Orangutans, our highly intelligent fellow primates, are now only found in the wild on two islands, Borneo and Sumatra. Clear-cutting of rainforests for oil palm plantations and other exploitation driven by poverty has destroyed much of their habitat. Seacology has worked with several rural communities to give people their sustainable alternatives.

Many of our projects protect seagrass meadows around islands, from the United Kingdom to the Philippines. These underwater plants are vital food for endangered sea turtles, manatees, and dugongs. They also keep enormous amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere—acre-for-acre, more than any terrestrial forest—providing a global benefit.

On the Caribbean island of Bonaire, we helped save one of the world’s rarest trees from extinction. Only 25 mature Bonaire palm trees were left on earth, and goats and donkeys were eating all the new seedlings. Seacology funded a fence around the trees, and within a year, healthy new ones were taking root. After the success of this simple but effective intervention, the local government is discussing enlarging the reserve.