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JAKARTA: It was an image of Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio standing in front of two elephants with a man and a woman in Indonesia’s Leuser ecosystem that got people talking in 2016.
The actor posted the image on his Instagram and said that Leuser is “a world-class biodiversity hotspot … but the expansion of palm oil is destroying this unique place.”
The Leuser ecosystem is a forested area that encompasses Indonesia’s westernmost province, Aceh, and the province of North Sumatra, and a treasured ecological point. The photo, taken when DiCaprio was filming in Leuser for a documentary on climate change, outraged the government.
The Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, responded by saying that the ministry was “working hard” to protect the environment.
But some were curious to know who was the woman who was next to DiCaprio, one of the most famous actors in Hollywood.
“Honestly, I was kind of blown away by the stars,” said Farwiza Farhan, who also appeared in the documentary.
Today, Farhan is a household name for forest and nature conservation, specifically for the Leuser ecosystem, which covers an area of around 2.7 million hectares, more than 35 times the size of Singapore.
Farwiza Farhan (left) drew attention when she was photographed with Leonardo DiCaprio at Leuser. (Photo: HAkA / Paul Hilton)
As the president and co-founder of the Aceh-based non-governmental organization Forest, Nature & Environment Aceh (HAkA), Farhan spends her days advocating for policies and planning programs that aim to protect the sanctuary from megafauna.
“The Leuser ecosystem is the last place on Earth where four megafaunas (rhinos, tigers, elephants and orangutan) still roam the wild together.
“And the fact that it is the last place on Earth is actually a sad fact,” the 34-year-old Acehnese told CNA.
More than 185,000ha of the Leuser ecosystem are carbon-rich peatlands, and the rainforest is home to some 105 species of mammals, 380 species of birds, and 95 species of reptiles and amphibians.
READ: Planting crops, building wells: Local volunteers take the lead to prevent annual peatland fires in Riau Indonesia
It is also the life support system for some four million people in Aceh, providing fresh water and clean air.
The Leuser ecosystem is an asset to Aceh’s economic development, with an untapped value of $ 350 million a year in terms of tourism potential and ecosystem services, according to HAkA.
Yet it faces immense threats such as deforestation due to palm oil expansions, infrastructure projects, and illegal logging, which are just some of the problems that Farhan and his team of 30 grapple with on a daily basis.
ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE
“But more than anything, probably the most destructive force on the Leuser ecosystem is bad policy and bad planning,” Farhan said.
“I am not opposed to any development that improves human well-being and supports people’s livelihoods. But if it is done in a way that could be destructive to the source of livelihood itself, what is the point? ”
She gave an example of how in 2016 a geothermal was planned to be built in the heart of the Leuser ecosystem.
“This is an interesting case because geothermal is a renewable energy that we would really love to support. In any other case, we would support geothermal development.
“However, the location for the infrastructure development is at the heart of the Leuser ecosystem and it is a sensitive rhino habitat that is critically endangered and there are not many of them left in the world,” he said.
READ: Clean energy but at what cost? Bali geothermal project, a double-edged sword
So they took the case to court, campaigned against the project, and kept a close watch to make sure there was no bribery or corruption.
They also involved local communities and finally managed to win the case in 2017.
The Leuser ecosystem is the last place on Earth where rhinos, tigers, elephants and orangutans still roam the wild together. (Photo: HAkA / FKL)
At the moment, HAkA is also in court for many other cases, and one of them is the development of a mega dam in the Leuser ecosystem.
“Dams can be very destructive to the ecosystem of rivers. Only 1% of the water on this planet is fresh water. And the freshwater ecosystem is one of the most threatened ecosystems that exist, ”he said.
HAkA is trying to analyze the problems of climate change from the point of view of climate mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
“One of the most important solutions to climate change is the nature-based solution. Forest restoration and conservation are very important because for countries like Indonesia, one of the main drivers of carbon emission is deforestation and forest degradation.
“So for us, preventing that from happening is how we contribute to climate change mitigation,” Farhan explained.
They also work with local communities to restore forests, making them more resilient to face climate change, change water systems, change rainfall patterns, and change livelihoods.
BECOME AN ENVIRONMENTAL WARRIOR
Born and raised in Aceh, young Farhan spent a lot of time outdoors as her parents were busy working as lecturers.
Farwiza Farhan has been a nature lover since she was a child. (Photo: HAkA / Magdalena Stawinski)
He played with dirt and caught insects, and when he had access to television, he watched nature programs.
Therefore, when she became a teenager, she knew that she wanted to study biology and went to Penang, Malaysia to obtain a degree.
Upon his return, he applied for conservation jobs, but couldn’t get one.
“That taught me that you can only achieve your goals when you’re stubborn enough to keep going, even when everyone tells you you can’t,” he said.
READ: Death threats, intimidation are not a deterrent to the scientific mission to save Indonesia’s forests
Realizing that the jobs he wanted required 10 years of experience or a master’s degree, Farhan decided to pursue a master’s degree in Brisbane, Australia.
Once he finished his studies and returned to Aceh, he managed to get a job at a government institution that focused on the Leuser ecosystem.
But changes in Aceh’s political landscape led to the dismissal of the institution, and that’s when Farhan and his co-workers decided to establish HAkA in 2012.
EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
HAkA is policy focused, but it also has programs that empower local communities, including women.
One of their programs is that of women rangers.
HAkA has a program to empower women so they can take care of the Leuser ecosystem. (Photo: HAkA / Manuel Bergamann)
“We know that women have an important role to play in protecting the environment, but their role has often been diminished. At the village level, they are often left out … and not allowed to play many roles, especially in a landscape like Aceh, ”said Farhan.
Therefore, they provided the women of the Leuser community with training for paralegals so that they know what to do if they come across cases of environmental destruction.
The 15 women take turns patrolling the area, although they are sometimes accompanied by their husbands, which is common in Aceh, the only Indonesian province that implements Sharia law and is often considered a conservative place.
Despite the circumstances, Farhan feels fortunate to have been able to challenge perceptions.
“I am very lucky to have a supportive family. My father never forced me to wear a headscarf, my mother was never ashamed of me for whatever I do or wear, and I tried to be respectful to them as well not to wear anything that would make them feel embarrassed if it was in Aceh.
“But at the same time, this allows me to have the confidence and the belief that I am as good as any man. I can do anything that I set out to do that could achieve these goals without having to accept the common conception that women are less or that as a woman you are less valuable, ”she said.
Farwiza Farhan won the 2016 Whitley Award and the 2017 Future for Nature Award (Photo: HAkA / Roy Borghouts)
While working to preserve the Leuser ecosystem, Farhan is also currently pursuing his PhD in the Netherlands.
She is also a member of the Women’s Earth Alliance, an organization that seeks to strengthen the role of women in protecting the environment.
For his work, Farhan won the 2016 Whitley Award, an award often referred to as the “Green Oscars,” as it celebrates conservation leaders.
It also won the 2017 Future for Nature award, which recognizes the work of young conservationists.
Despite all his accomplishments thus far, Farhan realizes that the battle to protect the Leuser ecosystem is far from over.
“The biggest challenge is the reality that right now, our economic system, our policies don’t support conservation. Conservation is very expensive in our economic system and is therefore considered a luxury.
“For many people in companies, to participate in activities that protect the environment, there are not many financial incentives for them to do so. But there are many incentives for people to destroy the environment, and this is not working well for us ”.
READ: Indonesia’s peatland agency director says he’s ‘very optimistic’ there will be no forest fires this year
He said that when the environment is sacrificed for the economy, it will generate greater inequality.
“The poverty gap is widening, the cost of health care is increasing and these do not work for the future we have envisioned together.”
Farhan realizes that he does not have all the answers to the problems and therefore invites everyone to join the discussion.
“More than anything, what I really want for the Leuser ecosystem is for us to start finding ways to think of conservation as a necessity rather than a luxury.
“When people in some parts of Indonesia see that protecting coral reefs would mean economic development and livelihoods, they begin to do so even without being told to do so by conservation organizations. I want the Leuser ecosystem to transform itself in a broader term to that paradigm. “
Read this story in Bahasa Indonesia here.
