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Orangutan Foundation International Fights to Save Orangutans from Extinction

Hosts International Orangutan Awareness Week to Involve Public in the Battle

Los Angeles, Calif. - For 32 years, Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas has been working 
deep in the
rain forests of Borneo, Indonesia. With the help of her mentor, Dr. Louis 
Leakey, she
began the first comprehensive study of the orangutan, which featured a 
detailed profile
of their behavior over multiple generations. But over the last ten years her 
mission of a
researcher has evolved into one as conservationist making an all-out attempt 
to save
orangutans from extinction.

As part of its effort to involve the public in orangutan conservation 
efforts, Orangutan
Foundation International, founded by Dr. Galdikas and Dr. Gary Shapiro, is 
sponsoring the
Ninth Annual International Orangutan Awareness Week (IOAW-9).

This year's theme is "Raising Local Awareness to Save the Orangutan."

To help individuals participate this event, scheduled November 7-13, 2004, 
OFI has
launched a new website, www.ioaw.org. The site contains a variety of 
information on
orangutans and tools individuals need to conduct local outreach activities 
and fund-
raising events that will benefit orangutan conservation programs. There are 
activities
for all ages, including a poster contest for children.

The loss of the rainforest in Borneo is staggering. In December 2001, the 
Indonesian
State Ministry of Environment estimated that between 5 million to 6 million 
acres of rain
forest are destroyed each year. Unless extreme action is taken soon, these 
forests could
be gone in less than 10 years, and wild orangutans along with them. 
Biologists believe
that only 50-60,000 orangutans remain in the wild.

Large-scale illegal logging is occurring at an unabated rate throughout 
Borneo in
national parks like Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), the site of Dr. 
Galdikas'
research and a World Heritage Site. As recently as January 2003, at over 22 
illegal
logging sites, loggers were removing hundred-year old trees from the northern 
part of
TPNP. Due to the pressure of the Environmental Investigation Agency, 
Orangutan Foundation
International (OFI), and the U.S. government, the Indonesian government sent 
in a
military unit to remove the illegal loggers in February 2003. For the first 
time in
years, one can hike throughout this area and not hear the continual buzz of 
chainsaws.

The Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) was formed in 1986 with the goal 
of
conserving orangutans and their Bornean rain forest habitat. OFI works with 
the Orangutan
Conservation Forum, a consortium of groups that are working to counter the 
primary
threats to orangutan survival throughout Indonesia. The top five priority 
issues OFI
works on in concert with these partners include:

-Stopping illegal logging

-Increasing sustainable economic alternatives for communities surrounding 
critical
orangutan habitat

-Assuring sustained funding for long-term in-situ orangutan research vital 
for effective
conservation efforts

-Creating a national campaign to instill pride in orangutans and their 
environment

-Releasing ex-captive orangutans into suitable, protected habitat

For more information, visit OFI's website at www.orangutan.org.