Norway's state pension fund cut ties with China's Power Construction Corporation that is building a hydroelectric dam in the only known habitat of the Tapanuli Orangutan, a critically endangered species. The $1.6 billion Batang Toru project is part of China's globe-girding Road and Belt Initiative. Norway's sovereign fund has $1.4 trillion in assets under management owns about 0.03% of the project, a relatively minor interest. The funds ethics council conducted an investigation of the project and concluded that it endangered the survival of the orangutan. Scientists have warned that the dam project jeopardizes connections between three subpopulations which in turn would lead to inbreeding and eventual extinction of the entire global population of around 800. The orangutan is reduced to using just 5% of its historic range. The region affected by the dam is also habitat for the endangered Sumatran tiger.
The dam project is behind schedule due to the pandemic. At least 17 people have died during construction including two workers caught in a tunnel collapse last year, and 13 people in a landslide in 2021. Despite the 2021 incident, China Power did not mention them in its environmental and social report for that year. The company also did not respond to the ethics councils inquiries regarding environmental compliance.
On the other side of the planet, the Cameroon government has again opened part (170,000 acres) of the Ebo Forest to logging despite the presence of endangered gorillas and chimpanzees. Ebo was opened briefly to logging in 2020, but the national government reversed its decision. However, local politicians have kept up pressure to reclassify portions of the forest. In April the Prime Minister reclassified Unit 07-006 and directed the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to create plans for logging. Opponents of logging say the government has not engaged in consultation with local communities, In 2022 a private group built a road into the forest without a permit. The forestry ministry claimed it was not aware of the road building. Greenpeace Africa is asking the government to revolt the latest permit and to consult with the local Banen people about the future of their ancestral territory. Watch this video produced by Mongabay.com about the tool using chimps of the Ebo, once slated to be a national park.