May 1, 2006– Santa Monica, CA.   Sumatran orangutans are considered critically endangered in the dwindling forests located in the northern portion of this remote Indonesian island. Experts estimate that only 7,000 of the arboreal apes remain with some 800 lost each year due to habitat destruction and the conflict that arises between orangutan and human. The crisis is considered so severe that conservationists predict the species might become effectively extinct in the wild in just 5 to 10 years unless immediate action is taken on the species’ behalf.

Educating local people who come into conflict with orangutans is the main theme of the conference and workshop being organized by the Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative (OUREI).  The event, which also includes a summit of high officials, will take place from 14 – 17 November 2006 in and around the resort cities of Berstagi and Medan, Sumatra. The venues were chosen by local Indonesian conservation and orangutan organizations that will assist in the planning and management of the events.

The workshop will include only invited participants who will evaluate existing education materials and select which sets of curricula would be most effective in convincing local people who work in various businesses or activities to stop killing orangutans. Hungry or starving orangutans occasionally wander into farms and plantations in desperation where they are treated as pests. The workshop will have a number of working groups each focusing on a specific sector where conflict takes place. Examples of specific sectors include logging concessions, palm oil concessions, military, or farmers living adjacent to orangutan habitat. Educational methods and messages that would be effective with people in one sector might not necessarily be as effective in another due to differences in education and local culture.

Before the workshop begins, a one-day conference will be held that will be open to anyone interested in Sumatran orangutan survival. Researchers who have been studying the species or its plight from a population management perspective will provide insight into the conflict and the orangutan’s current status. Conservation education specialists with field education experience will provide successful case examples that will be instructive to the workshop attendees.

While the invited delegates to the one-day workshop are convening, other attendees to the conference will be encouraged to take tours to the various orangutan or nature reserves in the region or find time to enjoy the cultural diversity of the north Sumatran region. Local tour operators will assist in making these arrangements.

The last day of the 3-day event will be a summit of national and regional government officials and will be open to all participants. According to OUREI Chairman and conference organizer Gary Shapiro, “It is our intention that the evaluated curricula be publicly accepted by the officials along with a commitment to a timeline for delivery.”  Funds for insuring that educators can take and present the selected materials to groups of people in each conflict sector have already been secured in a grant awarded to OUREI by US Fish and Wildlife.

It is expected that the attitudes of local people can be altered through this type of education and lead to a lessening of the conflict between human and ape. The summit will provide an opportunity for the government of Indonesia to show the international community that it takes long-term orangutan survival seriously. The entire event brings numerous local and international orangutan, conservation and educational organizations together in a forum of cooperation in order to secure the future of the Sumatran orangutan.

For more information about the C/W/S, contact OUREI at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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