Hello-- my name is Fatima, an 8th grader who is doing a project on how humans impact ecosystems, and what we can do to have a positive impact on natural environments. 

Why are orangutans essential to the environment? 

Orangutans are key to keeping rainforests healthy, 

All the species of the rainforest share roles to take part of the health of the ecosystem. Orangutans, the gardeners of the forest, will eat hundreds of different types of fruit, and spread those seeds all over the forest’s soil through their dung. When they make new nests to sleep in every evening, they break branches, which allow light through the thick canopy to the forest floor.

The threats and why we should help. 

Orangutans spend most of their lives in trees. They build in a nest every night high up in the canopies. Deforestation is one of the biggest threats to them as well as for thousands of other species of plants and animals, and more than four million people in northern Sumatra rely on the existence of this rainforest. Destruction of forests disrupts the natural balance of the forest. Unsustainable agriculture is also a problem. Expanding oil palm plantations and coffee cultivation is intruding on land that are crucial to species conservation.

Most of the human impacts have harmed the rainforests, such as Sumatra. Between 1985 and 2007, Sumatra alone has lost 12 million hectares of trees, which is a 48% loss in 22 years. According to a 2013 article by John Vidal, the rainforest will likely disappear in 20 years as of 2013. “Thirty years ago the world's third- and sixth-largest islands were full of tigers, elephants, rhinos, orangutan and exotic birds and plants but in a frenzy of development they have been trashed in a single generation by global agribusiness and pulp and paper industries.” Millions of hectares are protected but it’s fragmented. National parks are surrounded by plantations. The trees are often cleared for timber, oil, paper, or to gain extra agricultural land. Forests are cleared by illegal logging or by fires which is a problem in the peat swamp areas. 

The trees are often cleared for timber, oil, paper, or to gain extra agricultural land. Forests are cleared by illegal logging or by fires which is a problem in the peat swamp areas. 

Some orangutans are being hunted or even killed. In some parts of Borneo and North Sumatra, they are eaten. Most of the orangutans are killed due to habitat clearing, trapping orangutans in any small fragments of the remaining trees of their environment. 

Even though it is illegal to kill, trade, or capture orangutans in Indonesia, people still find a way to bypass the law. Some are willing to pay in very high prices to buy young orangutans. Not only will it harm the young orangutan, but even their mother.

Their mother will fight whatever it takes to get their child back, and that is exactly what happens. They are beaten to death with clubs, stick, stones, and machetes until they are able to take the infant orangutan away from their mother. 

Absurdly, the infants may also be killed during the process. 

A study estimates that only one in three infants survives the encounter-- until for every one that survives long enough to be someone’s pet.

What can we do to help?

Start with baby steps: Avoid products that contain unsustainable materials like palm oil and buy FSC-certified products, go green.   

BENEFITS: 

• Palm oil is an ingredient that is often unnecessarily used in household items like biscuits, instant noodles, and makeup.
• By buying FSC-certified products, it is guaranteed that the items labeled with that came from a sustainable forestry. 
• Recycling ensures that you are conserving the earth’s resources. 

CHALLENGES:

• Palm oil may have to be a part of one’s diet to become healthy. And makeup is popular as well for makeup influencers. Therefore, making it hard to cut off palm oil.
• Recycling may be inexpensive and it may take more energy consumption.

If you want to be generous: Support charitable organizations.  

BENEFITS: 

• Supporting organizations can do a lot to their goal. Things like donating can make a big impact.
• If it’s buying a t-shirt or bracelet from their merchandise, the money will go towards the goal they are achieving. 

CHALLENGES:

•  Many people should help support, otherwise the organization won’t be able to do anything without help.
• In some occasions, they are not able to fulfill some of their goals, otherwise they will need our help to do so. 
  
  Well, which organizations should we support?

• Sumatran Orangutan Society. The SOS organization help the endangered orangutans. They also help restore habitats. Donate here. 
• The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme is similar to what SOS is doing. Donate here.
• You could donate to WWF, which is an independent organization. They are “working to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife.” They are active in nearly one hundred countries.  Your donations go towards various conservations globally. Donate once or monthly here.

If you want to take it a step further: Start a fundraiser or join a volunteer program. 

BENEFITS: 

• You can raise a fundraiser and donate it to an organization, such as the Orangutan Foundation.
• If you want to go even further, there are volunteer opportunities across Borneo and Sumatra.

CHALLENGES:

• It may be harder to do so during a pandemic.
• It could be very expensive to plan a trip to Sumatra. 
  
  INFORMATION: Samboja Lestari Orangutan Volunteer project: This project will be located in Borneo, which is also home to an endangered forest as critical as Sumatra’s. “This project offers you the chance to work on enrichment with captive orangutans and sun bears at the world-renowned Samboja Lestari Rescue Centre.” Apply here.