Borneo Nature Foundation

What Borneo Nature Foundation does

Borneo Nature Foundation (BNF) is a UK-registered international conservation charity (charity number 1194359) founded in 2000 as a student research project — originally The Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project — to protect the Sebangau peat-swamp rainforest in southern Borneo. Headquartered in Cornwall with field operations in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, the organization runs four connected programmatic pillars: We Learn (scientific research and field courses), We Protect (firefighting, fire prevention, and habitat protection for orangutans, gibbons, and clouded leopards), We Restore (community-led reforestation across 1,000 hectares of burnt rainforest and peat-rewetting through 'good dam' construction), and We Inspire (awareness and community engagement campaigns). Field delivery is conducted in partnership with the Indonesian sister entity Yayasan Borneo Nature Indonesia, with additional registered charitable presences in the Netherlands and France supporting European fundraising.

The organization's core technical capabilities are rooted in conservation science rather than digital technology: specialist peat-swamp dam design and construction for peat rehydration and carbon storage, camera trap-based wildlife monitoring, and community-led tree planting and monitoring methodologies. These methods are anchored in 25 years of landscape-specific institutional knowledge and supported by senior scientific leadership including Trustee Professor Susan Page (awarded MBE in 2025 for services to tropical peatland conservation). BNF's go-to-market is community-led conservation, monetized through four revenue streams: individual donations and fundraising campaigns (notably the 'Give a Dam' campaign), institutional grants managed by a Senior Grants Officer, corporate and HNWI partnerships/philanthropy cultivated through the 1% for the Planet network and managed by a Senior Partnerships and Philanthropy Manager, and fee-based field courses offering hands-on conservation experience.

The organization is actively operating with ongoing programmes, recent policy influence at the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress (two passed resolutions on gibbons and clouded leopards), and continued fundraising build-out — though annual revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. There is no parent company, no private equity backing, and no evidence of institutional venture investment; governance rests with a Board of Directors and a Chief Executive.

Name

Borneo Nature Foundation

Legal name

Borneo Nature Foundation

Website

https://borneonaturefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Borneo Nature Foundation is a UK-registered international conservation charity, founded in 2000, that protects and restores Borneo's peat-swamp rainforest in Central Kalimantan through community-led programmes spanning research, firefighting, reforestation, and peat-rewetting dam construction, funded by donations, grants, partnerships, and field courses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rainforest Conservation Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products (113210)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAGAD

Forestry & Reforestation

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Environmental & Conservation Organizations

SECONDARYEUABABAG

Wetlands, Peatlands & Mangrove Restoration (Blue Carbon Restoration)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Carbon & Climate Solutions (Carbon Markets, Offsets, CCS/CCUS)/Carbon Project Development & Origination (Nature-based & Tech-based)

SECONDARYIMAMAJAM

Community Forestry & Indigenous Land Stewardship Services

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Paper & Forest Products/Forest Management, Reforestation & Carbon Forestry Services

SECONDARYAFAMAMAJ

Disaster Risk Reduction Services (Flood Mitigation, Erosion Control, Landslide Stabilization)

Agriculture & Food Production/Forestry & Logging/Forest Ecosystem Services

Keywords

• Tropical rainforest conservation
• Peatland restoration services
• Wildlife habitat protection
• Community-led conservation
• Environmental nonprofit services

Headquarters

HQ city

Penryn

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, fundraising campaigns, and general donations through the organization's website. The organization runs specific campaigns like 'Give a Dam' and accepts general donations.
2. Grants and Institutional Funding: Grants from institutional funders managed by the Senior Grants Officer. The organization actively pursues diversified grants pipeline and major proposals.
3. Partnerships and Philanthropy: Corporate and high-net-worth individual partnerships and philanthropy managed by Senior Partnerships and Philanthropy Manager. Major donor relationships are personally overseen by senior leadership.
4. Field Courses: Revenue from field courses offered to participants who want to experience conservation work firsthand in Borneo.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Borneo Nature Foundation protects and restores Borneo peat-swamp rainforest in Central Kalimantan through scientific research, firefighting and prevention, reforestation, and peatland rewetting via strategic dam construction. It delivers four programmatic pillars (We Learn, We Protect, We Restore, We Inspire), offers hands-on field courses, and runs awareness and fundraising campaigns such as 'Give a Dam' to support conservation outcomes.

Product overview

Borneo Nature Foundation is a non-profit conservation organization (not a technology company) that operates a connected conservation approach with four main programmatic pillars: We Learn (scientific research and education), We Protect (firefighting and prevention, habitat protection), We Restore (reforesation including tree planting across 1,000 hectares and peatland restoration through dam building), and We Inspire (awareness campaigns and community engagement). The organization also offers Field Courses for educational programs and runs campaigns such as 'Give a Dam' for fundraising. These programs work together to protect and restore Borneo's peat-swamp rainforest ecosystems, particularly the Sebangau forest in Central Kalimantan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• We Learn

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,000 hectares of burnt rainforest reforested
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 1% for the PlanetcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 February 2025Borneo Nature Foundation joined 1% for the Planet to find partners who donate 1% of their sales to environmental causes. This membership enables corporate partners to support BNF's conservation work through percentage-based donations.
• Yayasan Borneo Nature IndonesiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerField programmes are delivered in partnership with Yayasan Borneo Nature Indonesia. BNF International (UK-registered charity) works in conjunction with the Indonesian entity to deliver conservation work in Central Kalimantan.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Orangutan Foundation UK: A UK-registered charity focused on protecting orangutans and their forest habitat in Borneo (Central Kalimantan). Directly comparable peer operating with a similar UK-charity + Indonesia-field-programme model addressing overlapping species and ecosystems as BNF.
• Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation: Indonesia-based orangutan conservation and forest rehabilitation organisation with rescue, reintroduction, and large-scale habitat restoration programmes across Borneo. Highly comparable on species, habitat, and operational model even though much larger in scale.
• Wetlands International: Global NGO dedicated to wetland conservation and restoration, including peatland science and policy. Highly comparable peer on BNF's peat-swamp rewetting, carbon-storage, and tropical peatland policy work.

Broad incumbents

• Rare: Global conservation organization specializing in community-led behaviour-change campaigns for environmental protection. Highly comparable on the community-led conservation GTM motion BNF emphasizes.
• Conservation International: Global environmental organization with significant investments in tropical forests, blue carbon, and nature-based climate solutions. Comparable as a likely competitor for corporate nature-based partnerships and as a benchmark on policy influence.
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF): Largest global conservation NGO with deep Borneo, orangutan, and tropical-forest programmes. Comparable on species, geography, policy advocacy, and the diversified donations-grants-corporate funding stack.
• The Nature Conservancy: One of the largest global environmental nonprofits, with active forest carbon, peatland, and tropical forestry programmes. Comparable on the science-led, multi-country conservation delivery model and as a likely alternative partner for corporate ESG donors.
• Fauna & Flora International: Long-established UK-registered international conservation NGO with species and habitat programmes across the tropics. Comparable on the UK-charity-plus-global-field-operations funding and governance structure that BNF operates.

Emerging players

• Global Forest Generation: Smaller, niche-focused forest-protection funder and operator with emphasis on tropical and temperate forests. Comparable as a similarly-sized peer in the tropical-forest fundraising and restoration space.

Regional players

• Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN): Indonesian-affiliated conservation foundation working on forest protection, peatlands, and sustainable landscapes across Indonesia. Closest direct regional peer given overlapping Indonesian geographies, peatland focus, and community-based delivery model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BorneoNature
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/OrangutanTrop
• Facebookfacebook.com/BorneoNature.Fdn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/borneo-nature-foundation-international
• Instagraminstagram.com/borneo.nature

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Borneo Nature Foundation