Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Tapanuli orangutan endangered by Sumatran hydropower scheme

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 4, pages 1438–1439 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

To the Editor — The Tapanuli orangutan survives today in less than 1,200 km2 of rainforest in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, in an area known as Batang Toru, where it was scientifically discovered1 in 1997. Teeming with endangered fauna and flora, the Batang Toru forest has been partially felled and fragmented and parts of the remainder allocated to agriculture, mining, hydropower and geothermal-energy production. The Tapanuli orangutan is estimated to number just 767 individuals, divided among three subpopulations1. Its total remaining habitat is merely a tenth of the size of Sydney, Australia.

International funders are increasingly leery of the dam project. The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation concluded that the project was too risky given its potentially severe impacts on imperilled fauna and flora3. It also confirmed that the dam and road infrastructure would slice through the only area of intact forest that still links the ape’s three subpopulations — critical findings that are being downplayed by the project’s proponents3,4. For similar reasons, the Bank of China and Asian Development Bank have also declined to support the project3.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: The Tapanuli orangutan and the hydrodam that imperils it in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Maxime Aliaga (orangutan image); maps created using ArcMap by ESRI (www.esri.com); map images from Planetscope / US Geological Survey Global Visualization Viewer (https://glovis.usgs.gov/).

References

  1. Wich, S. A., Fredriksson, G., Usher, G., Kühl, H. S. & Nowak, M. G. Conserv. Sci. Pract. 1, e33 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Rochmyaningsih, D. Science 365, 1064–1065 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Jong, H. N. Scientists call for independent review of dam project in orangutan habitat. Mongabay (24 March 2020); https://go.nature.com/3e8zcaU

  4. Indonesian Firm using “Deplorable” Tactics to Push Orangutan-Killer Project (Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers, 2018); https://go.nature.com/2W2JzXt

  5. Batang Toru Hydropower Project. Factcheck and References on Key Issues (IUCN SGA/ARRC, 2020); https://go.nature.com/2BT4up9

  6. Santosa, Y. et al. Impact of Batang Toru Hydropower Construction on Primary Forest, Orangutan Population and Habitat, Drought and Flood, Greenhouse Gases Emission and Socio-Economic Surroundings (The Center of Study, Advocacy and Nature Conservation, 2018).

  7. New photos show Tapanuli orangutans on the move. Foresthints (26 September 2018); https://go.nature.com/3iJ2BMl

  8. Rochmyaningsih, D. A dam threatens the world’s rarest ape. Why are some conservationists suddenly on board? Science (10 September 2019); https://go.nature.com/3gIcRm6

  9. Purba, J. Ian Singleton: Dampak PLTA Batangtoru Terhadap Kelangsungan Hidup Orangutan Tapanuli Dapat Direstorasi. RMOL Sumut (19 February 2020); https://go.nature.com/2O6s1W8

  10. Aktivis Asing “Menggoyang” Indonesia. Kompasiana (24 September 2019); https://go.nature.com/2O8siYF

  11. Finer, M. & Jenkins, C. N. PLoS ONE 7, e35126 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Watts, J. Chinese dam project in Guinea could kill up to 1,500 chimpanzees. The Guardian (28 February 2019); https://go.nature.com/3205jHp

  13. Kormos, R. et al. PLoS ONE 9, e111671 (2014).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. IUCN calls for a moratorium on projects impacting the Critically Endangered Tapanuli orangutan. IUCN (16 April 2019); https://go.nature.com/3224VIy

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

    William F. Laurance

  2. Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    Serge A. Wich

  3. IUCN Species Survival Commission Primate Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland

    Serge A. Wich, Dirck Byler, Russell Mittermeier, Rebecca Kormos & Erik Meijaard

  4. Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia

    Onrizal Onrizal

  5. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Gabriella Fredriksson

  6. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Gabriella Fredriksson

  7. Independent environmental consultant, Drakelow, UK

    Graham Usher

  8. Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, London, UK

    Truly Santika

  9. University of Stirling, Stirling, UK

    Elizabeth A. Williamson

  10. Borneo Futures, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

    Erik Meijaard

Authors
  1. William F. Laurance
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Serge A. Wich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Onrizal Onrizal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gabriella Fredriksson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Graham Usher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Truly Santika
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Dirck Byler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Russell Mittermeier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Rebecca Kormos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Elizabeth A. Williamson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Erik Meijaard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to William F. Laurance or Erik Meijaard.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Laurance, W.F., Wich, S.A., Onrizal, O. et al. Tapanuli orangutan endangered by Sumatran hydropower scheme. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 1438–1439 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1263-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1263-x

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene