Thursday, July 17, 2008

Borneo Conservation Trust acts on protecting the Orangutans


KOTA KINABALU: Orang utan (OU) literally translating into English as “People of the Forest”, are “umbrella” species for the conservation of the tropical forests of Sabah.

Recently, Sabah Wildlife Department director Laurentius Nayan Ambu explained that, “because OU requires large areas of good quality habitat…ensuring their conservation in the wild would ultimately mean that the myriad of other species that share the ecosystem – including Proboscis Monkeys, Bornean Elephants, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Malayan Sunbear to name but a few – will also be protected.”

The recent news articles that starkly revealed that the majority of the isolated OU in the Kinabatangan area will go extinct in less than 50 years if nothing is done is indeed true.

For this very reason, the Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) a state-mandated tax-exempt NGO established in 2006, and promoted by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Environment was incorporated under the Trustee’s Ordinance 1951 to deal with the pressing needs to preserve the habitat and the migration route of Borneo’s most endangered wildlife along the Kinabatangan and the Segama Rivers.

This migration route referred to as BCT Green Corridor is part and parcel of BCT’s mission. As a first token step, BCT has purchased a 5-acre land in the Kinabatangan area to connect this corridor, supported by funds from Japanese individuals.

Continue reading at: Borneo Conservation Trust acts on protecting the Orangutans

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