{"id":2347,"date":"2019-04-05T14:27:23","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T14:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/?p=2347"},"modified":"2019-07-30T16:25:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T16:25:00","slug":"supporting-sumatran-orangutan-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/05\/supporting-sumatran-orangutan-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporting Sumatran Orangutan Society"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Sumatran<\/a>\n

Supporting Sumatran Orangutan Society<\/h3>\n

From April to June 2019 we supported Sumatran Orangutan Society<\/a> as our chosen\u00a0 conservation charity. SOS works to protect Sumatran orangutans, their forests and their future. Together with partners in Sumatra and internationally they deliver conservation initiatives and do advocacy work. Their aim is to prevent Sumatra\u2019s orangutans and other wildlife going extinct. We contributed \u00a3750 to their vital work.<\/p>\n

Latest update on their work<\/h3>\n

Lucy Radford of\u00a0 SOS has just given us an update about how our donation will be used: “The funds donated by Nature PL are supporting us to develop and deliver a multi-faceted strategy to halt the dam project in Batang Toru, which threatens the 800 remaining Tapanuli orangutans, and bestow long-term protection on the entire Batang Toru ecosystem. This encompasses everything from making the case for Batang Toru to be nominated as a World Heritage Site, to identifying and lobbying the financial backers of the dam and supporting the local communities who live adjacent to the site to oppose the dam.<\/p>\n

There are around 95,000 people in the South Tapanuli Regency who may be impacted by the development of the dam. The majority of people living in the area are farmers, many of whose livelihoods could be affected as their plantations and rice paddies are reliant on the water flows from the Batang Toru forest ecosystem.\u00a0 In addition, the dam project is considered to have the potential to either exacerbate earthquake risk (as it is located on a faultline) or increase the likelihood and impact of landslides or floods.<\/p>\n

Our colleagues in Sumatra proposed that we support the creation of five community organisations in five target villages. These organisations will now work to prevent the development of the dam; they will meet at least once a month and will receive training in community organising and in co-creating an advocacy strategy. We will also support our colleagues in Sumatra to conduct training to help the communities to develop an understanding about their rights and the potential impact of the dam.”<\/p>\n

Protecting Sumatra\u2019s forest ecosystems<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Deforestation is the greatest threat facing orangutans, so protecting their habitat is crucial. By building partnerships with other NGOs working internationally and in Sumatra, SOS ensures that the impact of their campaigns is greater. Also, they lobby governments and companies to push for action to protect Sumatra\u2019s forests.<\/p>\n

Take a look at our new gallery<\/a> on Sumatran orangutans and the work of Sumatran Orangutan Society. We have a wide selection of both still images and video clips of the Sumatran orangutan and the newly discovered and critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan. These include fascinating footage of the release of an orangutan into the wild.<\/p>\n