Palm oil plantations have replaced a vast majority of the landscape in Sumatra, Indonesia. Mass deforestation has devastated necessary habitat for all living things, including iconic wildlife such as Sumatran orangutan, elephant, rhino, and tiger, which are all now critically endangered.
Give Back Program
With continued destruction of natural habitats around the globe, the falling numbers of endangered species, and the increase of human-wildlife conflict, the necessity to protect Earth’s remaining wilderness becomes more imperative each day. Rainforests are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, home to thousands of species of animals and plants, with new species still being discovered today!
A wild, male Sumatran orangutan spotted in some of the last remaining pristine rainforest of the western-most island of Indonesia.
How Does The Jungle Branch Give Back?
I believe one of the best ways to make a financial impact is to donate funds directly to the boots on the ground doing the work, rather than an umbrella organization (such as red cross) where the full amount of funds rarely end up reaching folks like forest rangers or veterinarians.
Jungle Branch donations go directly to grass roots conservation + food sovereignty organizations in the Peruvian Amazon, the jungle mountains of Sumatra Indonesia, and Western North Carolina.
Fundraiser events, such as the "Shadows of the Oil Palm" lecture, also help raise funds and serve as a platform to spread awareness of the environmental issues surrounding palm oil production.
In Peru and Sumatra organizations like Jungle Keepers, Nature for Change, and the Orangutan Information Centre work with local communities, government, and other local organizations to tackle the extremely difficult, nuanced, and sometimes extremely dangerous work in land and wildlife conservation.
In Western North Carolina the Soul + Soil Project is a cooperatively-stewarded nonprofit organization, promoting regenerative lifestyles through food sovereignty and creativity to benefit and build local communities.
Donation Recipients
OIC staff performing drone recon of protected rainforest border - North Sumatra
Pictured in the slides is a Giant River Otter I photographed in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Due to loss of habitat largely through deforestation and poisoned waterways from logging, gold mining, and big agriculture, this species and many more are listed as endangered.
Protected, pristine rainforest adjacent to the Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra, Indonesia. I helped purchase this land in 2017 through a group effort, and it remains under the guardianship and protection of the Orangutan Information Centre.