World Wildlife Fund

WWF has a deep and long-standing commitment to conserving the rich ecological heritage of Borneo and Sumatra. We have brought together local communities, governments, scientific institutions and conservation groups to address the region’s most pressing challenges. 

WWF helped to keep a huge palm oil plantation from gutting the Heart of Borneo.
© WWF-Canon/Alain Compost

Defeating plans to strip the Heart of Borneo

Through a global effort that required work in 22 WWF offices worldwide, WWF successfully defeated a proposal to strip 4 million acres of forests from the Heart of Borneo and replace it with oil palm plantations. We worked with government partners, foreign investors, international scientists, media and local community leaders to defeat the proposal and suggest a more sustainable option.
Learn more about WWF's victory.

Making sustainable forest management a reality

© WWF-Canon/Alain Compost

The Sumatran tiger - the most endangered among the tiger subspecies that still survive in the wild - is under severe pressure due to habitat loss and poaching. In 2004, WWF began the first systematic field survey of tigers in the Tesso Nilo landscape of Sumatra. WWF worked with government partners to improve law enforcement, reduce tiger poaching and alleviate human-tiger conflict. In 2006, WWF published the groundbreaking tiger study.

Conserving elephant habitat

The critically endangered Sumatran elephant is facing serious pressures as its habitat is rapidly converted to plantations. As forests shrink, elephants are increasingly closer to fields and cultivated land, generating conflict with humans that often results in the death of the elephants by poisoning or capture, as well as economic losses to communities.

In February 1999, WWF began establishing a "safe haven" for one of the largest remaining populations of the Sumatran elephant in Riau, Sumatra. By carrying out research on elephants and the nature of the conflicts, and working with local communities and companies, WWF is developing solutions that ensure living space for both people and elephants. A major breakthrough was achieved with the 2004 declaration of Tesso Nilo National Park in Riau, a significant step towards the protection of the elephant's habitat. 

WWF expedition to research pygmy elephants

© WWF-Canon/A. Christy Williams

WWF and Columbia University researchers proved in 2003 that the elephants on Borneo are genetically distinct from other Asian elephants. WWF and the Sabah (Malaysia) Wildlife Department set out on an expedition to capture several pygmy elephants on the island of Borneo and outfit them with high-tech equipment that will allow us to better study the population. For the first time, the movements of Borneo pygmy elephants were monitored via satellite radio collars, providing important insights into their natural history. 

© WWF-Canon/Michel Terrettaz

Indonesia commits to save the orangutan

WWF's orangutan action plan is now the basis for Indonesia's national conservation strategy. The plan identifies priorities for securing populations and key habitats that are or can be linked together to form a genetically stable meta-population. 

The action plan has five components and calls upon communities, government agencies and actors from the private sector to address the greatest threats to orangutans.

• Improved regulation
• Protected habitat
• Reduced poaching
• Conservation incentives and conflict mitigation
• Increased public support

Notable Accomplishments

1960s

• Conducted pioneering benchmark surveys of orangutans and rhinos that set the baseline for conservation projects in Borneo and Sumatra

1970s

• Helped establish Danum Valley National Park—the region’s premier research site for tropical forest ecology 

1980s

• Investigated impacts of logging on wildlife and local economy, prompting state governments to delegate power to local communities on land use decisions 

1990s

• Uncovered illegal logging and wood smuggling, leading to innovative solutions in responsible forestry 

2000s

• Conducted groundbreaking research on Borneo’s pygmy elephants which confirmed they are a new elephant species 
• Established Tesso Nilo National Park on Sumatra to protect critical elephant and tiger habitat 
• WWF network-wide effort defeated world’s largest oil palm plantation proposal, saving 4 million acres of Borneo’s forests