WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1852/98 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Commission. Threatened extinction of orang-utans following the forest fires in Borneo
Date: 1998-06-12
Institutions: European Parliament, MUSCARDINI
Subjects: ASEAN, Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, fire, forest conservation, non-governmental organisation, protected species, protection of animal life, wildlife













EUR-Lex - 91998E1852 - EN






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91998E1852

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1852/98 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Commission. Threatened extinction of orang-utans following the forest fires in Borneo  


Official Journal C 402 , 22/12/1998 P. 0161 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1852/98by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission(12 June 1998)Subject: Threatened extinction of orang-utans following the forest fires in BorneoAccording to information distributed by the WWF the widespread fires deliberately started in Indonesia have already destroyed 800 000 hectares of rain forest in Borneo, killing thousands of primates which lived in the forest and threatening the species with extinction.With human help young animals which were orphaned or burnt are being cared for in a specialist centre, but after months of treatment they must be reintegrated into their natural habitat, where they need more than 400 species of plants in order to feed themselves. Drought, the absence of trees, which have been burnt or cut down because they are the source of valuable timber, and the lack of fruit, which makes up 80 % of the diet of the orang-utan (which in Malay means "people of the forest") are preventing them from continuing to live and threatening the survival of the species.There are organizations and foundations working worldwide to safeguard the important natural balance between the forest and its population. One of these organizations, the Orang-utan Foundation, has organized an international conference which will be held from 3 to 6 July in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, in order to launch a worldwide appeal to put an end to the deliberate fires in Borneo and return the forest to its population.In view of the above will the Commission consider some form of collaboration with the Foundation in order to ensure that Europe does not ignore this tragedy but takes an active part in safeguarding the world's forests and this species of primate, which is facing extinction?Answer given by Mr Marin on behalf of the Commission(10 July 1998)The Commission is greatly concerned by the forest fires in South-East Asia and the effects on both humans and animals in the region.Through its forestry programmes in both Malaysia and Indonesia, the Commission is funding several projects aimed at ensuring a sustainable management of natural forests and prevention of forest fires.The Commission has also been having a dialogue on endangered species with members of the Association of South-East Asian nations (ASEAN) in the Community-ASEAN forestry committee.In addition the Commission is presently funding emergency aid projects to humans affected by fires and drought in Borneo/Kalimantan. This emergency funding can, however, only be applied to humans.Notwithstanding, the Commission remains open to support non governmental organizations working to protect endangered species of wild fauna and will also continue its dialogue with ASEAN countries on this subject.