#nasalis

A proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) sits in a tree in Sukau, Borneo

Palm oil processors top plantations in destroying proboscis monkey habitat

The oil palm processing industry has become the biggest threat to the iconic and endangered proboscis monkeys of Indonesian Borneo, a new study has found.

The study, published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, analyzed the loss of habitat of the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) in Balikpapan Bay, home to one of the largest populations of the species, using data from 2000 to 2017.

It found that during that period, the monkey’s habitat shrank by a nearly an eighth of its size, from 231.7 to 203 square kilometers (89.5 to 78.4 square miles).

The main cause for that loss up until 2007 was land conversion for palm oil plantations, affecting primarily non-mangroves areas. After 2007, the rate of habitat loss due to plantation development slowed down substantially because of a scarcity of suitable land. What followed instead was a boom in the palm oil processing industry, represented by a slate of bulking stations, refineries and biodiesel plants that are already operating or under construction.

“Once most of the suitable land was converted to plantations, the subsequent industrial expansion became the most considerable threat to proboscis monkeys in Balikpapan Bay,” the report says.

The industry flourished in Balikpapan, one of the largest cities in Indonesian Borneo and home to a bustling port that can accommodate palm oil bulk carriers.

The nature of habitat loss brought about by the palm oil processing industry is vastly different from that associated with oil palm plantations.

For one, industrial expansion leads to loss of both mangrove and non-mangrove forests. And it tends to cause widely scattered deforestation because of the need to build expanded infrastructure, such as ports, power lines and, in particular, roads.

Retrato de Carlos III

by Anton Raphael Mengs (Bohemian, 1728 - 1779) unknown medium and date