What We're Reading
Barcelona's Puyol helping save orangutans
- UN News Centre, Wednesday, December 7, 2011 2:46 AM
Barcelona captain and Spain world champion Carles Puyol is the face of a new United Nations campaign to save endangered orangutans that could face extinction within the next few
decades.
Puyol is the centerpiece of the campaign's "I Care -- Do You?" posters that asks supporters to visit a web site
that provides information on orangutan conservation, reforestation, and the impact of palm oil production on orangutan habitats. For every individual who pledges support on the web site, the UN's
Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) will plant a tree to help expand key forests surrounding Sumatra’s Gunung Leuser National Park, a major orangutan habitat.
"The plight of the
orangutan is an issue that touches me profoundly,” says Puyol. “When I was asked if I would support the campaign, I didn’t hesitate. Time is running out fast for these magnificent
great apes and I’m proud to be part of efforts to save them.”
GRASP Coordinator Doug Cress says, “Orangutans face a very real threat of extinction,
perhaps within the next few decades. It will take a significant effort by leaders across all walks of life to halt this crisis, and we are very pleased that Carles has stepped up.”
