Thursday, March 19, 2015
DENMARK: Mil-tek recently joined a prestigious group of organisations and individuals in sponsoring an orang-utan in Borneo, as part of the Save the Orangutan initiative.
The RedOrangutan initiative (Save the Orangutan internationally) was established by Lone Dröscher Nielsen, who has been battling tirelessly since the mid 1990s to protect the orangutans of Borneo and their habitat. She has been the mother of over a thousand orphaned orangutans at the rehabilitation centre Nyaru Menteng.
THREATS TO THE ORANGUTAN
In just 60 years, half of Borneo’s orangutans have disappeared. Each year two to three thousand more are lost. Clearing of the orangutans’ habitat, the tropical rainforest, threatens the survival of the wild orangutan. When the forest disappears, the orangutan loses its source of food and its shelter and is forced close to humans – an encounter which is often fatal to the orangutans. Adult orangutans are treated as pests in orchards and are killed, and baby orangutans are captured and sold in the illegal pet market.
The biggest threat to the orangutan is the production of palm oil. Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of palm oil and the rainforests are being cleared to make way for plantations that can provide vegetable oil to meet the voracious growing demand for palm oil around the world. Despite an international focus on the environmental consequences, EU annually imports about 5.7 million tonnes of palm oil, which is used in food, cosmetics and cleaning products among other things. Palm oil is the world’s most used vegetable oil.
The Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was originally established by WWF and a handful of members of the palm oil industry. RSPO is aimed at all players in the chain from oil palm plantation to consumer. Companies like Marks and Spencer, Carrefour, The Body Shop and Unilever are RSPO members. Business members of RSPO pledge to promote the use of certified palm oil in their supply chain and thereby contribute to the conservation of orangutans’ habitat. There has been a good deal of criticism of the certification’s actual effect, but there is no doubt that as a consumer you send a signal by asking for products with RSPO certified palm oil (Certified Sustainable Palm Oil) when you buy your goods.
In collaboration with, among others, the Indonesian partner Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS), Save the Orangutan helps to protect wild orangutans in their rainforest home and secure rainforest, into which the homeless orangutans can be released.
To minimise the illegal activities that destroy one of Earth’s most important ecosystems, Save the Orangutan collaborates with local authorities, involving the local people in the work to save the orangutan and support them in creating sustainable income opportunities.
To learn more about Save the Orangutan, visit http://redorangutangen.dk/ or http://savetheorangutan.org/ Twitter @RedOrangutangen
Miltek is a firm supportor of local sustainbility initiatves including TIPA and global charity projects including supporting a Romanian orphanage charity. If you'd like to learn more please contact marketing@miltek.dk
Mil-tek Sponsors Orangutan in Borneo
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