The Coffee and Primate Conservation Project
The Coffee and Primate Conservation Project (CAPCP) was founded in 2012, inspired by the idea that economics and ecology can grow together to protect our natural resources. The project primarily focuses on the conservation of endemic primates of the island of Java, such as the silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch) and the Javan surili (Presbytis comata), and their natural habitat in the Central Java province of Indonesia.
Silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch)
The silvery gibbon lives only on the island of Java in Indonesia. It is perfectly adapted to life in treetops. It moves in the branches with the help of long front limbs - brachiation. It can overcome a distance of up to 10 meters with one jump. Like other species of gibbons, it lives in family groups consisting of a parent pair and young of different ages.
Threats to silvery gibbons
The silvery gibbon is an endangered species - due to the cutting down of the rainforests it inhabits, its natural habitat is constantly shrinking. Another threat is the illegal animal trade, in which young are caught and sold on the black market as pets. Their parents die defending their young. About 4,000 animals remain in the wild but the population continues to decline.
CAPCP activities
The coffee brand "Kopi Owa" is a shade-grown coffee produced in the undergrowth of forest trees, thanks to which it helps preserve the habitat of Javanese (and not only) primates. As part of the CAPCP project, research has been going on for almost three years in the natural environment of endangered primate species. In addition to research and other activities, the aim of the project is also to find a sustainable way of livelihood for the community of local people. It is coffee that has become a source of income for these people and thus contributes to the protection of local nature. A network of farmers who live and farm in primate habitats and produce high-quality coffee has been created. Farmers manage coffee production individually and can thus respond to market demand and at the same time receive fair and higher prices for it. "Kopi Owa" coffee has now become a brand that helps protect forests and has been identified as a local product originating from the natural habitat of endangered primates. One of the goals of the project is to improve the enforcement of laws for the protection of the natural environment, research on primates and popularize scientific knowledge to protect gibbons and their environment, and support sustainable economic development in the areas of the natural occurrence of endangered primates through the production of coffee, forest honey, and sugar.
You can learn more at www.swaraowa.org.
How Ostrava Zoo helps
The Ostrava Zoo, together with all its visitors, supports the activities of the Coffee and Primate Conservation Project through the "3 CZK for Wildlife" program. In 2019, Ostrava Zoo also hosted the Ostrava Zoo Charity Run for Gibbons, which raised 200,000 CZK (8,000 EUR) for the needs of the conservation project.
