Informational Exhibit Poster:
Orangutans and the Effects of Palm Oil Plantations
Client: Smithsonian National Zoological
Park
Product: Exhibit Poster
Presentation by:
Kate Bouchard (blorthog@uw.edu)
Julia Granfors (granfj@uw.edu)
Travis Fuller (twf5@uw.edu)
Eliza Wild (ejwild@uw.edu)
Yuqi Du (yd5@uw.edu)
Overview
● Our client and product
● Orangutan biology
● IUCN listing
● Palm oil biology
● Sustainable palm oil
● Stakeholders
● The Product
Our Client
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Smithsonian National Zoological Park
○ Located in Washington D.C
○ The National Zoological Park is part of the
Smithsonian Institution.
Orangutan Exhibit
○ Great Ape House and Think Tank
○ Orangutan Transport System (O Line)
○ Six orangutans
○ Iris
Product
○ Educational and informational poster about
palm oil and orangutans
Cheryl Braunstein
○ Manager of exhibit planning and
development at the National Zoo
Biology
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Species
○ Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus)
■ Three subspecies
○ Sumatran (Pongo abelii)
○ ~50 years old
Habitat
○ Waterways, lowlands
○ Forest canopies
Diet & Tools
○ 50% fruit; 50% sap, fungus
○ Tool Users: umbrella, sticks
Behavior & Reproduction
○ Arboreal
○ Cheek Pads & Throat Sacs
○ Gestation, newborn
○ Raised by mother (7-9 years)
○ Longest childhood of any ape
IUCN Listing
Global Orangutan Distribution
Sumatran Orangutan
Bornean Orangutan
Population: ~7,300
Population: ~45,000 - 69,000
Critically Endangered
Endangered
Main threat: habitat loss
Main threat: habitat loss
Bornean Rainforest
Clearing Rainforest
Palm Oil Plantation
Palm Oil
● Edible vegetable oil derived from the fruits of
the oil palm tree
● Grown in the tropical belt
o Originated in Western/Central Africa
o 90% from Indonesia and Malaysia
● Very high oil yield & fast growing
o Low cost to commercial food industry
● Used in thousands of products
o Foods, beauty products, biodiesel
Habitat Loss
● High demand for palm oil from
Indonesia & Malaysia
● Large amounts of rainforest
deforestation for oil palm plantations
● Threatening vital habitat for many
endangered species
o Orangutans, Sumatran tigers,
pygmy elephants
Sustainable Palm Oil
● Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
o Created in 2004
o Cannot destroy areas with significant biodiversity or fragile ecosystems
o Protects cultural areas for local communities
● Currently 18% of global palm oil is certified
● Over 2,000 members
o Full list of members at rspo.org
Stakeholders
●
Unskilled workers
○ Workforce is mostly foreign, uneducated, and
inexperienced
○ Employees receive:
■ Company provide housing
■ On-the-job training and classes
■ Treated water, electricity,
medical/accident insurance
■ Education for children of workers
■ Performance based pay component
○ Overall positive change to livelihood
○ Negative impacts:
■ Lack of time
■ Increase in daily expenses
Stakeholders
● Independent growers (smallholders)
o Live in recently established villages
o Average oil palm plantation: 3.59 hectares, 20 years
o Previously subsistence farmers of rice and fish
o Benefits of managing a plantation:
 Increase in wages
 Decrease in labor required
 Flexible hours
 May hire more employees
o Possible negative impacts:
 High dependency on income
Stakeholders
●
Affected neighbors
o Land-based resources lost by conversion to oil palm
o No consultation about plantation establishment

Native claims are not legally recognized
o Negative impacts:

Drop in fish stocks
● River pollution
● Substantial economic losses
● Increased labor burden (travel)

Loss of access to forest resources
● Decreased hunting
● Decreased availability of non-timber forest products (herbs, fruits)
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Loss of cropland
● More reliant on natural resource based activities
● Change in traditional food consumption patterns
o Positive impacts:
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Improved road access

Increased job opportunity
Poster Design
Focus Points
● Draw visitor attention
● Keep that attention
● Create a message they will share
Poster Design
To start things
off…
Environmental feel
Family friendly/Jungle
theme
Poster Design
Next…
To catch the
visitor’s attention
Poster Design
Then…
Adding information
and images
Poster Design
Finalizing stages
use of questions,
images, simple yet
informative language
References
Andriani, et al.The Local Impacts of Oil Palm Expansion in Malaysia (2011): n. pag.Http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/WPapers/WP78Andriani.pdf. Center for International Forestry Research. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
Brown, E., & Jacobson, M. (2005). Cruel oil: How palm oil harms health, rainforest & wildlife. Washington, D.C.: Center for Science in the
Public Interest.
Butler, R. (2005, January 1). Largest area of tropical forest, by country. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation_forest.html
Gilbert, N. (2012). Palm-oil boom raises conservation concerns. Nature, 487(7405), 14-15. Retrieved February 13, 2015, from
http://www.nature.com/news/palm-oil-boom-raises-conservation-concerns-1.10936
Kirk, Karin. “Teaching Environmental Issue.” Affective Domain. N.p., n.d.
Lam, M., Tan, K., Lee, K., & Mohamed, A. (2009). Malaysian Palm Oil: Surviving The Food Versus Fuel Dispute For A Sustainable Future.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13(6-7), 1456-1464. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from ScienceDirect.
Masilamany, J. (2013, March 1). For Peat's Sake. Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/01/for-peat’s-sake/
Poku, K. (2002). Small-scale Palm Oil Processing in Africa (Vol. 148). Food & Agricultural Organization.
Rosenthal, E. (2007, January 31). Once a Dream Fuel, Palm Oil May Be an Eco-Nightmare. The New York Times. Retrieved February 16,
2015, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/business/worldbusiness/31biofuel.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=e653a375e67e8e49&ex=132
7899600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0
RSPO- About Sustainable Palm Oil. (2014, January 1). Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.rspo.org/consumers/aboutsustainable-palm-oil
Skinner, B. (2013, July 18). Indonesia's Palm Oil Industry Rife With Human-Rights Abuses. Bloomberg Business.
Verheye, W. (2010). Growth And Production of Palm Oil. In Soils, Plant Growth and Crop Production (Vol. 2). Eolss Company Limited.
"Meet the Orangutans." - National Zoo. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
"Exhibit." S: Great Apes and Other Primates. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
Questions?