Save the Tapanuli Orangutan
Main US actions: NYC (Mandarin Oriental Hotel), LA, Chicago
Main Canada actions: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver
Main UK protest: London (Mandarin Oriental Hotel)
******UPDATE******
We have huge news! The groundswell of public support pouring in has been tremendous--we are thrilled to share that Bank of China has officially agreed to negotiate! In light of our concerns, they are seriously reviewing whether or not to fund the Batang Toru dam--a project which, as you know, would be a near-certain death sentence for the Tapanuli orangutan species.
To everyone who signed our 120,000-person petition, shared our content online, wrote a letter and RSVPed to our International Day of Protest--credit goes to you.
Earlier this morning, Bank of China sent the CEO of their London branch to Stroud, UK (a 210-mile round-trip!) to meet with Ian Redmond OBE, Chairman of Ape Alliance. They have agreed that they will send executives from their Indonesia branch to a formal roundtable with all relevant NGOs, a meeting which will take place later this month in London, and hold similar meetings with stakeholders in Indonesia.
Here’s our thinking: we have concluded that it would counterproductive to hold protests at Bank of China while in the midsts of these ongoing discussions. So we’re pulling the plug on that--for now. The Bank of China knows that we are only postponing the protests and that they will resume if the funding for the Batang Toru dam goes ahead.
However, Bank of China is not the only threat to the last remaining 800 Tapanuli orangutans. As we write this, the multinational corporation Jardine Matheson--owner of the internationally-acclaimed, 5-star, Mandarin Oriental Hotel--is complicit in the destruction of critical Tapanuli habitat. Because Jardines also owns one of Indonesia's largest companies they have the influence needed to help stop the dam.
Therefore, our International Day of Action this Thursday will now take place at Mandarin Oriental Hotel. We are calling on Jardine Matheson to use their influence for good. They know that travellers don’t want to stay at hotels responsible for harm to orangutans, and by highlighting their ties to the dam, we can urge them to take a stand.
We have identified Mandarin Orientals in London and NYC that are suitable for protests--so we will converge there-- same day and time. For folks elsewhere who can’t make it to those cities, we ask that you meet up at the nearest coffee shop, and write tweets and facebook posts tagging Mandarin Oriental. We’ll send out more details city by city.
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Join Ape Alliance on 3/21 for an international day of action to save the Tapanuli.
In 2017 scientists identified the Tapanuli orangutan as a distinct species, a sensational discovery which drew headlines around the world. These orangutans, found exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, are one of just eight species of great apes on the planet (including us). With only 800 left, they now face the immanent threat of extinction. A massive hydroelectric dam, financed by the Bank of China, would permanently fragment their habitat, and thus drastically reduce their genetic viability. We are calling on the Bank of China to immediately withdraw its funding for this dam and be a leader in green finance and biodiversity conservation.
The Tapanuli's discovery marks the first time since 1929 that a new member of the great ape family has been identified. It is one of only three species of orangutan on the planet.
Over the past decade, China has demonstrated that it has the potential to advance an agenda that both fosters economic growth and protects the environment. China has created national parks, promoted clean air initiatives, and invested in wind and solar. The government must show its commitment to sustainability and pull out its investments in the Batang Toru hydroelectric dam.
The need to transition away from fossil fuels is tremendous, but this transition must be done in ways that do not threaten one of humankind's closest living relatives with extinction. Indonesia, located on the rim of fire, has significant geothermal resources that could easily be expanded.
Join us on March 21 as we call on Bank of China to defund the dam and save the Tapanuli.
The Guardian recently published an article about the Tapanuli, and noted that "the dam will hit the highest density of Tapanuli orangutans left."
More info can be found in a new report, published by several NGOs who are at the frontlines of this campaign, and in articles in National Geographic and Mongabay.
The Tapanuli orangutan population is already threatened by many outside forces, from habitat loss, to poaching, to climate change. This dam would be a final death knell. A few megawatts of electricity is not worth the existence of a 3.4 million-year-old orangutan species.