The Orangutan Conservancy believes that no single project alone can hope to save orangutans from extinction. We help to support ongoing research projects such as the Orangutan Kutai Project, the annual OC/OVAG Veterinary Workshop, the rainforest conservation work being accomplished by the Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project and several independent rescue and rehabilitation centers such as the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. And we’re always on the lookout for more projects to welcome into our fold that are making meaningful differences on the ground in Borneo and Sumatra.
One such project is the Orangutan Information Centre (OIC), near Medan in northern Sumatra, and we’ve chosen OIC’s Human Orangutan Conflict Response Unit (HOCRU) for our initial round of funding.
The HOCRU is a specialist team of Indonesian conservationists, responsible for investigating, assessing and mitigating any reported instances of conflict between farmers and orangutans around the Leuser Ecosystem.
From the OIC website: “The high frequency of orangutan rescue, translocation operations and confiscations of illegally-held captive orangutans by the HOCRU team over the last year confirms that human-orangutan conflict is an ongoing problem in and around the Leuser Ecosystem, exacerbated by destruction of orangutan habitat mainly for plantation development. In 2015, the team rescued 29 orangutans: 16 females and 13 males, with 19 orangutans evacuated from plantations and farmlands and 10 confiscated from the illegal pet trade.”
The Orangutan Conservancy is able to help support projects like this only through the generous support of our donors, and we know that you’ll agree that OIC is doing tremendous work that is having a profound impact on orangutans. We look forward to working with the Orangutan Information Centre as they continue their mission of saving orangutans and educating the local communities all the while.
