Conservation Project News

Conservation projects news from the World Land Trust, an international wildlife conservation charity working to protect threatened wildlife habitats worldwide.

This page shows the most recent projects news updates, or a selection of posts in the same category. To read older posts, use the projects news archive in the navigation bar on this page. The newest posts can always be found at www.worldlandtrust.org/news/projects-news.htm.

Conservation projects news on this page:

Wednesday, 21 April 2010:

First evidence of wild Orang-utan using bridge to cross Borneo's fragmented forests 

For the first time ever, a wild Orang-utan has been photographed crossing a bridge. The World Land Trust (WLT) recently received this exciting news from our project partners, Hutan, in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The news came from Dr Marc Ancrenaz, who also heads up the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project.

This wild male orang-utan is the first confirmed sighting of Orang-utans using the specially designed rope bridges connecting forest habitats. Photo © Ajiran Osman @ Aji.


The rope bridges re-connect fragmented forest preventing Orang-utan populations from becoming isolated. Photo © Ajiran Osman @ Aji.

This wild, unflanged* male was photographed by Ajiran Osman, a member of the local community with an interest in wildlife, as it ventured into the unknown in search of new habitat. Mr Osman said that the red ape appeared to be weighing up whether to cross the bridge or not, lingering for about twenty minutes before deciding to take the plunge. "It seemed like once he decided to cross, he did so very fast, going over in about three minutes." Orang-utans have occasionally been reputed to have crossed man-made bridges, but this is the first official evidence.

In 2003 Hutan and the Sabah Wildlife Department installed a number of rope bridges across tributaries of the Kinabatangan in order to reconnect fragments of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS) for Orang-utans. These bridges have become necessary because the large trees that provided natural bridges over wetland and river tributaries have been lost in deforestation, and also because drains built by oil palm producers, leading to the mighty Kinabatangan River, have further fragmented the forest.

The land in the Kinabatangan flood plain is very wet and, since Orang-utans cannot swim (in contrast to other primates) their movement through water is hampered. This means that once the trees spanning the rivers are removed populations become isolated from one another. The rope bridges were a simple solution but until this year there had been no recordings of Orang-utans using them, even though other endangered primate species, such as macaques, Proboscis Monkeys and gibbons have been benefitting from them.

Help protect Orang-utans in Borneo

A recent "Population Viability Analysis" by Bruford et al. concluded that most of the 20 sub-populations of Orang-utans throughout the fragments of the LKWS will go extinct in the foreseeable future unless their forest habitats are reconnected. WLT continues to raise funds for the purchase of critically important wildlife corridors in the area that will permanently connect standing forests and protect them in perpetuity. You can help, by supporting our vital Orang-utan Appeal.

* The absence of flanges or cheek pads in this young male means he is not yet dominant. The flanges do not start to develop until the age of 12 and only develop on the most dominant males. When the dominant male dies another may develop cheek pads and can drastically increase its muscle weight in a short time.

Labels: Malaysia

| Permanent location of this post | Read comments (2) |

Share this post with your friends

Friday, 22 January 2010:

A visit to Borneo: orang-utans, elephants and oil palm plantations 

Last summer, World Land Trust (WLT) representatives Mary Tibbett and Jo Finch met with Malaysian project partners and the Forestry and Wildlife Departments in Sabah, Borneo to discuss WLT projects in the area and find out more about Orang-utan conservation and the issues involving the palm oil industry.

The Kinabatangan River and floodplain in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo is a strong-hold for orang-utans, but threatened by conversion to oil palm plantations. Inserted photo: © KOCP (Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project). (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

WLT have been working to fund strategic land purchases to conserve wildlife corridors for Orang-utans and other Bornean species in Sabah since 2008.

WLT's main project partner in the area, LEAP believes site visits to project areas are extremely important in terms of demonstrating outside support for conservation measures to local communities. Whilst local communities are well aware about the importance and significance of orang-utan conservation, the price of conservation is high due to the incredible land use pressure from crops.

WLT are delighted to be able to collaborate with the local communities by investing in conservation in Sabah and the trip provided a good opportunity for Mary and Jo to meet some of the key players involved with conservation of the orang-utan in Sabah.

Oil palm plantations such as this are very important to the local economy and WLT partners LEAP and HUTAN are therefore trying to get oil palm companies involved in conservation, rather than calling for an outright ban of palm oil. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

Land in demand: Conservation vs. palm oil

Land in Sabah is in demand from both conservation groups and the palm oil industry. Conservationists want to save the land because it protects a wealth of biodiversity, with more than the average number of orang-utans and other wildlife such as Bornean Elephant and Proboscis Monkey. However, this fertile land makes it the best place to grow oil palm too which means that land is expensive.

LEAP believes it is vitally important not to polarise the palm oil debate. The industry is generally viewed as the 'bad guy' but its importance to the Malaysian and Indonesian economies must not be underestimated since a large proportion of income is generated through palm oil exports. Plantation workers are carrying out their job in an industry which is essentially driven by consumers (1 in 10 supermarket products contain palm oil). WLT is keen not to criticise the industry out of hand since this could significantly hinder conservation progress, and negative media reports could well discourage plantation owners from entering into round table discussions or being sympathetic to conservation.

(From left) Cynthia Ong (LEAP Conservancy), Priya Shetty (journalist), Mary Tibbett (WLT), Sahdin Lias (Director of Red Ape Encounters) Marc Ancrenaz (Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme - KOCP), Takrin Hj. Abdullah (Nature Heritage Conservancy), Jo Finch (WLT) and Peter Hughes (journalist) outside the KOCP headquarters.

LEAP takes the stand that it is better to pave the way for discussions with the palm oil industry, as there is the potential for oil palm plantations to become financers of conservation. WLT partners HUTAN, believe that compromises would be appropriate. For instance, they suggest that unproductive crop areas might be left as forest corridors for wildlife, keeping them connected and thereby allowing wildlife to have larger habitats and to safely avoid plantations.

Alternative uses of the forest: Sustainable tourism and forestry

It is also encouraging that the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) are looking into and finding alternatives to using the forest for oil palm. The SFD are hoping to make sustainable use of the forest and in 2005 they produced the first FSC certified forestry area in the tropics.

The SWD aim is to reduce human-animal conflict by translocating individual orang-utans away from conflict areas. They also fund an orang-utan rehabilitation centre and believe it is possible to rehabilitate 95% of individuals. Tourists visiting the centre also generates valuable income.

Environmentally sensitive tourism is providing a sustainable livelihood for local people in Sabah. For example, a percentage of the money provided by Red Ape Encounters goes back into conservation and MESCOT, a community-based conservation and ecotourism initiative, have created a rainforest eco-camp for tourists. The entire camp is built from locally produced materials and designed to have no lasting footprint on the forest. (Find out how to visit the eco camp here.)

Orang-utans are not the only animals threatened by deforestation in Borneo. The Bornean Elephant - also referred to as Pygmy Elephant (above), Proboscis Monkey and many other species rely on these forests for their survival. When you support WLT's Orang-utan Appeal, you help protect these other species as well. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

Saving forests for wildlife in Borneo - how you can help

So far, with funds raised by WLT, the Kretam-Kulamba corridor has been secured, and WLT are now in the process of funding the purchase of 222 acres in Lower Kinabatangan.

We urgently need your help so that we can fund other strategic parcels of land in Borneo. To give you an idea of what wildlife your donation to WLT's Orang-utan Appeal will protect, Mary describes what she saw on her trip: "We had been on the river for less than 10 minutes when we saw a herd of Pygmy Elephants on the banks. They were enormous - nothing pygmy about these animals!"

"The forests of the Lower Kinabatangan support over 200 elephants. When you donate to the World Land Trust's Appeal you are helping protect so many amazing species. We saw hornbills, macaques, the bizarre Proboscis Monkey, langurs, monitor lizards, snakes and of course, the orang-utan living wild, free and beautiful. That wasn't even the half of it, so many more animals and plants rely on this unique jungle for their survival."

To help the World Land Trust save more Bornean forests and the wildlife these habitats protect, please support the Borneo Orang-utan Appeal.

Labels: Malaysia

| Permanent location of this post | Read comments (0) |

Share this post with your friends

Tuesday, 28 April 2009:

Borneo Orang-utan Appeal: Fundraising for first land purchase completed (Malaysia) 

Thanks to the generous contributions from both corporate supporters and individuals, the World Land Trust (WLT) has successfully raised the £343,000 that was required to secure a critical corridor of land between two fragmented portions of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in Sabah, Borneo.

Negotiations for this parcel of land have been complex but are reaching their completion and we will shortly be transferring the balance of the funds for the purchase of this land over to our project partner, LEAP Conservancy in Malaysia. This purchase will not only keep a hugely diverse rainforest standing but will also allow the continued survival of over 600 Orang-utans as well as other endangered wildlife such as the endemic Proboscis Monkey and a significant population of the Bornean Pygmy Elephant.

Our sincere thanks go out to all of you who helped raise funds for this important appeal, in particular the Marshalls Group of Cambridge who helped raise over £120,000 through their Cambridge Rainforest Appeal.

But our work doesn't stop here: WLT plans to carry on fundraising in order to keep more of Borneo's forests standing and to ensure the protection of Orang-utans and other threatened wildlife into the future. Keep checking the WLT website over the next few months for updates on new land purchases in the Lower Kinabatangan area. In the meantime you can support our new appeal on our Justgiving page with all donations going towards this new land purchase in the Kinabatangan.

Labels: Malaysia

| Permanent location of this post | Read comments (0) |

Share this post with your friends

Thursday, 18 December 2008:

Orang-utan Appeal: First target almost reached, ready for first down payment (Malaysian Borneo) 

The River Kinabatangan floodplain, in the federal State of Sabah in Malaysia, where forest will be saved from conversion to oil palm plantations, thanks to Orang-utan Appeal supporters. (See a larger image of the area here.)

World Land Trust (WLT) launched its Orang-utan Appeal in July 2008 and this was followed by the launch of the Cambridge Rainforest Appeal raising funds for this project too. Both have received tremendous support and we have almost reached our first target! This means that a down payment for this land can now be made and these forests saved forever as safe havens for Orang-utans and other threatened wildlife.

Our project partners LEAP Conservancy are currently looking at other critical orang-utan corridors for WLT support and the more funds we can raise the more forests we can save. Our appeal will continue through 2009 and is just as vital, as more and more forests in Borneo are being converted to Oil Palm plantations. All donations that exceed our current target will go towards the purchase of the next piece of rainforest.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, and please keep up your support to save more Orang-utans for the future.

Support the Orang-utan Appeal online »
You can also donate by calling the WLT office at +44 (0)1986 874422

Learn more about the project in Malaysian Borneo »

Labels: Malaysia

| Permanent location of this post | Read comments (0) |

Share this post with your friends

Monday, 27 October 2008:

Borneo project negotiations moves to the next level (Malaysia) 

The World Land Trust Orang-utan Appeal, launched in July 2008, aims to raise £343,000 to save a priceless piece of forest in Malaysian Borneo and the Orang-utans which live in it.

In the first three months, we received tremendous support for this vital project, raising over a third of the funding needed. Over £4,000 was raised thanks to eBulletin readers, when the appeal was featured in the last issue of the newsletter.

Thanks to the donations from WLT's supporters, individual as well as corporate, negotiations for the land have moved to the next level and WLT now has until the end of the year to raise the remainder of funds needed.

Our appeal is still very urgent and any contribution will bring us closer to the goal. As WLT Partner Chris Redston of Catford, London, said in a recent email:

"Isn't it a crazy mad world where governments can apparently find hundreds of billions of dollars to shore up failing banks, yet it's so hard to find a few hundred grand to save a species. Still, we're all doing what we can and hearing the good news that WLT is buying land for Orang-utans gives me heart that all is not lost."

Support the Orang-utan Appeal online »
You can also donate by calling the WLT office at +44 (0)1986 874422

Labels: Malaysia

| Permanent location of this post | Read comments (0) |

Share this post with your friends

Tuesday, 23 September 2008:

Borneo Project Awarded 85,000 Euros from the Netherlands 

A recent application to grant-giving body, IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands (IUCN NL), has been successful, providing a much needed boost to the World Land Trust's fundraising efforts to protect the rapidly disappearing habitat of the Bornean Orang-utan.

The IUCN NL's 'Small Grants for the Purchase of Nature Programme', funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery, has been running for many years now and has previously supported a number of WLT's other projects in India, Brazil and Paraguay, in efforts to purchase and protect threatened habitats and their endangered wildlife. Last week, IUCN NL notified WLT that it would be supporting this latest project to protect wild Orang-utans in Borneo, by giving a grant of 85,000 Euros (£67,000), a significant contribution to the £343,000 target that WLT needs to achieve.

It is hoped that with this funding injection, as well as generous donations from individual supporters (totalling a staggering £20,000 raised in just one month), that a down-payment can be made to secure the property, which would give WLT an additional 6 months to raise the balance of project funding.

Your support is still needed! Please remember that every contribution, no matter how small, will make a real difference and take us one step further to to make this essential project a reality.

For further information about this project, please see: http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/malaysia.htm

How to support the Orang-utan Appeal

• Donate online at Justgiving
• Phone the WLT office at +44 (0) 1986 874 422
• Send a cheque made payable to "WLT Orang-utan Appeal" to World Land Trust, Blyth House, Bridge Street, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8AB, UK

Labels: Malaysia

| Permanent location of this post | Read comments (2) |

Share this post with your friends

Tuesday, 19 August 2008:

Urgent Appeal: A Life-line to save Orang-utans in Borneo (Malaysia) 

The River Kinabatangan floodplain, Borneo, where oil palm plantations threaten the rainforests and the species living within them. (See a larger version here.)

Because of the world demand for Palm Oil, the forests of Borneo are disappearing before our eyes. Orang-utan populations there may have halved over the last 20 years and they are now seriously threatened with extinction. The World Land Trust (WLT) has therefore launched this appeal, working with local partner organization in Borneo, LEAP Conservancy.

We urgently need to raise funds for the purchase and protection of a 222 acre (90 ha) corridor to link together two sections of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, enabling the protection and long-term survival of over 600 Orang-utans.

This corridor will ensure that animals can move safely between the protected forest Reserves. But we need to act quickly as this land is destined to be turned into more Palm Oil plantation, isolating the two sanctuaries.

We have about 3 months to raise £343,000 to save this priceless piece of forest and the Orang-utans which live in it. Our appeal is very urgent. Will you help?

Please make a donation to the Orang-utan Appeal through Justgiving.com.

Find more information on the Orang-utan Appeal and sign up to receive project updates on our Borneo Projects page: Protecting Critical Corridors for Orang-utans in Borneo
.

Labels: Malaysia

| Permanent location of this post | Read comments (0) |

Share this post with your friends

Thursday, 31 July 2008:

New projects page about Borneo (Malaysia) 

The WLT website has now been updated with a page about our new project area in Malaysian Borneo. See http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/malaysia.htm

Labels: Malaysia

| Permanent location of this post | Read comments (0) |

Share this post with your friends

Tuesday, 1 July 2008:

New projects in Malaysian Borneo and Bolivia 

Orang-utan habitat in Borneo and Blue-Throated Macaw habitat in Bolivia to be protected

Two new conservation projects were announced by the World Land Trust in the latest eBulletin:

• Orang-utan habitat protection in Borneo
  This project will protect a priority location for the Bornean Orang-utan in east Malaysia by creating corridors between existing wildlife sanctuaries.
• Grassland protection in Bolivia
  This project aims to create the first protected area for the endemic Blue-Throated Macaw, which has a total population of only 300 individuals remaining.

More information on these exiting new projects will be available soon.

Labels: Bolivia, Malaysia

| Permanent location of this post | Read comments (0) |

Share this post with your friends