Conservation Capacity Building

Joining Communities:

The Orangutan Conservancy

Raffaella Commitante, PhD.

We all know what is

happening with

orangutans in their range

countries…

They are disappearing

At an estimated loss of about 3,000 per

year, today we may be looking at a

combined number probably lower than

30,000

Main cause of decline…

Resource competition with

humans

Orangutans prefer lowland

forests near rivers –

so do humans

Orangutans are not the only

species in decline

Deforestation

Mining/Agriculture

The Oil Palm

Logging

(Legal and Illegal)

Fires

(Natural and Man-made)

Pet trade

Bush meat

We also know the major threats:

The Conflicts

Indonesia’s

population grew

from 15 to 200

million in the 20th

century

For Borneo and Sumatra,

this caused

Mass transmigration

Intensified commercial

agriculture/conversion

(oil palm)

Intensified commercial resource

extraction

(gold, coal, gems, timber)

People in orangutan areas

are aware of the problems….

However, the effectiveness

of being aware ranges from

lesser to greater degrees

Programs currently underway in

Indonesia

Habitat protection

Public awareness

Law enforcement

Accurate census

Repatriation

Repatriation

Release &

Monitoring

Medical care

People in Indonesia and Malaysia

do care about the orangutan and

their environment

Today, there are many people

both inside and outside

Indonesia fighting to keep the

orangutan an extant species

However, most feel powerless

Helping educate Indonesians

and Malaysians is important to

enable them to have a voice

within their own government

Orangutan Conservancy is

currently sponsoring the

university education of Reza…

a young man devoted to the

orangutan and the environment…

I know this

because I have

known him since

he was a young

boy….

Reza is in his last year

and due to his previous

experience with

orangutans in Borneo

(I worked with his Mom and he

later worked with me)

he has been able to

share his orangutan

knowledge with both

students and

instructors

Sharing knowledge

(they have a lot!)

and sharing resources with

people in country boosts

confidence and helps

empower local workers to

get the job done!!!

The Orangutan

Conservancy

Orangutan

Veterinary

Advisory Group

WORKSHOPS

2009 - 2013

Beginning in 2009, the

Orangutan Conservancy

began the first of yearly

workshops bringing together

veterinarians working in situ

with orangutans and those

working with orangutans

throughout the international

community

These workshops were started

to bring resources that can be

difficult to acquire in country –

It was quite clear that local

veterinarians working in their

own countries know more about

orangutans than anyone else in

the world – what was lacking

was access to resources

Each year The Orangutan

Conservancy has partnered with

local organizations and/or

universities to hold workshops

which further the sharing of

information and the bringing

together of resources and

knowledge

The workshops have been a

very valuable addition to the

efforts being made in the

release and maintenance of

orangutans in rehabilitation

centers in Indonesia and

Malaysia

2009, The Borneo Orangutan

Survival Foundation in Samboja,

East Kalimantan Borneo

This first meeting enabled

a partnership between

African and Indonesian

vets for the testing of a

new TB diagnostic tool

which allowed for the

testing of 1500 primates

2010: Sumatran Orangutan

Conservation Program and Yayasan

Ekosystem Lestari

Medan, Sumatra

2011: Gadjah Mada University,

the top veterinary school in

Indonesia, Jogjakarta, Java

This meeting was the

first time Orangutan

Center managers were

invited to participate

and give their input and

to encourage them to

support their vets

2012: The University Putra

Malaysia, Kuala Lampur,

Malaysia

We had amazing cooperation

from the Minister of

Environment and Natural

Resources, Malaysia

(he covered our entire hotel bill!)

and we had national news and

TV coverage for the first time!

2013: ASLIQEWAN and IPB,

Bogor, Java

We have gained quite a

positive reputation, and

many of our members have

been called in to consult

with the government on

various issues involving

orangutans….

This is BIG!!!!

2014: Gadjah Mada University,

Jogjakarta, Java

Our new semi-permanent home

within the Faculty of Veterinary

Medicine

Workshops have been funded over the years by the

Orangutan Conservancy in partnership with:

Chester Zoo / NEZS

American Association of Zoo Keepers

(Birmingham, AL)

Oregon Zoo’s Future for Wildlife

Fresno Chaffee Zoo

ABAXIS Europe, Germany

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo / Cleveland Zoological Society

Murdoch University, Australia

Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., United States

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom

University Putra Malaysia

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Malaysia

Sea World and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund

International Primate Society

Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo

The Orangutan

Conservancy

has also been

assisting with new

technologies: the

use of drones in

orangutan census

work and

evaluating habitat

with Dr. Serge Wich

and Lian Pin Koh

OC also supports the research

work of

Dr. Anne Russon

and her Orangutan Kutai Project

(who loaned me some of her slides for this presentation!)

OC continues to support

reintroduction programs on both

Borneo and Sumatra

With assistance over the years

to

The Borneo Orangutan Survival

Foundation

and

The Sumatran Orangutan

Conservation Programme

OC has also supported over

the years, other wild

orangutan research

projects such as

The Gunung Palung

Orangutan Conservation

Project

and new to the OC family,

The Orangutan Tropical

Peatland Project

So…. What can you do?

Invite people here…

share what you know with

them and allow them to share

their knowledge with you

Some zoos have already done

this!

Have events at your zoos that

can raise both awareness and

money to support projects in

country

Selfishly, I hope you do that by

sending your money to the

Orangutan Conservancy!!!

www.orangutan.com

Help OC support its projects

on the ground in Indonesia and

Malaysia

Help us so that we may

continue to hold our OC/OVAG

workshops for years to come

Thank you so much for your

time and your devotion to

Orangutans!!!!