To educate adults about orangutan and habitat conservation issues, GPOCP/YP distributes information through mass media. We host several weekly radio shows that engage citizens on a variety of local issues (e.g., pest outbreaks related to deforestation, oil palm development, forest fires) through informative, interactive talk shows and special guest presentations. During 2016, we broadcasted a total of 83 radio shows, reaching an estimated 400,000 listeners per month across the area around Gunung Palung National Park. GPOCP/YP also produces a quarterly newsletter (Media Informasi Pencinta Satwa (MIaS), which translates to “Information for Animal Lovers”) focusing on a variety of conservation issues and posts billboards, posters, and other signage to deal with specific problems such as human-wildlife conflict. We also use Facebook and Twitter to reach out to the wider Indonesian community; our Yayasan Palung Facebook page has over 4,000 followers and our Yayasan Palung Twitter account has put out more than 2,500 tweets about conservation, orangutans, and the environment. Finally, we are very active in both print and online media. Our online publications often appear on National Geographic Indonesia, Mongabay Indonesia, and Borneo Climate Change websites.

A group of students gathered to celebrate World Environment Day

Villagers in Tanjung Baik Budi watch conservation-themed films as part of our mobile cinema

GPOCP/YP works to raise conservation awareness through more targeted efforts in the community as well. We regularly host a traveling mobile cinema which shows a series of conservation-themed films in the villages around Gunung Palung National Park (including one GPOCP produced about our community forest initiative) and is followed by community discussions. These events allow us to reach people in a casual, yet informative way. In 2016 we hosted 16 environmental film showings, which brought together a total audience of more than 3,200 people.

GPOCP also sponsors numerous special events that coincide with international events, the most notable being International Orangutan Day, Environmental Day and Orangutan Caring Week. GPOCP/YP staff members and volunteers host events around the town often wearing orangutan masks and distributing information. For World Environmental Day and Earth Day, we host tree planting and clean up competitions under the national “Clean and Green School” initiative. Finally, for Orangutan Caring Week, our volunteer youth group in Ketapang (TAJAM) organized a massive bicycle tour around the city with orangutan pictures and conservation slogans displayed on the bikes. In the rural village of Sukadana, our other volunteer youth group (REBONK) performed a play, with song and dance, and hosted a coloring contest for young children to teach the youth about the importance of saving orangutans and their habitat.

Our conservation youth groups raise awareness about orangutan conservation for International Orangutan Day and Orangutan Caring Week. We appreciate their enthusiasm!