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| Wanted: Undamaged Rainforest The orangutans loose their home: Every year, one million hectares of rainforest are clearcut in Indonesia. We fight to stop this destruction and save the Sumatran Orangutan from extinction.
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Orangutans are highly endangered by the activities of Men: the population of
Indonesia is growing steadily, along with use of the tropical rainforest.
Tropical wood and palm oil are in great demand on the world market and young
orangutans remain, as before, a popular pet. By far the greatest threat is posed
by massive destruction of habitat. Large timber and palm oil companies cut down
valuable trees and burn the forest surface to make way for
palm oil plantations. Each year, one million hectares of forest falls victim to
this exploitation. Scientists fear that there will be no viable population of
wild orangutans left in only ten years time, as a result of rainforest
destruction.
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In spite of a ban on the capture, possession, and keeping
of orang-utans, the animal trade remains a big problem. A lucrative black market
for young animals still exists. In order to reach the animals, which live high
in the trees, mothers are simply shot down. Very often the young animals are
also killed. Unwilling to detach themselves from their dead mothers, they die in
the fall. Youngsters who survive the fall often die later, from stress induced
by the traumatic experience, or the unhygienic conditions of captivity. Only one
in three animals is estimated to survive. For each new (illegal) pet, therefore,
five orangutans must give up their lives.
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The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme
Our conservation programme SOCP aims to ensure
the survival of these great apes. SOCP works at several levels to achieve its
goals: The original core business of the programme is returning pet
orangutans to the wild. Confiscated or unwanted orangutans receive medical
treatment in the SOCP quarantine center near Medan and are then transferred in
small groups to central Sumatra. Here they are prepared for life in their
natural environment and finally released into the Bukit Tigapuluh national park. To ensure their survival in the wild, SOCP also actively supports
several initiatives to expand reserve areas and to improve the level of
protection in existing ones.
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If we want to conserve orangutans, we must
learn as much as possible about them. SOCP has a permanent staff stationed at
the well-known Ketambe research station in central Aceh. SOCP is a leader in
research on species decline in Sumatra. It recently started an environmental
education programme on species protection. Children and adults are to be
sensitised to the problem, particularly those living in towns and villages
bordering orangutan habitat.
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Orang-Utans online
For more detailed information abtou the Sumatran Orangitan and our Conservatino Programme, please visit the SOCP website!
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Green - the film
The film about Green is an impressive statement on the effects of rainforest destruction. Watch here!
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Adopt an orang-utan
Support our fight for the rainforests of Indonesia and help an orangutan on his way back into the wild!
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