Dr. Cheryl Knott
Associate Professor at Boston University; Executive Director of Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program
Research: Saving the Orangutan through Sustainable Livelihoods around Gunung Palung National Park
Species/Topic: Bornean orangutan
Abstract: Borneo's Gunung Palung National Park is home to the world's largest remaining population of the orangutan sub-species Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii. The park's biologically rich forest ecosystem is threatened by illegal logging, mining, hunting and oil palm plantations. To preserve and protect in-situ the endangered orangutan and its habitat, the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program (GPOCP) will work with local governments and civil society groups in 2011 to raise awareness about the ecological importance of orangutans and the impact of deforestation, champion sustainable management of community forests, strengthen legal protections and welfare protocols for the orangutan, and build strategic in-country conservation capacity. Toward that end, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo funding will support a key 2011 initiative, helping GPOCP cultivate an environmentally-friendly, non-timber forest product economic sector with adequate resources and capacity to be an effective agent of change for better land use and economic development policies that support orangutan conservation.