About BOS

The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) is a not-for-profit foundation supported by sister organizations around the world. BOS works under an official agreement with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry for the conservation of orangutans and their ecosystem by involving and educating the local people.

BOS is presently running the world's largest primate conservation project and employs more than 200 permanent staff. BOS' interests cover biodiversity issues (flora and fauna), forest rehabilitation, forest inventory and monitoring (through its company PT SarVision Indonesia), agroforestry (to improve local peoples' welfare and education), as well as working with orangutans and other protected wildlife.

BOS was formed in 1991 when Dr Willie Smits, a tropical forest ecologist and senior advisor to the Minister of Forestry of Indonesia, found a sick orangutan in the local market. He managed to keep her alive and was then given a second problematic baby, and had to care for the two of them.

The foundation has a board of trustees to oversee operations and is assisted by a scientific advisory board, which comprises orangutan experts and other specialists from Indonesia and around the world.

Since its incorporation BOS has achieved an enviable track record of success. It has purchased thousands of acres of land to become eternal nature reserves owned by BOS, assisted in the confiscation of more than one thousand orangutans with their subsequent reintroduction into the wild, and educated and provided livelihoods for thousands of local people.

In Australia, BOS Australia is a volunteer organisation which has been raising funds since 2001 to support the two main projects of the Foundation, Nyaru Menteng and Samboja Lestari.

In 2009, BOS Australia's income totalled $341,000 with $317,000 distributed to the projects.  As a largely volunteer organisation, BOS Australia is able to ensure a very high percentage of donor dollars get to where they are most needed - in Indonesia.

BOS Australia aims to support the BOS's activities in Borneo through:
» Fundraising
» Raising public awareness
» Education programmes

BOS Australia has DGR status with donations over $2 tax deductible for Australian tax-payers.

ABN: 46 485 375 414

Bank account details:

      Bank name:       Westpac Banking Corporation      

      Account name: Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Aust.

      BSB: 033 112     Account number: 244 334

10 March 2010
It is no secret that orangutans are threatened with extinction because their rain forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Ten years ago, Shawn Thompson, a writer, former journalist and university professor, set out to chronicle the threat to orangutans in a book released in March 2010. Read Article »

10 March 2010
Research into the long calls of male Orangutans in Borneo has given scientists new insight into how these solitary apes communicate through dense jungle. Read Article »

2 March 2010
'Environmentally-friendly' biofuels have been found to be more harmful to the planet than normal fossil fuel. Read Article »

22 February 2010
BBC documentary shows Indonesian company clearing protected rainforest.

18 February 2010
Gorillas, orang-utans and a cyanide-eating lemur are among the world’s 25 most critically endangered primates, scientists have said. Read Article »

5 February 2010
The European Commission and some EU member states hope to redefine palm oil plantations as "forests," according to a leaked document from the EU executive. Read Article »

26 January 2010
Project to create sustainable palm oil project undermined by Western firms

25 January 2010
Payments to developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation will only succeed if corruption and lack of financial management capacity are addressed, says new report. Read Article »