Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Australia
BOS Australia is a volunteer not-for-profit organisation which supports the projects of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) in Indonesia.
The BOSF vision is the conservation of the Bornean orangutan and its habitat in co-operation with the community. It aims to achieve this through research and education, empowerment of local communities to develop sustainable solutions, working together with multi-stakeholders as well as strengthening its ongoing activities in orangutan rescue, rehabilitation and release.
Orangutans have lost approximately 80% of their habitat in the past 20 years through illegal logging and expansion of palm oil plantations. The population is estimated to be declining by up to 3 000 per year with some experts predicting extinction in the wild within 10-15 years.
BOSF operates three major projects:
- The Nyaru Menteng rehabilitation and reintroduction centre in Central Kalimantan, founded and managed by Lone Dr Droscher Nielsen, is the world's largest primate rescue operation. The faculty currently cares for over 600 orangutans while they go through the process of rehabilitation, learning forest skills such as nest building, finding food, and recognising predators.
- The Samboja Lestari Project incorporates over 1800 hectares in East Kalimantan which is being reforested to form a permanent sanctuary for orangutans and other wildlife including over 50 resident sun bears. The project is an example of agriculture, reforestation and protection combining effectively. Tourists and volunteers staying at the Samboja Ecolodge are able to participate in the reforestation project with donors financing the project through the symbolic purchase of land.
- The Mawas program is aimed at protecting some 240,000 hectares of reserve including peat domes, rich in biomass and an important store of carbon dioxide. There are about 3,000 wild orangutans living in this area. The program is managed by BOS working together with the provincial government of Central Kalimantan.
The BOS display at Greenfest will include information on the BOS projects in Indonesia as well as promoting the various ways the Australian public can help. Our merchandise will be on display including irresistable soft toys through to tshirts, teatowels and DVDs.