Malaysia plans 'orangutan diplomacy' to boost palm oil sales

Malaysia has said it plans to present orangutans to major palm-oil-importing countries with the aim of boosting its credentials as a conserver of biodiversity.

The Asian nation is the world's second-largest producer of the widely used commodity, whose production is blamed by environmentalists for fuelling the destruction of the great ape's habitats in both Malaysia and Indonesia.

The move comes after the EU last year decided on phasing-out commodities, like palm oil, that are linked to deforestation by 2030.

Malaysia argues that the ban has been introduced to protect the bloc's own oilseeds market.

What has Malaysia said?

Malaysia's commodities minister, Johari Abdul Ghani, said the plan would entail gifting the great apes to trading partners, such as the EU, India and China, that import large quantities of palm oil for use in products from food to cosmetics.

"This will prove to the global community that Malaysia is committed to biodiversity conservation," Johari said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, late on Tuesday.

"Malaysia cannot take a defensive approach to the issue of palm oil," he added. "Instead we need to show the countries of the world that Malaysia is a sustainable oil palm producer and is committed to protecting forests and environmental sustainability."

The plan was likened by the minister to China's "panda diplomacy," in which the Chinese government has long sent giant pandas to other countries as a diplomatic tool.

In the scheme's current form, China only loans pandas to foreign zoos, which must usually return any offspring within a few years of their birth to join the country's breeding program.

What is the problem with palm oil and orangutans?

Palm oil is used in a wide range of products, from pizza and other foodstuffs to lipsticks, soaps and shampoos.

However, according to the conservation organization WWF, its production on large plantations has decisively contributed to a significant loss of orangutan habitat in both Malaysia and Indonesia, which is the main exporter of the commodity.

This has led to the orangutan becoming in critical danger of extinction, with, for example, a population of fewer than 105,000 in Malaysian Borneo in 2012, according to the WWF.

On its website, the WWF warns that the number is expected to fall further to 47,000 by 2025 if effective measures to protect the animal are not introduced.

tj/nm (Reuters, AFP)