DESTRUCTION OF ORANGUTAN SANCTUARY HIGHLIGHTS RISKS OF REDD
Bangkok, 28 September 2009
What: More than a third of remaining natural forests in the Bukit Tigapuluh forest landscape in Sumatra – approximately 170,000 hectares – is about to be cleared and converted for pulp production and plantation development by Asia Pulp & Paper/Sinar Mas Group (APP/SMG), with potentially disastrous impacts on the climate, bio-diversity and forest communities.
If these forests are converted, substantial amounts of CO2 will be released into the atmosphere, local orangutan, tiger and elephant populations would likely become extinct and the Orang Rimba local indigenous communities will lose customary lands and livelihoods.
Under current REDD rules and definitions, the conversion of Bukit Tigapuluh’s unique forest ecosystem would not count as deforestation, and might even be subsidized. To avoid the destruction of Bukit Tigapuluh and countless other valuable forest ecosystems around the world, the international community must adopt a REDD treaty that strongly focuses on the protection of intact natural forests, relies on science-based definitions of deforestation and degradation, protects Indigenous rights and improves governance models, addressing the demand for forest products in Western countries that are driving the destruction.
Who: Pak Didy, Tourism Bureau Jambi Province, (Indonesia), Lafcadio Cortesi, Rainforest Action Network (U.S.), Sean Cadman, The Wilderness Society (Australia)
When: Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 11:30 a.m.
Where: Press conference room (TBD), Bangkok UNFCCC
Why: Bukit Tigapuluh, which stretches across Riau and Jambi provinces in central Sumatra and is the largest remaining dry lowland forest block on the island, is home to forest-dependent local communities including the indigenous tribes of Talang Mamak and Orang Rimba. The landscape is also home to approximately 100 Sumatran orangutans, reintroduced via the Sumatran Orangutan Reintroduction Project, as well as Temara – a Perth Zoo-born orangutan – released into Bukit Tigapuluh in 2006. The forest also houses a quarter of the remaining Sumatran tigers left in the wild, as well as being the exclusive habitat for two Sumatran elephant groups.
A diverse group of stakeholders has come together and is calling on APP/SMG and Indonesia’s government for protection of these and other critical natural forests and peat lands. Because of the lack of climate, community and biodiversity safeguards, private sector companies such as Staples, Target and H&M Group have recently cancelled hundreds of millions of dollars of supply contracts. Leading scientists and semi-government institutions such as IUCN, Australian Orangutan Project and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums have written letters of concern calling on APP and the Indonesian government to act immediately and protect this area.
For further information/interviews, please contact:
Brianna Power, Australian Orangutan Foundation +61 403 904 912
About Australian Orangutan Project
The Australian Orangutan Project (AOP) is a not-for-profit organisation, supporting orangutan conservation, habitat protection and orphan care in order to save the species from extinction. http://www.orangutan.org.au
