Malaysian government officials said on Tuesday that Malaysia has offered to gift orangutans to palm oil trading partners in a diplomatic effort to emulate China.
Malaysia’s Agriculture and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani announced “orangutan diplomacy” modeled on China’s “panda diplomacy.” series of tweets At the launch ceremony of the Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservancy Foundation (MPOGCF) Biodiversity Forum.
“This is a diplomatic strategy and we intend to make it a gift to our trading partners and diplomatic relations, especially to major importing countries such as the European Union, India and China,” Ghani explained.
The strategy “is a direct demonstration to the international community that Malaysia is always committed to conserving biodiversity,” he added.
Malaysia’s “need”[s] “This is to demonstrate to the rest of the world that Malaysia is a sustainable palm oil producer and is committed to protecting the sustainability of our forests and environment,” he said.
Acknowledging concerns about the environmental impact of palm oil cultivation, Ghani called for cooperation between major palm oil companies and non-governmental organizations to protect the “iconic” orangutan.
“This will demonstrate how Malaysia protects wildlife species and maintains the sustainability of its forests, especially oil palm plantations.”
But the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) seemed unconvinced and called for the orangutans to be protected in their natural habitat instead. According to Reuters. (Related: Indonesian orangutans successfully self-medicate in the wild, research results)
“WWF supports local conservation of wildlife and urges trading partners to bring orangutans to Malaysia to support this effort, rather than sending orangutans abroad,” WWF told Reuters.
“Orangutan” means “person of the forest” in Malay. Orangutans are listed as an endangered species, with numbers numbering around 119,346 across Malaysia and the Indonesian archipelago, down from around 230,000 a century ago. According to WWF.
Palm oil is a versatile product used in food, from chocolate and margarine to cosmetics and soaps, and is commonly grown in tropical regions. BBC reported. But palm oil plantations are replacing Malaysia’s forests, threatening orangutan populations. According to WWF.
The European Union last year banned products linked to deforestation, a move that threatened palm oil exports from Malaysia and drew condemnation from Asian palm oil giants, Reuters reported.
