The Orangutan Conservancy is proud to announce the funding of HUTAN. Over the last 20 years, the HUTAN research teams have been working with wild orangutans throughout the Kinabatangan landscapes.
“…conserve threatened habitats and wildlife species in Sabah and to promote the sustainable management of natural ecosystems by empowering local communities and developing mutually beneficial stakeholder partnerships”
– HUTAN’s Mission
There are an estimated 10,000 wild orangutans that live in and around the oil palm-dominated agricultural landscapes in Borneo. In situ (or in the original place) management of these orangutans is imperative, as rescuing and relocating these orangutans is an impractical approach.
With the funding that we have provided, HUTAN plans to expand its research and investigations to the oil palm plantations that border the forest of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. The field activities proposed will aid in the designing of new strategies that will help sustain viable metapopulations over vast landscapes. These landscapes include abundant oil palm plantations.
With all of the collected information, HUTAN can then develop two sets of documents. The first document will be Specific Orangutan Management Plans for the oil palm estates bordering the study area. The second document will be the Best Management Practices (BMP) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Orangutan Conservation within oil palm plantations.
HUTAN also plans to allocate funding into organizing training and capacity-building sessions to explain the BMPs and SOPs, raise awareness about orangutans, and explain how oil palm workers can live peacefully with these great apes.
