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Here's one of the locations we visited whilst shooting "Another Crude Oil"
"The orang-utan is endangered because of habitat loss. Today the
greatest threat to orang-utan habitat is the continued expansion of
oil-palm plantations. Palm oil is the greatest enemy of [the]
orang-utan and their continued survival in the wild."
Professor Birute Galdikas, Orangutan Foundation International
On Location: Central Kalimantan, Borneo, July 2005

The New Forest of Indonesia - Oil Palm, Kalimantan 2005
This is the nursery for a new oil palm plantation. In the distance you
can see the forest still standing. This nursery is smack in the middle
of 30,000 hectares of primary forest that has been given as a
concession to a PT Oil Palm group for conversion into an Oil Palm
plantation.
This means that by the end of the year this land will have been logged
of all its valuable hard wood trees. The land will then be totally
clear cut. Not a tree will be left standing. The whole landscape will
be empty. Then the palm oil will be planted.

This photo is tragic, not sweet. These orangutans should be with their
mothers, but their mothers are dead. They are now cared for and in the
process of rehabilitation through the dedicated work of BOSF. We are
concerned however that there will be nowhere to release them if things
don't change now.
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation that rescue orangutans from
the plantations in this area put their best professional estimate at
about 600 orangutans living in this concession that is earmarked for
imminent conversion. The fragments of natural forest left are saturated
- i.e. they have reached their carrying capacity for orangutans.
Orangutans need large home ranges for their survival. Hundreds of
orangutans will no doubt die. I don't know where the others will end up.
Many will surely enter a life of misery in the illegal pet trade.
Driving through the rough jungle track for an hour on the back of a
tractor we see the mighty forest all around us. I smell the sickly
sweet smell of fermenting fruit. I look over to Melky from the rescue
team, he nods - its the smell of orangutan. It is right there in the
trees nearby, or had been very recently. A rusa deer crosses our path
and maroon leaf monkeys move in the trees. All this is about to be lost.

Eko, BOSF paramedic, logs a future rescue location
The situation is incredibly sad. We stand in the midst of this vast
strecth of jungle, knowing that it is doomed. Eko, a BOSF paramedic
logs the position of the camp in his GPS system. He knows he will be
returning in the months to come to rescue orangutans. But where will
they go? Habitat is dissappearing too fast now. We are told at the
rescue centre that they are reaching maximum capacity - too many
orangutans are coming in. Their forest home needs to be protected right
now.
The situation is simply crazy. It is not that land is at a premium for
development. There are vast areas of land standing empty in Kalimantan.
Huge expanses of grasslands that were once forest. No crops have been
planted here, but still what little primary forest left standing is at
risk of conversion for oil palm. The simple reason for this is the
value of the hardwoods these forests contain. It is a one time
windfall, it is not sustainable, and it is a tragedy. Orangutans are
not the only animals to suffer. I have chosen just one species as an
example, a flagship, one of our closest cousins, and on with an
uncertain future.
Things are not hopeless, but we need to make things change. Help us get
this message heard. Below is one of the orangutans that we met during
our time in the field. She was attacked by palm oil workers. Don't
worry, she is alive and being treated for her wounds. She is recovering
and will hopefully be released soon. But we shouldn't be seeing images
like this. She was one of the lucky ones...

We need to shout about what's happening. Investment in these
destructive plantations IS coming from Western nations. Palm oil is now
found in 1 in 10 supermarket products (often labelled vegetable oil).
Let's get our governments and industries to take proactive steps
towards non-destructive palm oil production. The Bornean orangutan is
endangered, the Sumatran orangutan is critically endangered.
"Governments in countries providing finance or a market for palm oil
must legislate to make their corporations responsible and accountable
for their impacts. If not, it is we who will have to explain to our
children in a few years' time that the orang-utan became extinct, not
because of a lack of knowledge, but because of corporate greed and a
lack of political will."
Ian Redmond, Ape Alliance's Chairman and Chief Consultant to GRASP (UNEP/UNESCO Great Ape Survival Project)
Join the debate:
www.flickr.com/groups/conservationfilmmakers/
Learn more:
www.cockroachproductions.blogspot.com
Posted at 4:23pm, 27 September 2005 PDT
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