternative
Orangutans are on the verge of extinction due because forests are being clear cut to create palm oil plantations. Why? Because of the US demand for alternative (clean) fuels, according to ABC News.
Indonesia is the leading producer of Palm Oil. It is also home to the few remaining Orangutans in the world. When forests are clear cut for plantation, it creates a monoculture in which the ape cannot survive. According to the report, forests are being cleared at a rate of 300 football fields per hour.
Many of the orangutans live in national parks for their protection, which has allowed them to survive and reproduce. However, even the parks are not safe, with some government officials wanting to cut those by 25%.
Much of the information available on the ape has come from the research of Birute Mary Galdikas. She has found that “female orangutans give birth when they are around 15 and then only once every eight or nine years, making them especially vulnerable to extinction. They also have one of the most intense maternal-offspring relationships of all mammals, remaining inseparable for the first seven or eight years.”
Forestry Minister Malem Kaban says the government is committed to protecting Indonesia’s dense, primary forests and that no permit should be granted within a half-mile of a national park. Even so, one palm oil company has started clearing trees within Tanjung Puting’s northern perimeter, leaving a wasteland of churned-up peat and charred trunks. Four others are seeking concessions along its eastern edge.
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