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

A new study has attempted to identify new hope for Borneo's orangutans.

In order to identify eventual environmental refuges for the animals, we applied bioclimatic model simulations. Therefore, 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 orangutans. Projections were made for the 2020s, 2050s and 2080s', says David Gaveau scientist at the  Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia.

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 orangutan experts based in the Malaysian and Indonesian parts of Borneo.

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 orangutan. Our work demonstrates that continued efforts to halt deforestation could mediate some orangutan 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 orangutans and are vital for climate change mitigation.'

Stephanie Kramer-Schadt (IZW), said: 'Our main goal was to identify forests with the most stable climates that are also likely to be safe from land use changes. Focusing conservation actions on these remote areas now would help to minimize orangutan losses in the future.'

As the relocation of endangered species is an expensive process, this research should help inform conservationists to identify appropriate places which are safe from development as well as the effects of climate change.

In addition, this approach could be used to make more localized assessments across Borneo where orangutans are present, and, in principle, could be used for the Sumatran orangutan and other endangered species globally.