Over the past 3 years, Conservation International (CI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have worked closely with the Raja Ampat government and local organizations to dramatically increase local understanding and appreciation of Raja Ampat’s biodiversity, the threats to it, and the need for local leadership in effectively managing it. Currently, the level of understanding and support for marine conservation and sustainable use of natural resources is at an all-time high in Raja Ampat, particularly among villagers, the media, religious leaders, and local NGOs. Two key initiatives in the outreach campaign are the Radio Gelar Senat Raja Ampat and the Tabloid Raja Ampat.

Radio Gelar Senat, run by local NGO Belantara and CI, is a weekly interactive radio program that airs on Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) in the “primetime” slot every Friday evening. The Gelar Senat recipe (Gelar Senat means to spread a storytelling mat on the ground—a common social event in Papuan villages) is a simple one: each week it explores a different “hot topic” with respect to the environment, and uses an innovative blend of editorial, interviews with experts and affected villagers, skits and original songs related to the topic by local village entertainers, and a lively call-in session.

The Tabloid Raja Ampat is a monthly 16 page full-color newspaper sponsored by TNC, CI, COREMAP and the Raja Ampat government which also explores important topics related to conservation and development in Raja Ampat and is distributed to all 96 villages in Raja Ampat. Each month 3,000 copies are produced and distributed.