Orangutan
Prosperity
Project
How Can We Save the Orangutans?
We can reduce deforestation due to the production of palm oil.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, founded in 2002, aims to make palm oil production more environmentally friendly. The RSPO has developed a strict set of principles and criteria used to certify palm oil suppliers. Specifically, one criterium ensures that oil is harvested from regions without fragile ecosystems or significant biodiveresity. In general, attaining a certification demands that producers meet sustainability requirements in every link of the suppply chain, including production, processing, transportation, and distribution.
With palm oil so prevalent in today's consumer goods, elimination of the product entirely is neither feasible nor recommended. In fact, palm oil trees are the most productive sources of vegetable oil among similar cash crops. Thus, focus needs to be placed on making production of palm oil markedly more sustainable and less damaging to the environment.
On a personal basis, we can support the efforts of the RSPO by purchasing only goods made with certified sustainable palm oil.
We can support orangutan conservation efforts.
Countless organizations exist to advance the conservation of the orangutan. The actions of these groups include educating people both locally and internationally regarding the threats to orangutan survival, treating and caring for injured or orphaned orangutans, petitioning to preserve orangutans' fragile habitats, and researching orangutan behavior. Additionally, the efforts of these organizations benefit other endangered species because many of the issues facing orangutans, such as deforestation and poaching, are equally relevant for other wild creatures.
