Protecting Rainforests for Wild Orangutans

There are four areas we plan to focus on in 2018:

1. "State of conservation" analysis of Leuser Ecosystem

2. Developing agreed impact measures across all projects operated by different NGOs

3. Supporting capacity at local NGOs to ensure they can focus where it is most needed

4. Instigating and joining international campaigns where necessary to prevent development in pristine forest.

Conservation Analysis on Leuser Ecosystem

1. We have recently commissioned international researchers to analyse the state of conservation work in the Leuser landscape. This will involve developing quantitative and qualitative measures to explore what is working effectively, what isn't, where there are gaps in the work and what needs to happen next. They will do this through extensive field visits and interviews with both known NGOs and small communities on the ground to understand the scope of work being undertaken. This will enable us to develop a more strategic approach to what we fund, as well as to identify where new projects are needed and bring people together to make them happen.

Return on Investment Study for prevention of deforestation work

2. A second project we have commissioned involves getting all our partner NGOs on the ground in Sumatra to agree on how they would like to measure their impact, so that we can use the same metrics for consistency. This is important because, although it's easy to say "We planted x number of trees" or "We rescued x number of orangutans", it's hard to find a way to measure "trees not chopped down because we persuaded people not to". The aim of this project is to find a more scientific approach to measure the return on investment for preventative work of this nature, so that we know the comparative benefit of time spent:

• in meetings with government ministers,
• running workshops for police officers on wildlife crime
• training locals in organic composting techniques leading to a reduction in deforestation because their land is more productive
• lobbying companies about their sustainable palm oil policies

Supporting capacity at Sumatran NGOs

3. Investing money and support such as training in local NGOs where gaps in knowledge and capacity are identified. This will involve asking local NGOs to summarise their needs and suggest evidence-based solutions, we will then perform due diligence on these requests and submit them to our technical committee for consideration as to whether they funding and support should be awarded.

International Campaigns

4. We instigate and join other NGOs in international campaigns which are relevant to preserving orangutan habitat. For example we are contributing members of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil. We recognise that the sustainable certification they offer is not perfect, but feel it is worth investing our time in trying to improve the standards they require companies to adhere to, as well as lobbying them when we have evidence that a corporation is not living up to its promises.

Similarly, we have been working closely with other NGOs to try to prevent the construction of a hydroelectric dam project in the middle of the Batang Toru Forest, where the Tapanuli orangutan species was newly described in 2017. This may involve lobbying politicians, investors, as well as businesses. Again, it's sometimes hard to prove the effectiveness of these type of interventions, so we are careful to pick the battles which really matter and which we believe we can have an impact on.

Links:

• to find out more about our work

In the least 3 months, much of our work has been focusing on teaching agroforestry techniqes to locals as a way of aiming to prevent forest encroachment. 

Agroforestry or agro-sylviculture is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. It combines shrubs and trees in agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy, ecologically sound, and sustainable land-use systems.

From a conservation perspective, we need to ensure that the people living in and around the Leuser ecosystem have a viable way of making a living which does not involve deforestation. Our CARE programme (community, agroforestry, education and restoration) works with local smallholders to teach them improved techniques for maximising crop production using home-made organic compost. Farmers who have been on a CARE programme report a 25% improvement in crop production, meaning they are much less likely to cur down forest trees to expand their crop lands. We have been able to show them how agroforestry techniques benefit biodiversity, water cycling and food security. The more diverse the selection of crops are that one farmer grows, the less dependent he is on one particular product or market. This is part of our holistic approach to tackling forest encroachment. 

In one particular project in Gayo Lues, we and our partners on the ground, have been working to develop community income through essential oil production. This has included using a hydro-micro distillery to purify the oil, which LUSH Cosmetics have pledged to buy at market rate as part of their ethical programme.

These are just some of the ways in which SOS is working to prevent deforestation from happening. A viable income for locals is what is needed to prevent further destruction of orangutan habitat in the region. Thank you for your ongoing support for this vital work

Links:

• more info on the CARE programme