New hope for Borneo's orangutans despite threats of future climate change and deforestation

Originally shared by Environmental Investigation Agency

New hope for Borneo's orangutans despite threats of future climate change and deforestation

The study, led by conservation scientists at the University of Kent, and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Germany, drew on expertise from the UK, Australia and Indonesia, in consultation with leading orang-utan experts based in the Malaysian and Indonesian parts of Borneo.
'In order to identify eventual environmental refuges for the animals, we applied bioclimatic model simulations. Therefor we used satellite images to map deforestation and estimate the changes in forest areas expected in the future. To predict the climate, the projections from four model and emission scenarios were combined. Additionally the land has to be unsuitable for oil palms, a major thread to orang-utans. Projections were made for the 2020s, 2050s and 2080s', says

Matthew Struebig of the University of Kent's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), said:  'Despite some pessimistic outcomes, we remain positive about the fate of the orang-utan. Our work demonstrates that continued efforts to halt deforestation could mediate some orang-utan habitat loss, and this is particularly important in the southern parts of Borneo.'

Serge Wich from Liverpool John Moores University and chair of United Nations Environment Programme's Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) scientific commission who supported the study, said: 'The study highlights the importance of conserving Borneo's peat swamps, which are a home to large number of orang-utans and are vital for climate change mitigation.'

Full story at http://phys.org/news/2015-01-borneo-orangutans-threats-future-climate.html

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Image (c) EIA