Orangutan Foundation

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Nov 02 2008 | By: orangutanfoundation

Founded in 1990, Orangutan Foundation is a small organisation operating a diverse range of programmes that reflect the challenges involved with successfully conserving a highly threatened species and ecosystem.

Our overall mission is to conserve the orangutan and the biodiversity of their habitat through the protection of the tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra. At the heart of our conservation strategy is the involvement of local communities who live close to areas of orangutan habitat. We have come to learn that through education, awareness and inclusion, our projects have greater success and sustainability.

Through our blog June Rubis, the Orangutan Foundation’s Programmes Manager, will post about her work in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. You’ll also hear from our vet Dr Fikri, other Foundation staff and Yayorin (Yayasan Orangutan Indonesia), our partners. You’ll be able to keep up to date with our current programmes. These are outlined below and have been grouped into three areas that form the foundation of all our work: Conservation, Research and Education.

1. Conserving Critical Orangutan Habitat

- Belantikan Hulu Region is home to an estimated 6,000 orangutans, the largest population outside of a protected area. Working with our partners Yayorin, a local Indonesian N.G.O. and with funding from UNEP/EC we have established the Belantikan Conservation Programme. This programme is designed to help conserve this important region though engagement of the local people, district Government and the logging concessions.

By combining efforts with other organisations we can make a difference in the areas where forest remains. Orangutan Foundation are working with Fauna and Flora International and Yayorin on a landscape based initiative, funded by USAID, which aims to link up contiguous orangutan habitat. The target landscape spreads over 1.5 million hectares and not only is this area critical for orangutans, it is one of the most biological diverse areas on earth and is a globally important store of bio-carbon.

-Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, has more than 4,000 orangutans making it one of the largest remaining populations in Borneo. We work with the Park Authority to protect the Tanjung Puting against illegal activities such as logging, mining or the expansion of oil palm plantations. Since 2000 we have funded park patrols and guard posts throughout the Park.

- Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership was formed in 2007 and is an EC part-funded project. Here we are working to promote the conservation and sustainable management of the lowland forests of south Central Kalimantan with particular focus on the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and its surrounding areas. The project encompasses habitat protection, community empowerment and reforestation.

Lamandau Wildlife Reserve is the release site for orangutans that have been rehabilitated at the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) facility, run by Orangutan Foundation International. Increasing numbers of orangutans are arriving at rehabilitation centres as their forest habitat is destroyed. We have established orangutan release sites and patrol posts throughout Lamandau, with the support of Australian Orangutan Project. The release of orangutans into Lamandau creates a visible reason to increase the protection of these threatened forests. For example, in 2007 we successfully stopped a proposed 8,000 hectare oil-palm plantation that would have wiped out part of the Reserve’s buffer zone.

- Sebangau National Park has the largest orangutan population in Borneo. We are working with the Centre for International Cooperation in Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP) to protect the globally important peat swamp from fire, to prevent illegal activities and increase the capacity of local communities.

- The Orangutan Foundation is the UK representative of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Project (SOCP). SOCP is a multi-faceted programme tackling all aspects of the conservation of the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii). Our recent support has focused on their projects in Aceh’s west coast swamp forests.

2. Supporting Research

Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station, in Tanjung Puting National Park, is operated by Orangutan Foundation since 2005. Research provides the basis for making key decisions on conservation protection for important habitats. This station has been the base for research on; crocodiles, entomology, bats, proboscis monkesrt We support and encourage Indonesian and International research students and award two annual research grants.

In 2004, the PHVA (Population and Habitat Viability Assessment) Workshop brought together the world’s foremost experts on orangutans. Using the results of an orangutan population survey that was funded by the Orangutan Foundation and satellite imagery, the workshop identified all known orangutan populations and identified those most critical to the survival of the species.

3. Increasing Education and Awareness

The Orangutan Foundation and Yayorin share the vision that nature conservation benefits communities and that the promotion of this idea is reliant on an educational infrastructure at a local level. Education and sustainable agriculture, therefore, are real solutions we believe we can offer to the local community. While education explains and helps to prevent further destruction to the surrounding environment and biodiversity, sustainable agriculture can improve the socio-economic conditions of the community in a direct way.

We support Yayorin’s education and awareness programme REASON (Raise Education and Awareness to Save Orangutan and Nature) which has three sub-programmes:

MELU (Mobile Education and Library Unit) - Regular visits to schools, companies, plantations, remote villages and government institutions to distribute information and increase knowledge about conservation issues.
KAMPUNG KONSERVASI (Conservation Village) - An Integrated Environmental Learning Arena for the local community that offers education activities and a Sustainable Agriculture and Fishing Farming Programme.
PUSTAKA YAYORIN - Information distribution (research reports and books) and the publication of “SUMPITAN” bulletin three times a year.

Orangutan Foundation is a UK registered charity. In the UK we work to bring the issues of orangutan conservation to the attention of the public, the worldwide media, and corporate and governmental organisations. We have produced The Orangutan Rainforest Education Pack that provides free lesson plans to primary school teachers with a complimentary A1 display poster. We raise funds to support our programmes through organised events, public donations, membership, corporate sponsorship, charitable foundations and governmental organisations.

The Foundation is on the Executive Committee of the UNEP/UNESCO Great Ape Survival Project (GRASP) and is a founder member of the Ape Alliance. Our committed board of trustees provide expert advice and guidance that has enabled the Foundation to grow and develop into a highly respected and successful charity. Recognition of this success was highlighted in 2006 when Ashley Leiman, the Foundation’s Founder and Director, received an OBE for her services to Orangutan Conservation.