ABConservation is the only association in the world dedicated to the study and protection of the binturong. Since 2014, the NGO has been raising public awareness on the threats that this little-known and vulnerable mammal from Southeast Asia is facing.
The association is active in three main areas in Europe and in Asia:
- In France and England, Pauline Kayser (the director) leads the main focus on education and awareness, with interventions in zoos, conferences, workshops, and also during the World Binturong Day (2nd Saturday of May). The purpose is to put the binturong in the spotlight, talk about biodiversity conservation, and more generally protection of the environment. Several ex-situ studies are also conducted by the French team. This year’s study project focuses on feeding behaviours and practices of binturongs in captivity.
- In The Philippines, the work is also spread on the same two axes of actions:
– Since 2019, conferences and interventions are organised for a wider audience, particularly during the Binturong Month in May, an extension of the World Binturong Day. In 2024, a new environmental education programme was implemented in elementary schools, as part of the project entitled “From Awareness to Actions for Nature Conservation (FAANC)”. ABConservation also collaborates with Palawan universities to host students for their On the Job Training (OJT).
– More importantly, behind the idea of setting up the association in Palawan, was the desire to develop an in-situ research programme on the binturong based on arboreal camera trapping. The scientific programme called Bearcat Study Programme (BSP) was created as early as in 2017. It is carried out by a team of Palawan indigenous people. At the moment, a radio-tracking project is being launched. It allows the scientific crew to understand better the natural behaviour and ecology of this mainly nocturnal and very elusive animal. Thanks to the knowledge gathered from the field, the goal is to implement concrete actions to protect, not just this arboreal species, but also the biodiversity which surrounds it.
ABConservation faces a lot of challenges, and always tries to go further for binturongs and biodiversity conservation.
