‘Orangutan diplomacy’ plan slammed

Malaysia plans to join the trend for adorable ambassadors, by gifting orangutans to countries that buy its palm oil.

But the idea has come under heavy criticism from conservationists, who note that palm oil is one of the biggest factors behind the great apes’ dwindling numbers — with one leading conservation professor calling the plan “obscene.”

The world’s most widely consumed vegetable oil, palm oil is used in everything from shampoo and soaps to ice cream. Clearing land for palm oil plantations has been a major driver of deforestation, the greatest threat to the survival of critically endangered orangutans.

Malaysia is the world’s second-biggest exporter of palm oil after Indonesia.

Production is vital to the economy and government officials have gone to great lengths in recent years to defend and rebrand the industry by introducing initiatives to support sustainability — such as improving agricultural practices and issuing government-endorsed green certificates to companies that meet sustainability standards.

At a biodiversity summit outside the capital Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, Malaysia’s minister for plantations and commodities announced plans for “orangutan diplomacy.” Hoping to emulate Chinese panda diplomacy — in which Beijing exerts soft power by loaning its beloved national animal to zoos overseas — the Malaysian government hopes to gift orangutans to some of its biggest trading partners, he said.

Johari Abdul Ghani did not provide further details such as a timeline or how the animals would be acquired —but welcomed palm oil giants to collaborate with local environmental groups in caring for the endangered giant apes.

The announcement drew swift backlash from conservationists. “It is obscene, repugnant and extraordinarily hypocritical to destroy rainforests where orangutans live, take them away and give them as gifts to curry favor with other nations,” said Stuart Pimm, chair of conservation ecology at Duke University. “It totally goes against how we should be protecting them and our planet.”

“There is a huge difference between what Malaysia is proposing and what China has done for giant pandas,” he said. “China has state-of-the-art facilities for pandas and more importantly, has established protected areas that safeguard wild panda populations. What Malaysia’s government is proposing is hardly anything comparable.”(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn

相关词汇

【红毛猩猩】 hóngmáo xīngxīng

orangutan

a large age native of Southeast Asia with brown skin, long sparse reddish-brown hair, and very long arms

【猥琐的】  wěisuǒ de

obscene

disgusting by accepted standards of morality and decency

让可爱动物担任友好亲善大使？马来西亚也打算加入这一潮流。该国正计划向进口其棕榈油的国家赠送红毛猩猩。

这个想法遭到了动物保护主义者的猛烈抨击。他们说，棕榈油正是导致红毛猩猩数量不断减少的重要因素；一位著名的教授称该计划“猥琐”。

棕榈油是世界上用途最广泛的植物油，从洗发水、肥皂到冰淇淋，都使用了棕榈油。为棕榈油种植园开垦土地一直是砍伐森林的主要驱动力，这也构成了对极度濒危红毛猩猩的最大威胁。

马来西亚是仅次于印度尼西亚的世界第二大棕榈油出口国。

棕榈油生产对马来西亚的经济至关重要，近年来，政府官员不遗余力地维护和重塑棕榈油产业的形象，推出了一系列支持可持续发展的措施，如改善农业生产方式，向符合可持续发展标准的公司颁发政府认可的绿色证书等。

周三，在首都吉隆坡郊外举行的生物多样性峰会上，马来西亚种植园和商品部部长宣布了“红毛猩猩外交”计划。他说，马来西亚政府希望效仿中国的“熊猫外交”（中国政府通过向海外动物园租借国宝大熊猫施展软实力），向一些最大的贸易伙伴赠送红毛猩猩。

乔哈里•阿卜杜勒•加尼没有提供更多细节，如时间表或如何申请得到红毛猩猩，但他欢迎棕榈油巨头与当地环保组织合作，共同保护这些濒危巨猿。

动物保护主义者对此消息迅速表达了不满。杜克大学保护生态学系主任斯图尔特•皮姆说：“破坏猩猩生活的雨林，把它们带走并作为礼物送给其他国家示好，这种做法猥琐、令人厌恶、异常虚伪，完全违背了保护动物和保护地球的初衷。”他说：“马来西亚的提议和中国对大熊猫的保护措施存在巨大差异。中国的大熊猫基地拥有最先进的设施，更重要的是，中国已建立了保护区来保护野生大熊猫种群。马来西亚政府的提议完全没有可比性。”

(Translated by Debra)