Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme

The SOCP is a collaborative programme involving Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari (YEL), Swiss-based International partner the PanEco Foundation, and the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s Directorate General of Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conservation under several Memoranda of Understanding at both national and regional levels starting in 1999. The SOCP is a multi-faceted programme dealing with all aspects of Sumatran orangutan conservation including a. the confiscation of illegal captive orangutans, their quarantine and reintroduction to form new wild populations, b. education and awareness raising, c. behavioural and ecological research on wild orangutans, c. surveys and monitoring of remaining wild orangutan populations and habitat, and d. habitat protection. As such, SOCP is the principal source of information pertaining to the conservation status of the Sumatran orangutan. In addition to implementing the SOCP, YEL and PanEco together have many years’ experience of community development and livelihoods programmes throughout the region, including humanitarian, health and sanitation projects, ecotourism development, and sustainable organic agriculture programmes.