Forest Keepers

Forest Keepers

Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, is one of the world’s largest peat swamp forests. Its vast territory is roughly the size of the island of Bali. Beneath its dense forest lies another, largely invisible landscape: an enormous store of carbon accumulated over thousands of years. It is also home to one of the largest remaining populations of wild orangutans on Earth.

For decades, Sebangau and the surrounding forests have been under pressure from logging, climate change. Recently Kalimantan has been severely affected by El Nino, causing thousands of wildfires across the entire island. When peatlands are damaged and dry out, they become extremely vulnerable to fire. The consequences can spread far beyond the forest, creating toxic haze that affects surrounding South East Asia countries.

But there is another story unfolding here.

A growing generation of young Indigenous activists is working to restore degraded forests and protect the ecosystems their communities have depended on for generations. HIRAI Foundation is one of such movements – women-led Indigenous organisation, that replant peat swamp forest of Central Kalimantan. Much of this work happens far from the public eye. There are no headlines, no dramatic rescue scenes, and rarely any immediate reward. Yet these young forest keepers are quietly helping to preserve one of Indonesia’s most fragile ecosystems.