We didn’t expect our recap of 2020 to be quite like this.
Last year we were looking forward to celebrating the Foundation’s 30th anniversary, however life had other plans for all of us. COVID-19 impacted the lives of everyone both in the UK and in Indonesia, which meant we had to adapt. To commemorate our anniversary, we published a booklet ‘Orangutan Foundation - 30 Years of Conservation’.
There were many things to inspire us in 2020, including the progress of orphaned orangutans like adventurous Okto (above) in our soft-release programme.
Orangutans share around 97% of their DNA with humans, which means COVID-19 poses a potential threat to this critically endangered species. Fortunately however, none of the orangutans we monitor, or any of our 60 local staff have been taken ill by the virus. In fact if a small silver lining can be drawn from this difficult situation, it is that working and communicating remotely where possible has meant that everyone has learnt how to embrace the use of new technology, Zoom!
Community outreach and education is one of the fundamental cornerstones of the Foundation’s work. Therefore during lockdown, our team had to find new ways of working together remotely.
Conservation Corner, before and during the pandemic. This is a platform where local youth groups, students, researchers, and members of the conservation community can meet to exchange concepts and ideas. One online session had close to 100 people joining in, demonstrating the concern that younger members of the community have for the environment.
Local events are vital to keep raising awareness and promote habitat protection, and luckily before restrictions last year, we were able to hold a number of community activities. Including:
Our Forest Restoration Programme was active throughout the year. Our team planted an additional 16,500 young trees in areas which one day will bolster existing forest boundaries.
By cultivating saplings in specially designed nurseries and then planting them along existing forest boundaries, we can turn previously destroyed habitat into rainforest of the future.
Much like us, in 2020 the forest also faced a new challenge. The rainforests of Central Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo suffered some of the most severe flooding in recent memory, submerging large areas of habitat for much of the year. This is a stark contrast to previous years which would have been battling forest fires during the dry season. A striking reminder of how unpredictable our weather patterns have become as the impacts of climate change take hold.
The unpredictable nature of climate change. In September 2019 our guard post teams were fighting forest fires, and 12 months later their outposts are submerged by flooding.
Unsurprisingly, it was the orangutans that gave us the best news and most amusing stories last year. The orphaned orangutans in our soft-release programme for example continued to go from strength to strength as they develop new forest skills, with Okto in particular, impatient for an independent life in the wild.
In June, we were very excited to discover that wild orangutan Pauline had given birth in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Then shortly after, our field team were surprised again when Queen showed off her infant. Two recorded births of these great apes in such a short space of time is unusual, so to have observed a remarkable seven orangutan arrivals by the end of November was truly astonishing! It’s an extremely rare occurrence to have so many recorded births in less than 6 months, but a welcome boost for the future of this critically endangered species.
We were truly blown away by your support in 2020, in spite of restrictions. In particular for our 30th Anniversary Appeal which launched last year in collaboration with SOCP (The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme), helping save all three species of orangutan.
2020 will be remembered for many reasons, but perhaps more than any other year, it must be remembered for the connection we have made between the welfare of our planet and the importance of nature. By continuing to save our forests, we can mitigate the impacts of climate change.
We have been inspired and overwhelmed by the generosity we received in 2020, even through these difficult times. We sincerely appreciate the devotion of all partners, fundraisers, and supporters on Orangutan Foundation’s 30th anniversary year, and look forward to keep making a difference in the years to come.
