This year, we’ve achieved some significant milestones. From supporting communities to secure rights to their ancestral lands to stitching together fragmented forests – these accomplishments show that we are on the right track to securing a brighter future for Sumatra’s orangutans and their rainforest home.
Orangutan conservation is a technical business! In order to map habitats, survey populations, and develop effective strategies to conserve the land, you must have a skilled workforce with expertise in ecology, anthropology, and sustainable livelihoods. In 2024, we continued to invest in boosting the capacity of our frontline partners to ensure they are well-equipped to deliver community-centred orangutan conservation programmes on the ground. This capacity-building programme is funded by the Darwin Initiative and includes upskilling in areas such as social forestry, community engagement, HR and operations.
Social forestry is a transformative approach to forest management that prioritises community involvement. By granting local communities rights to forest resources and empowering them in decision-making, social forestry can strengthen conservation efforts. Gaining social forestry licenses can be an incredibly complex and challenging process. In 2024, SOS and our frontline partners TaHuKah supported forest-edge communities to navigate this process – enabling them to gain rights to their ancestral lands and secure a bright future for wild orangutans.
To illustrate the power of social forestry, let’s explore a real-world example. In Sibagindar Village, SOS supported TaHuKah in facilitating the community to become the proud custodians of a ‘Village Forest’ through Indonesia’s Social Forestry scheme. There are now 600 hectares of primary forest – home to orangutans, tigers and gibbons, amongst countless other species – under community management and protection for the next 20 years. Read the full story here.
The Lae Ordi Corridor in West Toba is a narrow strip of forest connecting the Siranggas Wildlife Sanctuary and Sikulaping Protection Forest. It is important orangutan habitat and – if our frontline partners are able to provide additional protections – would allow orangutans to move freely through the landscape
In 2024, we celebrated a significant milestone in protecting the Lae Ordi Corridor. Our frontline partners, TaHuKah, brought together clan members from across Indonesia to delineate ancestral lands and chart a course for future conservation efforts. This has been the culmination of years of trust-building with forest-edge communities and marked a pivotal moment in the programme. If we are able to protect the Lae Ordi Corridor, then we can link fragmented orangutan habitats to promote genetic diversity, viability and resilience – ultimately supporting a flourishing future for West Toba’s wild orangutans.
| Discover how we and our partners connect orangutan landscapes in our interactive storymap. |
This year, we supported our frontline partners, TaHuKah, to install five canopy bridges across a major road in West Toba. Canopy bridges can help orangutans and other primates to safely cross roads, to increase genetic diversity, reduce conflict with people, and promote the overall health of the ecosystem. We were delighted to see that within just a few weeks, langurs and macaques began using the bridges! You can watch the heartwarming footage of them playing and exploring the bridges here.
These incredible images mark a significant milestone in this project. As primates and other arboreal animals begin using the bridges, we expect orangutans to follow suit. We know from the number of orangutan nests at the side of the road that orangutans are watching and waiting to see if they can trust the bridges themselves. This will provide a safe and efficient way to cross roads and other barriers; a lifeline for West Toba’s orangutan populations.
Now, we have exciting news to share! We have worked with TaHuKah to construct two more bridges in the Batang Toru ecosystem in North Sumatra. This is the only region where the Tapanuli orangutan lives – the most threatened orangutan species with fewer than 800 remaining in the wild. This is a huge step forward for the vulnerable populations in Batang Toru, bringing us ever closer to our vision of wild orangutans thriving in resilient forests.
Rewilding is the process of breathing life back into ecosystems – enabling forests to flourish, wildlife to thrive, and communities to prosper. Within a few short years, cleared landscapes can transform into thriving ecosystems, teeming with life and providing precious habitat for orangutans to build their nests.
Over the past year, our frontline partners Orangutan Information Centre (OIC) produced 55,000 seedlings, consisting of 34 different tree species! But their work doesn’t stop there. Once planted, OIC must maintain the trees; managing threats to tree health and replacing trees that don’t survive. They planted an additional 35,000 saplings across 25 hectares to replace dead trees in reforested areas. Incredibly – due to OIC’s effective methods of growing and maintaining their trees – the saplings have an 80% survival of newly planted trees. Overall, OIC maintained 70 hectares of land, covering both the Selamanya Hutan restoration site and the Singkil Peat Swamp Forest (which is otherwise known as the orangutan capital of the world!).
TaHuKah distributed almost 11,000 durian, cinnamon, coffee and mangosteen seeds to agroforestry farmers in North Sumatra. They supported communities to nurture the seedlings and planted them across 73.5 hectares of land. This programme provides local communities with sustainable sources of food and income, and reduces the reliance on forest-clearing practices. It restores degraded land while enhancing biodiversity and diversifying agricultural lands – truly a win win!
Once a 320-hectare palm oil plantation, the Selamanya Hutan restoration site is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of OIC, the site is returning to its natural splendour. In 2024, hidden cameras captured wildlife returning to Selamanya Hutan. So far, the cameras have spotted wild pigs, macaques, elephants and porcupines exploring these newly forested areas. These images fill us with hope and optimism for a brighter future – and we cannot wait to see what 2025 brings!
As we embark on 2025, we’re filled with excitement and optimism. Although challenges remain for wild orangutans, we enter the new year with a renewed determination – thanks to you, our incredible donors! In the past few weeks alone, you helped raise £100,000 for orangutan conservation, in our most successful Big Give Christmas appeal ever. It is only with your unwavering support and dedication that we have been able to achieve these milestones – thank you!
This past year has reinforced a core foundation of our work: that long-term conservation success is a marathon, not a sprint! It requires unwavering commitment, patience, and a deep understanding of the complexities involved. We pride ourselves in tackling the most strategic yet challenging landscapes, where the path forward is obscured by countless conversations and negotiations. Our work is at the forefront of a shift in how we value, manage, and protect forests. By addressing the root causes of forest loss, we’re securing a sustainable future where people and nature can thrive and flourish, together.
In the coming year, we hope to –
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