Photo: Andrew Walmsley

The Barcelona Zoo Foundation and the Borneo Nature Foundation will be jointly promoting projects for the conservation and protection of the natural habitat of the Bornean orangutan in Indonesia. The two organisations have signed a new agreement that strengthens the cooperation framework established in 2021, with the aim of protecting orangutan populations on the island, both through initiatives to preserve and restore the forests in which they live and through environmental awareness activities aimed at the local population.

Through this agreement, the Barcelona Zoo Foundation will provide support for the field conservation initiatives that the Borneo Nature Foundation is running in Sebangau National Park and the Rungan area, in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. One the areas where work has started is the protection of the species’ natural habitat. The Borneo Nature Foundation has several teams on the ground who work to combat deforestation and forest fires, while restoring degraded or burnt zones through reforestation projects. The Borneo Nature Foundation works to establish new protected areas in the Rungan area, creating a new green biodiversity corridor to ensure the long-term viability and connectivity of orangutan populations. 

In terms of research, the agreement includes monitoring the orangutan population, supporting surveillance and monitoring, and mapping priority conservation areas by creating new fieldwork teams and research expeditions. 

The Barcelona Zoo Foundation will also support outreach initiativesand environmental education programmes targeting local populations in Sebangau and Rungan. The work will focus on implementing training modules for children and adolescents in schools and community groups to promote environmental education and awareness of the need to preserve natural heritage and the existing orangutan populations. 

 “This agreement is a clear example of the role Barcelona Zoo plays in conservation, scientific research and education efforts regarding wildlife and its habitat, especially in relation to threatened species,” says the first deputy mayor and president of the Barcelona Zoo Foundation. “The Zoo carries out this work through universities, research centres and organisations such as Borneo Nature Foundation, highly committed to studying and protecting the orangutans' natural habitat.”   

Further “The collaboration agreement with Barcelona Zoo is a major step forward in integrating understanding, participation and awareness-raising regarding the current ecological crisis, together with strategies for species and ecosystem conservation in the field,” notes Bernat Ripoll Capilla, co-director of the Borneo Nature Foundation. “Local conservation, protection and restoration initiatives for tropical ecosystems and species that live in them are an essential part of global strategies to mitigate climate change.”

Zoo de Barcelona, a leader in the protection of critically endangered species

Zoo de Barcelona actively works on conservation, scientific research and education efforts in relation to wildlife and its natural habitats, with special focus on native and critically endangered species. It carries out this work in collaboration with other zoos, universities, scientific institutions and organisations, such as the Borneo Nature Foundation, following the guidelines established by the research committees of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Bornean orangutan as a critically endangered species. Deforestation and fires in the Borneo and Sumatra jungles have caused severe habitat loss and fragmentation, leading to a major decline in populations in recent decades. According to IUCN figures, in the last 40 years, the orangutan population has declined by almost 65%, and only 20% are in protected areas. If current trends continue, in the next 50 years the species may disappear altogether.

As part of the EAZA, Barcelona Zoo currently works with 36 institutions on various orangutan conservation programmes in Borneo. The Zoo itself is home to six members of the species.  

In addition, the Barcelona Zoo Foundation is working with the Evolutionary Biology Institute on the genetic analysis of the most recently described orangutan species, Pongo tapaluniensis. This project is crucial in terms of obtaining more information to characterise the species and contribute to international conservation efforts.

An organisation committed to conserving biodiversity in Indonesia

The Borneo Nature Foundation is a non-profit organisation which since 1999 has been working in the field of conservation and research to protect wildlife, the environment and indigenous cultures on the island of Borneo, Indonesia. The organisation’s field work includes high-quality scientific research as a basis for protecting and managing forests and particular expertise in monitoring the distribution, population status, behaviour and ecology of flagship species such as the orangutan, gibbon and clouded panther. The Borneo Nature Foundation’s programmes also support and empower local community-led initiatives to protect forests and biodiversity, including surveillance teams, fire-fighting units, environmental education and the replanting and restoration of damaged forests.