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Malaysia eyes 'orangutan diplomacy' with nations that import palm oil

Malaysia plans to present orangutan diplomacy in its relations with major palm oilimporting nations, offering the animals as trading gifts in an effort to allay issues about the ecological results of growing the commodity.

Nevertheless the strategy, compared to China's panda diplomacy by the products minister, has actually prompted issues amongst wildlife advocacy groups which contacted the government to think about alternative measures to protect the orangutan's environment and improve the sustainable production of palm oil, which is used in whatever from lipstick to pizza.

The proposal follows the European Union in 2015 authorized an import ban on products connected to logging, which could harm palm oil. Malaysia, the world's second-largest producer of palm oil, has actually described the law as discriminatory.

Plantations and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani said Malaysia would offer gifts of orangutans to trading partners, particularly significant importers such as the EU, India and China, as part of a diplomatic strategy.

This will show to the international neighborhood that Malaysia is devoted to biodiversity preservation, Johari stated on social media platform X late on Tuesday.

Malaysia can not take a protective method to the problem of palm oil. Instead we need to show the countries of the world that Malaysia is a sustainable oil palm producer and is committed to securing forests and environmental sustainability.

No even more details of the plan were instantly available.

The orangutan, whose name means male of the forest in Malay, is critically endangered, with a population of less than 105,000 on the island of Borneo, preservation group WWF says.

WWF Malaysia said palm oil estates must reserve wildlife passages that are safe for orangutans, and it got in touch with the federal government to stop the additional conversion of forests into plantations.

It also raised issues over how the orangutan strategy could affect efforts to protect and save existing ape populations.

WWF supports in-situ conservation of wildlife, and would desire that trading partners are brought to Malaysia to support this effort, rather than sending orangutans out of the nation, it stated in a statement to .

Advocacy group Justice for Wildlife Malaysia stated the federal government should think about alternative diplomatic steps, citing the need for more research study on the plan's possible effect and expediency against other preservation efforts.