SDG 13 - Climate Action
The trip of Ernst and part of his family to the rainforest in Kalimantan (Indonesian part of Borneo) last July 2022 inspired us to participate in the rainforest conservation project Long
Sam.
The project is called LONG SAM like the area and includes the protected areas Wehea with 22,000 hectares, Lesan with 13,000 hectares and the Wildlife Rescue Centre with 45 hectares
For another area Meroq with 45,000 hectares, chanceforchange e.V. is currently establishing an Indonesian Yayasan (NGO) in Berau/ East Kalimantan, which is necessary for the work on
site.
The project is a cooperation with fansfornature e.V., the legal Indonesian branch Hutan Masa Depan and the Indonesian NGO CAN Indonesia.
The problem: deforestation through burning, palm oil plantations, mining.
Mission: Animal rescue and reintroduction. Rainforest protection and reforestation, Revitalisation of the Dayak economy and culture in East Kalimantan.
Read here how we have been working with fansfornature e.V. since 2021.
The Meroq research team, funded by our supporters from Germany, discovered this wonderful wildlife in the Meroq rainforest area in February 2023. See pictures.
This shows that the Meroq Forest Reserve is one of the remaining habitats for these protected bird species and mammals that are already threatened with extinction.
We have now received a 170-page research report and will publish a summary soon.
Thanks to regular donors and their financial support, we can relieve the burden on our partner organisations and give the following people with talent and will a chance to continue their valuable work by financing their monthly salaries - and thus also help to ensure that the actions already created for climate protection through rainforest conservation in Kalimantan continue to be carried out sustainably.
In the picture on the right, veterinarian Dr. Aulia Malik Fajar from Banda Aceh/North Indonesia is still in university in Banda Aceh. Besides his veterinary studies at the Syiah Kuala University
in Banda Aceh, he has already taken part in the 4th international Symposium for Wildlife and completed further training in wildlife management in Jakarta and Medan, among other places.
Dr. Fajar is also a member of the One-Health Collaboration Center at the University Syiah Kuala in Banda Aceh.
Thanks to the donations, we can financially support Dr. Fajar's monthly salary of about 220€ since May 2023.
In order to relieve the project manager of the rainforest protected areas Wehea and Lesan, we have taken over the financing of the salary of project manager Bayu from Malang, Java. Bayu will be
in charge of the new Meroq rainforest reserve in East Kalimantan on a long-term basis. He has 9 years of experience in conservation projects in Aceh, East Java, Bali, East Kalimantan and Africa.
Bayu speaks English very well and is learning German very quickly.
We have been supporting Bayu since January 2023 with a monthly salary of 940€. With this, he can pay for his accommodation and living expenses and financially support his wife in
Java.
The Wildlife Rescue Centre has only been in existence since 2021 and accordingly there is still a lot to optimise.
Our Christmas campaign for people, animals and nature resulted in a total donation of 16,850€.
With this we can pay for the complete wish list and much more. First of all, the team will soon be given a health check-up and any necessary vaccinations that have been missed will be made up
for. Their health is an important prerequisite for their work in the rainforest. At this point, we would like to thank all our supporters once again.
In Long Sam, Ernst and his family still saw a lot of lush green, hardly any animals and, unfortunately, 200-year-old felled trees, kilometre-long palm oil plantations and many oil transporters.
The last habitat of the wild animals living there is in danger.
The Wildlife Rescue Centre on site is therefore a solution. It has only existed since 2021 and is therefore still expandable.
Due to deforestation and slash and burn, wildlife habitat in Kalimantan has been reduced by about 30 percent. Some species are now threatened with extinction.
Fortunately, there are now a few orangutan sanctuaries but hardly any sites that care for endangered animals such as the Sunda pangolin, helmeted hornbill, sun bear and gibbons.
The Wildlife Rescue Centre captures precisely these and cares for them until they are gently reintroduced into a protected area.
With the funding of the desired measures and material and accessories, these animals will continue to have a place of refuge at the Wildlife Rescue Centre and the veterinarian and her team will
be able to work professionally and sustainably in the future. Below is a short video showing the work of the Wildlife Rescue team.
The Balinese artist group Bali Five gives 30% of the proceeds from the art sales to the rainforest conservation project in Kalimantan.
The proceeds from the art sales from the first exhibition in Bali in 2022 of €3100 is used for a solar installation at Camp Lesan.
In April 2023 we have been given free space in a venue in the heart of Bali for Bali Five N°2, entitled Animal Kingdom. An exhibition catalogue is in the works and will be
published.
Thanks to the proceeds from the sales of Bali-Five artworks, we were able to finance a solar installation for the village of Lesan.
The villagers of the Long Sam area often have power cuts and sometimes no electricity for days.
We hope to have provided a better power supply in Lesan in everyday life and in case of emergency.
The only road into Wehea camp was destroyed by heavy rains in early 2022.
Thanks to our supporters, we were able to help put in an excavator.
A big help for the locals who are rebuilding the road so that it is passable again.
It all started in April 2021 with chanceforchange-sponsorship for a female orangutan with the organisation Fans for Nature e.V..
We met the founder of Fans for Nature e.V. Helmut Huber through an artist in Germany who supports our Art Helps project and who is very enthusiastic about the work of Fans for Nature e.V..
