What we achieved in 2018
Indonesia is home to some of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Unfortunately, in past two decades, Indonesia’s tropics have become victim to a mind-numbing amount of forest and species loss.
Much of what’s left of these forests were once community-owned lands that were forcefully taken and turned into state-run protected areas in the 1980’s. Conflicts arising from this political disruption has led to a long history of the abysmal natural resource management that we see today.
These realities form the context on which our movement is built on. In 2018, not only were we able to grow our reach, we have amassed hard evidence that our programs are achieving the two goals at the heart of our mission.
Helping local communities escape the rural poverty that forces them into dangerous and illegal industries. *
Households enrolled in our program were 96% more likely to save money every month, with those saving 3.5 times more money per month than those not enrolled
53% of households reported an increase in income after 6 months of joining with over half reporting a 15-30% improvement
78% of those enrolled said they felt more economically safe after joining our programs
Households enrolled were 1.2 times more likely to make family planning decisions as a couple vs male-dominated decisions
Protect what’s left of the Indonesian Bornean Rainforest by catalysing environmental conservation through local communities.
In 2018, our community based patrol teams patrolled on average of 190km a month and removed 347 wildlife snares
In our coastal project sites, preliminary findings show that our programs create improvements in harvest rates and income as seen in this graph. To ensure the stability of future harvest rates, the village have made legally binding pledges protect their surrounding mangrove ecosystems.
Households in villages enrolled in our programs were 72% less likely to own wildlife vs those not enrolled in our programs
We were able to analyse data from 2016-2017 to show there was a 36% decrease in human disturbances** in project sites, which also showed a 15% decrease in deforestation between 2017-2018
Households in villages enrolled in our programs were 51% less likely to poach wildlife and illegally log in comparison to those in villages not enrolled.
There were also some great highlights. We were recognised by being awarded the Future for Nature award and received the coveted Darwin Grant to further our work in coastal areas.
We were also able to witness and gather a first of its kind data on the Helmeted Hornbill breeding habits in West Kalimantan and work with international partners such as Blue Ventures and Oceanwise.
Adam (centre) with his Future for Nature award. Standing alongside him is fellow recipients Trang Nguyen (left) and Geraldine Werhahn (right).
Although conservation can feel like running into a brick wall at times, taking a quick look at what we have already achieve is proof that change can happen and that it is happening.
Finally, we want to thank you for your support and generosity and acknowledge our team’s passion and hard work.
There is so much more to do and we can’t wait to share with you the difference we’re going to continue to make in 2019.
*Data was gathered through a survey that targeted over 400 households and 270 households not enrolled in our programs in 2018.
**Human Disturbance levels were determined by the collection of Global Land Analysis and Discovery Disturbances Alerts (GLAD).