Willie Smits is saving Borneo, one orangutan at a time

…My heart’s in Accra - Willie Smits is saving Borneo, one orangutan at a time:

"...To save orangutans, Smits needs to save forests. To save forests, he’s trying an incredibly ambitious experiment - rebuilding a forest in Samboja Lestari, an area in eastern Borneo that had been turned into a biological desert through deforestation. With all large trees gone, all other plants died, leaving a waste of dry grasses… and desperate human poverty.

In cooperation with the Indonesian government, Smits has transformed the environment and created over 3000 jobs. The project has reintroduced bird, lizard and primate species, and has mitigated both floods and fires. But it hasn’t been easy [...]"