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AOP achievements 2008/2009Click here to see our pre 2007 achievements Click here to see our 2007/2008 achievements
Wildlife Protection Units (SOCP): $238,534 The Wildlife Protection Units are responsible for patrolling the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park and the ‘buffer zone’ surrounding its borders. The Bukit Tigapuluh Sumatran orangutan re-introduction project in the province of Jambi is the only reintroduction site for the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan Pongo abelii. Close to 100 orangutans have been released. The WPU have been highly successful in deterring all illegal activities within the National Park including logging. They are responsible for educating local people about laws against poaching orangutans, gathering information about illegal activities and reporting these to the Forestry police and collecting wildlife data as an evaluation tool for ecosystem conditions at BTP. AOP funded the complete running costs for all of the eight protection units in 2008-2009 as well as management costs. A Mitsubishi Triton four wheel drive off road double cabin pick up car was also purchased for transportation requirements. Batu Mbelin Quarantine Centre: $92,648 This centre is run by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) and was opened in 2002. It is located near Medan, North Sumatra and it is the only quarantine centre in Sumatra for confiscated Sumatran orangutans. This centre allows many more confiscations of illegally held Sumatran orangutans to occur and since opening, 126 orangutans have been received at the centre. The aim for all orangutans, if suitable, that come to the centre is for them to be transferred to Jambi and released at Bukit Tigapuluh National Park. Over 100 orangutans have been transferred to Jambi for release from the Batu Mbelin Quarantine Centre. In 2008-2009, AOP funded all running costs for the centre. Some of these costs included: staff salaries, confiscation costs, transportation costs, orangutan food, orangutan medical costs, food for staff and maintenance. Three infants from the centre have also joined the AOP adoption programme: Ugo Blanco, Miriam and Jarot. Nyaru Menteng: $64,916 The Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Center was founded in 1999 by Lone Dröscher Nielsen and is today the home of more than 600 orphaned orangutans and 150 employees. The center is based 28 km from Palangka Raya in Central Kalimantan and consists of a main building, a veterinarian room, quarantine cages and other facilities. Surrounding the building are 40 bigger quarantine cages and two big cages used for the socialisation process. The forest around the centre serves as the perfect place when the young orangutans are taught how to survive in the wild. Five small islands in the river nearby are used as the first home for the orangutans as they begin their new lives without their caretakers. Nyaru Menteng actively conducts searches and surveys to find new release sites. AOP has previously provided funding for release site surveys and transport crate costs. In 2008-2009, AOP provided funds to construct an Isolation unit and an Intensive Care unit for sick orangutans at Nyaru Menteng. $15,000 was also sent to assist with general running costs of the centre. AOP sent $25,112 to purchase a new larger-load dump truck with a hydraulic tilt system in order to bring more efficiency to the waste management process at Nyaru Menteng. COP: $33,067 COP was founded by Indonesian local Hardi Baktiantoro in early 2007 in response to the massive exploitation and slaughtering of orangutans due to the palm oil industry in Central Kalimantan. Hardi is Indonesia’s most experienced campaigner on behalf of orangutan conservation. COP is the only fully Indonesian group of its kind, dedicated to the conservation of orangutans. COP is a non-religious, non-political and non-profit charity organisation, working proactively to champion the cause of protection of the orangutan and their habitat. The COP team has also rescued numerous orangutans from the ever expanding palm oil fields. COP has gained in confidence and experience since its inception and has a rising profile in Indonesia. Hardi and COP are now well positioned to take their campaigns forward with the energy and enthusiasm that has been lacking in Indonesia for so long. AOP funds in 2008-2009 supported general running costs of COP and also supported investigations into land clearing for palm oil plantations where orangutan populations are present. Buluh Lamandau: $33,067 was sent to fund the running costs of the Buluh Lamandau Camp for 2008-2009. Camp Buluh is located within the Lamandau Reserve, a protected area within Central Kalimantan, for the release of ex-captive orangutans from the OCCQ. Only ex-captive male orangutans are release at Camp Buluh. This is a trial to observe whether this stops wild males coming into the area due to the presence of female orangutans and then competing for limited resources. The running costs can be broken down into: staff salaries, equipment, supplies, maintenance, fuel, transportation and food for orangutans and staff. Tripa Swamp Protection – (Sumatra) - $ 30,000 Tripa is an area of 61,803 hectares on the west coast of the province of Aceh in North Sumatra. Four large-scale palm oil companies covering most of Tripa are destroying the forest, burning the peat and opening canals to install palm-oil plantations. Huge amounts of carbon are being released due to peat degradation. Tripa is by far the largest unprotected carbon stock in Aceh, it is important for local people and it hosts unique biodiversity. The total destruction of Tripa’s remaining forest is predicted within less than five years if appropriate action is not implemented quickly. Tripa is one of the six remaining populations for the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and it still hosts around 280 Sumatran orangutans. Tripa also has among the highest densities of orangutans anywhere in the world, which has facilitated a unique culture of tool use. AOP has provided urgent funding to help support the work involved with the conservation of Tripa including equipment costs (cameras, GPS), transport costs, postage, conference fees etc. OCCQ Pangkalan Bun:$27,080 The Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) facility provides housing and quality veterinary care to hundreds of orphaned orangutans. Opened in 1998, it is situated in the village of Pasir Panjang near Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan. The centre employs four Indonesian vets, two veterinary nurses and over 100 local people. In 2008/2009, AOP provided funds to purchase a vehicle for the collection of fruits and vegetables for the hundreds of orangutans housed at the centre. AOP also provided funding to assist with the maintenance of the large playground area for the infant orangutans at the centre. Lamandau Guard Post: $16,500 was sent to construct a guard post in the Lamandau Reserve as part of a project to ‘Promote the conservation and sustainable management of the lowland forests of South Central Kalimantan. The protection of the Lamandau Reserve has two components: the building of permanent guard posts and secondly, mobile patrolling. Guard posts are not only strategic, they are symbolic and simply by being there they act as a deterrent. Local people will not attempt to start clearing land if they know there is a high chance of being evicted and thus no-one attempts to farm land inside the guard post area. KOCP: $11,845 KOCP was set up in 1998 by HUTAN in collaboration with the Sabah Wildlife Department. The goal of the project is to achieve long-term viability of orangutan populations in Sabah. The project's objective is to restore harmonious relationships between people and the orangutan, which in turn will support local socio-economic development compatible with habitat and wildlife conservation. AOP provided financial support for one OUR (Orangutan Research Unit) field research assistant for a one year period in 2008-2009. Funds also assisted with purchasing field equipment necessary to conduct research in the field (e.g. boots, trousers, shirts, compass) and to contribute to the running costs of the OUR team. SOS Ecotourism Development Program: $7,272 Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra, Indonesia, was once the site of an orangutan rehabilitation project, and continues to provide the opportunity for visitors to view both semi-wild and wild orangutans on daily excursions into the Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP). Although it is forbidden to touch, feed, or disturb the orangutans, such practices still do occur for the enjoyment of visitors. This is of major cause for concern in terms of the orangutans being exposed to human sickness and disease. The food given to the orangutans by the guides and visitors also discourages the semi-wild population from reducing any dependence on humans and becoming free-living in the wild. Ecotourism has the potential to contribute both to conservation as well as development goals through its self-generating administrative revenue, and can thus provide a sustainable livelihood opportunity for the local community; however, it must be done responsibly and managed correctly for it to function. It is therefore crucial that measures are taken to intervene at Bukit Lawang to raise tourism standards, including setting new visitation protocols that best protect the orangutans and other wildlife, as well as the local community and visitors. Even with the problems presented through tourism, experts have recognized it as a potential strong force in helping to save the orangutans. AOP is providing financial support to assist the Orangutan Ecotourism Development Programme. The goal of this programme is to transform Bukit Lawang into a world renowned ecotourism site and centre of conservation learning and education. Elements of this project include; guide training, producing information leaflets, building renovations, questionnaire for visitors and sign boards. Honours Student ( Lamandau Reserve) - $4,000 AOP is supporting an Honours student studying in the Lamandau Reserve, Central Kalimantan. The title of this project is “Evaluating the effectiveness of the strategy of releasing only male orangutans at camp Buluh in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve”. Reintroduction and successful rehabilitation of orangutans in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve can be negatively affected by the presence of wild males already living in the area. These wild male orangutans are attracted to the release site vicinities by the presence of reintroduced females. Aggressive encounters between wild and reintroduced males can lead to adverse outcomes in regard to rehabilitation objectives. It is thought that releasing only rehabilitated males at the site will improve the orangutan’s prospects of a successful reintroduction. This will be achieved by reducing the likelihood of aggressive encounters between reintroduced and wild males. Data collection will occur at Camp Buluh, an all male release site and Camp Sisiwoyo, where both male and female orangutans have been reintroduced. The data from the two locations will then be compared. Orangutan Republik: (OUREI documentary) - $ 2,500 AOP provided funding to assist with the production costs of an orangutan documentary starring Angelina Sondakh, a prominent public figure in Indonesia. The documentary will focus on Tanjung Putting and eco-tourism and will aim to raise awareness in Indonesia about the plight of the orangutan. Orangutan Republik Foundation (OURF) – Orangutan Caring Scholarships- $ 2,273 The Orangutan Caring Scholarship (OCS) was established in 2006 as a joint program of OUREI (Orangutan Republik Education Initiative) and the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS). The purpose of the program is to award talented and needy Indonesian students in Sumatra with tuition funding allowing them to attend postgraduate programs in Forestry and Biology. Through the program, recipients will develop an understanding of the plight of the orangutan from the perspective of a non-governmental organisation. They would then graduate as an advocate of orangutan conservation when entering the government workforce. The collaboration between OUREI and SOS has allowed this program to expand each year to include a larger number of recipients. The Orangutan Caring Scholarship is open to Indonesian students in North Sumatra seeking tuition funds for Forestry or Biology School. One of the requirements of the applicant is to make an effective presentation to a review committee about their research plans. In addition, recipients are to work with SOS in learning about the orangutan and its plight, and in helping present the information to students in local schools. The scholarship money provides for multi-year tuition expenses as well as the write-up of the students thesis. AOP is fully funded two Orangutan Caring Scholarships in 2009. |
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