May 17 , 2024
191 days
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- Malaysia is considering gifting orangutans to foreign countries that buy its palm oil, a strategy dubbed as "orangutan diplomacy."
- The plan mirrors China's world-famous "panda diplomacy."
- The palm oil industry has been blamed for deforestation in Southeast Asia, destroying orangutan habitats.
- Malaysia has lost millions of hectares of forest cover in recent decades for palm oil production
- China's program involves loaning pandas to promote conservation efforts.
- But the orangutan diplomacy seems solely focused on public relations.
- There are three species of orangutans: Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli.
- Bornean orangutans are listed as endangered by the WWF.
- The Sumatran and Tapanuli species are listed as Critically Endangered.
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