GALLERIES: Projects & Recent Assignments: :: People of the Forest ::

With Stories by William deBuys.

In March of 2009 I traveled with writer William deBuys to the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. This fifty-four-thousand-hectare reserve on the island of Borneo is the site of an upcoming social marketing campaign designed by Rare Conservation and focused on protecting orangutans by breaking the cycle of deforestation that is destroying their habitat. This is also a site where Rare is beginning to test how to bring forest conservation into the rapidly developing global carbon market, a critical weapon in the fight against climate change.

Through the stories of the individuals, Bill and I are documenting examples of the complex, multi-faceted dynamics on the ground that challenge conventional wisdom about international conservation. It is increasingly apparent that effective conservation must seek to do much more than sustain biodiversity and habitat; it must also consider the lives of the people who live in and depend on these places. Those in the developed world who support tropical conservation must recognize the challenges and understand the hopes of the people who call the tropics home. If conservation can empower them to be active participants--even leaders--in shaping their own futures, we will be helping ensure not only that conservation goals are achieved, but also that they are sustained.