The Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF) is calling on British Company Jardine Matheson to URGENTLY STOP destroying Tapanuli orangutan habitat and immediately restore the forest they have already cleared.

What is going on here? In 2017, scientists classified a new great ape species in Sumatra, Indonesia – the Tapanuli orangutan. With fewer than 800 individuals remaining, these unique orangutans are the rarest and most endangered of all great apes. And tragically, because they live in a small, already fragmented forest landscape, any deforestation of their habitat will immediately threaten their continued existence.

It goes without saying we should be urgently safeguarding this Critically Endangered species, and yet they and their remaining habitat is under multiple threats including recent activities at the Martabe Goldmine.

The British company Jardine Matheson owns the Martabe Goldmine through its subsidiary Astra International (Indonesia's largest company). In 2018, after acquiring the goldmine, they made a firm commitment not to expand the mine into Tapanuli orangutan habitat. They also told environmental organizations they were concerned about the species and would not alter the surrounding landscape. However, satellite imagery has now revealed the clearing of orangutan habitat adjacent to the active mine. The extent of the clearing is nearly 21.5 acres of forest. They have been made aware of this breach of trust, and it is likely the clearing would continue if not for its discovery by environmentalists.

In addition to owning the Martabe Goldmine, Jardine Matheson owns the well-known Mandarin Oriental Hotel chain. The Mandarin Oriental prides itself on environmentally sustainable practices within its hotels and we suspect many Hotel guests would be shocked to know their parent company owns an extractive operation that is destroying the habitat of our planet’s most Critically Endangered great ape, and of Critically Endangered Sumatran tigers and pangolins.

We call on Jardine Matheson to immediately halt any further destruction of forest adjacent to their active mine and to restore the cleared forest to its former status.