The Mawas Conservation Program is a proven model for large-scale forest restoration. With our project partner Weleda, our teams on the ground are actively assisting in the management of 309,000 hectares of peatland to reduce the risk of forest fires, strengthen the local communities, and protect habitat for the Bornean Orangutan.
The 309,000 hectare Mawas Conservation Area in Central Kalimantan is one of the BOS Foundation’s key program sites on the island of Borneo. The history of the site is one of the most devastating examples of a failed, large-scale rice cultivation project.
Today, the area is home to one of the largest Bornean orangutan populations in the world, composed of approximately 2,550 wild orangutans. The peatland on which it sits is a globally significant store of carbon.
Since 2006, the BOS Foundation has been working in partnership with local communities and the local government to lead a major restoration program for this heavily degraded forest area. Also, in collaboration with support of university scientists, the Tuanan Research Station carries out ground-breaking research in the fields of wild orangutan behaviour and peatland ecology.
EVOLVING PARTNERSHIP
In 2019, Weleda, a leading manufacturer of organic cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, in partnership with BOS Germany, joined the BOS Foundation efforts in supporting orangutan and habitat conservation in the Mawas Conservation Area. The collaboration represents a multi-faceted project, combining approaches that include community empowerment, reforestation, peat restoration, forest fire management, and biodiversity monitoring, among other activities.