The Forgotten Forest

Yoki: In Kalimantan, people have a special relationship with the Hornbills.  And you can see the Hornbill symbol everywhere. 

I’m in front of the Catholic Church in Bukit Kelam Sintang where they also use the Rhinoceros Hornbill as their symbol.  This is a good example to show the bonding between the people and the Hornbills.

Narrator (Yoki):

DEEP IN THE HEART OF INDONESIAN BORNEO, THE DAYAK PEOPLE HAVE MADE THEIR HOME FOR GENERATIONS.

GATHERED IN LONGHOUSE COMMUNITIES, FAMILIES HAVE LONG SHARED STORIES OF HORNBILLS – BIRDS THAT HOLD A SPECIAL PLACE IN THEIR CULTURE.

NOT LONG AGO, MEMBERS OF THIS COMMUNITY WERE HUNTERS OF THESE MAGNIFICENT BIRDS.

TODAY THEY ARE THEIR PROTECTORS – UNDERSTANDING THAT THE FATE OF THE HORNBILL IS BOUND TO THE FATE OF THEIR FOREST HOME.

I AM YOKI HADIPRAKRASA, CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST AND HORNBILL RESEARCHER, AND I HAVE COME TO THIS DAYAK COMMUNITY FOREST WITH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER TIM LAMAN TO WITNESS ONE OF NATURE’S MOST REMARKABLE RELATIONSHIPS.

THIS FOREST HOLDS ONE OF BORNEO’S LAST GREAT CONCENTRATIONS OF HORNBILLS—A REFUGE WHERE THE FARMERS OF THE FOREST STILL THRIVE.

Tim: So does the road cut through the national park?

Yoki: No, no, no…the other side.

I think the national park is…can see there’s mountain or hills…on that side… 

Narrator (Yoki):

WITHIN THE FRAGMENTED EXPANSE OF THE WORLD’S THIRD LARGEST RAINFOREST, HORNBILLS FACE AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE FROM HABITAT LOSS AND ILLEGAL HUNTING.

BUT THIS FOREST, NEAR THE DAYAK VILLAGE, IS PART OF AN ISLAND OF HOPE IN THE HEART OF BORNEO —A VAST INTACT LANDSCAPE SURROUNDED BY A SEA OF DEFORESTATION.

THIS FOREST IS HOME TO EIGHT HORNBILL SPECIES: THE WREATHED, THE BLACK, THE ORIENTAL PIED, THE BUSHY-CRESTED, THE RHINOCEROS…

…THE ENDANGERED WRINKLED AND WHITE-CROWNED…AND ONE PARTICULARLY CLOSE TO MY HEART…THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED HELMETED HORNBILL.

EACH OF THESE HORNBILLS IS WELL ADAPTED TO LIFE AMONG THE TOWERING TREES, THEIR POWERFUL BEAKS AND KEEN EYES EVOLVED TO HARVEST THE FOREST’S BOUNTY—AND IN DOING SO, TO ENSURE ITS FUTURE.

Tim: Hornbills need this kind of huge tree for nesting, right?

Yoki: Absolutely.  This tree alone is roughly more than one meter in diameter.  Which is now … it’s become rare in the forest.  This is very important to protect these healthy big trees.

Narrator (Yoki):

THIS FOREST PROVIDES EVERYTHING HORNBILLS NEED TO SURVIVE.

THE MASSIVE TREES THAT HAVE STOOD FOR CENTURIES OFFER PERFECT NESTING CAVITIES, WHILE THE DIVERSE CANOPY PROVIDES AN ABUNDANT FEAST OF FRUITS.

HERE, HORNBILLS ARE THRIVING.

Narrator (Yoki): 

DURING OUR TIME IN THIS FOREST, WE ENCOUNTER ACTIVE NESTS OF TWO OF THE SPECIES.

THE BUSHY-CRESTED HORNBILL, SMALLER AND MORE SOCIAL, MOVES THROUGH THE MID-CANOPY IN FAMILY GROUPS BRINGING FOOD TO THE FEMALE AND CHICKS INSIDE THE NEST CAVITY.

Yoki: It’s a Rhinoceros Hornbill call –  in the distance.

Narrator (Yoki): 

AND WE ALSO ENOUNTERED A GIANT OF THE FOREST – THE RHINOCEROS HORNBILL.  ITS NAME COMES FROM THE HUGE ORANGE AND RED CASQUE ON THE TOP OF ITS HEAD THAT AMPLIFIES ITS CALL IN THESE DENSE FORESTS.

LIKE ALL OF INDONESIA’S HORNBILL SPECIES, THE FEMALE SEALS HERSELF INSIDE A NEST CAVITY HIGH IN THE CANOPY. FOR MONTHS, THE MALE MUST PROVIDE ALL THE FOOD.

WHILE HORNBILLS ARE MOSTLY FRUIT EATERS, GROWING CHICKS NEED A PROTEIN RICH DIET OF INSECTS AND OTHER SMALL ANIMALS.

Tim: Hornbills are the most spectacular birds of the Indonesian lowland rainforest.  They’re big, they’re charismatic, they’re loud when they fly.  They’re a great kind of ambassador for the rainforest.  And also, they’re just really important for the forest because of their role as seed dispersal agents, as farmers of the forest.

Every day, throughout the year, hornbills are feeding on fruits and dropping the seeds around the forest.

Yoki: If you want to retore the forest, the human doesn’t need to do anything, just keep the hornbills –

Tim: You just need to have some healthy forest nearby, a source of seeds.

Look at this, Yoki.  We got a hornbill garden.  So many seeds here.  These are all from the hornbill tossing out the seeds.

Yoki: According to research the survival rate of seeds from hornbill diet is nearly 80%.

Narrator (Yoki): 

OVER MILLENNIA, HORNBILL ANCESTORS MIGRATED ACROSS ANCIENT LANDMASSES AND SCATTERED ISLANDS. 

ARRIVAL ON NEW LANDS LED TO NEW SPECIES.

TODAY, INDONESIA IS HOME TO 13 – 3 OF THEM FOUND NOWHERE ELSE.

ONE SPECIES, THE PAPUAN HORNBILL, IS THE RESULT OF AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY.

ISLAND BY ISLAND, GENERATION BY GENERATION, THEY CROSSED TREACHEROUS SEAS UNTIL THEY REACHED THE FORESTS OF PAPUA.

NOW, WE ARE MAKING OUR OWN VOYAGE TO THE LAND OF PAPUA.

WE ARE FOLLOWING STORIES ABOUT A PHENOMENON NEITHER OF US HAS WITNESSED—DOZENS OF HORNBILLS GATHERING TO ROOST AT NIGHTFALL.

IF THE STORIES ARE TRUE, AND IF LUCK IS ON OUR SIDE, WE MIGHT WITNESS SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.

Tim: It’s about 5:30 right now.  We just arrived in the area of Yum Island.  And it’s about 45 minutes before sunset and we’re hoping to that some hornbills are gonna come to roost on this island.  So we’re gonna wait and see – today’s kind of our first day our scouting day.  We’re gonna try to see what’s going on here.

We don’t see any birds yet.

Tim: If they don’t come at night …. they won’t be there in the morning.

Tim:  Ok, they’re turning over the island –

Yoki: Oh yeah.  On that high tree.

Tim: Yep, you’re right they just landed in the top of the island

Yoki: Oh, that is another group. 1, 2, ….

Tim: Yep, I see them.  Let me try to track these guys.  

Oh, there’s a bunch more landing.  From the other side. About 6 or 8. They came in so fast I couldn’t count.

These guys are going lower – to a different tree

Crew (yelling)

Tim: OK, OK, don’t yell so (laughs).  There’s one up high.

Yoki: Wow!

Tim: More coming in from the right 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, another 8 … How many are we up to now?

Crew (yelling)

Yoki: Shhhh. (laughing)

Tim: He’s very loud (laughing)

Yoki: This is amazing. In the beginning, to be honest, we are a bit pessimistic with that information, but now we are so happy.

Tim:  Right after sunset they kept coming in … 60, I don’t know, 60 or more.  60 plus, we lost track, coming in too fast.

Have you ever seen this many hornbills at one time?

Yoki: Ah, no.

Tim: First time for me.

Yoki:  Another 2, right?

Tim: What’s that?  They’re going the wrong way ….

Yoki: Yeah … (laughs)

Tim: Lost hornbills – hey it’s over there!

Narrator (Yoki): 

THE PEOPLE OF NEARBY YENSAWAI VILLAGE HAVE LIVED IN HARMONY WITH THESE LANDS AND SEAS FOR GENERATIONS.

THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR WELL-BEING IS CONNECTED TO THE HEALTH OF THE FOREST—INCLUDING THE HORNBILLS THAT LIVE THERE.

TO THEM, THESE MAGNIFICENT BIRDS ARE MORE THAN NEIGHBORS, THEY ARE PARTNERS IN THE CYCLE OF RENEWAL THAT PROVIDES FOOD, MATERIALS AND WATER.

Narrator (Yoki): 

WORD REACHES US OF AN EVEN MORE SPECTACULAR GATHERING ON ANOTHER ISLAND NEARBY.

LOCALS TELL US THE HORNBILLS COME IN NUMBERS BEYOND COUNTING.

Boat trip to Riai Island

Narrator (Yoki): 

RIAI ISLAND RISES FROM THE TURQUOISE WATERS LIKE A GREEN JEWEL. 

SURROUNDED BY TOWERING HILLS, IT CREATES A NATURAL AMPHITHEATER WHERE WE HOPE TO SEE THE HORNBILLS PERFORM THEIR NIGHTLY RITUAL.

Yoki:  Some of the hornbills are already on the trees 

  Success!

Tim:  It’s amazing.  What a beautiful evening and because this island is surrounded by taller, bigger hills the birds are just dropping in, circling down like raptors.  I never seen hornbills doing that before but they have to lose a lot of altitude … super cool.

Narrator (Yoki):

MANY BIRDS GATHER IN ROOSTS TO AVOID PREDATORS, BUT ADULT HORNBILLS DON’T HAVE MANY PREDATORS HERE IN PAPUA. IT SEEMS LIKE THESE NIGHTLY GATHERINGS ARE SOCIAL….A PLACE FOR PAIR-BONDING OR FINDING A MATE.

Tim: How many do we have?  123 hornbills at this tiny island?!!! That’s Crazy!

Yoki: To see a large number of hornbills flocking in the roosting tree is quite rare. In one spot, in one island, that’s amazing.

Narrator (Yoki): 

THIS EXTRAORDINARY ABUNDANCE IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF WHERE WE ARE—INSIDE AN INTACT LANDSCAPE STEWARDED BY LOCAL COMMUNITIES, REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY. 

HERE, LOCAL LEADERS UNDERSTAND THAT PROTECTING PAPUA’S NATURE PROTECTS THEIR COMMUNITIES.

THEY ARE COMMITTED TO KEEPING 70% OF LAND AS FOREST TO PROVIDE CLEAN WATER, STABLE CLIMATE, AND THE RESOURCES ESSENTIAL FOR SURVIVAL.

FOR THE HORNBILLS, THE VAST NETWORKS OF FRUITING TREES PROVIDE ABUNDANT FOOD, WHILE TOWERING GIANTS OFFER NESTING SITES.

THIS IS WHAT A HEALTHY FOREST ECOSYSTEM LOOKS LIKE—WHERE HORNBILLS CAN FLOURISH IN NUMBERS NOT SEEN ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD’S THIRD LARGEST RAINFOREST.

Narrator (Yoki):

IN THE VOYAGE OF THE HORNBILLS AT SUNSET, WE WITNESS THE HEARTBEAT OF A LIVING FOREST.

THEIR GATHERING IS MORE THAN SPECTACLE—IT IS PROOF THAT WHEN FORESTS ARE PROTECTED, WHEN COMMUNITIES CARE FOR THEIR NATURAL HERITAGE, NATURE RESPONDS WITH ABUNDANCE.

THE HORNBILLS HAVE TAUGHT US A TIMELESS TRUTH: WHEN NATURE THRIVES, WE ALL THRIVE.

Yoki: This is by far the largest congregation of hornbills in one location in one spot

Tim: This is a great indication of a healthy forest here, right?

Yoki: Exactly, this is another good example:  Healthy hornbills, healthy forests, and healthy people. (laughs). 

Wow ….

Tim: Oh, I got … there’s two more coming in from the right …Slate 1: A single hornbill can disperse tens of thousands of seeds in a year.Slate 2: Each seed holds the potential to become a tree.Slate 3: Across the world’s third-largest rainforest, millions of hornbills help sow billions of trees that regulate our shared clima

End of Transcript

Narrator (Yoki):

THERE IS A BIRD FEW HAVE SEEN IN THE FORESTS OF PAPUA, INDONESIA.

IT EXISTS IN RELATIVE SILENCE AND LEAVES BEHIND SIGNS OF ITS EXISTENCE.

THIS CREATURE IS SECRETIVE AND IT ALSO HOLDS A SECRET …. IT KEEPS THE FOREST’S FUTURE … AN UNKNOWING ARCHITECT THAT BUILDS THE FOREST WITH EVERY MEAL, EVERY STEP.

IN THIS PLACE, PEOPLE AND FOREST LIVE TOGETHER. WITHOUT THIS BIRD, THE FORESTS AS WE KNOW THEM WOULD CEASE TO EXIST.

Tim: It’s very easy to use. And it can take pictures at night too.

Narrator (Yoki):

MALAGUFUK, A SMALL VILLAGE IN THE LOWLAND FORESTS OF WEST PAPUA, SITS WITHIN THE WORLD’S THIRD-LARGEST RAINFOREST—A PLACE OF EXCEPTIONAL BIODIVERSITY AND ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE.

HERE, TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY UNITE. FOREST GUIDES BASTIAN MAGABLO, NIMROD KALAMI, AND YANCE KALAMI ARE WORKING ALONGSIDE TIM LAMAN AND MYSELF, YOKI HADIPRAKARSA, TO DEPLOY CAMERA TRAPS—NON-INVASIVE TOOLS THAT LET US OBSERVE WILDLIFE WITHOUT DISTURBING IT.

Tim (interview): The species that we’re trying to document here is called the Northern Cassowary. It’s found along the northern side of the big island of New Guinea.

The Cassowary is a species that is really important for the forest, but it’s not that well known, but the populations are declining as habitat is reduced, and in many areas, it’s facing a lot of hunting pressure.

Yance Kalami (interview): In my opinion, there are still many Cassowaries in this area. But if you want to see them, it’s really hard.  They don’t live in one place. Today, they could be eating fruit here, but tomorrow, they’ll move on to someplace else.

Narrator (Yoki):

THOUGH PEOPLE RARELY SEE THEM, CASSOWARIES PLAY A PROFOUND ECOLOGICAL ROLE. THEY HELP BUILD THESE FORESTS   BY CONSUMING LARGE FRUITS AND DISPERSING SEEDS FAR AWAY FROM THE PARENT TREE.

BUT DETECTING THIS BIRD CHALLENGES US. IT MOVES SILENTLY THROUGH DENSE VEGETATION, LEAVING ONLY FOOTPRINTS, DROPPINGS, AND OCCASIONAL RUSTLES IN THE UNDERGROWTH.

Tim: You can hear birds of paradise calling. You can hear hornbills flying overhead and I’m running across tracks of massive cassowaries in the muddy parts of the trail.

Here’s a pile of fruits.

This is a Cassowary track right here.

See the toe? As big as my hand.

Moment: Team hears a distant Cassowary call

Tim (interview): We’ve been exploring the forest, finding locations where we see signs of Cassowaries – things like fruiting trees, animal trails, clay licks. And we’ve been placing out these cameras now for the past week or so.

They are very big, but they’re very hard to see in the forest.  They’re very elusive and they’re not so predictable.

Yoki: Wow!  Huge!

Tim:  So now we’re in the forests of Papua.  The third biggest rainforest in the world.

Yoki: Unbelievable.                 

The fig trees, when it’s fruiting, is like a supermarket in the rainforest – because you can see all the creatures from the top and from the ground.

Sangat besar!  Udah Lama tidak pernah melihat sebesar ini.  (Very big!  I haven’t seen anything this big in a long time.)

Even the pandan tree is also gigantic!

Tim: It’s amazing to be here in the forest where all these big trees are still here, right!  They haven’t been cut down.  There’s all this amazing variety of species, and all intertwined with the bird life.

Yoki: It’s a good example that the Papuan forest is not just for Papuan, not just for the Indonesian, but also for the world.  Because they have a role absorbing the carbon and maintaining the climate, right?

Tim:  Yeah.  They say this is one of the ironwood trees, right? A really slow growing tree.  So … it could be hundreds of years old.

This could be an interesting place to put a camera. We have a nice view of the forest with a big tree behind there.

We’ve got a trail coming along the riverbank here, close to the river. We think that this is a place to be used by Cassowaries as they move through this area.

Yoki: This bird is one of the heaviest birds living in the world.

Tim: Yeah, how much do they weigh?

Yoki:  I’m now 70 … it’s about my weight!

Tim:  About your weight, like 60, 70 kilos?

Yoki: 60, 70 kilos.

Tim: Wow, and then how tall?

Yoki: How tall are you?

Tim: I’m about 190 centimeters.

Yoki: 190? And I’m 170 – is probably about …. Between us.  It’s a huge, huge bird!

Tim: So that’s the biggest animal in the New Guinea rainforest, right?

Yoki: … yeah, in Papua.  

Even though it’s a huge bird, it’s difficult to see, right?  It’s so elusive.

Tim: Yeah.

Yoki: The Cassowary has a short digestive system.  So it means when swallowing this big …. the seed will come out harmlessly.  So that’s why they’re also effective in dispersing the seeds.

Tim: Yeah, and there’s probably no other bird that can disperse this seed.

Yoki: Oh yeah, this big? For sure.

Tim:  We’re right underneath the tree … I mean this seed could germinate here but then it’s just competing with the mother tree.  It’s a big benefit to the species, to the tree, if the seeds are spread far away from the mother tree by a Cassowary.

Yoki:  This is a huge pile of Cassowary poop.  This is a good example of the ecological role of the Cassowary.  While in the sky we have Hornbills also dispersing the seeds, while on the ground, in Papua, we have one of the largest living birds.

Tim:  The camera’s fogged again?

Narrator (Yoki): 

SLOWLY, THIS FOREST’S SECRETS BEGIN TO BE REVEALED 

THE CAMERAS CAPTURE MANY SURPRISES—EACH ONE OFFERING A GLIMPSE INTO THE RICH BIODIVERSITY THAT HIDES AMONG THE TREES.

WE EXPERIENCED MOMENTS OF SUCCESS. BUT THE CASSOWARIES STAYED JUST OUT OF REACH. TANTALIZINGLY CLOSE…. YET NEVER FULLY SEEN.

Tim:  Oh, we got a part of a Cassowary …. Turn around, come back …. We got a Cassowary butt.

Narrator (Yoki): 

FILMING CASSOWARIES TAKES MORE THAN TECHNOLOGY. IT REQUIRES PERSISTENCE, PRECISION, LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND A DEEP RESPECT FOR THE FOREST’S RHYTHMS.

Narrator (Yoki): 

FOR MONTHS, WE WAIT. WATCH. WONDER.

THEN, AS IF ANSWERING US… 

Tim and others: Wow!

Wow. We got it. This worked!

It’s a good spot, yeah?

Extraordinary.  

Moment: Father and chick Cassowary

Tim (interview): We know from scientific research that the Cassowaries have a unique parental care system where the male takes care of the chick, not the female. The female lays the egg, but then the male incubates the egg and then takes care of the chick.  We were able to capture several different age chicks from really small one up to juvenile but still with the father.

Tim: Well, here’s the track of a male Cassowary followed by a chick. 

Narrator (Yoki): 

IN FOLLOWING THE NORTHERN CASSOWARY, WE’VE COME TO UNDERSTAND MORE THAN JUST A BIRD.

WE’VE SEEN HOW LIFE MOVES THROUGH THIS FOREST—CARRIED IN BEAKS AND BELLIES, SCATTERED IN SILENCE, AND NURTURED BY TIME.

Yoki: You want to try it Tim? It’s good.

Tim: You sure it’s not one that already went through a Cassowary?

Yoki: (laughs) I think this is still fresh. There’s a sweet …. and good acidity.

Tim:  Yeah, definitely in the mango family, right?

The Cassowaries, they don’t really seem to enjoy the flavor of their fruits, they just like, boom, straight down.

Yoki: Yeah, they basically just squeeze the juice out of it and then release it, because what we saw is still intact …. even the flesh is still there.

Narrator (Yoki):

CASSOWARIES SUSTAIN THE FOREST—BUT SO DO THE PEOPLE OF MALAGUFUK WHO CALL THIS FOREST HOME. THEY SERVE AS GUARDIANS OF THIS FOREST, PROTECTING BOTH CASSOWARY AND CANOPY WITH STEADFAST DETERMINATION. THEIR FUTURES ARE BOUND TOGETHER.

IMAGINE THESE FORESTS WITHOUT THEIR UNSEEN STEWARDS – WITHOUT CASSOWARIES TO CARRY SEEDS ACROSS THE LAND. 

THE FOREST AS WE KNOW IT WOULD BE UNABLE TO RENEW ITSELF.

BUT WITH EACH FRUIT SWALLOWED, WITH EACH SEED SCATTERED, THE FUTURE OF THE FOREST IS SUSTAINED. 

THIS IS THE CASSOWARY’S TIMELESS ROLE, ONE THAT WILL SAFEGUARD PAPUA’S FORESTS FOR GENERATIONS YET TO COME.

Yance Kalami (interview): My hope is for this forest to be known to the world.  My hope, for all of us, the families of Malagufuk, and for our children, and the next generation – is that, hopefully … the forests will be protected forever. That’s all.

End of Transcript

[animal sounds]
[dramatic music]
[city sounds]

The Indo-Pacific. A region of diverse landscapes, wildlife, and cultures.

Its natural resources, including one of the world’s three major rainforests, have helped to create some of today’s fastest growing economies.

It is also home to a tenth of the world’s remaining intact tropical forests.

[animal sounds]

Intact forest are more than just tree-covered landscapes.

They are complex networks of living and non-living elements, with few signs of human activity, that are large enough to sustain entire ecosystem functions.

[monkeys howling]

They improve food security and water availability while protecting people from natural disasters and climate change.

And as the world confronts the health, social, and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indo-Pacific’s intact forests will play a key role in creating more resilient societies.

Maintaining the forests’ integrity will improve human wellbeing and support the natural systems we depend on.

And yet, their trajectory has been in decline for decades.

Twenty years ago, the Indo-Pacific was home to the second largest expanse of undisturbed rainforest in the world.

It covered roughly 188 million hectares, an area about twice the size of the island of New Guinea.

But it was losing forest more quickly than anywhere else.

Satellite records show that by 2019, this forest had been reduced to less than half of what it had been in 2001 with most cleared for resource extraction and infrastructure expansion.

In the northwest, the main drivers have been forestry, shifting small farms, and large-scale commercial agriculture.

In the central region, the leading factor was clear-cutting for palm oil production.

And in the east, losses came from shifting small farms and palm oil plantations.

Today with forests fragmented and degraded, few are large enough, and intact enough, to sustain all ecosystem functions while providing the full range of benefits that people depend on.

The intact forests that remain are essential.

[rainforest sounds]

About 30% are scattered widely, but roughly 70% are concentrated just within the islands of

Borneo and new Guinea, with around half, about 30 million hectares, in the New Guinea region alone.

[bird sounds]

These forest systems provide many undervalued benefits that are easy to overlook.

They support the highest levels of terrestrial biodiversity.

Up to 25,000 species of trees provide habitat and food for millions of forest-dependent plants, animals, fungi, and microbes.

Together their interconnected networks provide services that societies depend on, like nutrient cycling, seed dispersal, pollination, and pest resistance.

All for free.

[thunder crackling]

Beyond supporting biodiversity, intact forest systems also influence cloud cover and rainfall.

[thunder crackling]

They redistribute runoff, stabilize water tables, and regulate movement of nutrients and sediments, helping to maintain soil fertility for food production and preventing erosion.

And with today’s climate extremes, intact forests buffer people from the increasing intensity and frequency of heat waves, droughts, and floods.

These forests have also provided material and spiritual resources for forest-dependent communities for over 50,000 years.

And today, over 100 million people, roughly one quarter of the indigenous peoples worldwide, rely on their direct use for food, water, shelter, and livelihoods.

Forests provide benefits to human health by decreasing the negative impacts of smoke and haze by being better able to withstand wildfires than disturbed forests.

They yield compounds that supply millions of people with medicines worldwide.

Intact forests also reduce contact between humans and disease vectors, preventing the transmission of established and emerging infectious diseases that can impact human health and economic stability at global scales.

[rainforest sounds]

The benefits of intact forests also reach worldwide.

They provide a free service for mitigating the impacts of global climate change by storing carbon in their trees, soils, and peatlands.

The Indo-Pacific is estimated to hold up to 140 billion tons of carbon, with more than 40 billion tons in tree biomass alone.

Keeping them intact will play a vital role in preventing global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030.

[airplane whirring]

The benefits of intact forests are increasingly clear.

Yet current land use plans are often at odds with maintaining their integrity.

For example, as of 2020, land concessions have been issued for much of the western half of New Guinea.

Millions of hectares have been allocated for industrial logging and wood pulp production, mining operations, and oil palm plantations.

Major infrastructure projects, including a 4,000-kilometer-long road network, are under way to facilitate these land use plans.

Throughout the Indo-Pacific, many intact forests face similar pressures.

[upbeat music]

If human health, indigenous cultures, food security, and low-cost tools for fighting climate change are to be provided by intact natural systems, then the current trajectory of use needs to be reconsidered.

Once intact forests are degraded, their benefits are lost for generations.

No known alternatives can restore all the services they provide.

[rainforest sounds]

Societies around the globe have exploited nature to shape the world we live in without recognizing the full value of intact natural systems.

This relationship has fueled development for centuries, but it is not sustainable for achieving economic growth while also reducing carbon emissions and ensuring human wellbeing.

Only by safeguarding these natural systems can we continue to draw on the environmental, economic, and human benefits they provide.

[bird noise]

For the forest-rich regions of the Indo-Pacific, protecting intact forests is a low-cost pathway for building more resilient and prosperous societies for today and for the future.

[rainforest sounds fade]

[animal sounds]
[dramatic music]
[city sounds]

The Indo-Pacific. A region of diverse landscapes, wildlife, and cultures.

Its natural resources, including one of the world’s three major rainforests, have helped to create some of today’s fastest growing economies.

It is also home to a tenth of the world’s remaining intact tropical forests.

[animal sounds]

Intact forest are more than just tree-covered landscapes.

They are complex networks of living and non-living elements, with few signs of human activity, that are large enough to sustain entire ecosystem functions.

[monkeys howling]

They improve food security and water availability while protecting people from natural disasters and climate change.

And as the world confronts the health, social, and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indo-Pacific’s intact forests will play a key role in creating more resilient societies.

Maintaining the forests’ integrity will improve human wellbeing and support the natural systems we depend on.

And yet, their trajectory has been in decline for decades.

Twenty years ago, the Indo-Pacific was home to the second largest expanse of undisturbed rainforest in the world.

It covered roughly 188 million hectares, an area about twice the size of the island of New Guinea.

But it was losing forest more quickly than anywhere else.

Satellite records show that by 2019, this forest had been reduced to less than half of what it had been in 2001 with most cleared for resource extraction and infrastructure expansion.

In the northwest, the main drivers have been forestry, shifting small farms, and large-scale commercial agriculture.

In the central region, the leading factor was clear-cutting for palm oil production.

And in the east, losses came from shifting small farms and palm oil plantations.

Today with forests fragmented and degraded, few are large enough, and intact enough, to sustain all ecosystem functions while providing the full range of benefits that people depend on.

The intact forests that remain are essential.

[rainforest sounds]

About 30% are scattered widely, but roughly 70% are concentrated just within the islands of

Borneo and new Guinea, with around half, about 30 million hectares, in the New Guinea region alone.

[bird sounds]

These forest systems provide many undervalued benefits that are easy to overlook.

They support the highest levels of terrestrial biodiversity.

Up to 25,000 species of trees provide habitat and food for millions of forest-dependent plants, animals, fungi, and microbes.

Together their interconnected networks provide services that societies depend on, like nutrient cycling, seed dispersal, pollination, and pest resistance.

All for free.

[thunder crackling]

Beyond supporting biodiversity, intact forest systems also influence cloud cover and rainfall.

[thunder crackling]

They redistribute runoff, stabilize water tables, and regulate movement of nutrients and sediments, helping to maintain soil fertility for food production and preventing erosion.

And with today’s climate extremes, intact forests buffer people from the increasing intensity and frequency of heat waves, droughts, and floods.

These forests have also provided material and spiritual resources for forest-dependent communities for over 50,000 years.

And today, over 100 million people, roughly one quarter of the indigenous peoples worldwide, rely on their direct use for food, water, shelter, and livelihoods.

Forests provide benefits to human health by decreasing the negative impacts of smoke and haze by being better able to withstand wildfires than disturbed forests.

They yield compounds that supply millions of people with medicines worldwide.

Intact forests also reduce contact between humans and disease vectors, preventing the transmission of established and emerging infectious diseases that can impact human health and economic stability at global scales.

[rainforest sounds]

The benefits of intact forests also reach worldwide.

They provide a free service for mitigating the impacts of global climate change by storing carbon in their trees, soils, and peatlands.

The Indo-Pacific is estimated to hold up to 140 billion tons of carbon, with more than 40 billion tons in tree biomass alone.

Keeping them intact will play a vital role in preventing global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030.

[airplane whirring]

The benefits of intact forests are increasingly clear.

Yet current land use plans are often at odds with maintaining their integrity.

For example, as of 2020, land concessions have been issued for much of the western half of New Guinea.

Millions of hectares have been allocated for industrial logging and wood pulp production, mining operations, and oil palm plantations.

Major infrastructure projects, including a 4,000-kilometer-long road network, are under way to facilitate these land use plans.

Throughout the Indo-Pacific, many intact forests face similar pressures.

[upbeat music]

If human health, indigenous cultures, food security, and low-cost tools for fighting climate change are to be provided by intact natural systems, then the current trajectory of use needs to be reconsidered.

Once intact forests are degraded, their benefits are lost for generations.

No known alternatives can restore all the services they provide.

[rainforest sounds]

Societies around the globe have exploited nature to shape the world we live in without recognizing the full value of intact natural systems.

This relationship has fueled development for centuries, but it is not sustainable for achieving economic growth while also reducing carbon emissions and ensuring human wellbeing.

Only by safeguarding these natural systems can we continue to draw on the environmental, economic, and human benefits they provide.

[bird noise]

For the forest-rich regions of the Indo-Pacific, protecting intact forests is a low-cost pathway for building more resilient and prosperous societies for today and for the future.

[rainforest sounds fade]

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The world’s largest tropical rainforests are in the Amazon, the Congo Basin and the Indo-Pacific.

Half of the remaining intact rainforest in the Indo-Pacific is within Indonesia, with most in Indonesian Papua. 

Charlie Heatubun:

My first time going into the forest was when I was in 5th grade.

The temperature and atmosphere felt comfortable. 

I heard birds singing and insect sounds. It was very calming.

Entering the forest felt like a different world.

Charlie Heatubun:

Indonesia is at the forefront of efforts to control climate change.

In recent years, we have succeeded in reducing emissions from the two main causes of deforestation and forest degradation.

Papua’s forests are very unique and serve essential functions for human life on planet earth because of their role in carbon sequestration, photosynthesis, and oxygen production.

And of course, these forests are closely connected to the culture and living needs of Indigenous People in Papua.

Muhammad Musa’ad:

I would like to convey to everyone, both in Indonesia and internationally, that in the middle of this vast world, there is still an island … the vast island of Papua, which today has 6 provinces, with biodiversity and fauna …. both on land and at sea.

Deasy Natalia Lontoh:

The leatherback turtles that lay eggs in Papua have a wide geographical range. Their feeding areas are in the Americas, the South China Sea, the central Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand.

Papua is home to many leatherback turtles, about 75% of their nesting activity is here.

Sebedius Siyoho:

Mangrove forests are important for local communities …mangroves protect crabs, fish, and other creatures like shellfish and snails.

Obaja Kalami:

There are parrots, there are cockatoos, there are birds of paradise, there are crowned pigeons…That’s what is unique here.

Benny Mambrasar:

So there are not just one or two bird-of-paradise species. There are 38 species in Papua.

Daniel Kalami:

For me, it’s very beautiful. The beauty first comes from their sounds, then the beauty continues with their feathers when they dance. – That’s what makes it beautiful.

Muhammad Musa’ad:

More than 80% of Papuan people live in interior areas, including remote areas of the forest. So nature becomes part of people’s lives. 

Aldri Erwin Lagu:

For me, forests, seas, and land are very important.

The forest is like a mother, someone who gives me food and water.

The importance of the forest, land, and sea, they are everything to us.

Charlie Heatubun:

Currently, the most pressing global problem is related to climate change – especially global warming. 

However, if we understand the local knowledge and culture of the people in Papua, we can avoid these things by following their way of life.

They take just enough natural resources to ensure that they can properly take care of their future needs.

Yanuarius Anouw:

The communities in Papua are always committed to protecting natural ecosystems. 

Starting with the soil, they maintain the fertility of the land, and after that, the forest ecosystem.

Amos Kalami:

Take care of the forest, take care of the wood, sake care of the birds. 

We have a commitment known as “Egek.” 

“Egek” means we only take what is needed and let nature recover by itself.

Yunita Debi Ahoren:

As a woman, I believe that the forest is our life. 

We don’t just live on the land; our life comes from the forest. 

From the forest we can breathe, and we can move. 

We’re powerless without the forest. 

The forest is our life, and our life is the forest.

Benny Mambrasar:

We don’t want just us and our parents to enjoy nature, while future generations can’t experience it. 

They would miss out on the beauty of nature.

We must be proud to have a country with extraordinary natural wealth. 

As children of the nation, let’s take advantage of this opportunity to protect forests and nature.

Muhammad Musa’ad:

Papua in general has extraordinary potential…

and what is very important is the strong commitment of its people, especially indigenous communities and also regional governments, to be able to protect our environment, safeguard the wealth that God has bestowed on us.

For this reason, I invite all people in the world to contribute to protecting Papua for the future of the global community, not only Indonesia.

Charlie Heatubun:

There’s a saying that goes: “sustainable forests, prosperous communities.”

However, for us in West Papua, it’s the opposite: “prosperous communities, sustainable forests.”

We all live in the same country and on same planet. It’s important to know that what we do will affect the quality of life for people everywhere.

If Papuan communities are prosperous, forests are sustainable, our country will also be prosperous. This can be a good example for other countries, that we carry out the noble duties for the welfare of future generations.

The important thing is our unwavering commitment and motivation to collaborate.  Big things cannot be achieved alone.  The most important factor is our strong will to work together and move forward collectively.

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