Cambridge Rainforest Appeal boosts hope for Borneo’s orangutans

Marshall of Cambridge has spearheaded the inspirational Cambridge Rainforest Appeal that has raised £200,000 to enable conservation charity, the World Land Trust to fund the purchase of a key wildlife corridor in Borneo. The land purchase is expected to secure the future of 604 Orang-utans, a critically endangered species.

The World Land Trust launched the Borneo project last August when Marshall of Cambridge funded a feasibility study that enabled WLT to deploy their Projects Manager to the Malaysian island. The WLT soon discovered that a project needed to be established urgently to protect a vital corridor of forest between two separated areas of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. By protecting the corridor and forming a continuous reserve area it would be possible to ensure the survival of a large population of Orang-utans which would otherwise be threatened with extinction.

It was apparent that WLT had identified a golden opportunity to help save the much loved Orang-utan, but it was an opportunity with an expiry date. It was imperative that £343,364 was raised by January 2009.

Following the feasibility study and the recommendation Marshall of Cambridge rose to the challenge of raising significant funding from among the Cambridge business community. They formed the Cambridge Rainforest Appeal to engage local support and generously hosted a fundraising evening at their Cambridge Airport Headquarters. Despite the credit crunch the response has been overwhelming with £200,000 being donated to their appeal before the January deadline which has therefore made the land purchase possible.

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