Here at the beginning of the 21st century the very survival of the Sumatran orangutan, our enig- matic Asian relative, is in serious jeopardy. Indeed it is our own generation, and the decisions we make today, that will determine whether the Sumatran orangutan continues to exist in the wild or not. Beyond the obvious ethical issues the species’ extinction would evoke, it would also highlight very obvious societal contradictions. Despite the fact that there is global public support for orangu- tan conservation, that there are significant funds available, and that there are numerous policies and laws in existence to protect orangutans and their habitat, both nationally and internationally, the wild population of the Sumatran orangutan continues to decline sharply and today there are only a very few thousand left.
I have always felt that the discrepancy between the degree of good will and support for conserva- tion, and the reality on the ground, has its roots in our overall approach to development gener- ally. Development normally occurs at the expense of the environment, in a top down approach that excludes many local stakeholders and does not account for the sustainability of local natural resources. Tis is why, after establishing the very first Sumatran orangutan rehabilitation centre in 1973, I have always striven to develop economic activities in synergy with conservation efforts that help to safeguard the natural environment. At first as an individual, and later through the PanEco Foundation, I have for some decades now focussed my efforts on the development and promotion of organic farming, sustainable tourism, and professional environmental education. Tis has led to some pioneering achievements, including in 1978 the foundation of the first environmental conser- vation NGO in Indonesia, the Green Indonesia Foundation, and in 1990 the setting up of the first Indonesian environmental education centre, in Seloliman, East Java. Upon the signing of an MOU with the Indonesian Government in 1999, PanEco began its new Sumatran Orangutan Conserva- tion Programme (SOCP) and built the first fully equipped medical quarantine centre for Sumatran orangutans in 2000. In the ensuing years, the first new, reintroduced population of Sumatran oran- gutans has been successfully established in the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, in central Sumatra.
For these reasons, after almost 40 years of struggle, I warmly welcome this urgently needed report, Orangutans and the Economics of Sustainable Forest Management in Sumatra. Tanks to consider- able support from UNEP, there is now a comprehensive user-friendly document showing clearly that Sumatran orangutan conservation and human well-being are in fact very closely interlinked. PanEco’s successes against the steady destruction of the forests should not be seen as small achieve- ments, but more as the seeds of much bigger changes. Tey represent practical examples for how together we could re-design a society where a living space for the Sumatran orangutan is secured, in harmony with the well-being of the local human population, and with the ultimate benefit of helping establish a globally more sustainable economy. Securing a future in the wild for one of our closest living relatives, the Sumatran orangutan, is a moral obligation, which we simply must fulfil, and on which we will be judged by future generations. Tis report provides both the facts regarding the Sumatran orangutans’ desperate plight in the wild, and the tools to do something about it, and at the same time to benefit some of the most disadvantaged members of human society too! With the publication of this report, no one will be able to use the excuse that they “did not know”.