Ozi: Voice of the Forest | How to Help Orangutans 🦧 - SOS

Watched Ozi: Voice of the Forest? Here’s what to do next.

Ozi: Voice of the Forest is an animated film about an orphaned orangutan named Ozi. She becomes a social media sensation and uses her platform to raise awareness about the plight of her rainforest home.

The film delivers a strong message about using your voice to create change and the importance of preserving rainforests. But, you might be left wondering how exactly to do that. What actions can we each take as individuals to make a difference? At SOS, we’re here to help.

Summary

One of the best ways to help protect orangutans is to donate to or fundraise for conservation charities like SOS.
One of the most effective things you can do is to support sustainable palm oil, instead of boycotting it.
It is easy to choose sustainable palm oil. Many products feature the RSPO certification label.
Most conservation experts and organisations agree that supporting sustainable palm oil is better than a blanket boycott.

Ozi: Voice of the Forest | How to Help Orangutans 🦧

How kids can help to protect orangutans like Ozi.

If you’re looking for child-friendly resources, check out our guide on palm oil for kids. This easy-to-read page explains how children can protect orangutans and help to preserve the rainforest. We also have a downloadable storybook for children, to help them understand the importance of community-centred conservation.

Are you a teacher? Check out our resources for schools.

Resources for children >>

To protect orangutans and their rainforest homes, we need to ensure that palm oil is grown in the least damaging way possible. Sustainable palm oil production involves helping to halt deforestation, ensuring no harm to endangered species, and reducing carbon emissions.

Historically, rainforests – like those in Sumatra – have been cleared to make way for new oil palm plantations, destroying the precious homes and habitats of endangered species. The palm oil industry has been heavily criticised for its role in deforestation and destructive impacts on ecosystems, wildlife and human rights. And as a result, a lot has changed. In fact, the palm oil industry is transforming far more rapidly than many other deforestation-linked commodities.

Therefore, it is important to distinguish between sustainable and unsustainable palm oil.

Some consumers have chosen to boycott products containing palm oil. However, avoiding palm oil altogether might actually do more harm than good.

Palm oil: what you need to know.

Palm oil is a common ingredient in many products such as food, cosmetics, cleaning products, biofuel and animal feed. It is a highly efficient crop, producing substantially more oil per hectare than alternatives like soybean, coconut, or sunflower oil. Palm oil is a vital commodity for millions of people and is an important part of the economy in producer countries. Avoiding palm oil might actually do more harm than good. So if the answer is not to boycott palm oil, what is it? The solution lies in sustainable palm oil.

Learn more about palm oil >>

The good news is: it’s very easy to choose sustainable palm oil. In fact, over 90% of the palm oil imported into Europe for food is certified as sustainable.

How to protect orangutans and rainforests

Choose sustainable palm oil: Look for products certified by organisations such as the RSPO or use the Palm Oil Scan app. This ensures that the palm oil in the product is sustainable.
Support rainforest conservation: One of the best ways to help protect orangutans is to support conservation charities like SOS. Your donation can support a thriving future for wild orangutans and their precious rainforest homes.
Educate others: We have a long way to go in encouraging consumers to buy sustainable palm oil. Encourage friends and family to make conscious choices and buy sustainable products.
Follow and subscribe: Join our social media campaigns to drive the industry in the right direction – start by following us on Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn. Sign up to our emails to get these updates directly in your inbox.

Experts Respond to Ozi: Voice of the Forest

The vast majority of conservation organisations and experts do not agree with a blanket boycott of palm oil. Our call to the public is to use your voice to demand deforestation-free sustainable palm oil.

Read what the experts have to say

Looking Beyond Palm Oil

At SOS, we’re working towards a future where sustainable, deforestation-free palm oil production is the norm. However, palm oil is just one piece of the puzzle.

From over two decades supporting frontline conservation partners, we know that orangutan conservation is a complex issue, which relies on effective relationships between communities, culture, land and biodiversity. To ensure a secure future for orangutans, we need to design conservation programmes which help orangutans, nature and people thrive, together.

Protect: Our strong relationships with our frontline partners are integral to our impact. We work together to build resilience for orangutans, ecosystems, communities, and climate through solutions that benefit both people and wildlife.
Connect: We support our partners on-the-ground in Sumatra to create “corridors” between isolated rainforest areas to enable orangutans and other wildlife to move freely.
Rewild: We support our frontline partners to work with local communities to restore and rewild rainforests, creating more good quality habitat for orangutans.

By making informed choices and supporting sustainable practices, we can help to preserve these invaluable ecosystems for generations to come. Remember – just like in Ozi: Voice of the Forest – even small actions can create a big impact.