What is the impact of palm oil plantations on the habitat of orangutans in Borneo?
Over 50,000 orangutans on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra have died because of palm oil deforestation. Orangutans whose habitats have been destroyed often enter villages and oil plantations in search of food where they are captured or killed by farmers who treat them as pests.
What is the impact of palm oil plantations on the orangutan population?
Not only is Palm Oil bad for the environment, and a major cause of climate change, but it is also the leading cause of orangutan extinction. Every year it is estimated that between 1,000 to 5,000 orangutans are killed in Palm Oil concessions.
Are palm oil farmers shooting orangutans?
From 1999 to 2015, the orangutan population on the island of Borneo declined by more than 100,000, researchers reported in Current Biology, a scientific journal. The unluckiest orangutans die in the fires set to clear the land. The more fortunate are marooned on small islands of trees among oil palms.
Why is palm oil a threat to orangutans?
Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil produced from the kernels of oil palm trees. Orangutan populations are threatened because their habitat, low-lying tropical rainforest, has been cleared and converted to oil-palm plantations. Orangutans and the biodiversity struggle to co-exist with oil-palm plantations.
Why palm oil is bad for the orangutans?
Why is palm oil problematic? Half of the Bornean rainforests are cleared to benefit the palm oil industry and its sub-groups. The deforestation leaves the orangutan and thousands of other species without a home. Consequently, their ability to survive is affected greatly.
How is candy killing orangutans?
Zoos and animal welfare groups are urging consumers to pick treats made from palm oil-free or sustainable ingredients. This deforestation has decimated the populations of many vulnerable creatures, including the orangutan, Sumatran tiger and Sumatran elephant. …
When did palm oil plantations start in Borneo?
The sudden rise of the oil palm in the late 1990s and early 2000s was seen as a welcome opportunity for many residents and local governments.
Is palm oil in Nutella?
The palm oil we use in Nutella® is 100% sustainable palm oil, traceable back to the mills. These criteria aim to enforce sustainable practices in the cultivation of palm oil. The palm oil in Nutella® comes from a certified ‘segregated’ supply-chain.
How is palm oil killing orangutans?
How does Palm Oil Harm Orangutans and other wildlife? Search for: The main threat to the survival of orangutan populations in the wild is the massive expansion of palm oil plantations in Borneo and Sumatra. Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world, having even surpassed soya in terms of usage.