Over 80% of orangutans live in unprotected forests. This puts them at an even greater risk of extinction because their forest habitat can be converted to plantations, logging concessions, mining and other agriculture.
The Orangutan Project is working with its partners across Indonesia to legally change the land status of high conservation value forest to protect wild and introduced populations of ex-captive orangutans.
In the Bukit Tigapuluh ecosystem in Sumatra, we’ve formed both a joint foundation and a limited company with our partners, to lease forest in the vital lowlands surrounding theNational Park, and have now legally protected more than 133,000 acres, taking the full protected area of the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape to over 489,000 acres.
The Orangutan Project and Frankfurt Zoological Society’s joint Yayasan (foundation) in Indonesia is called Yayasan Konservasi Ekosistem Hutan Sumatera (KEHUS). KEHUS now manages more than 39,000 acres on the eastern boundaries of the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park which has recently been given the status of ‘Kawasan Hutan Dengan Tujuan Khusus’ meaning ‘Forest Area with Special Meaning.’ The purpose of this special forest area is to continue its use as an ‘orangutan sanctuary’ where orphaned orangutans participate in a rehabilitation program to prepare them for permanent release into the wild.
We are also currently working with a number of other partners across Kalimantan and Sumatra to legally protect intact, high conservation value forest, including Forest Nature and Environment Aceh, to protect the critical Leuser ecosystem, the last stronghold of the Critically Endangered Sumatran orangutan, tiger, elephant and rhino.
Many of these long term projects include exploring community-driven initiatives to create sustainable economic enterprises within the ecosystem, including jungle-honey and vanilla so that eventually, the project to legally protect the ecosystem becomes economically sustainable.
Thank you for helping us legally protect orangutan habitat!
