OuTrop’s goal is to support conservation activities in Central Kalimantan through two important avenues: (i) conservation-orientated research, providing important information for, and training to, local conservation practitioners; and (ii) encouraging and supporting locally-led conservation initiatives, via the provision of funds, expertise, capacity building, international and media contacts, and logistical support.

Our research objectives:
1. To provide information and feedback to conservation practitioners and policy makers through monitoring changes in the forest over space and time, in relation to changes in the nature and intensity of anthropogenic threats. This includes research into:
        
          a.     Orang-utan population status and behavioural ecology

          b.      Gibbon population status and behavioural ecology

          c.      Felid population status and behavioural ecology

          d.      Forest structure and floral species composition

          e.      Forest productivity

          f.       Indicators of ecological disturbance to assess changes in forest condition in response to human activities

2. Documenting and assessing the nature and intensity of different threats in the region, and researching and implementing techniques through which these may be tackled. This includes:

          a.      Damming illegal logging canals to restore natural hydrology

          b.      Establishing techniques to regenerate forest in disturbed areas

3. Producing novel insights into the behaviour and ecology of the area’s flagship ape species – orangutans and gibbons – including single-species studies, comparisons between the three populations in Sabangau, and comparisons between Sabangau populations and those studied at other sites.

4. Local scientist and community member training and capacity building

5. Disseminating information to local, national and international stakeholders to inform research and policy in this and other areas