Tembak
In 1996 the village refused access to one of the biggest timber companies in Indonesia and they have so far resisted expansion attempts by palm oil companies. The vision for Tembak is to become a model village that will inspire other communities to embrace sustainable forest management, eco-tourism and economic alternatives to the destructive practices of palm oil monoculture.
The village generates its own electricity via a micro-hydro power system and has offered their 63 hectare community forest for the rehabilitation of orang-utans and other wildlife.
The people of Tembak are working with 7 villages in the surrounding district to secure a 20,000 hectare conservation forest governed by traditional law (hutan adat). This will be the first traditional conservation forest to be used for orang-utan release in West Borneo.
Take DeforestACTION
DeforestACTION is a global movement of youth and schools taking action to stop deforestation and create a permanent habitat for orang-utans and other species that depend on forest ecosystems. The project is currently focused on the forests of Indonesia, where widespread illegal deforestation has made the country the number three emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
Support DeforestACTION and help empower youth around the world to understand and act on one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time.
Where did this begin?
In March 2010, 12 schools and 90 students were invited to Singapore for Microsoft’s Regional Innovative Education Forum. One of the truly great thought leading educational events. This was the birthplace of DeforestAction, originally titled “The High Noon Project” after JF Rischards’ book “High Noon, 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them”.
Students and teachers decided they wanted to tackle one global issue – as a pilot – and they chose deforestation. Within minutes, they agreed on the name DeforestAction – and launched a global collaborative project with, for and by students around the world. For the next three weeks, students and teachers worked on plans to address deforestation. Using an online voting system, the students selected a number of key approaches:
1. Finding ways to preserve at risk forest and creating livelihoods for the local landowners
2. Creating a global awareness campaign of the destruction caused by palm oil production
3. Inviting other students to engage in powerful 21st century learning activities in a collaborative problem solving approach
4. Looking for ways to help local people and animals who are victims of deforestation.