protected forests. "Their number had declined by about 35 per cent in the past 20 years due largely to habitat loss and degradation, habitat fragmentation, poaching and killing," he added. He said timber production, land conversion to agriculture and forest fires were among the factors that destroyed the orang-utan prime habitat (lowland forests). "Among ways to save the orang-utan were protecting their habitat, applying better environment management practices and raising local awareness," he noted. The Sabah state government had also introduced the Honorary Wildlife Warden Programme whereby the local community was appointed as their eyes and carried out forest patrols and joint enforcement with police to detect encroachment, illegal logging, poaching and fish poisoning, he was quoted as saying by the Malaysian news agency "Bernama."
