Sandakan, 19 August 2024 –Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), in collaboration with the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), commemorated International Orangutan Day 2024 at the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sandakan, Sabah. 

This year’s in-person event, the first following a virtual celebration in 2021, commemorates 15 years of YSD’s commitment to orangutan conservation. It spotlights the foundation’s decade-long RM25 million initiative in the Northern Ulu Segama, now the Bukit Piton Forest Reserve, a key effort in Sabah’s conservation landscape.

The celebration also marks the continuation of YSD’s work with the Human-Orangutan Coexistence (HOC) initiative, now progressing into its second phase with the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP). This initiative illustrates the importance of multisector collaboration for effective orangutan conservation in Sabah. 

The event featured a panel discussion with notable speakers like Indra Purwandita Herry Sunjoto, SFD’s Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests (Planning & Development); Roland Oliver Niun, SWD’s Deputy Director; Fredinand Lobinsiu, WWF-Sabah’s Forest Restoration Manager; Datuk Dr John Payne, Bringing Back our Rare Animals’ Chief Executive Officer; Tang Men Kon, SD Guthrie Berhad’s Central East Region CEO; and Dr Waidi Sinun, Yayasan Sabah’s Conservation and Environmental Management Division Manager. The discussion emphasised the critical lessons and achievements from the restoration and rehabilitation of the Northern Ulu Segama, covering 5,400 hectares. Panellists shared insights on how synergistic collaboration have overcome project management challenges and led to tangible conservation successes and sustainable habitat management. 

Datuk Frederick Kugan, Chief Conservator of Forests, SFD, remarked, “Our 10-year partnership with SD Guthrie and YSD has significantly advanced our forest conservation technical expertise, while rehabilitating highly degraded forest which is an important orangutan habitat area in Sabah. The successful rehabilitation of the Bukit Piton Forest Reserve has revitalised critical habitats for orangutans and engaged local communities in meaningful ways. This initiative is a prime example of how collaborative efforts lead to real change. As stewards of Sabah’s natural heritage, our focus remains on applying what we have learned to expand forest conservation across Sabah, safeguarding biodiversity, and enhancing the ecological services that benefit all of Sabah.”

Building on over a decade of efforts, YSD’s support was instrumental in the reclassification of Northern Ulu Segama as a Class 1 Protection Forest Reserve in 2012, a milestone achieved in coordination with SFD, permanently safeguarding the area from logging and ensuring a fully protected habitat for orangutans. This success has facilitated the planting of thousands of trees and the rehabilitation of 5,400 hectares, part of a broader initiative targeting 11,612 hectares of degraded forest, thus establishing a critical sanctuary that now supports nearly 400 orangutans.

The Human-Orangutan Coexistence (HOC) initiative supported by YSD is under the leadership of Dr Felicity Oram, who brings a wealth of experience in orangutan conservation. This initiative also emphasises the capacity building of local researchers, offering scholarships, comprehensive training, and exposure to ensure sustainable orangutan conservation practices.

Dr Felicity Oram emphasised, “The visionary support of YSD has helped us learn how wild orangutans are trying to keep their communities functionally connected across fragmented landscapes, including protected and privately managed areas, and enabled us to work with people across sectors to address common misconceptions about orangutan habitat needs and behaviour, to better support collective conservation efforts of wild populations.

The second phase of the HOC initiative will extend scientific monitoring of orangutans across an additional 10,000 hectares while maintaining the existing monitoring network of 30,000 hectares established in Phase 1, continuing the landscape field surveys and scientific monitoring initiated, and addressing barriers to coexistence identified earlier to amend the 2019-2023 BMP guidelines.

Dr Yatela Zainal Abidin, CEO of YSD, stated, “I am proud of the orangutan conservation strides we have made since 2010 with various stakeholders in Sabah, especially SFD and SWD. Our efforts have rehabilitated highly degraded natural habitats, and we are now focusing on humanorangutan coexistence management. It is heartwarming to see orangutan nests in the thriving trees we planted together in Bukit Piton, and our Best Management Practices adopted in plantation estates, fostering harmony with orangutans. We are strengthening our commitment to orangutan conservation by celebrating all that we have achieved, and all that we intend to achieve in the future. We are grateful for the support of our donor, SD Guthrie, who not only funds our projects but also contributes important resources on the ground. Together with all collaborative partners, we are setting new standards in wildlife protection that we believe will inspire similar success stories across the globe.”

To mark International Orangutan Day, YSD and SEARRP unveiled a new series of educational posters detailing various types of orangutans and their unique characteristics. This educational component aims to raise public awareness and foster a deeper understanding of orangutan conservation.

Mr Roland Oliver Niun, Deputy Director, SWD, added, “Conservation efforts at Bukit Piton Forest Reserve have significantly increased usable habitat for orangutans. By head-starting natural
forest recovery through the planting of native species trees, we have supported and accelerated habitat restoration. Now, there is evidence that orangutans are able to travel through, find shelter, and access food resources in areas previously inaccessible to them. This has effectively contributed to Sabah's achievement of not only having 80% of our orangutans thriving in protected forests but also maintaining their communities connected. They make use of these newly restored, thus avoiding negative interactions and the need for translocations. With YSD’s ongoing support, we will continue to build on these successes and collaboratively address the remaining challenges to ensure the protection of orangutan throughout the region.” 

This year’s celebration marks the collaborative conservation efforts in Sabah, championed by YSD along with SFD, SWD, SEARRP, and other key stakeholders including SD Guthrie. By sustaining the legacy of the Bukit Piton Forest Reserve, YSD aims to ensure the preservation of orangutans – our national pride – and their habitats. 

YSD’s commitment to conservation is particularly pronounced in Sabah, where over RM96 million has been invested in 19 projects since 2010. These initiatives span forest rehabilitation, species conservation, environmental education, anti-poaching efforts, the development of State Action Plans for the Proboscis Monkey, Banteng, and Clouded Leopard, with another plan underway for the Hornbill. This extensive involvement includes a current three-year RM3.8 million sponsorship initiated in 2022 for the SWD’s Rapid Response Teams, aimed at enhancing efforts againstwildlife poaching in protected forests. This initiative complements the expansion of the SFD’s PROTECT Unit, reinforcing the combat against wildlife crime across the region. Additionally, in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah, YSD is involved in restoring biodiversity and ecosystems within Sandakan Bay. This project focuses on forest and riparian buffers within oil palm landscape and enhances habitats for frugivores such as orangutans and hornbills, contributing to their survival and well-being in one of Borneo’s most vital wildlife corridors.