WRITTEN BY KEAN KEARNEY, PALM OIL COORDINATOR
My experiences representing CMZoo at the 2025 RSPO annual conference were extremely eye-opening. Working at a zoo, so much of my role’s direction is driven by a passion for wildlife conservation, but it is impossible to ignore how critical the transformation of human industries is to achieving sustainable conservation efforts. The RSPO conference highlighted this for me. The work required to realize a wholly sustainable palm oil industry is highly intensive and necessitates a balance of prioritization between people, wildlife, and the natural world. From palm oil producers and processors, both small farmers and big corporations alike, to environmental organizations such as CMZoo, so many people from all different walks of life are committed to making a difference with sustainable palm oil. CMZoo played a critical role with sustainable palm oil awareness since becoming a member of the RSPO in 2010. CMZoo has also directly contributed to wildlife conservation organizations working to protect species threatened by the palm oil industry. Following the RSPO conference in Kuala Lumpur, I traveled across the South China Sea to the dense tropical rainforests of Borneo to visit one of these incredible organizations, Hutan.
Hutan, as stated in their own words, “is a grassroots wildlife research and conservation organisation developing community-driven solutions for a peaceful coexistence between wildlife and people.” Originating in 1998 as a small orangutan research project of French biologists, Dr. Isabelle Lackman and Dr. Marc Ancrenaz, Hutan has since grown to become one of the most prominent and empowering organizations on the Kinabatangan floodplain in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Centered in the remote village of Sukau, Hutan is made up of members from the local Orang Sungai community and their success serves as a testament to the power and expertise inherent in locally led conservation efforts. With teams focused on wildlife monitoring, protection, research, and women-led teams focused on reforestation and habitat connectivity, Hutan’s influence on the Kinabatangan floodplain and local culture is extensive.
Borneo is home to some of the most ancient and biodiverse ecosystems in the world. The expanse of the tree canopy across Borneo was impossible to miss while flying over, but so were the palm oil plantations that fragmented the landscape. The uniform rows of oil palm trees stood in stark contrast to the lush and diverse tropical forests native to Borneo. It is this contrast in landscapes that wildlife increasingly find difficult to traverse due to severely reduced food sources and protective habitats, an issue often combatted through the restoration of wildlife corridors.
Since 2017, CMZoo has contributed $50,000 in grant funding to support Hutan’s reforestation programs. Most of these funds have been focused on the restoration and reforestation of the Keruak Wildlife Corridor, a 110-acre collaborative reforestation initiative that provides critical connectivity between isolated patches of protected forest in the Kinabatangan floodplain. The land had an extensive history of oil palm production that left the natural connections between the patches severely degraded. However, over the course of nearly six years, one of Hutan’s women-led reforestation teams has successfully planted and facilitated the continued growth of more than 71,000 native trees in the corridor. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet this incredible team and visit a section of the wildlife corridor that CMZoo has supported.
One of my most vivid memories of my visit to the Keruak Wildlife Corridor was just how lush the replanted native trees made the landscape. The history of palm oil plantations on the land were still evident as oil palm trees still stood amongst the native planted trees. However, the oil palm trees were simply a singular element of the greater mosaic that now defined the wildlife corridor. The native trees, despite their youth, now stood taller than the oil palm trees and the undergrowth of the rainforest was beginning to retain the density characteristic of forests left untouched. Oil palms, previously utilized exclusively for palm oil extraction, now showed signs of being favored nesting sites by orangutans. I was simply in awe of how quick this landscape had been able to recover and the fervor and expertise with which the women of the reforestation team cared for the ecosystem. Over 71,000 trees, all hand-planted, have begun the process of fully restoring an ecosystem decimated by decades of monoculture agriculture to its natural robustness.
I was able to meet the incredible team of local women that spearheaded the Hutan Native Tree Nursery. Nearly every individual tree that was planted along the Keruak Wildlife Corridor, originated from nurseries where they were diligently cultivated for about three years before being ready for planting in the wild. The expertise of the tree nursery team was nothing short of amazing. Their attention to detail for every specific tree species ensured the greatest chance of success that these trees would one day play a critical role in sustaining the stability of the local environment and countless wildlife species of Borneo.
Without a doubt, some of the most defining memories of my trip to Borneo were the wildlife encounters that reflect the conservation work supported by Hutan and CMZoo. Seeing a pair of orangutans move through the rainforest canopy and share a meal, a proboscis monkey leap across a gap between trees to climb a vine, and a family of short-tailed macaques grooming along the riverbank before sunset were unforgettable moments. Even a brief glimpse of a Bornean elephant before it disappeared into the dense rainforest understory is something I could have gone a lifetime without ever experiencing. The diversity of these experiences was surreal and served as a testament to the abundance of unique life supported by Borneo’s ancient forests.
All of my experiences in Borneo reinforced my passion for the conservation of wildlife impacted by unsustainable palm oil. The impact that Hutan’s reforestation and wildlife monitoring efforts have made on the Kinabatangan floodplain is impossible to miss and emphasizes how sustainable palm oil production policies like those of the RSPO, when guided by informed local conservation strategies, can effect the greatest change for healthy ecosystems. Witnessing the effect the Keruak Wildlife Corridor has had on the wildlife that call the Kinabatangan floodplain home highlighted how a balance between economic and environmental needs can be met in some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Palm oil is there to stay in Borneo. That fact is unavoidable. However, efforts like those of Hutan with the support from CMZoo’s members and guests can work in tandem with RSPO standards to successfully integrate palm oil plantations into the greater rainforest mosaic without compromising the stability of both wildlife and local communities alike. This is a future I believe in and that I am so incredibly thankful I can contribute towards through support CMZoo members and guests provide simply by visiting our Zoo or being members..