Thank you

Dear Theresa thank you very, very much for your offer of a donation for malarial medicines. At the risk of sounding silly though, I have to confess I am not exactly sure how the donation side of things works. (I was gong to add "I just do the work", but know I would be told "No, you just write the stories"!) I am pretty certain a bank check payable to Orangutan Foundation would work. However, to be on the safe side, I will get the Orangutan Foundation UK office to contact you to confirm the best method. BTW, I know as a condition of having space on Wildlife Direct, a dedicated bank account was set up, which is managed by the UK office. This is where your donation will be banked. I also see there were a couple of questions on climbing up the radio mast. Neither going up nor going down was pleasant. The antenna is sited maybe 60 – 70 feet up (approx.20m) the mast. I have to say though, the first ever antenna to go up was at Camp Leakey, TPNP. That one was at the very top of the mast, 33m up and I kid you not, besides dropping spanners and nuts I had the horror of having an orangutan climb up after me. Those towers weren't made for two. Fortunately she stopped about half way up and I just waited until she could be enticed away.

Jodie tells me she has a photo of Boni which I will try to get from her. In the meantime, here's another of her and Peter's photos from the OCCQ, which I love; Ibu (Mrs) Ida taking the babies out for their forest time.

As always, thank you for your interest and support

Stephen

Going to great heights for orangutans!!

I think I wrote before that all Orangutan Foundation guard posts are equipped with solar power and radios. The solar power sets we buy locally are brilliant. The panel is made overseas but the battery, charger, cables and lights are all made ‘in country’. The battery should last three to five years and the lights as long. Setting up the system takes less than two hours and is literally as easy as wiring a plug. Indeed, one set was put up using nothing more than a pocket multi-tool!

Solar power set

Radios have been installed at the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine, the Foundation office in Pangkalan Bun, and in all the Tanjung Puting National Park and Lamandau Wildlife Reserve camps and guard posts, making a tight network that helps us to effectively monitor the protected forests and support both the people and, in case a vet needs to be called, the orangutans too. The Field Assistants have daily (and sometime hourly!) contact with the other camps and guard posts. The system is very robust, practical and sustainable.

Late last year, the Foundation refurbished TPNP’s guard post on the Buluh Besar River. The final task was installing the solar power and radio sets. Mr Teguh, the Post supervisor, and I went down there on the Foundation’s new “kelotok” (traditional motorised long-boat); a longer but much more pleasant journey than the one we had in the speedboat during Teguh’s look-see interview (see post: Wet & Wild and that's just getting to the guard posts).

Buluh Besar River - TPNP (note the radio mast in the background!)

The solar power set was installed quickly and easily on the afternoon we arrived. The night there was great too; playing cards with the Assistants, bathing in the river and watching proboscis monkeys on the river bank. The location is unbelievably scenic.

The problem was the next day’s job was nowhere near as much fun. A radio needs an antenna and the antenna needs to be up high. Frequently we put the antenna on top of a tree but, on the Buluh Besar, the National Park had previously installed a radio mast, which is naturally where the antenna had to go. The only question was who was going to climb up. The guys justified their selection of me on the basis of my being the only one without family!

Things I do for orangutans!!

More orangutans back in the wild

At the very end of last year, we released four more orangutans into the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. It was a great way to end the year for me, and I hope it was for the orangutans as well. They certainly took to the forest with enthusiasm. For two of the orangutans, it was not their first taste of life in the wild. Boni and Sawit were returned to the Care Centre earlier in the year with medical problems. Boni miscarried and our staff feared there were complications. However, after a period of recuperation she was back to normal and ready for re-release. I don’t go on every release but, as this would be the last release of the year, it seemed auspicious.

As an aside, though my photos of her won’t do her justice, Boni is actually a particularly attractive orangutan. I know some people are uncomfortable with the idea of judging orangutans but we might as well be honest: just like people, there are fat ones, thin ones, light coloured, dark, long-haired types, balding, heavy browed, floppy-lipped orangutans and a whole lot more. I am not pretending to run a beauty competition but I will say Boni is Hollywood’s idea of what an orangutan should look like! And I don’t think I am alone.

Orangutans as they arrive (Boni is the darker orangutan in the middle)

As soon as she was let go, she ran straight up to a sub-adult male who had come in to meet the new arrivals. They noisily disappeared into the trees and did not even come down for the food which was laid out for them.

Andi was one of the first time releases. Normally we release orangutans when they are between six and eight years old, roughly their natural independence age. Andi however is only four. At the Care Centre he had been adopted by Sawit and it was only right that they were released together. Despite the number of orphans at the Care Centre surprisingly few adoptions actually work. Older females will be happy cage-mates with young orangutans but their relationship won’t develop to the extent of sharing food, carrying, protective behaviour or sleeping together all of which a natural mother would do. In Andi and Sawit’s case the relationship was complete. They were in separable, as I learnt to my cost.

Andi at full stretch!

The orangutans were released at Camp Rasak which is where Kath and Jutak were released in November. I am pleased to report that Kath has moved away from the release site into the forest and this is not surprising as she was an older orangutan. Jutak makes the occasional appearance but is not seen every day. The Assistants feel she is still wary of the sub-adult males but she may be seen more frequently as her confidence increases.

Camp Rasak was built by our volunteer teams in 2005 and it is a great camp, incredibly peaceful and, perhaps best of all, it is built on dry ground which is hard to find in swampy Lamandau. It is a refreshing experience to be able to walk normally rather than sloshing through water. I therefore did not mind slinging Sawit on my back for the short walk to the release site.

Short walk? Feeding sites are moved regularly because of the pressure the orangutans exert on the area; they break trees and branches, and often nest nearby. Changing the feeding location stops one particular area being degraded too heavily. Our diligent staff had moved the feeding platform a further 300m away from Camp. And, of course, I wasn’t just carrying Sawit on my back – Andi was on hers!

So in moving the platform the staff were being conscientious which I am sure I would have found pleasing had I not been lugging a combined 57kg of red ape; couldn’t someone have told me?!

Settling in to their new home, the forests of Lamandau.

More on pitcher plants and palm oil free cookies…

Dear Sheryl, Teresa and F J Pechir, Thank you for your questions.

The water in pitcher plant holds a variety of detritus and insects, however it appears the plants only digest the insects, as it is the protein they are seeking. Pitcher plants are typically found in areas of poor soils and scientist believe the eating of insects evolved as a means of ‘topping up’ the plant's nutrient intake. It is a good question about what happens to the water; I have never thought about it. I have never seen a pitcher full to the brim, so my guess is the bowl is not completely water tight and excess water is allowed to seep out. Pitcher plants are not poisonous. Monkeys eat their leaves but nothing appears to eat the pitchers themselves - which probably reflects the poor nutrient quality. Certainly orangutans have never been seen eating them. However, it is a common "dare" amongst the Field Assistants to drink the water. I can vouch for the fact it is harmless.

Sheryl's comment on the lady not selling cookies until they find bakers who are environmentally responsible was interesting. The Orangutan Foundation is working with one such company in the UK, Paterson Arran, who are leading the UK biscuit industry in finding replacements for palm oil. They use olive and rapeseed oil in its place. As they told us, the transition wasn’t easy. On the first attempt at a palm oil free chocolate chip cookie, all the chocolate chips fell out! Fortunately, they persevered and managed to overcome the problem. Interestingly, Paterson Arran are always quick to point out the switch isn’t just good for orangutans; they calculated changing from palm oil resulted in a 60-70% reduction in saturated fat….

Unfortunately we don't have any more information about the situation in Bukit Tigapuluh at the moment other than that in the report by WWF. A number of local NGO's in Jambi/Riau are working hard on this issue and if we do hear from our colleagues we will keep you updated.

Tropical pitchers and questions answered!

Mr Devis has sent an update from Pondok Ambung Reseach Station, TPNP about tropical pitcher plants - a fascinating carnivorous plant species. First though we have received quite a few comments and questions from our last post 'Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership - community meeting'. We'll deal with those before "handing over" to Mr Devis. Thank you F.J.Pechir for your comment and question about the survey of the orangutans in Sabah. Without seeing the study and knowing more about it it is hard to comment on. There was a study published in December 2004 by Marc Ancrenaz et al. which also used aerial surveys for estimating the distribution and population sizes of orangutans in Sabah (perhaps it is this study which you are referring to?). Before this study the previous estimates for Sabah ranged from less than 2,000 to 20,000 orangutans, the M. Ancrenaz study estimated the population at around 11,000 orangutans and we think is an accurate figure.

Thank you Theresa Siskind for your question about eco-tourism in Lamandau. The Orangutan Foundation doesn’t run an eco-tourism programme to the Lamandau Reserve because it is an orangutan release site. With the Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership we want to develop long-term sustainable incomes for the local communities and in our experience eco-tourism isn't a source of income to be relied upon because it is often influenced by global issues, for example, terrorism. Some products made by the local communities, rattan baskets or mats, are on sale to tourists who come to visit Tanjung Puting National Park. We do value and realise the potential of eco-tourism to help protect wildlife and it has certainly done this in TPNP. Please visit our eco-tourism page on the Orangutan Foundation website.

The tropical pitcher is a very interesting carnivorous plant species and the uniqueness of its shape and colour has captured the interest of Mr. Devis who has been studying the tropical pitcher plant at Pondok Ambung. Over to Mr Devis....

Our survey began in the peat swamp forest around Sungai Sekonyer Kanan. Exploration has to be limited to the dry season because during the rainy season the rising water levels make it almost possible! We have so far discovered two types of tropical pitcher plant; Nepenthes ampullaria which looks like the pitcher cup and Nepenthes reinwardtiana which looks like a cylinder tube (see photos below).

We noticed that Nepenthes ampullaria grows in large quantities, in a centralized position in one particular spot. Our second survey was in the swamp forest around Pondok Ambung and this time three species of tropical pitcher were discovered. Two were species found in the first survey. The third species, Nepenthes rafflesiana (Raffles' Pitcher Plant) which has lower pitchers are generally round, squat and winged, while the upper pitchers are narrower at their base. We discovered that Rafflesiana grows well as a colony with Nepenthes ampullaria.

Three pitchers have been discovered so far Nepenthes reinwardtiana, Nepenthes ampullaria and Nepenthes rafflesiana. We need continuous surveys so we can uncover other types of tropical pitcher and learn more about their distribution so that conservation efforts can be taken.

I am hoping that there will be others researchers who have a similar interest in Tropical Pitcher research. Fellow researchers - I wait for your arrival here in Pondok Ambung!!

Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership (LECP)- community meeting

A few weeks ago the Orangutan Foundation participated in a community meeting held in Terantang village, which is located on the boundary of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

Local communities have the right to the sustainable use of non-timber products from Lamandau. This meeting was organised to enable stakeholders to raise and discuss any problems or issues. The meeting was facilitated through the Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership (LECP).

Mr. Ade Suharso (Local Head of the Forestry Department’s Office for the Conservation of Natural Resources) and representatives from the police department and community leaders were invited to contribute to the meeting.

The Chairman of Terantang Consultative Assembly, admitted the community, including himself, is aware that cutting-down trees, especially in the conservation area, is forbidden. However, he demanded that law enforcement needs to be fair. He said that police officers should not have arrested only minor illegal tree-cutters but also the illegal logging syndicates.

The Chairman of Kumpai Batu Bawah Consultative Assembly, has given his support to forest conservation. He added that some villages near Lamandau Reserve, such as Terantang and Mendawai have experienced flooding during the rainy season. He believes this is due to an environmental imbalance that is being created through deforestation of the local area. In the discussion representatives from Kumpai Batu Bawah Village requested the government do more to empower the local community in safeguarding the natural resources. A resident of the village asked for help so the local communities can be assisted to find alternative sources of earning income besides cutting-down trees in the forest.

All the speakers agreed to try and resolve the issues that had been exposed during the meeting. Help has been promised to develop the local community’s economy so that alternatives to illegal logging can be found. Brigadir Harto, from the police department assured villagers that the law enforcement officers will act professionally and fairly as demanded. Mr. Ade Suharso will  continue to collaborate with the community so this conservation area can be protected.

Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ)

The last time I wrote, I talked about Mr Sehat from the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ). I thought you might like to learn a little more about the Centre and what goes on there. The OCCQ is located in a village on the outskirts of Pangkalan Bun and is where we receive orphaned, confiscated or injured orangutans. It is the first step of the rehabilitation process, which will end with the orangutans being released back into the wild in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. The Centre was opened in 1998 and its facilities include an operating theatre, X-ray room, laboratory, library and separate quarantine complex. Adjoining the OCCQ is a remnant patch of rainforest which provides a learning area and “halfway house” for the orangutans before they return to a life in the wild. Three Indonesian vets, two laboratory technicians and over 100 local people are employed there. Currently, the OCCQ is caring for over 300 orangutans in various stages of rehabilitation. Orangutans are received as young as four months old and may remain at the OCCQ until the age of ten, or even older. Often when they arrive, the orangutans need 24-hour care. Many are severely traumatised and suffer from disease, injury and malnutrition. Without a high degree of care, they would not survive.

It is very difficult to describe how one feels about the OCCQ. It certainly confuses me. The orangutans receive the best of care and it is real joy to witness their recovery and development as they go through the process of rehabilitation. However, the fact can't be ignored that far too many are in captivity and this is because their habitat is being destroyed. Over-crowding is a chronic problem, which is why finding release sites, like the new Mangkong one, is so important.

OCCQ from above - (Jodie & Pete Sheridan)

The OCCQ generates an endless wish list – medicines, equipment, children’s multi-vitamins, infant-formula milk and a host of other things. With some of those things, I can try to help but with limited resources available it does create the dilemma of where money would be best spent - improving the short-term welfare of the orangutans at OCCQ or tackling the longer term problems of habitat loss and therefore protection for the wild population. We try to get the balance right. By working intensively in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, a government designated release site, we achieve both welfare and conservation gains. We can get the orangutans out of cages while, at the same time, protect a large area of forest.

I have included a short piece about the OCCQ from Jodie Sheridan. Jodie and her husband Peter are Australians who are volunteering at the OCCQ under the Australian equivalent of VSO or the Peace Corps. Jodie had written a piece for her sponsorship programme’s newsletter which makes interesting reading.

Jodie writes:

It’s hard to believe Pete and I are fast approaching the two year mark for living here in Indonesia. It feels like only yesterday that the Australian Orangutan Project (AOP) and the Volunteering for International Development from Australia (VIDA) Program selected us to come to Borneo to help orphaned orangutans. It has been an adventure to say the least, full of amazing moments and tough times too.

Highlights come to mind easily.

For Peter, being a huge snake fan, seeing spitting cobras, vipers and reticulated pythons in the wild certainly rates a mention from him but his most rewarding moment came after working solidly for three months building a playground for the smallest of the orangutan orphans and seeing them use it for the first time.

Play time! (Jodie & Pete Sheridan)

Watching the small babies swing, roll, jump, smile and laugh because of the work we had done felt truly amazing.

For me, it’s too hard to choose just one highlight so you get a couple of my most favourite moments!

Setting up enrichment programs to stop the orangutans getting bored on days they can’t play in the forest. Something as simple as a hessian sack or cardboard box can provide hours of fun. Going with armed Indonesian Police in the middle of the night and seizing an orphaned orangutan being kept illegally at someone’s house certainly gets the adrenaline pumping. Generally the orangutans are kept in such appalling conditions that if we don’t get to them quickly they can die from malnutrition, neglect or disease. But I guess I would have to say the most magical moment was releasing an orangutan named Gloria back to the wild. When Gloria was captured she received major wounds to her upper arm and as a result had very little use of one hand, she was also terrified and angry towards people. I befriended Gloria and was able to take her to the forest regularly to strengthen her muscles. After 5 months she had almost full use of her hand and even though she was young, her forest skills were remarkable. Gloria was taken to our release site and as she moved off into the jungle, she turned and looked back at me before slipping out of sight. Thinking about that moment still gives me chills. She is still occasionally spotted and is happily living independently in the forest and I could not have asked for anything better.

But it devastates us to think that even with all the work done on trying to save the orangutan species that more orangutan infants are orphaned everyday and the problem is only getting worse. Indonesia’s rainforests are destroyed at a rate of a 6 football fields every minute due to illegal logging and clear felling to make way for a booming palm oil industry. Palm oil, that is on every shelf, in every supermarket, in every country in the world

Thank you

We would like to thank you all for your support and encouragment, made through comments or donations, since we started on wildlife direct about a month ago. Please know that I will pass on all comments to Mr Sehat and Mr Tigor. We have been thrilled with the response that we have received so far!!Thank you very much.

Camp Mangkong

A quick blog to let you know about a very good day. But first the background. About a month or so ago we removed some illegal loggers from the Mangkong River and subsequently we built the guard post there – the post which flooded.

I accompanied a follow-up patrol to make sure there was no more logging taking place upstream. Well there was definitely no logging but, even better, we found what appeared to be an ideal orangutan release site (see photos below). I won’t bore you with all the factors that come into play when choosing a release site but suffice it to say “location, location, location” isn’t everything! You have to have forest, access and a clearing for the buildings plus a few other things. Anyway, we saw this site and all said “perfect”.

The Patrol Team, who monitor illegal activities, are seperate to the Camp's staff, who monitor the released orangutans in Lamandau and they are separate again from the staff at the Orangutan Care Centre Quarantine (OCCQ) where the orangutans start the rehabilitation process. One of my jobs is to try to integrate all the different branches of our operations, so last week I went back up the Mangkong with Mr Tigor, the Camp's Manager, a couple of his staff and staff from the OCCQ.

Foremost among the OCCQ staff was Mr. Sehat, he is someone I truely admire and he has an absolutely magical way with orangutans. At the OCCQ he is the "dominant male" – bar none. I once watched an orangutan trying to wrestle a tub of fruit from one of the other assistants. Mr. Sehat happened to be walking past. Immediately, the orangutan let go, sat down meekly and gratefully accepted his allotted share. There is no force or aggression in his manner, it is simply will power and years and years of experience. Sehat once carried a sub-adult male weighing some 70 kg (154 lbs) from his enclosure to a traveling crate just so the orangutan would not have to be anesthetized.

Photo taken of Mr Sehat on an earlier orangutan release.

To continue, if Mr. Sehat agrees with something we know it has to be alright and he took one look at the selected site and asked grinning, “Why haven’t we found this place before?”. Ukim, one of the other assistants, sized it up perfectly – and with the brevity typical of a Dayak. He looked around and said simply “it’s never been burnt”. Fires destroy the natural seed bank in the soil (rainforest trees are not adapted to cope with fire). Even if an area has been logged it will recover but once it is burnt, recovery will be much, much slower. Mr Tigor was equally enthusiastic and he had even started pacing the layout of the new site. For my part, it was reassuring to know that everyone was in agreement, this was a perfect release site. You can expect to hear more about the Mangkong Camp and the orangutans, who will make their home there, in the future!

Action Plan for National Conservation of Orangutans launched in Bali.

Thank you F.J.Pechir for your comment about the new Action Plan to save orangutans - we are also very hopeful. On Monday 10th December important and promising news, for the future of the orangutan and its habitat, came from the United Nations Climate Change Conference , in Bali Indonesia. The Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, launched the “Indonesian Orangutan Conservation Strategy and Action Plan 2007-2017” book.

At the launch the Indonesian president said “The fate of the orangutan is a subject that goes to the heart of sustainable forests ... To save the orangutan we have to save the forest."

Togu Simorangkir, the Chairman of Yayorin ( Orangutan Foundation partner NGO), had been actively involved in the development of this Orangutan Conservation Strategy and Action Plan book. He said "The book consists of a specific, measurable and time bound action plan in regard of orangutan conservation in Indonesia. It was a very important event for all orangutan conservation stakeholders in Indonesia because it shows strong commitment from all parties to work together and serious support from the government in orangutan conservation."

The Action Plan commits to maintaining orangutan populations above critical thresholds at which their populations may fail to recover. A core target of the plan is to stabilize orangutan populations and habitat from now until 2017.

Other goals of the plan are to return orangutans currently housed in rehabilitation centers to the wild by 2015 and to ensure that government and businesses follow established and developing guidelines on orangutan conservation.

According to Dr. Erik Meijaard, a Senior Scientist with the Conservancy and Science Advisor for Orangutan Conservation Science Program (OCSP) “as much as 1 million hectares of orangutan habitat scheduled for conversion to oil palm will be saved through the plan’s implementation”.

“This could lead to 9,800 orangutans being saved and prevent 700 million tons of carbon from being released.”

Dr. Meijaard also said "If payments for avoided deforestation become an official mechanism in the global climate agreements, then buyers will likely compensate Indonesia for its forest protection. Protecting orangutans will then lead to increased economic development in the country. Such a triple-win situation is not a dream. With some political will, it can soon be reality."

“One million hectares of planned forest conversion projects are in orangutan habitat,” added Rili Djohani, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Indonesia Program. “Setting aside these forests is an important step for Indonesia to sustainably manage and protect our natural resources. It benefits both local people and wildlife while making a major contribution towards reducing global carbon emissions.”

Orangutans play their part in reducing GHG emissions…. Do You?

Please see the report below from Togu Simorangkir, Chairman of Yayorin, the Orangtan Foundation's partner organisation. Orangutan Foundation and Yayorin joined the Indonesian Forestry Parallel Event on United Nations Framework Climate Change Conference COP 13 Bali, Indonesia, December 2007.

Indonesia is currently hosting one of the most important world events: the United Nations Framework Climate Change Conference COP 13 (UNFCCC) where thousands of delegates from 190 countries gather together in Bali, Indonesia, to discuss matters related to climate change.

While the big conference is held in the highly-guarded Westin Hotel, there have been many other smaller parallel events in other parts of the Nusa Dua complex in Bali. One of such events was the at the Ayodya Hotel, between 4th and 7th December 2007. Here Orangutan Foundation and Yayorin opened a booth where we introduced the Belantikan Conservation Programme (BCP) to the visitors of the exhibition.

The exhibition went well, and many people came to our booth to ask questions about the orangutans, BCP, Orangutan Foundation and Yayorin. It was quite interesting to know that a few visitors did not even know the important role orangutans have on the tropical rainforest ecosystems and how they actually play a part in reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. It was a pleasure for all of us to explain such an important concept to interested individuals.

Togu talking to the Indonesian Minister of Forestry, M.S.Kaban

The exhibition was also a great opportunity for us to meet with other NGOs and government institutions, especially the Forestry Department. In addition, we were also able to meet with some representatives of large pulp and paper companies, palm oil plantation companies and others. It was a really good time for all parties to get together and discuss things that can benefit everyone and, at the same time, the environment.

Sally Tirtadihardja representing Yayorin and the Orangutan Foundation at the exhibition.

The highlight of our participation in UNFCCC happened on the 10th December 2007, where the President of the Republic of Indonesia formally launched the “Indonesian Orangutan Conservation Strategy and Action Plan 2007-2017” book. The book consists of specific, measurable and time bound action plan in regard of orangutan conservation in Indonesia. It was a very important event for all orangutan conservation stakeholders in Indonesia because it shows strong commitment from all parties to work together and serious support from the government in orangutan conservation. I had been actively involved in the development of this Orangutan Conservation Strategy and Action Plan book. After many meetings and other coordination “headaches”, it was very rewarding to finally stop talking and start taking actions. It is one of the biggest wishes of Yayorin that all plans written in the book are executed seriously and, when the time truly comes (2017), we all can look back and be satisfied with the results.

A PALM OIL COMPANY CARING FOR ORANGUTANS?

Last week, we were surprised to receive an invitation to a "Public Consultation on the results of a survey of the Population, Distribution and Habitat of Bornean Orangutans, as well as Human Socio-Economic Aspects in Palm Oil Plantations especially in PPB Oil Palms Sdn Bhd-CKP (Central Kalimantan Project )/ PT Mustika Sembuluh Group”.

This is the first time we had heard of a palm-oil company surveying orangutan populations and could not tell from the invite whether the idea was intriguing or scary. I could not go, so my colleague Astri Rozanah went, along with Mr Ade Suharso, the local head of the Forestry Department’s Office for the Conservation of Natural Resources. Other participants in this public consultation came from government (province and district level), private institutions, universities, NGOs, local community groups and the press.

This is what Astri reported:

“The Orangutan population survey was conducted by WWF survey team who made a presentation of their findings. Based on the survey research, WWF and team found that PT Mustika Sembuluh Group forest area has a quite high biological diversity. They found orangutans, 8 other primate species, 25 mammal species, 168 birds species, more than 10 reptile species, 29 fish species and 88 plants species. The highest estimated population density (found in an area near the Seranau River), was 2.2 orangutans per km2. (NB: This is a high density)

After their presentation, the program continued with an open discussion. The palm-oil company PT Mustika Sembuluh Group intends to set aside over 7,000 ha of forest which is assessed as being of high conservation value as a conservation area. This is even though the forest is located inside their existing plantation area.

At the end of discussion, they recommended a 'full assessment’ to generate a spatial plan for the areas which have high conservation value. This assessment will indicate how the forest will be managed; conservation must be combined with helping to meet local communities’ social and economic needs. The assessment will also indicate who best should have management responsibility for the conservation-forest, the Company, an NGO or the Forestry Department”

Oil palm plantation - once tropical forest now a desert landscape

Here’s a palm-oil company apparently, voluntarily, choosing not to destroy rainforest; They are seemingly prepared to put “their money where their mouth is” by setting aside an area for conservation; The area they are proposing to conserve is sizeable – over 250,000 palms could be grown on 7,000 ha and they are talking of setting aside more; The Company is clearly prepared to work with NGO’s and the Government in a transparent way; Surely they must be thinking of trying to sell their produce at a premium with some kind of green-label.

Now, despite all my “seeminglies, apparentlies and surlies” those are all positive developments. Yes, we still have reservations - I will try to explore those with you some time soon. But I want to end this quick blog on a positive note – and it is this.

PT Mustika Sembuluh Group is clearly aware of the rising tide of public opinion against the destructive practices of palm-oil companies. And what does that mean? It means, your and my voices are being heard. As ultimate consumers you can ask your supermarkets to source responsibly and you can create markets for the products you want to buy.

I am not saying this is anything but early days. But we are detecting signs of change and for that I thank you. We can all be orangutan conservationists.

Thank you Theresa S for your very generous donation of US$500 we really appreciate your support and interest in our work. In a few of my posts I have mentioned that we hope to raise funds in order to build a new orangutan release site, in Lamandau. We will direct all open donations received from Wildlifedirect towards the release site, which we plan to build in 2008. We will keep you updated!

Volunteer programme

Committed, enthusiastic, slightly nutty (it helps!) and hard working - our volunteers. Another year's volunteer programme has ended and again it has proved to be invaluable to our field operations. The programme has been running successfully for seven years. Each year, between April and November, we have up to four teams coming out to work with us in the field. Volunteers pay £600 for six weeks which covers all their living expenses but also importantly pays for all the construction and material used during the programme. All of the money received from the volunteer programme stays in the field.

For the past few years, the main target area of the programme has been the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Projects have included the construction of guard posts, building release sites for ex-captive orangutans, marking out boundaries and assisting with reforestation programmes. In 2008 we hope to build two new orangutan sites in Lamandau in order to relieve pressure at the OCCQ. All of the teams in 2008 will be concentrating on constructing one of the release sites and we hope to raise funds for the construction of the other site.

Vicky Dauncey, the volunteer co-ordinator for this year has sent us a taster of what the last two teams got up to....

Map - to help to get your bearings!

Team 3 - Our focus on this team was to construct a guard post in Sungai Mangkung, Lamandau. We experienced a lot of rain!!

By the second week there was no dry land except the pondok and the building site but the upside to this meant it was cooler in the day and so it made the physical work less demanding. Morale stayed high during our work in Lamandau despite the flooding (in the last few days the water entered the pondok!).

Volunteers and Orangutan Foundation staff at Sungai Mangkung, Lamandau

Eventually we were forced to leave without finishing the post. This meant that we had a few days, on the beach, at Tanjung Keluang, planting saplings and cleaning the area of rubbish. This was funded by the Forestry Department and we worked with two forestry department staff whilst we were there. Living (sleeping in hammocks) and working at Tanjung Keluang was an incredible experience and one I hope the volunteers will not forget.

Team 4 - The first week was spent in Sungai Buluh Kecil, TPNP. Re-planting an area destroyed by fire. First we had to check an area that had been previously planted and replace dead saplings. This was particularly physically tough as the terrain is swamp. After six days the volunteers were exhausted and, although proud of their work, they were happy to leave!

Sungai Buluh Kecil, TPNP

Two rest days were spent in PKB and during this time we visited the OCCQ. The OCCQ really brings home the importance of building the guard posts and release camps in Lamandau and really helps to motivate the volunteers.

After the rest we went to Lamandau to finish the guard post at Sungai Mangkung, that was started by team 3. In comparison to the first week this seemed like light work and it helped that we were working in a beautiful location and that the water had receded!

Pak Sariamat, Pak Matjuri, Ibu Opit are long standing staff members and highly valued on the volunteer programme. Thank you for your continued hard work.

If the Volunteer Programme interests you please visit the Orangutan Foundation website www.orangutan.org.uk

Logging

One of our readers recently wrote in saying “I would like to hear more about the logging practices and implication toward the rainforest.” We have no wish to lecture and have tried to make our blogs stories about life here in Borneo rather than fact-filled documents. However, because logging is such a big issue for us, we reasoned more people may be interested to learn more about the how and whys of logging. So here goes: Logging takes many forms and differs in the regions involved; there are good and bad examples of timber harvesting. We accept that controlled logging is a less damaging land use than mining or clear cutting for oil palm plantation establishment, and also that the potential for sustainable, low-impact forestry exists. For that to occur however, there needs to be:

1) A market for sustainably harvested wood

2) The timber company willing to manage its forest concession with long term goals in mind, not just short term profits.

3) Good law enforcement.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has set up an international labelling scheme to oversee all these processes. All forest products carrying the FSC logo have been independently certified as coming from sustainably-managed forests that meet the internationally recognized “FSC Principles and Criteria of Forest Stewardship” which include environmental and social responsibility. Sadly, FSC forests are few and far between – there are none in Central Kalimantan where we are based and only five forest areas, in the whole of Indonesia, have certification.

In most places where logging occurs, the largest trees, trees on which orangutans and other wildlife depend, are removed. As each tree falls it flattens others. Roads and camps do further damage. And that’s in a legal logging concession!

An estimated 73-88 % of all timber logged in Indonesia is illegal. With Asian, European and North American markets being the major recipients of illegally logged wood products . Illegal logging occurs everywhere, it is indiscriminate and is a perennial problem for Indonesian forest managers. A survey in the year 2000 found illegal logging inside all of Indonesia’s national parks.

The illegal logging that the Orangutan Foundation has experienced follows a process where an area of forest is surveyed for valuable trees. This is known as "cruising". Once a site with good potential is selected, teams of men are sent in. They establish a camp and begin felling the trees identified on the survey. The fallen trees are cut into logs of approximately 4m lengths.

To extract the logs, many kilometres of railways are built, each one using hundreds of trees and breaking the forest canopy. The logs are moved down wooden railways to a river, stream or canal (illegal logging canals drain peat swamps, drastically increasing the risk of fire) where they are floated to a larger river. Once the logs reach a large river they are joined together and towed to market behind boats. Sometimes, if there is dry ground, the logs are lifted straight into trucks and driven away. Once at a port or large town, a 'buyer' or dealer usually purchases the logs before processing them. He will pay off the loggers on the basis of species type and volume. Valuable timber species will be loaded onto ships or barges for exporting outside of the province and other less valuable timber trees are used locally, for instance in house construction. Logging barons have made millions of dollars from illegal logging.

Guard post in Tanjung Puting National Park

I am proud to say the Orangutan Foundation has had great success in tackling illegal logging and the key to this has been the building of guard posts on rivers. These posts deny loggers access to the rivers which are used to float the logs out – if you can stop people getting in, you can stop the wood coming out. The posts also act as bases from where we can patrol a much larger area of forest.

We are aware the problem will never go away entirely because the trees are so valuable. The temptation to log will always be there. We have rangers in our network of guard posts monitoring the reserves to prevent illegal activities 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is expensive and labour intensive, but it works and if this is what it takes to save the forest and orangutans then this is what will shall continue to do.

The Last stand of the orangutan - State of emergency: Illegal logging, fire and palm oil in Indonesia's national parks. Is an interesting and informative report by UNEP and is well worth having a look at.

Sorry for the lack of photos - here's a few to lighten this post!

National Tree Planting Day - photos

Stephen in the foreground wearing Orangutan Foundation staff polo shirt

A couple of photos from the National Tree Planting Day last week (see Stephen's previous post 'Tree Planting - A step in the right direction?')

Protecting Lamandau for people and orangutans.

After my last post about releasing Kath and Jutak into wild I thought it would be appropriate to tell you more about our work in the Lamandau reserve. Seeing orangutans being released back to the wild is incredibly rewarding and one of the most satisfifying parts of the job but it also comes with a huge responsibility. We have to make sure that we can provide long-term protection to the forests, and this is where the challenge really begins!

New guard post in Lamandau built by participants from our volunteer programme

The Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership (LECP) is an exciting new partnership for the Orangutan Foundation. It has been funded by the EC to maintain functioning tropical forest ecosystems in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, which support sustainable rural development. The Partnership comprises the local Ministry of Forestry for Central Kalimantan, Yayorin and the Orangutan Foundation.

Our focus is the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. It is important not only because it is an area of high biodiversity and a release site for orangutans but also because of its economic importance for local people. Local communities have the right to the sustainable use of non timber products.

Rattan - non timber product

We believe that in order to provide real protection for Lamandau we must work with local communities. We and our partners are working to achieve the following:

-Improving the protection of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve from illegal activities.

-Improving the education and awareness of communities around the reserve on the importance of conserving forests.

-Facilitating efforts to increase the economy of communities around the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve in a sustainable manner.

-Reforestation of Lamandau Wildlife Reserve to improve its capacity as a conservation area.

Last week LECP participated in the Development Exhibition that was held by Regional Government Kotawaringin Barat, Central Kalimantan. This exhibition was held in order to celebrate the 48th anniversary of Kotawaringin Barat. LECP with dozens of organizations and institutions had exhibition stands.

Regent Kotawaringin Barat being shown our stand

Regent Kotawaringin Barat, Mr Ujang Iskandar, officially opened the exhibition. He stopped by at the LECP stand and observed some of LECP activities that were displayed on the walls of the stand. Regent KoBar was very pleased with what has been done by LECP, especially when we gave him the picture of his house, which was taken from a helicopter while we were doing an air survey!

Children taking part in our environmental quiz

During the exhibition, we organised a quiz and played some movies with an environmental theme. We had 100's of visitors participating but the children were the really excited ones because we gave away prizes if they answered the quiz questions correctly.

We hoped, by taking part in this exhibition, the LECP project will be known by Kotawaringin Barat community. By learning about us they will hopefully like the work that we are doing, and afterwards support all of our activities!!

We really appreciate that Wildlifedirect has given us this opportunity to raise awareness about the orangutan, its rainforest habitat and our about work. Thank you Faye B and Sheryl B for supporting our work with your generous donations. We are making a difference with your help!!

Setting Orangutans Free

It is about time you read a story about orangutans, so here is a great one. Last Sunday, we released two teenage female orangutans back to a life in the wild. Kath and Jutak came to us as orphans. Both were confiscated from people who were holding them illegally as pets. Kath’s story is particularly tragic. She was confiscated from an animal dealer, in West Kalimantan (the neighbouring province) way back in 1998. She was chained around the neck, where the skin was rubbed raw. She cowered from her “owner” who became very aggressive during the confiscation. Eventually, the Police were called to tell him to back off.

During her time at the Orangutan Care and Quarantine, Kath’s weight increased over three-fold. On Sunday she weighed a healthy 25kg. Unfortunately, Kath was plagued by a persistent cough which prevented her from being released any earlier. The nightmare disease with captive primates is tuberculosis but repeated tests for TB came back negative. However, the cough would not respond to any medication whether homeopathic or western. It is only in the last couple of months her cough has subsided. And as soon as that happened, we thought “time to go!”

Kath and Jutak in the pick-up

After a final health check by the vets, the two orangutans were carried over to the travel cages, which were then loaded on to the back of the Forestry Department’s pick-up. (I laughed when I saw a little orangutan in one of the neighbouring enclosures standing on tip-toes trying to see what was going on). At this point, Kath and Jutak were OK, but their adrenaline must have been starting to flow. After the twenty minute drive to the jetty they looked decidedly nervous. When we tried to move their cages into the waiting speedboats, it became all too much. The orangutans tried to grab onto whatever they could to stop themselves from being lifted. Their fingers were gently prised open and the cages lowered into the boats.

As quickly as possible the boats took off and the two orangutans seemed to settle down, watching the river bank drift past. Kath even drank some water and ate an orange, which a truly scared orangutan would never do. A Brahminy kite circled overhead and twice hornbills flew across the river in front of us. Once we turned off the main Lamandau River into the Rasau River, a smaller, black-water tributary, the boats had to slow down, and the orangutans became positively curious. No doubt they were smelling the forest.

Once at Camp Rasak, far upstream, their cages were lifted onto a well barrow and trundled into the surrounding forest. Each Camp has a feeding site, which is also where orangutans are released so they know straight away where they can find food. The aim of rehabilitation is to return orangutans back to a life in the wild. The food they are given each day is only a supplement. It does not meet their full dietary requirement, so the orangutans still have to forage, but it does gives them some stability has they adapt to life in the forest.

Release site feeding platform

In the OCCQ, the orangutans sleep inside at night. In Lamandau, they have to make a new nest each day. At the OCCQ, the older orangutans are only taken to the nursery forest every second day – so we can separate males and females to stop unwanted pregnancies (we are happy if they breed in the forest, but we don’t want any more babies in cages). In Lamandau, the orangutans will be climbing and moving all day, every day. It takes the orangutans some time in their new surroundings to find the food trees, and to work out where the previously released orangutans’ home ranges are. For all these reasons the feeding sites are useful on top of which they allow our field assistants to monitor daily who is around, whether they are in a good physical condition.

In the wild again!!!

On Sunday, at the feeding site, Kath and Jutak climbed out as soon as their cage door swung open. But their excitement was not yet over. Straight away they were faced by Janu, a rather rambunctious teenage male. His thoughts were not on the mangoes laid out on the feeding platform, but on the two nubile females just arrived. He tried to inspect Kath who challenged him and slipped out of his grasp. There is no way a female orangutan can physically resist a sub-adult, let alone a fully adult male, but Kath had a plan. As she ducked out of the way, she exposed Jutak who Janu grabbed and held down with ease.

Curious Janu

I actually felt very sorry for Jutak. After having been loaded into a travel cage, driven in a car, put in a speedboat, and finally wheeled on a wheelbarrow, both her and Kath must have been, at the very least, bewildered. To be then grabbed and held down by a male of whose size she had never encountered, must have been the final straw. Jutak whimpered as Janu held her. The Assistants closed in to make sure he did not bite her, but nothing aggressive happened. Janu poked prodded and sniffed but then let her go. Jutak dashed up a tree and climbed hurriedly away. Kath, by this time had moved some off some 30m and was watching from high up in a tree.

We left them at sunset as both orangutans made their first nests in their new home. Two assistants will follow the orangutans for a week, recording how far they travel, what they eat and where they sleep. This way we can make sure they are settling in OK.

Despite the adventures of the day, it looked as if both will do just fine. We’ll keep you updated on their progress.

Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) to successful rehabilitation.

I want to introduce you to the OCCQ because behind the need to save the forests, is the need to save the orphaned orangutans who ultimately all come from the forests which have been lost. Increasing numbers of orangutans are arriving at the OCCQ as their habitat is destroyed. The OCCQ currently has over 300 orangutans and we urgently need to release the older orangutans back to the wild, where they belong. To date 155 orangutans have been released in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, most of who have come from the OCCQ.

Very young orphan orangutan with carer

Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine facility

Inside the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, we operate five release-camps each with a staff of up to seven field assistants. OF plans to build two more release camps at Lamandau to relieve pressure at the OCCQ. One of the camps will be constructed by participants from our invaluable Volunteer Programme and we are currently trying to raise funds for the construction of the other site and both release camps’ running costs.

The release of orangutans into the Lamandau creates a visible reason to increase the protection of threatened forests. Last August we managed to stop the establishment of an 8,000 ha oil-palm plantation that would have wiped out the reserve's buffer zone and impacted heavily on the nearby Lamandau River.

Tree Planting - A step in the right direction?

Thank you all for your positive comments about our blogs and Sheryl for your pertinent question about the value/hypocrisy of tree planting. Yesterday, Devis, myself and others of our team took part in the local activities of the national planting day, planting some 1,000 tree around one of the villages which borders the park. We agree with you 100% that reforestation will never replace existing forests. Tropical trees simply take too long to grow for reforestation to ever be truly effective. However, there are two plus points. It is important to engage people in conservation-orientated activities. Promoting tree planting, or more precisely agroforestry, is essential here in Borneo. If you'll pardon the pun, trees root farmers to a particular patch of land. With only seasonal or annual crops, which demand greater soil fertility, farmers need to keep opening up new fields. However, if they have fruit bearing trees, they can receive a regular income from the one plot of land, without having to move.

The second reason is the symbolism of the government focussing on tree planting. It does show that forestry issues are moving up the political agenda and, given that all the local police and Government officials were dragged away from their desks and forced to dig dirt and plant trees, it has the potential effect of making them less sympathetic when they encounter cases of illegal logging for instance!

Speaking of illegal logging, we are battling a case right now, so I may be inclined to agree with the cynical thought that the tree planting day was just green-washing. Honestly though, I am more positive about it. I do think it was a (small) step in the right direction.

Kind regards

Stephen

Devis - Manager of Pondok Ambung Research Station.

As we promised, here's the first introduction to one our key staff. You will hear more about Devis and his work at Pondok Ambung in future blogs. Devis Rachmawan, is manager of Pondok Ambung Research Station in Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), has only been working with the Orangutan Foundation since June 2007. Devis is of West Java and Nusa Tenggara descendants and his motto is “life should be at liberty but full of responsibilities”.

Devis is from Bogor, in West Java and he has a degree in Forestry. He is hard working and always eager to learn, especially about wildlife and ecology. When he’s not in the field his favorite activities are watching movies, cycling, traveling and hiking.

Devis

In the short time that Devis has been working for the Orangutan Foundation he has, in his words, received countless positive experiences. He admitted that he was very anxious when he sailed the Kelotok (traditional wooden boat) alone for the first time ever. Whilst he was sailing from the estuary of the Arut River to the estuary of the bay he took a really big wave. But observing a wild tarsier (Tarcius bancanus) for the first time at Pondok Ambung, TPNP, is one of his most unforgettable experiences. Tarsiers are ‘primitive’ primates that are rarely seen in the wild as they are, small, solitary, and only active at night.

Tarsier seen at Pondok Ambung, TPNP

A message from Devis “ I would like to take this opportunity to invite all readers to participate in helping to rescue wild animals, as well as their natural habitat as much as possible. We still have time to make this happen. Once everything is destroyed, there is nothing that can be done except never ending sadness”.

Peace out from Pondok Ambung!!!