Save the Orangutan receives DKK 15 million from CISU

Save the Orangutan has been approved as a program organization of Civil Society in Development (CISU) by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This also means an important grant of DKK 15.3 million for the work on Borneo.

Together with the local partner organizations BOS Foundation and Borneo Nature Foundation, Save the Orangutan will continue to develop the work to protect rainforests and natural resources, as well as secure sustainable sources of income and rights to the forest for the locals. The program also helps protect the wild orangutans.

“We now have the opportunity to work stably and long-term with our efforts in Borneo. This support means that we will receive a fixed grant in five program areas for the next four years. It also means that we now can work with a unified strategy for all our work areas in Borneo,” explains Marie Sigvardt, program manager at Save the Orangutan.

Rights of indigenous people

The program is titled “Forest Guardians” and has a particular focus on indigenous people living in or near the rainforest. The indigenous often have a long tradition of living in harmony with nature and that makes them the right people to be guardians of the forest.

However, in order to protect the forest and at the same time use it for livelihood, it is necessary for the locals to acquire the rights to the areas where they live. It’s a complicated bureaucratic process that requires them to be well versed in applying for permits, managing the forest and much more. Helping them with this is therefore an important part of Save the Orangutan’s program.

New sources of income

The program also contains a lot of other things. For example, exploring opportunities for locals to find new ways to make a sustainable living. It can, for example, be managing and protecting the rainforest through patrolling. It can also be to give input to political decisions on Borneo within the framework of nature conservation and indigenous rights.

Save the Orangutan would like to thank CISU and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and looks forward to continuing the work for the locals, the rainforest and the orangutans of Borneo.