Rainforest Trust and Palm Oil Fact Sheet

Legacy Conservation Partner: No – Round Up for Conservation Major Initiative in 2016 and 2017 Project Locations: Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia Borneo, Malaysia, Asia Cameroon, Africa Amount: $80,000 in two years Funding Source: Round Up for Conservation Fund Rainforest Trust Program Species: • Sumatra Project: Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran tigers, Asian elephants, and hundreds more • Borneo Project: Bornean orangutans, Asian elephants, helmeted hornbills, Sunda pangolins, and hundreds more • Cameroon Project: 7 species of chameleons and 100 species of frogs and toads, including Manengouba long-fingered frog, Nsoung long-fingered frog, redbelly egg frog. These frogs are critically endangered. Rainforest Trust Program Species Represented at OKC Zoo: Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran tigers, Asian elephants Conservation Status: Rainforest • Worldwide 17 million acres of rainforest are lost each year. That’s over one third of the state of Oklahoma – in one year. • A major threat to rainforests is clearing for large-scale industrial agriculture, particularly for oil palm plantations. • Oil palms produce an edible vegetable oil known as palm oil. It is found in many, many products we eat and use every day, including cookies, crackers, candy, frozen dinners, cosmetics, shampoo, lotion, and pet food. The demand for it is enormous and increasing. Orangutans • Sumatran and Bornean orangutans are critically endangered because of habitat destruction, especially forest conversion to large-scale agriculture, mainly oil palm plantations Sumatran Tigers • Critically endangered because of poaching for bones, human-tiger conflict, and habitat destruction. • Shrinking habitat puts tigers and people closer and closer together. Tigers sometimes kill livestock and people. Tigers are killed in retribution for this. • Tiger bone is extremely valuable in traditional Chinese medicine. Tigers are poached, mainly using leg snares, throughout their range for their bones and skins. Asian Elephants • Endangered because of habitat destruction, human-elephant conflict, and poaching for tusks. • Asian elephants live in a very densely populated part of the world. As habitat shrinks, they come in contact with people more and more. This causes conflict, because elephants raid food stores and crops. Elephants are also hit by cars and trains and injured or killed. What is the Rainforest Trust? • Rainforest Trust works with in-country partners to purchase and protect tropical forests • Since 1988, Rainforest Trust has purchased and protected over 16 million acres of forest • Rainforests are one of the most important natural resources left on Earth. They safely store billions of tons of carbon, helping ward off climate change. Tropical forests remain untapped resources for scientific and medical discoveries—a quarter of all medicines are sourced from plants found deep in the rainforests. They are also home to thousands of unique animals that depend on the protection of rainforest for their survival. How does the OKC Zoo support Rainforest Trust and help rainforests? • Round Up for Conservation money is being used to partner with Rainforest Trust to safeguard rainforests, because preserving these forests benefits thousands of plant and animal species. • In 2016, the Zoo contributed Round Up money to Rainforest Trust to purchase and preserve 13,000 acres of forest in central Sumatra. • In 2017, Round Up money is being used to help protect 920,000 acres of forest in Borneo and 5,542 acres of forest on Mount Manengouba in Cameroon How can you help rainforests, tigers, orangutans, elephants, and more? • You can help by answering “Yes” when asked to Round Up while making purchases at the Zoo. Small change adds up to big change! • You also have the power to help protect rainforests and endangered species every day by choosing to buy products made with certified sustainable palm oil. Please download the guide to palm oil shopping app developed by our fellow Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) member, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It’s easy to use and will help you make the right choices for a healthier planet for all of us.