WCS 3-Sentence Science

Orangutans at a Crossroads

April 8, 2019

Photo credit: Melvin Gumal/WCS

Each year, Wildlife Conservation Society scientists publish more than 300 peer-reviewed studies and papers. “WCS 3-Sentence Science” is a regular tip-sheet — in bite sized helpings — of some of this published work.

Here we present Joshua Pandong’s recent work on orangutans and logging:

1. In 2015, the Sarawak Government made a public pledge to stop illegal logging, create more national parks, and move towards a zero-loss policy of orangutans and their habitats in Sarawak.
2. Authors discussed shortfalls of conservation responses in the past 60 years in Sarawak which included unknown rate of illegal orangutan killings, inadequate law enforcement, and incomprehensive community development strategies.
3. The recommendations to address these shortfalls include: a) inter-agency collaboration for orangutan population monitoring, b) technological application and intelligence networks to intensify enforcement strategies, c) alternative community livelihood development and self-enforcement, and d) increased public support for conservation policies.

Study and Journal: “Threats and lessons learned from past orangutan conservation strategies in Sarawak, Malaysia” from Biological Conservation
WCS Co-Author(s): Joshua Pandong , WCS Malaysia Program ; Melvin Gumal , WCS Malaysia Program

For more information, contact: Stephen Sautner, 718–220–3682, ssautner@wcs.org.