The Sumatran Orang-Utan Conservation, Jambi - Indonesia
How do you prepare a primate that has spent its whole childhood in a cage for an independant life in the forest? This is a question we ask ourselves daily.
The Sumatran Orang-Utan Conservation Project endorses the confiscation of illegally held orang-utans, to then prepare them, in a comprehensive process, for a self-sufficient life in the forest.
The early success stories are encouraging. At the moment we are looking after more than 130 orang-utans in Bukit Tigapuluh, and four births among free-living animals have been recorded. The following pages describe the different steps that are necessary before an orang-utan can return to the wild.
The Sumatran Orang-Utan Conservation Project is a co-operation between the Frankfurt Zoological Society, the Indonesian Department for Forestry and Nature Conservation (PHKA) and the Swiss PanEco Foundation
Reintroduction programs Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo Abelii) in the buffer zone of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park is a collaboration between the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) in Jambi and Central KSDA Bukit Tigapuluh National Park as well as partner organizations or sponsors, among others: Pan Eco Foundation , Yayasan Eko Lestari and local NGOs. The program is to address the extinction of orangutans, which is an indicator species for ecosystem intact.
The Indonesian rain forests are among the designated global mega diversity regions, but forest destruction on the different islands is extremely severe and fast. Thus, despite very complex conditions, there is a dire need for action. At the end of 2002, the reintroduction centre for confiscated orangutans on Sumatra was opened and the first individuals could be released into the forests of the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park. As well as re-introducing confiscated Orang-Utans back into the wild, which has become routine, the main aim of this project is to protect the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park. Emphasis of the project lies with the support of the park authorities to safeguard the area, as illegal deforestation actions do not stop within national park boundaries. Rangerposts are to be constructed and equipped and rangers are to be educated. In collaboration with the Jambi Province administration and our partner organisation PanEco, a land use plan for the southern park border was developed to decrease the pressure on the protected area. Additionally, people are educated about the orangutan reintroduction actions to avoid potential conflicts between the local communities and the red apes.
FZS, together with other organisations, is also involved in conserving the forest surrounding the national park, which is made up of well-preserved secondary forest and in the northern part includes an important elephant habitat. This coming year, financial support from the Australian Orangutan Initiative will enable the ranger patrols to be increased to ten. The Australia Zoo is funding the erection of a conservation centre on the park border, which will include a ranger school, an environmental education unit and accommodation for scientists and other visitors. Applications for third-party funding for environmental education, management and park protection are in the assessment phase. Financial support to establish sustainable management of the national park’s forest and buffer zones is still being sought.
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Source: orangutan-lifeboat.de
