30,000 Nautical miles, 200 to 300 days at sea. Etienne Messikommer, the 38-year-old Swiss skipper, is taking part in the legendary solo round-the-world sailing race. A circumnavigation of the globe under extreme conditions, with a message on board that reaches far beyond the horizon: We can all do our bit to protect orangutans and their habitat!
Golden Globe Race & PanEco Read More »
Sometimes surgery is unavoidable when an injured orangutan arrives at our Quarantine and Rehabilitation Centre. Since 2003, we have been able to count on the Swiss orthopaedic surgeon Dr Andreas Messikommer for complex cases.
98% Identical Genes, 100% Identical Surgery Read More »
In the Jantho Nature Reserve in the Indonesian province of Aceh, we operate patrols as part of a comprehensive conservation programme to protect the habitat of the orangutans we have released into the wild. The Jantho rangers in these patrols are young people from the surrounding villages who want to help to preserve this precious ecosystem. One of them is Wen Rizky Rianda.
Ranger Wen in Jantho, Indonesia Read More »
In a recently published study, researchers in Sumatra warn that the number of wild orangutans on Sumatra has continued to decline, bringing the animals even closer to the brink of extinction. In particular, the high mortality rate relative to the population size of the Tapanuli orangutans—a species newly described in 2017—threatens the species’ survival.
New study reveals: alarming decline in orangutan population Read More »
Over 2,700 visitors for the Berg am Irchel Bird of Prey Sanctuary and more than 12,900 guests at the Thurauen Nature Centre. The PanEco Annual Report 2025 provides figures and reports on our programmes.
PanEco Annual Report 2025 Read More »
In the year following the landslides at our Quarantine and Rehabilitation Centre in Sumatra, we had to relocate the activities of the Rainforest School for young orangutans elsewhere. Since early 2026, the young orangutans – such as Cemara, Brenda and Diego – have finally been enjoying training in the trees at the school again.
The Rainforest School has opened again! Read More »
We are celebrating PanEco’s 30th anniversary with a series of events, a Thurauen photo competition and other attractions.
Kick-off to our anniversary year Read More »
During the floods that struck Sumatra in November 2025, a group from our partner organisation HAkA was cut off from the rest of the world for several days and had to struggle hard to find their way back home. An account by Hutari Nadhira and Rizkia Fardilla.
The arduous journey home Read More »
Ever since her first visit to Indonesia in 1973, PanEco’s founder, Regina Frey,
has been committed to ensuring that nature conservation and environmental protection measures are accompanied by educational programmes. For this reason, she established the first environ-mental education centre in East Java, the PPLH Seloliman, as early as 1990. It is one of the initia-tives that led to the founding of PanEco.
The dream of an environmental education centre Read More »
September 2, 2026, marks 30 years since our foundation’s president Regina Frey and a few like-minded friends founded PanEco and based it in Berg am Irchel. Regina Frey’s goal was to put her commitment to nature conservation in Indonesia and the Zurich Weinland on a solid footing. In this anniversary year, we are looking back—and above all, we will look ahead. Come with us!
To protect, strengthen and experience nature Read More »
