The Australian Orangutan Project t/a The Orangutan Project (TOP) is a non-profit registered Australian environmental organisation established in 1998, which raises funds to support the conservation and protection of orangutans and the preservation and rehabilitation of their forest habitats, which are primarily located in Indonesia. It undertakes this work by supporting a range of other organisations working in the field, such as the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS), the Orangutan Foundation International, founded by Dr Birute Galdikas and the Orangutan Foundation. Donations from the public, funds from community events, AOP membership fees, orphan orangutan 'adoptions' and grants from various sources are used to support orangutan care centres, natural forest rehabilitation, forest patrols to eliminate

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...

and protect released animals, and local community awareness initiatives. In 2005, the organisation received over $62,000 from the Australian Government's Regional Natural Heritage Program (RNHP) to develop and implement two orangutan protection units in the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park region in Sumatra and to monitor and deter illegal logging in two regions. This project contributes to the long term conservation of the largest remaining lowland rainforest block in Sumatra. In 2006, TOP won an additional $92,000 from the RNHP to extend the work of the orangutan protection units to better protect the Bukit Tigapuluh mega fauna, including the Sumatran elephant and tiger, through training, monitoring and surveillance activities. AOP also was awarded funds of A$207,500 to undertake a survey of wildlife in Borneo's forests in Malua/Segama. This includes surveys of the Ulu Segama reserve to establish wildlife baseline data and the development of a Forest Management Plan with particular focus on orangutan populations. The Orangutan Project's founder and current President is Leif Cocks. Leif has been working with orangutans for over 30 years. Leif has been awarded a Master of Science from

Curtin University Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...

, Western Australia for his research into the improvement of the welfare of orangutans in captivity. His book Orangutans and their Battle for Survival was published by the University of Western Australia in 2003. He recently published an autobiography titled "Orangutans, My Cousins, My Friends. Leif has been involved with numerous projects and field trips to

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

and

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

, including the first ever release into the wild of an orangutan, known as 'Temara,’ who was born in captivity.Perth Zoo, Western Australia
"News from Bukit Tigapuluh"
. Accessed 1 August 2007.

References

External links

Australian Orangutan ProjectThe Orangutan Foundation
Nature conservation organisations based in Australia 1998 establishments in Australia Orangutan conservation

References

Further reading

External links