New hope for Borneo’s orang-utans despite climate change and deforestation threats
New conservation research has discovered that up to 74% of current orang-utan habitat in Borneo could become unsuitable for this endangered species due to 21st century climate or land-cover changes.
However, the research has also identified up to 42,000km2 of land that could serve as potential orang-utan refuges on the island, and could be relatively safe new habitats for the great ape to reside.
Published as ‘Anticipated climate and land-cover changes reveal refuge areas for Borneo’s orang-utans’ by Global Change Biology, the research was conducted by Dr Matthew Struebig from the University of Kent’s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), alongside colleagues from Liverpool John Moores University and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW). Further contributions were made by conservation scientists from Australia and Indonesia, in consultation with leading orang-utan experts based in the Malaysian and Indonesian parts of Borneo.
Part of the work, conducted by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia, used satellite images to map deforestation and estimate areas of forest change expected in the future. The researchers also mapped land unsuitable for oil palm agriculture, one of the major threats to orang-utans, and used this alongside information on orang-utan ecology and climate to identify environmentally stable habitats for the species this century.
The research demonstrates that continued efforts to halt deforestation could mediate some orang-utan habitat loss, and this is particularly important in Borneo’s peat swamps, which are a home to large number of orang-utans and are vital for climate change mitigation. Focusing conservation actions on these remote areas now would help to minimise orang-utan losses in the future.
It is hoped that, since the relocation of endangered species is an expensive process, this research will contribute to conservationists’ understanding of how to identify appropriate areas which are safe from development as well as the effects of climate change.
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Background information:
The Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) investigates the vitality and adaptability of wildlife populations in mammalian and avian species of outstanding ecological interest that face anthropogenic challenges. It studies the adaptive value of traits in the life cycle of wildlife, wildlife diseases and clarifies the biological basis and development of methods for the protection of threatened species. Such knowledge is a precondition for a scientifically based approach to conservation and for the development of concepts for the ecologically sustainable use of natural resources. The IZW belongs to the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (www.fv-berlin.de)
The Leibniz Association
The Leibniz Association connects 89 independent research institutions that range in focus from the natural, engineering and environmental sciences via economics, spatial and social sciences to the humanities. Leibniz Institutes address issues of social, economic and ecological relevance. They conduct knowledge-driven and applied basic research, maintain scientific infrastructure and provide research-based services. The Leibniz Association identifies focus areas for knowledge transfer to policy-makers, academia, business and the public. Leibniz Institutes collaborate intensively with universities – in the form of “WissenschaftsCampi” (thematic partnerships between university and non-university research institutes), for example – as well as with industry and other partners at home and abroad. They are subject to an independent evaluation procedure that is unparalleled in its transparency. Due to the institutes’ importance for the country as a whole, they are funded jointly by the Federation and the Länder, employing some 17,500 individuals, including 8,800 researchers. The entire budget of all the institutes is approximately 1.5 billion EUR.