April 2013
Dear OFI Supporter,
Look closely into the eyes of the beautiful orangutan in the photo above and you'll see the reflections of people--kind and generous people, like yourself, who came together across oceans and continents over the past two years to help Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) permanently conserve the Rawa Kuno Legacy Forest of Central Kalimantan. Together, we did it!
Thanks to your unwavering kindness and extreme generosity OFI was successful in purchasing this vast and wild 6,400-acre forest habitat plus more than 1,500 acres of surrounding buffer forest! (See map below.)
On January 28, 2013, with the financial support of more than 350 donors from 22 countries around the globe, we officially completed a complicated purchase-and-sale agreement involving hundreds of separate parcels of land. This land--the Rawa Kuno Legacy Forest--will remain forever wild, untouched by logging, mining, palm oil agriculture and other destructive development.
As you know, without their rainforest habitat orangutan populations in the wild will disappear. And so, Rawa Kuno is just the beginning for OFI. Its acquisition is a critical first step in our broader plan to purchase and protect a network of parcels of primary and secondary lowland forest located between the 1+ million-acre Tanjung Puting National Park, the 188,000-acre Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, and the 1,000-acre Pasir Panjang Village Forest. Acre by forested acre, we are systematically creating a series of vast, interconnected, and biologically-diverse sanctuaries for 6,000 wild orangutans, helping to ensure an essential safety net against extinction.
While we're joyfully celebrating our success (and hope you will too), we're simultaneously gearing up to launch a brand new campaign to purchase and permanently protect the adjoining vast and wild Rawa Kubu Legacy Forest. In the weeks ahead we'll be sharing more details and information on ways you can help!
Until then, on behalf of OFI's board, staff and volunteers I extend to you my deepest gratitude for your ongoing support. You made Rawa Kuno Legacy Forest possible--this is your legacy!
Relish this moment...
Warmly,
Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas
OFI President
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| This 200-year-old tree stands tall and secure in the heart of OFI's Rawa Kuno Legacy Forest--thanks to you! |
