Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme
Every year more than a million hectares of rainforest fall victim to legal or illegal overexploitation around the world. Orangutans are still losing habitat and remain threatened with extinction. For almost 30 years, we have been fighting directly on the ground to conserve orangutans in Sumatra and protect their habitat, the remaining tropical rainforest, whilst at the same time promoting sustainable livelihoods among surrounding communities.
What we want to achieve
Secure wild orangutan populations and healthy, sustainable ecosystems in Sumatra.
Where we work
The Leuser ecosystem is home to approximately 13,200 orangutans – representing 85% of the remaining Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). The 2.6 million hectare ecosystem straddles the border between the Indonesian provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. It is one of the largest intact, contiguous rainforest areas in Southeast Asia and is the last place in the world where endangered species such as the orangutan, rhinoceroses, elephants and tigers can be found living side-by-side.
The 133,000 hectare Batang Toru ecosystem is located in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra and is home to the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), first described as a new species in 2017. Researchers estimate that the population of this new ape species is already less than 800 individuals. The highland rainforests of the Batang Toru ecosystem are also home to Sumatran tigers, sun bears, tapirs and many other endangered species.
The Ulu Masen ecosystem is located in the Indonesian province of Aceh, on the northernmost edge of Sumatra. The 738,000 hectare, often hilly rainforest area borders the Leuser ecosystem. In the Jantho Pine Forest National Park, a highly protected rainforest in the middle of the Ulu Masen ecosystem, lies our orangutan reintroduction station. The ecosystem is also home to the largest remaining populations of the endangered Sumatran tiger and Sumatran elephant.
What we are doing
Rehabilitation and reintroduction of orangutans
Landscape conservation: Leuser Ecosystem
Landscape conservation: Batang Toru Ecosystem
Landscape conservation: Ulu Masen Ecosystem
Environmental education
Successes
- 450 : Individual orangutans that we have freed from illegal captivity, cared for at our Quarantine and Rehabilitation Centre and prepared for release back into the wild.
- We have reintroduced 303 orangutans into the forests around the Jantho and Jambi reintroduction stations after rehabilitation. These orangutans are the founders of two new, genetically viable and self-sustaining wild orangutan populations that we are creating in protected forests from which the species had historically already gone extinct.
- 88,000 hectares of rainforest in the Batang Toru ecosystem was upgraded from production forest (available for logging) to protection forest – after many years of our team working closely with local and provincial governments. This was a major step forward in ensuring a future for the newly described Tapanuli orangutans and their habitat, but there is still a long way to go to achieve this.
Outcomes
Fragmentation of the remaining rainforests by roads, settlements and other infrastructure is one of the greatest current threats to the survival of orangutans and many other endangered species in Sumatra. Rapid conversion to agricultural land has already led to an 80% decline in the orangutan population. We are working to ensure that protected rainforest areas are increased, that new areas of forest are protected, and that protection is enforced effectively. We are also committed to increasing and connecting orangutan populations.
Illegal trade in, and the killing of orangutans are still among the major problems in the fight to prevent their extinction. Most of the time deaths and the capture of infants is a result of human-orangutan conflict situations. Where wildlife habitat is dwindling, human animal conflicts can escalate into violence, most commonly by people against the animals concerned. We work with various measures to diffuse human orangutan conflicts and strive to ensure that Indonesian conservation laws are implemented more consistently.
Deforestation and degradation of rainforests and their conversion into agricultural land pose the greatest threat to the orangutan, biodiversity and the livelihoods of many people. Both local communities and private companies are drivers of such processes. We support local communities to grow biodiversity-based products to improve livelihoods and protect biodiversity. We also support private companies in minimising their negative impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity. If this succeeds, we have a chance to maximise protection of orangutans and their habitat over the long-term.
Due to human-animal conflicts and the illegal wildlife trade orangutans are torn from their original habitat. Even if they survive this, they often end up malnourished and cognitively impoverished as illegal pets (chained up or in tiny cages), or have to entertain people in shows and illegal zoos. Due to deforestation and fragmentation of their habitat orangutans also end up in situations that would be fatal for them if they were not evacuated and relocated somewhere more safe. We sensitise the local population on how to act in cases of human-orangutan conflicts. We will also rescue and rehabilitate orangutans and release them back into the wild. And we provide a long-term solution for orangutans that can no longer live independently free in the rainforest.
To develop effective strategies for the orangutan conservation and to get the support of the local communities and governments, scientifically sound knowledge regarding orangutans and their current situation is always needed. We actively build up such knowledge through our own scientific work, our long-term monitoring programmes and through the infrastructure we make available to national and international scientists. We share this knowledge with many different stakeholder groups – from local farmers to school children, and up to Government at all levels.
Dr. Ian Singleton
Senior Advisor
Partner
YEL is our sister foundation on Sumarta. YEL is responsible for the implementation of all SOCP projects on site.
The SOCP is operated on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s Directorate General of Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conservation.
