CORE Borneo (Conserving Orangutans through Research and Education; “CORE”) is organized to support orangutans and tropical peatland forest conservation by conducting scientific research, training future scientists, providing environmental education, and engaging local communities in conservation. CORE activities are based in the region surrounding the Tuanan Orangutan Research Station, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Thus, we take a multifaceted approach to orangutan conservation by working together with local schools and communities, government officials, and local NGOs to promote the conservation of orangutans and their habitats. We are pleased to be involved in ape research and conservation, contributing to regional, national, and international Orangutan Action Plans.
Our research, conservation, and education activities take place within the Mawas Reserve, a region targeted by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation in 2003 to protect 309,000 hectares of peatland forest habitat in Central Kalimantan in collaboration with local governments and communities. The Mawas Reserve is recognized as an important source of global carbon storage and is estimated to provide habitat for approximately 3,500 orangutans, one of the largest remaining wild populations. The Tuanan Orangutan Research Station lies within the Mawas Reserve, and is led by an international team of scientists dedicated to deepening our understanding of orangutan behavior and the influence of habitat degradation on their ecology. CORE aims to promote not only the long-term conservation of this valuable habitat and the orangutans that reside there, but also to support the training of Indonesian students in biological and conservation sciences. We also engage the local community by providing numerous training, educational, and employment opportunities.
Research
CORE will conduct research projects focusing on orangutan behavior, ecology, and health. Our research takes place in the Mawas Conservation Area, Central Kalimantan Indonesia. The Mawas Reserve was identified as a conservation target area, not only to preserve the ecologically valuable peatland ecosystem, but also to protect the critical habitat it provides for approximately 3,500 wild orangutans. With our ongoing long-term research we are generating a unique set of interdisciplinary data that will provide important insights into the conservation and management of wild and re-introduced orangutan populations. To this end, we are collecting detailed data on the orangutan population at TORP, with a focus on three types of data collection activities: 1) behavioral observations; 2) non-invasively collected biological samples; and 3) monitoring spatial and temporal variation in forest characteristics. Our goal is to provide additional funding to undergraduate and graduate students (both Indonesian and International) to support orangutan and peatland research activities. This research will be the basis for developing educational materials (see below). Each year, the Board of Directors, with the advice of technical and public policy experts, will approve meet to approve which results from research projects will be incorporated into our lesson plans.
With the financial assistance of foundations, private donors, and the public, CORE will collect data on orangutans and will incorporate the results of its research into written materials that are accessible to members of the general public, as well as to zoos, orangutan rehabilitation centers, grassroots leaders and policymakers. These materials will be announced through social media to ensure that the general public is aware of their availability. It is our hope that we will raise enough funds though donors that CORE will be able to sponsor workshops on results of the research for citizens and community leaders.
While CORE may express a point of view or set forth recommendations on an issue, all publications will be written with a view toward exploring the broad range of approaches and solutions to complex issues in order to ensure a full and open-minded presentation of the facts. For each project, the Board of Directors will approve resulting publications.
CORE’s Board of Directors, officers, and staff are qualified by educational and professional experience to direct and conduct research on orangutans and the environment. Each Director has been active in education, environmental and community organizations and on projects related to the environment.
Environmental Education and Conservation
In 2009, the Conservation Strategies and Action Plan for Indonesian Orangutans emphasized the empowerment of local communities via education and involvement as the most effective way of promoting orangutan and forest conservation. We began implementing these recommendations in 2011, when the management partners, led by Dr. Vogel, at TORP implemented an environmental education program in elementary schools in the TORP vicinity. This program was established to build awareness of local conservation issues through education and to provide local communities with the foundation to sustainably manage their natural resources over the long term. Thus, since 2011, we have worked together with local school officials (Education Department of Kapuas) and teachers to introduce this program in two nearby elementary schools. At the beginning of 2015, we began expanding this program to five additional communities, and engaging the adults in these communities as conservation partners through environmental education. We plan to expand the elementary school program into two additional schools later this year, and to develop new forest-based learning activities. This program has been embraced by the local community, and the students have benefited from improved education in the classroom, as well as participation in forest field trips, a reforestation project, community cleanups, and special puppet shows about orangutan conservation presented by the children to the entire community. We aim to establish this NGO as a platform to raise funds for the expansion of our environmental education program and the development of outreach activities and materials to promote the engagement of local communities in orangutan conservation.
Adult Education and Employment
TORP currently employs approximately 15 members of the local community, most of whom were working as miners and loggers prior to working with us. These local people now have stable full-time work, providing them with alternative livelihoods that don’t rely on destructive environmental practices. Furthermore, they are directly engaged in our research and education activities, and thus well informed about local conservation issues. Thus, by strengthening the educational base of the entire community, we are promoting the conservation of orangutans, the forest, water sources, and biodiversity. By continuing to involve local community members within our research project and education programs in local communities, we aim to increase public awareness of the immediate threats to orangutans and peatlands in the Mawas Reserve as well as the importance of their conservation. The knowledge we provide to community members will allow them to better understand the consequences of destroying peatlands and help them become more informed about and supportive of national laws that promote the conservation of forests and orangutans. In these remote areas with poor access to education and information, there is often little understanding of conservation laws, and locals are often misinformed and thus unsupportive of conservation policy and the establishment and management of protected areas.
CORE BORNEO 