Ferrero UK has launched a three-year biodiversity monitoring programme in Malaysian Borneo in partnership with conservation organisations Hutan and Chester Zoo, aimed at improving wildlife management in palm oil-producing landscapes.
Announced on World Rainforest Day (22 June), the Biodiversity Research Forest programme is being carried out in the Kinabatangan UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Sabah, a region known for its rich biodiversity and endangered wildlife.
The project, led by Hutan, combines technologies including thermal drones, bioacoustic recorders and camera traps to monitor species such as Bornean elephants and orangutans, alongside indicator species including birds, frogs and soil invertebrates.
Researchers say the programme will provide a clearer understanding of how wildlife uses a landscape that combines agricultural land with patches of native forest, helping conservationists identify where interventions can have the greatest impact.
During the first year of the project, scientists deployed 30 camera traps and confirmed that 15 key species, including Bornean orangutans and Bornean elephants, were using a wildlife corridor linking two forest fragments. The team also trialled thermal drones to detect orangutans from above the forest canopy at night.
Data gathered through the programme will be used to assess the effectiveness of wildlife corridors, orangutan bridges and buffer zones, with findings shared with local stakeholders, including palm oil plantation managers, to help shape management practices that better accommodate wildlife movement.
Paola Nogales, responsible sourcing manager at Ferrero, said the initiative reflected the company's broader approach to sustainable palm oil.
“Ferrero's approach to sustainable palm oil has never been only about what we source. It is about the landscapes where palm oil is grown, the communities who depend on them, and the wildlife they support,” she said.
“Our long-standing partnership with Chester Zoo has been central to that approach, from raising public awareness about the importance of sustainable palm oil through to supporting the education team to deliver teaching materials to inspire and inform the next generation on this vital topic.
“The Biodiversity Research Forest programme is the next step in our work together, generating research that can help inform how palm oil landscapes are managed, with the view to hopefully help drive wider landscape transformation beyond our own sourcing regions.”
Chester Zoo and HUTAN team members plant saplings in Malaysian Borneo, restoring vital rainforest habitatPhoto: Handout
The programme represents the latest stage in a partnership between Ferrero UK and Chester Zoo that began in 2020 to raise awareness of sustainable palm oil and support biodiversity conservation in sourcing regions.
Kirsten Pullen, chief conservation officer and deputy chief executive at Chester Zoo, said sustainable palm oil production could play an important role in balancing conservation and agricultural needs.
“Palm oil is often misunderstood, but when it is sourced sustainably, it can be a highly efficient crop with an important role to play,” she said.
“The challenge is ensuring it is produced in a way that protects nature and supports communities. Through the Biodiversity Research Forest, we are generating vital new insights into how wildlife is using these complex landscapes and how they can be better managed.”
Amanda Shia, scientific officer at Hutan, said the monitoring programme was providing unprecedented information on wildlife movements across the region's mixed-use landscape.
“With the support from Ferrero, Chester Zoo and other partners, the monitoring we are doing is helping us see what we have never been able to see before, building a much more accurate picture of where wildlife are and how management plans can benefit them across this mosaic landscape,” she said.
The initiative complements Ferrero's wider sustainability work in the Kinabatangan region, including its support for the TRAILS research programme, which explores agroforestry approaches combining native forest species and oil palms to restore biodiversity.
Ferrero said it has been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2005, sources 100 per cent RSPO-certified palm oil and was ranked second among 285 companies in the WWF Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard 2024.
The Biodiversity Research Forest programme will run until 2028, with partners intending to share research findings that could help inform sustainable palm oil practices in Borneo and other sourcing regions.