Blog: Blogs PT SMART in the News: “Two Orangutans Released in Seruyan Natural Habitat”

PT SMART continue to support orangutan conservation through the partnership with Orangutan Foundation International (OFI). We are sponsoring a programme to release wild-born orangutans back into their natural habitat and by 2017 we aim to release a total of 100 orangutans. Two such orangutans, Poco and Rich were recently released into the Seruyan Forest. Read more in the article by Tempo below.

Two Orangutans Released in Seruyan Natural Habitat
en.tempo.co – 29 July 2016

TEMPO.CO, Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan – Two orangutans were released into the wild in Seruyan, Central Kalimantan, by the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI), a non-profit organization established to conserve orangutans and their natural habitats, along with PT SMART.

“Watching the disappearance of orangutans in the wild concerns us. It is imperative for business makers to actively participate in conservation efforts and establish firm policies in protecting orangutans within their companys territory to prevent their extinction,” said Professor Birute Galdikas, Founder and President of Orangutan Foundation International, in a press release received on Thursday.

The release of the two orangutans highlights the importance of cooperation and support from the private sector to protect the species from extinction.

The International Union for the Convention of Nature (IUCN) recently released the latest conservation status, in which orangutans have moved from endangered to critically endangered, one level from extinction.

“Through this cooperation between OFI, Kalimantan International Orangutan Foundation (YOIK), and PT SMART, we hope that we are able to stop the orangutan population from declining, even turning it around and increasing the population,” Galdikas said.

On the same occasion, a spokesperson of PT SMART, Agung Purnomo, said that the company is committed to supporting orangutan conservation efforts in Indonesia, both through cooperation with conservation organizations, such as OFI and through companys policies to ensure the survival of orangutans in his companys palm oil plantation areas.

The company has also introduced the Zero Tolerance Policy to protect endangered wild animals, which has been carried out through training programs for employees in conserving orangutans.

Conducted a few weeks before International Orangutan Day every August 19, the release of the orangutans was witnessed by a representative from the Natural Resources Conservation Hall and Tanjung Puting National Park Hall, PT SMART Managing Director for Sustainability and Strategic Stakeholder Engagement Agung Purnomo, as well as Professor Birute Galdikas, Founder and President of Orangutan Foundation International.