Blog: Press Releases Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food and OFI continue collaboration to release orangutans and educate people about orangutan conservation

• About 60 orangutans to be released in the next three years
• Create awareness through education to communities and school students about orangutan conservation

JAKARTA, 28 August 2018 – Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food as a global integrated palm-based agribusiness, continues its co-operation with Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) in order to rehabilitate and conserve orangutans. The extension of this collaboration includes an expansion of the scope of co-operation – education of communities and school students about the importance of maintaining biodiversity, including orangutans.

The Company’s effort in protecting rare and endangered animals in Indonesia, is in line with its Forest Conservation Policy since 2011, to not plant in areas that have High Conservation Value. This policy is listed in the GAR Social and Environmental Policy that guides the company in doing its daily operations.

This commitment is strengthened with the implementation of the Zero Tolerance Policy in 2012, which emphasises prohibition to hunt down, kill or take animals that are in the plantation area including rare and endangered animals. This policy is the foundation for all Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food’s wildlife conservation programs and important knowledge for all employees when they join the company.

This advanced co-operation between Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food with OFI for the period of 2018- 2021 was marked symbolically with the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) signing conducted between Daud Dharsono, President Director, Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food, and Prof. Dr. Birute Galdikas, Founder and President of Orangutan Foundation International.

“The Friends of the Orangutan program with OFI will enter the third stage. Since this program started in 2011 until 2017, we and OFI have worked together on biodiversity conservation by releasing 100 orangutans into the wild. Now we will continue the co-operation program until 2021. We will release 60 more orangutans, conduct educational programs and provide operational aid to OFI such as an operational car, speedboat and klotok boat,” said Daud Dharsono.

He added that company has a commitment towards orangutan conservation in Indonesia, through its policies as well as through various co-operation with organisation and agencies that have expertise in the biodiversity conservation like OFI.

The company realises that this conservation effort cannot be done individually. It requires support from all stakeholders. As the first step in the co-operation, besides releasing orangutans, the Company together with OFI, will do socialisation and education activities around orangutan conservation that will target the village communities and school students surrounding the plantation of Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food in the Central Kalimantan region.

“I am very pleased that we can continue the third phase of collaboration with Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food which will include providing training to the company employees, counselling to the community and school students, and releasing orangutans. Since the beginning of our collaboration in 2011, I have seen the seriousness of Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food in protecting the environment and conserving orangutans,” said Prof. Dr. Birute Galdikas.

This round of orangutan conservation and protection is in line with Indonesian government’s policy for protecting this species that is on the brink of extinction in Indonesia. This orangutan release programme is planned for the Seruyan Forest in Central Kalimantan.

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food is very aware that biodiversity has its role to play in supporting a balanced ecosystem. Therefore, the Company will support the effort to ensure conservation as much as possible.

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About Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food, operating as part of Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), is a leading global agribusiness based on palm oil production, with a planted area of more than 500,345 hectares (including plasma smallholders) as at 31 March 2018. The company has an integrated operation producing food made from raw vegetable oils.

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food is focused on sustainable palm oil production. In Indonesia, its primary activities include cultivating and harvesting of oil palm trees; processing of fresh fruit bunch into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel; merchandising and refining CPO into value added products such as cooking oil, margarine, shortening and biodiesel; as well as trading of palm oil products worldwide. It also has operations in China and India including a deep-sea port, oilseeds crushing plants, production capabilities for refined edible oil products as well as other food products such as noodles.

Its parent company, GAR was founded in 1996 and listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1999 with a market capitalisation of US$3.4 billion as at 31 March 2018. Flambo International Limited, an investment company, is currently GAR’s largest shareholder, with a 50.35 percent stake. GAR has several subsidiaries, including PT SMART Tbk which was listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 1992.

For more information about, may contact
Media Team for Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food
Heru Widodo
heru@mediatrustpr.com | +62 812 815 2464