The village where a curse protects the forest
lthough it is administratively part of Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan, the village of Mungku Baru is far from the city in both distance and development. Cell phone signal is scarce,…
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.
A village in Borneo turns away from palm oil
Dingo is a busy man. As the head of Tanjung village, in the Kapuas Hulu region of West Kalimantan, he barely has time for family as he works tirelessly toward…
After the tsunami, a forest restored along a river in Aceh
Abdullah Rajab is not young. He has a shock of white hair. And when he laughs, it’s clear that many of his teeth are missing. But whenever a youngster asks…
Could canned fish soup stop government-community conflict in Sumatra?
amboo is a plant familiar to Indonesians. The archipelago is home to 159 species of this giant woody grass known for its prodigious growth rate and durability. In the Bukit…
A Dayak village campaigns for rights to its forests
Traditional law runs deep in the Kayong Dayak village of Sebadak Raya, a small hill community in West Kalimantan along the provincial border with Central Kalimantan. The pride the residents…
Lombok’s blooming community forest bears fruit and raises livelihoods – and haj trips
or hundreds of years water has run down the western foothills of Indonesia’s second largest volcano over the nearby Tiu Teja falls. But here on the slopes of Mount Rinjani…
From conflict to partnership, a Kalimantan community and logging company manage the forest together
Langkah Jones Lokan and his partners have come a long way as they trudge farther into the East Kalimantan forest. Sixteen years ago the company Jones now works with showed…
Powered by the land: The Sumatran village that conserves forest for electricity
Out over the corrugated roofs and laundry lines dotted about Kinangkung village, forest canopy begins to fade into the foothills of Sumatra’s most active volcano. Here around 30 kilometers west…
Indonesian villagers transform ailing forests into oasis of fruit
What bugged Marwi back in 1995 wasn’t so much that villagers were barred from harvesting forest products in Gunung Rinjani National Park, a 41,000-hectare conservation zone anchored by the soaring…
Indonesian village opts to protect mangroves, preserve livelihoods
Preserving mangrove forests is instrumental to bringing down emissions rates in Indonesia, a leading carbon polluter. Residents of Deaga village in North Sulawesi province also believe it is key to safeguarding their…
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…
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…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Iran upholds heavy sentences for conservationists convicted of spying
- Two deaths trigger alarm at Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
- Fighting to save an endangered ape, Indonesian activists fear for their lives
Indonesias forest guardians
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
Amazon infrastructure
- Database offers new details on the dams that hold mining waste
- Xavante tribe digs in as Brazil reneges on vow not to build a road in their reserve
- Vale has filed hundreds of requests to exploit indigenous lands in Amazon
Asian rhinos
- Indonesia-WWF split puts rhino breeding project in Borneo in limbo
- Indonesian officials wield sharia law in defense of Sumatran rhinos
- Love triangle complicates efforts to breed Sumatran rhinos
