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Conservation GOING DEEP and DOING IT RIGHT for nature and people

Our Mission

The Alliance for Tompotika Conservation (ALTo) is committed to helping all of nature, including people, thrive.

Our work is centered in Sulawesi, Indonesia–one of Earth’s most unique biological treasure-houses. At the invitation of local communities, AlTo forges partnerships to protect and restore imperiled species, tropical rainforests, and other natural ecosystems while supporting the dignity and self-sufficiency of local communities in a changing world.

AlTo

INDONESIA IS THE WORLD’S BIODIVERSITY CAPITAL,

with more plant and animal species in its terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments than any other country in the world. Globally Indonesia also has more endangered species than almost any other country, most of them endangered by human activities.

The Alliance for Tompotika Conservation / Aliansi Konservasi Tompotika, called “AL-To” for short, is an international partnership dedicated to HELPING HEAL THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE REST OF NATURE, starting in one very special place: the Tompotika Peninsula on Indonesia’s island of Sulawesi.

SIDE BY SIDE WITH LOCAL PEOPLE,

AlTo works to conserve endangered species and natural areas. At the same time, our partnerships support the dignity, self-sufficiency, and sustainability of the human communities in the area.

OVERVIEW

Learn about who we are and what we do

AlTo’s News

October 2022: Mandiodo - Money, Mud, and Misery

The AlTo team first visited Mandiodo village back in 2018, as part of a Sulawesi-wide survey documenting the status of nesting grounds of the Critically Endangered maleo bird across its entire worldwide range…

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September 2022: A Maleo Called Amirudin

This is Amirudin. Amirudin is an adult male maleo bird (Macrocephalon maleo) captured by the
AlTo team in January, 2017, and leg-banded with four colored rings that have allowed us to
recognize him as an individual every time thereafter when he has returned to our Taima-Libuun
protected nesting ground. READ MORE

July 2022: How We're Connected: Palm Oil, Forests, and You - Part 2

In Part One of this two-part series on palm oil, we looked at the global rise in palm oil consumption and its terrible consequences for tropical forests and local people. Here in Part Two, we take a look at what can be done about it.

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June 2022: How We're Connected: Palm Oil, Forests, and You

Palm oil is extracted from fruits and seeds (kernels) of several palm species, most commonly the African Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis) which has been used as a source of vegetable oil for millennia. In 2021, global palm oil production exceeded that of any other vegetable oil, with 75 million metric tons produced, 68% of which came from Indonesia. READ MORE

March 2022: Forests. YES.

One of Yes’ main sources of income is collecting dammar, a resin from the Amboina Pitch Tree (Agathis dammara) that is used in paints and varnishes. Like other local so-called “non-timber forest products” such as rattan, wild honey, or palm fronds, the pitch or dammar can be collected carefully and responsibly without damaging the tree or the forest, —that is, it can be harvested sustainably. READ MORE