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GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK FOR YOUTH IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC


Box 2: Forest gardeners


In Southeast Asia, the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) is an important species that lives in the tropical rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. They eat fruit from the trees and spread the seeds as they travel considerable distances through the forests, helping to maintain the rainforests’ biodiversity (Campbell-Smith et al. 2011). These orangutans also are of great cultural importance and are considered iconic in Southeast Asia.


Across Southeast Asia, governments have protected 18 per cent of the remaining


tropical moist forest. Nonetheless the forests and their wildlife are increasingly threatened by conversion to agriculture, increasing global demand for palm oil and other anthropogenic factors. On the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the expansion of oil palm plantations is a huge challenge as it brings about forest, land and soil degradation.


Orangutan Rehab Centre, Sumatra Source: Dave59, UNEP


Box 3: Bees, give me honey!


Bees are more than pollinators, they make honey – a highly nutritious food and in some communities a valuable medicine. But bees can also contribute to local social and economic interactions. Beekeeping can be a major source of income for those who have limited options for making money, such as the farmers from high altitude areas in Jumla District of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. These farmers do not have enough productive land for growing rice so they barter honey for rice, other food and household items, and renting farmland in lower altitude areas (Partap et al. 2014).


Beekeeper Source: Kaipara Flats, unsplash


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