The government plans to establish a fund with adopting nations or companies to support forest conservation NGOs. This change comes after the initial May 2024 proposal to gift orangutans to palm oil importers faced strong opposition.
Additionally, Malaysia has committed to halting new palm oil plantation developments and maintaining forest cover above 54 percent of its land area to preserve biodiversity. The country will also prohibit the use of palm fruit from deforested areas in oil production.
Palm oil, constituting 3 percent of Malaysia's GDP, has been criticized for causing deforestation and destroying habitats of endangered species like orangutans. The EU has essentially banned imports of palm oil and other products linked to deforestation.
The World Wildlife Fund estimates about 100,000 orangutans inhabit Borneo, including parts of Malaysia and Indonesia.
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