KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF) hopes to debunk misconceptions of the palm oil industry through population studies on orangutans and elephants.
Its general manager Hairulazim Mahmud said the foundation is mulling to make the population surveys as an official government document.
"MPOGCF is planning to make the population surveys an official government document to debunk misconceptions and negative perceptions.
"This is to ensure the continuity of the Malaysian palm oil industry in the global market," he said during the signing ceremony for the research agreement and memorandum of understanding on the population survey projects for the two species at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) here.
The collaborators are UMS, Sabah Wildlife Department and conservation organisation Hutan.
According to experts, the increase in the population of these animals takes time because female orangutans become pregnant as early as 15 years old and give birth to a child every seven or eight years.
This fact is supported by the World Resources Institute's latest report published by Global Forest Watch, which states that palm oil plantations are no longer the main cause of tropical rainforest destruction in Malaysia.
He added that according to the report, forest destruction in Malaysia has dramatically reduced by up to 70 per cent between 2014 and 2020 as a result of stricter law enforcement and the introduction of Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO).
The Borneo Orangutan population is estimated at 104,700 and in Sabah alone, the population is estimated at around 11,000 up to 15,000 individuals.
He added the population in Sabah has been reported to be stable for 15 years, but the population in the forests near the oil palm plantations in Sabah showed a worrying downward trend.
The report is the result of a study on Orangutan nests from 2014 to 2017, and the results of the study were published by WWF in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Borneo elephant population in Sabah is estimated to be around 1,000 to 1,500 based on the Sabah Borneo Elephant Action Plan 2020–2029 by the Sabah Wildlife Department.
"Considering this development, the oil palm industry, through the MPOGCF, took the initiative to conduct a population survey of Borneo orangutans and Bornean elephants to obtain the latest statistics and evaluate the effectiveness and improvement of conservation programmes.
"The population surveys for both species were last carried out nine to 14 years ago. Therefore, there is an urgent need to have the latest population estimates for both species in Sabah.
"MPOGCF hopes this research can assist stakeholders especially the Sabah Wildlife Department in obtaining the latest population information of both species for the purpose of creating an Action Plan to provide direction and guidance on strategies, priorities and conservation actions for the endangered species at the state level."
He also added there was a need to study human-wildlife conflict for both species and devise a new paradigm for the awareness programme that has been carried out by Sabah Wildlife Department together with other stakeholders.
Hairulazim said the project also placed emphasis on helping to build the capacity of local experts by providing training to young Malaysian scientists in the field of ecological conservation and wildlife through the funding of masters programmes at local universities.
Present were Sabah Wildlife deputy director Roland Oliver Niun, UMS (Research & Innovation) Professor Rosalam Sabatly and Hutan scientific director Dr Marc Acrenaz.