Letter:Primates must work together

From Dr Alan Rogerson

Sir: Birute Galdikis ("A lifelong quest to save man's closest relative", 15 February) is correct to stress the problems of urban encroachment and the ensuing conflict between people and the natural environment in Indonesia. Lasting solutions will only be found if national and provincial goverments, funding institutions and committed individuals work, with local inhabitants, to build support for natural habitat conservation. That is why the British Council is working with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry's Directorate of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation, the Asian Development Bank, local NGOs and charities to develop a strategy for sustainable conservation management.

In the area mentioned in the article, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, the Council has recently helped construct walkways and a dormitory and laboratory building for students and scientists, from Indonesia and the rest of the world, to study the lifestyle of the orang-utan, and other large primates, in their natural habitat.

Yours sincerely,

ALAN ROGERSON

Science and

Environment Officer

British Council

Jakarta

16 February