11 July 2018

Dear supporter

Please allow the Board of Directors of Save the Orangutan to provide some comments on the media coverage last week of Lone Dröscher Nielsen and her relationship to Save the Orangutan.

With these comments we wish to convey our sincere appreciation for your invaluable support to the orangutans and their plight as well as rectifying some of the misleading information that circulates.

The founding of Nyaru Menteng

It is our wish to emphasise that without the remarkable contribution from Lone Dröscher Nielsen throughout the years in supporting the orangutans many things would have been very different. Her contribution will always be well worth acknowledging and it is due to this that it has been possible to create the basis for the current organisation that has become one of the many strong European partners for the dedicated work of the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation in Indonesia.

BOS Foundation was founded in 1991 by Willie Smits. In 1999 BOS Foundation entered into an agreement with the Indonesian Government on the Central Kalimantan Orangutan Reintroduction Program including the founding and running of a rehabilitation centre for orangutans in Nyaru Menteng. Lone Dröscher Nielsen’s spouse at the time, Odom Kisar, was appointed as the leader of the program, and Lone Dröscher Nielsen was employed at the centre. From 2002 till 2010 she was a highly accomplished manager of the rehabilitation centre Nyaru Menteng dedicated to helping the orangutans.

The co-operation and the development of Nyaru Menteng

As many people will know Lone Dröscher Nielsen had to leave Nyaru Menteng in 2010 due to severe illness and she has since been residing in Wales. Lone Dröscher Nielsen thus ceased to be a manager of Nyaru Menteng in 2010 and has since had to adjust to a new role in as far as her work with the orangutans is concerned. BOS Foundation, which is and always has been responsible for the running of the centre, has in turn continued their lifesaving work in the many years since Lone Dröscher Nielsen left Nyaru Menteng.

The severity of the situation for the Critically Endangered orangutans did not abate in the years after 2010 and the work has become ever more important since Lone Dröscher Nielsen had to leave her position. It has been necessary to continue the development of the centre including appointing new and competent managers in place of Lone Dröscher Nielsen. Those managers have subsequently been part of the most stable and successful period in BOS Foundations almost 30-year history. Fortunately BOS Foundation has many qualified and dedicated employees and Nyaru Menteng is now a centre employing 183 people out of a total of 422 in BOS Foundation.

Red Orangutangen T +45 33 93 06 50 Amagertorv 13, 3. sal. E info@redorangutangen 1160 København K. www.redorangutangen.dk Danmark CVR: 36 99 59 47 The major developments of Nyaru Menteng have been possible because of the contributions from supporters like you and with an increase in funding it has been possible to help an increasing number of orangutans. At the same time new knowledge about the orangutans, their habits and the necessary skills they have to learn to survive in the wild continue to be discovered. The BOS Foundations release program commenced in 2012 and across Central and East Kalimantan they have gone on to reintroduce almost 350 orangutans. Achieving this goal is the crowning glory of the work to help the rescued and rehabilitated orangutans. In 2015, in recognition of BOS Foundations incredible achiements, particularly the work on the release program, the CEO of BOS Foundation, Dr. Jamartin Sihite received the GRASP – Ian Redmond Conservation Award. This prestigious award is a United Nations initiative that recognises and encourages innovation and leadership in the field of great ape conservation. Some of you will know Dr. Jamartin Sihite from his inspirational talk in the Cultural Centre on Islands Brygge in Copenhagen last month regarding the work of BOS Foundation and his love for the orangutans.

The end of the cooperation

Since the time Lone Dröscher Nielsen had sufficiently recovered from her illness and was ready to work again varying Boards of Directors and varying managers in Save the Orangutan have worked hard to help her adjust to the different position she was in following her relocation to Wales. Unfortunately these efforts have been in vain. BOS Foundation has made it clear that all visitors as well as advisors and employees on the projects have to meet the terms and conditions applicable in BOS Foundation. BOS Foundation has indicated to Save the Orangutan that these terms and conditions have not been met by Lone Dröscher Nielsen and there have been as a result consistent issues during her subsequent occasional visits to Nyaru Menteng after 2010.

In 2015 BOS Foundation offered Lone Dröscher Nielsen an Advisory role in accordance with a draft Terms of Reference. Lone Dröscher Nielsen did not accept this offer and did not provide BOS Foundation with feedback on the draft. Significant efforts have been made by Save the Orangutan in collaboration with BOS Foundation to reach an agreement with Lone Dröscher Nielsen on her future on-going role, but sadly is has not been possible to reach a result that satisfies all parties including BOS Foundation. This is not a conflict following the appointment of a new CEO of Save the Orangutan, but has been an ongoing challenge over the years since Lone Dröscher Nielsen left her employment at Nyaru Menteng in 2010. It is not possible for anyone to accept the non negotiable conditions demanded by Lone Dröscher Nielsen as part of a continued co-operation.

The relationship between Lone Dröscher Nielsen and the UK branch of Save the Orangutan ceased at the end of 2017 while the relationship with the Danish branch ceased in April 2018. Save the Orangutan has provided information on this in the annual report issued via the newsletter as of 24 May 2018.

The mission of Save the Orangutan remains unchanged

Program managers from Save the Orangutan monitor the various projects on Borneo that are supported by the organisation on a regular basis. In addition Save the Orangutan collaborates with other organisations and experts nationally as well as internationally in order to ensure best practices are in place, including where the welfare of the animals is concerned.

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Save the Orangutan is still the only Danish organisation officially supporting the hugely important work of BOS Foundation through the adoption program. The mission of Save the Orangutan remains unchanged: We are dedicated to saving the Critically Endangered Bornean orangutan and its rainforest habitat and we are aiming to achieve this in a close and fruitful collaboration with BOS Foundation.

The information we are able to provide is restricted by the fact that it relates to a former employee. As an employer we have a responsibility towards every employee former as well as current. We will always fulfil our responsibilities in this regard and hope that you acknowledge this.

It is regrettable that Lone Dröscher Nielsen has chosen to end our co-operation in the way she has. Her actions only serve to negatively impact orangutan conservation efforts and we do not condone such actions.

It is our sincere hope that you will continue your invaluable support to the Critically Endangered Bornean orangutans. They are always the focus and centre of our work – and your support is of immense importance now more than ever.

Thank you for your time and attention. We hope we have been able to provide clarity on the recent media coverage surrounding our relationship with Lone Dröscher Nielsen as well as answering some of the questions that may have arisen. Otherwise please do not hesitate to contact the secretariat.

With our best regards

Elin Schmidt Henning Kruse Petersen Jan Martens Thomas Blach

Save the Orangutan T +45 33 93 06 50 [email protected]

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