Issues

Regeneration and land use challenges to orang-utan populations

The project has identified at least 3 major challenges or threats to orang-utan conservation and management in Ulu Segama and Malua Forest Reserves, namely:

Some of the habitat is very damaged, and efforts to identify which restoration methods or techniques might be suitable have to be carried out in these areas.
Some of the degraded forest is now dominated by pioneer tree species and weedy climbing plants that could reduce the ability of sunlight to penetrate into the forest-underneath, which in turn could affect the growth and regeneration of dipterocarp trees that are important to restore the overall forest condition for the orang-utans and other wildlife.
Unsuitable logging practices could exacerbate forest damage, and poor land use outside the forest reserves could result in the orang-utan population being isolated or fragmentation.