Today marks an exciting step on our journey to reforest the planet. From now on, your searches will not only plant trees in Peru, Madagascar and Burkina Faso, but in Indonesia too. We have partnered with local communities from the foothills of Mount Saran, and we can’t wait to tell you all about it.
WHY INDONESIA?
Indonesia is home to over 28,000 plant species and 300,000 different animals, including Sumatran tigers, pygmy elephants, rhinoceroses and orangutans. The forest provides a source of livelihood to millions of Indonesians. It is also one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Photo by Magnus Manske
But Indonesia’s forests are at stake. Since the 1970s, a wave of deforestation has swept through the country. Great tracts of forestland are routinely burned down to make space for palm oil plantations.
The aftermath of an Indonesian palm oil plantation. Photo by Wakx.
The numbers are staggering: between 1990 and 2010 alone, Indonesia lost 20.3% of its forest cover – that’s 24,113,000 hectares. In 2012, Indonesia surpassed the rate of deforestation in Brazil, becoming the fastest forest clearing nation in the world. Last year, over 2 million hectares of forestland went up in smoke. This led to freshwater shortages, the destruction of ecosystems, and severe floods.
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