On the 6th of July, BOS UK and The ICCF* Group co-hosted “Connecting Parliament and the Rainforest.” It was a celebration of the new partnerships developing between government officials, conservationists, and other stakeholders, such as The Ferrero Group (think Ferrero Rocher!), who are determined to protect Bornean orangutans and their habitat. We were honoured to have the Indonesian Ambassador speak and Members of The House of Commons and The House of Lords in attendance. Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent West, opened the speeches…
BOS UK’s CEO Ben Callison with Ms. Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East
“Imagine an astronaut shooting up to space in a rocket.”
Barry’s unusual yet captivating astronaut analogy likened the gift exchange between humanity and extraterrestrials to orangutans’ complex role within ecosystems. Their gift to humanity: a thriving rainforest in Borneo, one of the primary lungs of the planet, that supports our beloved Earth. He continued by saying that politics is essentially how we all figure out how to live together, and that includes living peacefully with orangutans.
A Special Guest
Making a special guest appearance was His Excellency Dr. Desra Percaya, the Indonesian Ambassador to London. He welcomed international support for fair and sustainable supply chains and applauded the attention to Indonesia’s ecological system. As a country rich in desirable products, whether that be palm oil, paper, or minerals, it will take a global force to ensure the rainforest is protected.
Photo of Orangutan with hors d’oeuvres
Zoos Take to the Wild
Welcomed for their long history of work to protect orangutans and their rainforest in Borneo, Dr. Simon Dowell of Chester Zoo took the stage. Chester Zoo partners with the local Bornean conservation group HUTAN, operating in the Kinabatangan UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The project is run by the indigenous Orang Sungai community to restore rainforest habitats and create green wildlife corridors for orangutans to move safely across fragmented landscapes. They also helped Chester become the world’s first “Sustainable Palm Oil City” in 2019.
Protecting Our Own Future
In his closing remarks, BOS Foundation’s Dr. Jamartin Sihite urged businesses and policymakers to forge a path forward where communities, especially local communities, can do just what his fellow speakers described: coexist without conflict. He challenged the audience to help put him out of business by addressing the causes of orangutan decline first and foremost. BOS Foundation will continue its sanctuary and rehabilitation programmes, but corporate and government change is what will stop the flow of more injured and orphaned orangutans into BOS’s care, as well as the destruction of essential rainforest. Very plainly, he stressed that protecting them is essential to protecting our own future.
*ICCF is the International Conservation Caucus Foundation that partnered with BOS UK to host MPs on an intensive site visit to Borneo to see BOS Foundation’s orangutan conservation work first-hand–and yes, it included Forest School!
Text by: BOS-UK
Will you help us rescue, rehabilitate, and release orangutans back to freedom? Thank you!
