Gunung Palung 
Orangutan Conservation Program 
 
Female Orangutan
October 2013
Code RED
An e-newsletter from your friends in Borneo

 

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Baby Orangutan
 

We are so excited to tell you about the events of these past months.  In August, the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program was lucky enough to have been a participating group in World Orangutan Day and part of the coordinating team for the first Orangutan Regional Meeting in Sukadana. The local support for orangutans at both of these events was overwhelming and a very encouraging step in the right direction for the conservation of this magnificent species and Bornean rainforests as a whole. Providing local citizens with opportunities to learn about and connect with our cause and Indonesia's national forests helps to build their appreciation of the wonders that surround them, making it more possible than ever for communities to promote sustainable lifestyles.

 

Our street campaign for World Orangutan Day was a hit in town, and was bolstered by other communities all around Indonesia and the rest of the world. Groups everywhere put on mobile cinema events, puppet shows, and lectures. We were thrilled with the public response for this cause.

 

The regional meeting was also a huge step for advancing ours and other groups' conservation efforts. Officials in West Kalimantan heard our pleas and began to make plans for conserving what forests and rivers they have left, as well as strengthening the laws against the illegal capture and harboring of wild orangutans. Progress like this is making a real difference for orangutan conservation, and we couldn't be happier!

 

Thank you so very much to everyone for your continued support of our work. Happy reading!

 

 
Sincerely,
  
Cheryl Knott, Executive Director 

 

A Day To Reflect: World Orangutan Day 2013

By Mona Pasaribu, Operations Manager 

Volunteer Youth Groups Participating in WOD
  

On August 19, 2013 many organizations worldwide participated in the first ever World Orangutan Day, including GPOCP. The main focus of this initiative was to raise awareness about the many threats orangutans face including illegal hunting, trading and rapid habitat loss that continues to occur throughout the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. These are the only two islands in the world where these gentle creatures can be found.

 

Finding a way for humans and orangutans to live together in harmony has become a common concern for parties all over the world, which is part of the reason behind establishing a day to honor this species, and collectively commit to their protection.

 

A day such as this, is one of the best times for GPOCP to exhibit our conservation awareness efforts, and to learn from other organizations. This year, in cooperation with many local organizations in Ketapang, we conducted a street campaign and distributed posters, stickers, leaflets, and seedlings to pedestrians and drivers who passed by the busy streets of Ketapang's town center. All these materials contained messages and photographs that demonstrated the need for orangutan and forest conservation and what individuals can do to contribute to their protection.

Raising Awareness for Orangutans in Ketapang

Then on August 23-25, we continued our campaign with communities in Dusun Cali, Desa Pangkalan Teluk, Tayap, Dusun Manjau, Desa Laman Satong, and Ketapang where we held mobile cinema screenings, puppet shows, and lectures reaching community members of all ages. Through our collection of awareness and educational programs and activities we help communities learn how they can participate in conservation efforts and directly contribute to not only orangutan protection, but to building more sustainable, secure, and healthy communities for themselves. It is our belief that when these two align the greatest positive impact is achieved for both the environment and humans. Our campaigns were extremely well received by all the communities, and we are looking forward to participating in this important World Orangutan Day again next year!

Students celebrating World Orangutan Day

To learn more about this global event visit the World Orangutan Day website.

 

Orangutan Regional Meeting 2013 

By Tito Indrawan, Field Director

 

Part of our conservation campaign this year included an Orangutan Regional Meeting in Sukadana, Kayong Utara on September 4-6, 2013. This meeting was organized by GPOCP, FORINA (Forum Orangutan Indonesia), the West Kalimantan Natural Conservation Agency and the Ministry of Forestry Kayong Utara Office. This was the very first orangutan meeting held in West Kalimantan that was funded by the Indonesian government. We are very encouraged by their support and commitment to orangutan conservation efforts, and are working hard to ensure they remain engaged and devoted to these activities.

Attendees of Orangutan Regional Meeting in Sukadana

By redirecting the focus of this meeting from the national level to the regional level, Indonesian organizations have been given the opportunity to gain more traction on local conservation issues. This year the West Kalimantan groups made a number of decisions on the conservation of orangutans, deciding that the only way to solve our orangutan crisis is to recognize that human actions have caused these problems, and only our actions can solve them.

 

It was decided that there should be more government involvement in the preparation of logging, mining, and plantation strategies in order to create habitat corridors that connect fragmented forests. It was also agreed that an orangutan management database will be built in order to improve orangutan habitat and population monitoring. Planning efforts have begun to establish certain areas that will serve as the location for the release of rehabilitated orangutans. Law enforcement officials are being encouraged to regulate illegal activities regarding orangutan captures and hunting, and local governments are being asked to allocate funds for orangutan conservation.

 

In general, we saw many improvements in the attitudes of all stakeholders toward orangutan conservation, and are confident that with continued meetings such as these, further support and collaborations will develop and strengthen the programs' impacts.  The overall sentiment of this years meeting was best stated by the words one young student used for her poster: "Save Some Forest for the Orangutans".

 

Issue: 14

In This Issue:

A Day To Reflect: World Orangutan Day 2013

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Orangutan Regional Meeting 2013

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Pampang Community Livelihood Projects

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Help us Protect Orangutans!
 
 
Pampang Community Livelihood Projects 
 
In September 2013 we received an official letter
from members of the Pampang community requesting our assistance to manage several livelihood projects in their village. These projects will consist of 75 m� of organic farms, 100 m� of fish nurseries and 50 ha of lowland farmland all located within the boundaries of the village.

The community and GPOCP are committed to this initiative in an effort to bring farmers down from the hillside, which is part of the National Park. Our goal is to work with the community to get them to start cultivating the lowland areas instead of the hills so the National Park remains protected and intact, while still allowing the community to meet their basic agricultural needs.

 

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  "Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little."
 
~Edmund Burke~

 

Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program
 (GPOCP)

 
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Orangutan Photographs � Tim Laman    
All other photographs � GPOCP staff