Local people have developed a sustainable community-based forestry co-operative. The land was purchased by the community and is farmed for teak. The co-operative is the first in Indonesia to achieve Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for sustainability. This has helped to regulate timber production and secure fair prices. However, this forestry program is under continued threat by Indonesia’s endemic corruption.
The Helmeted Hornbill Is a Living Treasure—and That’s a Problem. Over the last decade, Helmeted Hornbills have experienced a dramatic increase in poaching for their casque, which is carved into luxury objects similar to elephant ivory. In addition, loss of old-growth forests, required for nesting hornbills, further threatens this species, and as a result it leapt from Near Threatened to Critically Endangered in 2015. In the remote old-growth forests of Southeast Asia lives the Helmeted Hornbill—a spectacular bird with an immense bill that seems like a work of art. Sadly, those ivory-like casques have spurred a wave of poaching that is driving the species toward extinction. Photojournalist Tim Laman documents intimate details from their nests and a growing movement to stop the illegal trade.
Subtitles available in 4 languages. Visit: http://ifnotusthenwho.me/
The indigenous people of Sungai Utik, a Dayak Iban community in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, have maintained a strong traditional connection to their forests despite continuous pressure from logging and palm oil companies intent on taking their land. Their forests remain intact and their traditional values are keeping their community together. If we want to keep forests and maintain food security we need to trust and support communities like the indigenous Dayak Iban. As they tackle the impacts of climate change, through the sustainable forestry traditional both to their culture and to their understanding of nature, they can offer us climate solutions and hope for the future.
Subtitles available in 4 languages. Visit: http://ifnotusthenwho.me/
In a rapidly dwindling community forest the people of Pandumaan & Sipituhuta have put up a strong fight to stop the growth of monoculture eucalyptus plantations. But the aggressive actions of the company & its close alignment with local politicians & the police have led this struggle down a dark path – protests, intimidation, arrests & confrontations.
From Our Ancestors was recognised as a finalist for Best Limited Series – Short Film at the Jackson Hole Film Festival 2015. The film has been screened extensively in Indonesia as part of If Not Us Then Who? Goes to Campus, Senegal for the World Forestry Congress in 2015 and various film festivals in Malta.
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