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BIG GIFT Rainforest
East Kalimantan, Borneo In 2002, The Nature Conservancy and a team of local villagers discovered a large population of orangutans in the Kelay River basin, East Kalimantan, Borneo. Borneo and Sumatra are the only two places on Earth where natural habitat for these critically endangered primates exists. The newly discovered Kelay group could be as much as 10 percent of the total population of orangutans left in the wild. The Kelay orangutans live in one of the most beautiful wildernesses in the world. The dense forests of East Kalimantan conceal an otherworldly realm. Strange and colorful creatures like the honey-chested sun bear and clouded leopard roam among mist-shrouded trees and limestone spires draped with ferns, orchids and vines. Orangutans, gibbons, langurs, proboscis monkeys, leaf monkeys, macaques, and myriad birds and butterflies populate the trees. Bearded pigs and large hornbill pheasants scavenge the forest floor. Many of Borneo's animals and plants are unique in the world. Because large sections of the isolated rainforests of East Kalimantan have never been explored, it is likely that species and populations unknown to science remain to be discovered. These forests are also among the few habitats large and diverse enough to support healthy populations of orangutans. Map of the East Kalimantan Project, Borneo Rainforest Destruction Borneo's forests are disappearing at record pace. Fires set to clear land for agriculture burn out of control. Large palm and timber plantations encroach on pristine landscapes. Local economic crises fuel a cycle of illegal logging and forest degradation. Although East Kalimantan is wild and remote, it is not immune to these threats. The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy is working to secure protected status for orangutan habitat in the Kelay River basin. Their "collaborative management" approach brings together key stakeholders, including local governments, NGOs, scientists, schools, business people, donors, local communities, and the indigenous Punan Dayak people. The Punan Dayak view forests as sacred places that nourish and support them. This belief and the traditional forest practices based on it are important reasons why areas near the Kelay River have not yet been ravaged by illegal logging. We Can Help: Big Gift to the Earth Teachers and students will play a BIG role in saving acres of forest in the Kelay River Basin. Donations to the Big Gift will support the East Kalimantan project's ongoing forest conservation and community development initiatives, which include cooperative development programs with the Punan Dayak. 10 Good Reasons to Protect Orangutan Habitat in Borneo • Orangutans are intelligent apes; scientists have identified them as the primate whose behavior is most like human behavior. • Borneo is one of only two small places in the world where orangutans live in the wild. • Orangutans depend on their native habitat for life-without it their kind cannot survive. • Since 1900, orangutan populations on Borneo have decreased by 90 percent. • Populations are decreasing because large areas of habitat have been fragmented or destroyed. • Orangutan habitat is among the richest, most biologically diverse forest in the world. It harbors tens of thousands of animal and plant species. • Since 1994, more than 350 "new" species have been discovered in orangutan habitat-plants and animals previously unknown to scientists. There is more to discover! • The human populations of Borneo-and the world-depend on resources we share with orangutans. • Today orangutan habitat is threatened by logging and industrial agriculture, which are increasing at alarming rates. • Orangutan habitat is some of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring forest in the world.
Big Gift Orangutans is a partnership between Earth’s
Birthday Project and The Nature Conservancy. |
 © Don Bason/TNC  © Mark Godfrey/TNC  © Mark Godfrey/TNC  >© Don Bason/TNC  © Mark Godfrey/TNC |
