Use it or Lose it

Returning Sumatran orang-utans to the wild is the original core business of PanEco. They are endangered as a result of habitat destruction and so we have moved to focus heavily on protection of the rainforest, environmental education and alternative sources of income.

Our orangutan and peat swamp forest activities are concentrated in northern Sumatra. The quarantine station lies in Batu Mbelin and the apes are returned to the wild in the Bukit Tigapuluh national park. The three research stations in Suaq, Batang Toru and Ketambe deliver important findings on their biology. The swamp forest of Tripa, in the region of Singkil, is home to one of the last large orangutan populations.

Together with our partner foundations, YEL and YLHS, we operate three environmental education centres (PPLH) on Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi. Here local inhabitants as well as tourists learn to appreciate the unique diversity of the tropics. They are taught how to use natural resources sustainably, for example, through the organic cultivation of rice. To further promote alternative sources of income for locals, we support the development of a form of tourism that is considerate of both nature and culture.  A good example of this can be found on the idyllic Pulau Banyak archipelago where rare sea turtles come to nest.


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