conservation capacity building joining communities ...€¦ · conservation capacity building...
TRANSCRIPT
Conservation Capacity Building
Joining Communities:
The Orangutan Conservancy
Raffaella Commitante, PhD.
We all know what is
happening with
orangutans in their range
countries…
They are disappearing
At an estimated loss of about 3,000 per
year, today we may be looking at a
combined number probably lower than
30,000
Main cause of decline…
Resource competition with
humans
Orangutans prefer lowland
forests near rivers –
so do humans
Orangutans are not the only
species in decline
Deforestation
Mining/Agriculture
The Oil Palm
Logging
(Legal and Illegal)
Fires
(Natural and Man-made)
Pet trade
Bush meat
We also know the major threats:
The Conflicts
Indonesia’s
population grew
from 15 to 200
million in the 20th
century
For Borneo and Sumatra,
this caused
Mass transmigration
Intensified commercial
agriculture/conversion
(oil palm)
Intensified commercial resource
extraction
(gold, coal, gems, timber)
People in orangutan areas
are aware of the problems….
However, the effectiveness
of being aware ranges from
lesser to greater degrees
Programs currently underway in
Indonesia
Habitat protection
Public awareness
Law enforcement
Accurate census
Repatriation
Repatriation
Release &
Monitoring
Medical care
People in Indonesia and Malaysia
do care about the orangutan and
their environment
Today, there are many people
both inside and outside
Indonesia fighting to keep the
orangutan an extant species
However, most feel powerless
Helping educate Indonesians
and Malaysians is important to
enable them to have a voice
within their own government
Orangutan Conservancy is
currently sponsoring the
university education of Reza…
a young man devoted to the
orangutan and the environment…
I know this
because I have
known him since
he was a young
boy….
Reza is in his last year
and due to his previous
experience with
orangutans in Borneo
(I worked with his Mom and he
later worked with me)
he has been able to
share his orangutan
knowledge with both
students and
instructors
Sharing knowledge
(they have a lot!)
and sharing resources with
people in country boosts
confidence and helps
empower local workers to
get the job done!!!
The Orangutan
Conservancy
Orangutan
Veterinary
Advisory Group
WORKSHOPS
2009 - 2013
Beginning in 2009, the
Orangutan Conservancy
began the first of yearly
workshops bringing together
veterinarians working in situ
with orangutans and those
working with orangutans
throughout the international
community
These workshops were started
to bring resources that can be
difficult to acquire in country –
It was quite clear that local
veterinarians working in their
own countries know more about
orangutans than anyone else in
the world – what was lacking
was access to resources
Each year The Orangutan
Conservancy has partnered with
local organizations and/or
universities to hold workshops
which further the sharing of
information and the bringing
together of resources and
knowledge
The workshops have been a
very valuable addition to the
efforts being made in the
release and maintenance of
orangutans in rehabilitation
centers in Indonesia and
Malaysia
2009, The Borneo Orangutan
Survival Foundation in Samboja,
East Kalimantan Borneo
This first meeting enabled
a partnership between
African and Indonesian
vets for the testing of a
new TB diagnostic tool
which allowed for the
testing of 1500 primates
2010: Sumatran Orangutan
Conservation Program and Yayasan
Ekosystem Lestari
Medan, Sumatra
2011: Gadjah Mada University,
the top veterinary school in
Indonesia, Jogjakarta, Java
This meeting was the
first time Orangutan
Center managers were
invited to participate
and give their input and
to encourage them to
support their vets
2012: The University Putra
Malaysia, Kuala Lampur,
Malaysia
We had amazing cooperation
from the Minister of
Environment and Natural
Resources, Malaysia
(he covered our entire hotel bill!)
and we had national news and
TV coverage for the first time!
2013: ASLIQEWAN and IPB,
Bogor, Java
We have gained quite a
positive reputation, and
many of our members have
been called in to consult
with the government on
various issues involving
orangutans….
This is BIG!!!!
2014: Gadjah Mada University,
Jogjakarta, Java
Our new semi-permanent home
within the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine
Workshops have been funded over the years by the
Orangutan Conservancy in partnership with:
Chester Zoo / NEZS
American Association of Zoo Keepers
(Birmingham, AL)
Oregon Zoo’s Future for Wildlife
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
ABAXIS Europe, Germany
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo / Cleveland Zoological Society
Murdoch University, Australia
Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., United States
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
University Putra Malaysia
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Malaysia
Sea World and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund
International Primate Society
Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
The Orangutan
Conservancy
has also been
assisting with new
technologies: the
use of drones in
orangutan census
work and
evaluating habitat
with Dr. Serge Wich
and Lian Pin Koh
OC also supports the research
work of
Dr. Anne Russon
and her Orangutan Kutai Project
(who loaned me some of her slides for this presentation!)
OC continues to support
reintroduction programs on both
Borneo and Sumatra
With assistance over the years
to
The Borneo Orangutan Survival
Foundation
and
The Sumatran Orangutan
Conservation Programme
OC has also supported over
the years, other wild
orangutan research
projects such as
The Gunung Palung
Orangutan Conservation
Project
and new to the OC family,
The Orangutan Tropical
Peatland Project
So…. What can you do?
Invite people here…
share what you know with
them and allow them to share
their knowledge with you
Some zoos have already done
this!
Have events at your zoos that
can raise both awareness and
money to support projects in
country
Selfishly, I hope you do that by
sending your money to the
Orangutan Conservancy!!!
www.orangutan.com
Help OC support its projects
on the ground in Indonesia and
Malaysia
Help us so that we may
continue to hold our OC/OVAG
workshops for years to come
Thank you so much for your
time and your devotion to
Orangutans!!!!