We talk to globally respected forest conservationist Dr Marc Ancrenaz, Co-director of the NGO Hutan, which has been pushing for a sustainable future for wildlife and people in Malaysian Borneo since 1998. 

After an incredible summer celebrating the Olympics in Tokyo, here in Britain the British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums are handing out gold, silver and bronze to some of the very best projects among zoo conservation in their annual awards.

A tough year of Covid lockdown hasn’t halted conservation efforts led by the all-female reforestation team of our partner NGO (non-governmental organization) on Malaysian Boreno, Hutan.

The African elephant, now considered two separate species, is closer to extinction than ever before, a pivotal moment for earth’s largest land animal. There’s so much we can still do to save elephant populations, so where do we go from here?

This week we celebrate our 90^th Birthday! To commemorate this special date, we’re sharing our conservation journey by reflecting on some of our most significant projects from the early years.

The Malaysian state of Sabah is home to around 11,000 orangutans, and a number of endemic birds, a significant percentage of which reside in the Kinabatangan Floodplain which is under intense pressure due to habitat fragmentation and deforestation for agriculture, namely oil palm production.

The Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary is an area of exceptional biodiversity and its protection is key to the future survival of many other species including the endemic proboscis monkey, Bornean elephant and hundreds of endemic birds.

Working alongside conservation organisation HUTAN, our support for the various projects in the region approach conservation holistically, combining scientific research with education and protection and management of wildlife habitat. Local communities are heavily involved in project activities, with the ultimate aim of providing sustainable solutions for the long term survival of orangutans and the people who live alongside them. To this end, employment of local community members in the project and education staff has continued to be a focus of our support.

Connecting the fragmented habitat is a long term goal, and strategies so far have included the reforestation of sites and the erection of orangutan bridges to facilitate movement of primates around the sanctuary. Eight species of hornbill inhabit the Kinabatangan region and research is ongoing into the ecology of these species following an initial rapid assessment of the hornbill population in 2012.

Artificial nest boxes have been constructed and erected and are currently being trialled in the forest; data on their use will be used to guide further developments into this project.  Our support extends to a health advisory role for wildlife disease and biosecurity protocols.