Young, orphaned orangutans are facing yet another battle. As the COVID-19 pandemic surges through Indonesia, hundreds of rescued orangutans are at risk, as food and medicine prices soar, and become increasingly difficult to access.
It’s very important that the people living in and around forest ecosystems are empowered to protect their local environment to provide clean air, water and earth and to sustain forests, rivers and oceans. Protecting and restoring all these elements is vital for community development and stability.
COVID-19 has been a disaster for Critically Endangered species. Poaching is on the rise, deforestation is rampant, and illegal networks are thriving on profits they could only dream about a year ago.
For more than three years, The Orangutan Project and our partners have been working to secure a vitally important rainforest within a 712,000 acre ecosystem in Borneo.This rainforest is lowland and riverine, making it prime habitat for Critically Endangered Bornean orangutans.
Over 80% of orangutans live in unprotected forests. This puts them at an even greater risk of extinction because their forest habitat can be converted to plantations, logging concessions, mining and other agriculture.
Illegal plantations and encroachment are a huge threat for orangutan forest, even in protected areas. The Orangutan Project supports organisations that have reclaimed illegal plantations and chopped down thousands of oil palm trees, rubber trees and other illegal crops. These areas are then secured and restored.
