The Indonesian economy has been deeply affected by the implementation of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB), in response to the global pandemic. As a non-profit organisation, the BOS Foundation has halted all offline fundraising activities, volunteer efforts, and other activities involving people in groups, until further notice. This is to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and to safeguard our employees from contracting this virus.
The BOS Foundation is fully committed to ensuring that the orangutans in our care are protected from the potential transmission of COVID-19, which could jeopardise their health and the opportunity for them to be released in the forest. Our main focus at this time has been to secure their standard food supply, so we can continue to provide fresh fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious food that is vital in keeping our orangutans healthy. To meet these standards, the BOS Foundation has been working with local farmers to procure food for orangutans. Every month, the orangutans at our rehabilitation centres consume up to 50,000 kilograms of fruit and vegetables, plus hundreds of litres of milk.
With an increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia and the implementation of PSBB in our working areas, local farmers have started experiencing logistical problems that, in turn, are disrupting the food supply for orangutans. Meanwhile, market demand for fresh fruits and vegetables is surging beyond the current, limited production capacity. Ultimately, this has seen local market prices soar, which has put tremendous financial pressure on our facilities.
Closing our rehabilitation centres to help curb the spread of COVID-19 has cut off the funding raised through our in-person activities, which has a vital form of support for our operational activities. The urgency to feed 436 rehabilitated orangutans, the decision to halt in-person fundraising activities, and the increased demand is threatening the welfare of orangutans at our rehabilitation centres, which will ultimately impact on their overall rehabilitation.
Donations from concerned supporters, like yourself, can help ease the financial pressure that our rehabilitation centres are experiencing over the soaring prices of goods due to the imbalance of supply and demand.
Please help us provide food for our orangutans! When we safeguard orangutans, we also safeguard our Earth’s forests and the biodiversity found within them. Click donate now.
The BOS Foundation, together with the KLHK and the BKSDA of Central Kalimantan will soon conduct the 44th orangutan release from the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre to the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park (TNBBBR).
Every year on April 22, we celebrate Earth Day to honour the planet that is home to us all.
It was a usual day at the Nyaru Menteng forest school, where young orangutans were learning from one another while their human surrogate mothers looked on from below.
