The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) joined the battle to protect endangered orangutans from the fires and haze ravaging Southeast Asia today with a $100,000 USD contribution to support Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) projects in Borneo.
GRASP will direct the funds towards orangutan rescue and rehabilitation, fire-fighting, and habitat protection efforts already underway.
Fires set to clear land for agricultural development in Borneo earlier this year were whipped beyond control by El Niño meteorological conditions, resulting in the worst fire season since 1997 and the loss of an estimated one-third of the orangutans’ forests. The resulting haze also blanketed large areas of Southeast Asia.
“GRASP’s partners have been on the frontlines, fighting fires and saving orangutans for months, and their effort is heroic,” said Doug Cress, program coordinator of GRASP. “But they need help. This support from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil comes at a crucial time, and is an important symbol of collaboration.”
This excerpt from a news article appeared in and is courtesy of News Hour and can be read in its entirety here.