Aims & Achievements

The Foundation aims to:

·          Actively conserve the orangutan and its habitat whilst supporting long-term research on the ecology of orangutans and other fauna and flora within their rainforest habitat.

·          Actively advise government policy and educate the public about orangutans and their habitat rich in bio-diversity.

·          Conduct UK-based educational programmes (schools and universities), fundraise and increase public awareness.

·          Disseminate scientific and educational information concerning the wild orangutan with particular emphasis upon the publication of educational newsletters and scientific papers, lectures, contributions to seminars and conferences.

·          Educate local people in areas surrounding the wild orangutans' natural habitat.

·          Collaborate with other charities, voluntary bodies and statutory authorities to achieve our common aims and objectives and to exchange information and advice with them.

Achievements:

·          The Foundation influenced the OFI in securing a one third (100,000 hectare) increase in the size of Tanjung Puting National Park in 1997. Additionally, Dr. Galdikas successfully lobbied the Indonesian Government for a wildlife reserve in Central Kalimantan. Lamandau is the new orangutan release site consisting of 76,000 hectares of expired logging concession.

·          The Foundation supported and participated in the largest ever survey of the Bornean population of wild orangutans.

·          In 1998, another vital development arose when the Foundation, in conjunction with the Ministry of Forestry, founded an urgently needed Orangutan Care Centre in Central Kalimantan which provides a quarantine area and clinic for the treatment and rehabilitation of confiscated orangutans. The Care Centre complements the work of the rehabilitation centres in Borneo and Sumatra which, since 1971, have returned close to 1,000 orphaned orangutans to the rainforest.

·          The Foundation actively works to end the exploitation of orangutans by the entertainment industry.

·          The Foundation chairs the Orangutan Working Group of Ape Alliance, a UK based coalition of more than 40 charities working to save all four great apes from extinction.

The Orangutan Foundation’s history

The Foundation’s Director, Ashley Leiman OBE established the Foundation in 1990 as an international chapter to the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) founded by internationally renowned Dr Biruté Galdikas in 1986.

The Orangutan Foundation is a team of dedicated individuals committed to actively ensuring the welfare of orangutans both in the wild and in captivity. In Indonesia, the Foundation protects Tanjung Puting National Park and other areas of critical orangutan habitat in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, whilst also caring for and repatriating ex-captive orangutans into the wild.

We maintain a high profile in the media by collaborating with newspapers and we have contributed towards film productions, including David Attenborough’s “Life of Mammals”, Charlotte Uhlenbroek’s "Jungle" series and the BBC’s “Kusasi, from Orphan to King” production.