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Urge Indonesia's President to Protect Endangered Orangutans

Dear John,

Orangutans, the only wild great ape species found in Asia, are under serious threat due to habitat loss, illegal killing, the pet trade, and wildfires used to clear land for agricultural and pulpwood production. Orangutans are found only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra in Indonesia and Malaysia, and all three orangutan species are classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The situation is dire: If the current rate of population decline continues, we could lose tens of thousands of orangutans over the next few decades, driving Asia's wild great apes closer to extinction.

AWI is collaborating with the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) to address this devastating situation. In October 2021, the EIA released a report, Orangutans in Crisis ([link removed]), which found that orangutan populations are on a path to extinction. According to EIA's analysis, between 2016 and 2019, more than 1.8 million acres of intact orangutan habitat was deforested in Indonesia.

Fire-setting to clear land for palm oil and pulpwood production often results in out-of-control wildfires that burn in and around orangutan habitat. While habitat destruction is by far the biggest threat to orangutan survival, the associated illegal killing of orangutans is also a key driver of orangutan population decline. Illegal killing in turn fuels the illegal capture and trade of infant orangutans. Indonesia also has a poor record of enforcing the laws designed to protect orangutans from killing and trafficking, and the government's forestry policies are inadequate to effectively protect orangutan habitat.

A multifaceted approach is required to address these interconnected threats, and Indonesia must abandon the status quo and take meaningful action to address the threats facing orangutans.

TAKE ACTION ([link removed])

What You Can Do

Please use AWI's Action Center to contact Indonesia's president ([link removed]) and encourage him to commit to protecting orangutans and their habitat. Be sure to share our alert with family, friends, and co-workers and encourage them to send a message as well.

As always, thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely,

Cathy Liss
President

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Photo by Daniel Gjula-Lyonnais

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