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Orang-utans under threat

How unsustainable palm oil is destroying the orang-utan’s home.

Bornean orang-utan

Orang-utans are being pushed to the brink. In the last 60 years their numbers have fallen by half.

Probably the biggest threat is the loss of their natural habitat – due to industrial scale deforestation, forest fires, mining interests and conversion to palm oil plantations. Since 1990, a staggering 80% of orang-utan habitat has been destroyed. And only a tiny 2% of what remains is legally protected.

The devastating effect of palm oil

The world’s insatiable demand for palm oil is one major factor in the orang-utan’s decline. And it is estimated that palm oil is present in more than half of the packaged supermarket products on sale in the UK today.

Grown sustainably, palm oil can provide vital livelihoods in an environmentally friendly way. But so far, too many manufacturers seem reluctant to pay the little extra for sustainably produced oil.

The huge demand is placing an unbearable strain on the remaining rainforests of the world – not least in Borneo. And, as the forests disappear, the orang-utan inches closer and closer to extinction.

Please help us act now to avoid disaster. The orang-utan can be saved.

How you can help

With your support, WWF can carry out immediate steps to curb the deforestation of Borneo – and protect the orang-utan’s remaining habitat.

Sub adult male Orang-utan

Your donation could help us to:

  • Rehabilitate and restore degraded parts of the forest, by planting new seedlings and protecting existing trees.
  • Work with governments and local authorities to establish and maintain a vital network of protected areas where hunting and illegal logging are prohibited.
  • Put rangers on the ground to monitor orang-utans, track their progress and get a better understanding of their needs.
  • Continue our work with industry to encourage the use of sustainable palm oil and put pressure on manufacturers who insist on using unsustainable palm oil.

I would like to make a donation of:



How your money could be used

  • £10 could pay for a local field worker's salary for two days
  • £20 could buy a uniform for one research officer studying the Protected Areas required to preserve the Heart of Borneo
  • £30 could plant ten native trees to help rehabilitate degraded habitat
  • £50 could help WWF staff lobby governments in South East Asia to support sustainability in the palm oil industry
  • £100 could help pay to train a small-scale palm oil plantation to comply with sustainability criteria

Forest fire in Indonesia to make way for palm oil plantation.

Example of 'slash and burn' in Indonesia – forests destroyed to make way for palm oil plantation.



Orang-utan eyes

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How ‘green’ is the palm oil purchased by European companies?

Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard Oct 2009