Malaysia begins controversial ‘orangutan diplomacy’ program

Malaysia launched its controversial “orangutan diplomacy” scheme Sunday in an effort to entice countries to continue importing palm oil despite the known risks it poses to the animals’ habitat and survival.

The program allows importers to “adopt” orangutans in the country. The government will also try to limit deforestation, a frequent consequence of palm oil plantations, Malaysia’s commodities minister said Sunday.

Animal welfare activists had decried the original proposal to send orangutans abroad; experts believe that fewer than 105,000 orangutans live in the wild exclusively on the Malaysian island of Borneo.

Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries have tried to present a cleaner sheen on palm oil products since the European Union banned products linked to deforestation. The palm oil industry generates more than $39 billion per year in global GDP and employs 3 million people worldwide, a million of whom live in Malaysia, and it is used in everything from lipstick to pizza.