Palm oil a mixed blessing in Indonesia’s peat peninsula
he Indonesian village of Dosan sits on the edge of the Kampar Peninsula, an enormous swath of peat in Riau province on the island of Sumatra. The peninsula is one…
Mongabay series: Indonesia's Forest Guardians
Local and indigenous communities play an important role managing and protecting forests. Research published in 2014 by World Resources Institute and the Rights and Resources Initiative concluded that community-managed forests experienced an average deforestation rate that is 11 times lower than land outside their borders. Legally recognized, community-managed forest amounts to 513 million hectares or an eighth of the world’s forests, and there are many more community-managed forests that have yet to receive legal recognition, but should be provided that recognition by the government. To showcase some examples of community-managed forests, Mongabay's Indonesia team is developing a series of case studies in Indonesia.
Communities create timber company to protect Sumatran forest
Acacia seedlings are grown and planted in and around communities in Lampung, Sumatra, to help relieve logging pressures on natural forest. Photo by Ridzki R. Sigit. The village of Pekandangan…
Sulawesi communities build big, unique houses by sustainably managing forests
Bonoran community members sustainably harvest bamboo from the surrounding forest to build traditional houses. Photo by Eko Rusdianto. "If we don't have forests, community grounds, burial place, and rice fields...…
Rapid development threatening traditional farms, forests in West Papua
Tall, forested mountains surround the village of Demaisi in West Papua. Photo by Duma Tato Sanda. A half-kilometer south of the village of Demaisi, Yohan Ullo pulls weeds from his…
After 10 years vying for protection, Kalimantan community granted legal rights to community forest
Forest along a stream near Setulang. Photo by Yustinus S. Hardjanto. During Indonesia’s 2014 national census, 848 people were recorded living in the village of Setulang, an hour’s drive from…
Sumatran community takes charge to protect its forest, attracts REDD+ attention
The forests of the Bukit Barisan mountains support high levels of biodiversity, prevent landslides, and protect local watersheds. Photo by Sapariah Saturi. Television inspired Syafrizal to act. As he watched…
Sumatran community grows crops, aids conservation through ‘village forests’
Coffee-growing is an important part of the economy of Semende. Photo by R. Ridzki Sigit. The rolling green hills covered in rice paddies and coffee plantations give Semende in the…
Sumatran village protects environment through agroforestry
A resident of Indudur at work in the fields. Photo by Diana Elviza. The forest behind Indudur village clings to the steep hillside. The topography itself is enough to protect…
Sulawesi village seeks protection for sacred forest threatened by development
A Cerekang district resident in a traditional canoe, which is a major mode of local transportation. Photo by Eko Rusdianto. Home to some 400 fishermen, Manurung village appears unremarkable at…
Farmers help restore degraded forests in Sulawesi
A farmer from the village of Pamulukkang with his cocoa tree. Photo by Revelation Chandra. Irda tends to his two-hectare timber plantation in Pamulukkang Forest at the base of Tanete…
Forest management by Sulawesi community attracts international attention
The village of Ngata Toro abuts protected forest in Lore Lindu National Park. Photo by Chris Paino. Ngata Toro borders Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi about a three-hour…
Sulawesi community regains access to forest on which it depends
Namu village is surrounded by forested hills between Lore Lindu National Park and a conservation forest. They recently regained access to the forest, which they depend on for their way…
Kalimantan community maps forest to thwart timber companies
Cleared forest near the village of Tumbang Bahanei in the province of Central Kalimantan. Residents are trying to stop timber companies from encroaching on their land. Photo by Indra Nugraha.…
Sulawesi community vies to maintain rights to forest
Community-maintained forest in Delang District, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photo by Revelation Chandra. "We are treated like criminals caught stealing our own land," M. Basri told Mongabay-Indonesia. The acting village head…
Palm oil threatens community forest in Central Kalimantan
Community-maintained forest in Delang District, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photo by Indra Nugraha. Delang district is different than many parts of Central Kalimantan. Namely, on the drive in from Nangabulik, you…
Traditional farming technique preserves soil, forest in Kalimantan
A kekalik fruit tree grows in a "dahas" agroforestry plot in West Kalimantan. Photo by Andi Fachrizal. The road winds five kilometers through a thick canopy of trees before ending…
Coffee farmers help protect Flores forest
Forest surrounding the Wata Ata region in Flores, Indonesia. Photo by Anton Muhajir. Located on the slopes of Inerie Mountain on the island of Flores in Indonesia, farmers in Bajawa…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- For embattled environmental defenders, a reprieve of sorts in 2018
- 7 convicted of killing Honduran indigenous activist Berta Cáceres
- Five wildlife conservationists held by Iran could face the death penalty
Indonesias forest guardians
- Smartphone app helps indigenous communities fight deforestation
- Papuan chef Charles Toto serves up sustainability and environmental protection in a platter
- In eastern Indonesia, a forest tribe pushes back against miners and loggers
Amazon infrastructure
- Bolsonaro acts; Brazil’s socio-environmental groups resist
- Brazil: Bolsonaro supporter works to imprison Dorothy Stang’s successor
- Amazon soy boom poses urgent existential threat to landless movement
Asian rhinos
- Deadly tsunami leaves Javan rhinos untouched, but peril persists
- The long journey to saving the Sumatran rhino, via Borneo (commentary)
- For elusive Javan rhinos, camera traps are a benevolent Big Brother
