Orangutan Conservation Services Program (OCSP)

Saving the orangutan is about conserving its habitat and reducing other main threats to populations in these forests. OCSP approaches this mission by focusing on selected sites while at the same time working on a broader scale to improve enforcement of existing laws that protect habitat and orangutans; creating mechanisms for long term conservation financing; strengthening the partnerships and coordination of conservation organizations with the private sector and Government of Indonesia agencies; and launching a national and international media and public education campaign for orangutan conservation.

OCSP site selection and action prioritization is informed by the report “Orangutan Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA)” completed in January 2004 by the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. This document is a consensus on conservation priorities by the main orangutan conservation practitioners. This report prioritizes orangutan sites and identifies 11 priority populations in Sumatra and Borneo. Through partnerships with NGOs, government, private sector and communities, OCSP will play a strategic role focusing on the following five major components:

Management and Conservation of Strategic Wild Orangutan Populations and their Habitats

OCSP focuses on selected sites with orangutan populations in Sumatra and Borneo to strengthen their conservation management. Models will be created where activities are undertaken across land use types ranging from ‘production’ to ‘fully protected’ and via partnerships that may include local and international NGOs, industry, and other non-traditional partners. Through grants, subcontracts and partnerships, OCSP will focus activities at the site level on habitat conservation and management by a range of stakeholders including communities, local government, industry and National Park Authorities.

Enforcement of Laws and Regulations that Combat Habitat Destruction and other Threats to Wild Orangutan Populations

OCSP goals include strategies to improve enforcement of laws and regulations that prevent destruction of forest habitat. OCSP works to strengthen implementation of existing legislation and policy on forest management, endangered species management and wildlife trade as well as to assist in the development of new legislation and policy as appropriate. Training is also provided to law enforcement officials and communities in the relevant laws.

Partnership Development

One of the primary challenges for OCSP is to unite and integrate the many diverse efforts that are underway to conserve orangutan populations in the wild and to engage with new partners and develop new approaches necessary to develop a model for orangutan conservation. To this end OCSP is facilitating the formation of a national orangutan multi-stakeholder forum that will be developed into a registered organization with sustained funding so that initiatives can continue after OCSP is completed. The members of the forum will serve as a guiding coalition for orangutan conservation, improving coordination and communications among key actors and focusing on orangutan habitat management and conservation policy. While the forum is being initiated by OCSP and will be mentored for the remainder of the program, it will rapidly be directed by Indonesian stakeholders and will grow in the direction determined by these stakeholders.

Communications and Outreach

OCSP is working with partners on both the regional and national level to get messages out directly, and through the media. OCSP is developing media messages and campaigns to court public opinion and create opportunities for policy engagement with government, industry and other actors to conserve the orangutan.

Sustainable Financing

OCSP is developing a model for sustainability through the national forum and creating a fund that can serve as a clearinghouse for national donor funding of orangutan conservation. OCSP staff and consultants take the lead in seeking out a range of donors from the private and public sectors that are interested in contributing to sustainable financing efforts. OCSP is also exploring alternative means of financing for orangutan conservation including carbon credits through avoided deforestation and debt for nature swaps.

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