The Water to Our Fire
I came to speak for mypeople. (Credits: Global Landscapes Forum Flickr Page) |
“We are fighting for our land in our homeland”, Emmanuela Shinta
approached the front line of the stage proudly in Global Landscapes Forum
(GLF), Jakarta, May 18th 2017. Shinta brought along the stories in
her journey to Jakarta; all the way from the western part of Borneo to the
busiest business district of Java.
Shinta came from the most exotic tribe in Indonesia, The Dayak Tribe.
Wrapped beautifully in her traditional clothes, she drew the attention of media
and the world to the life of Dayak’s indigenous people through RANU WELUM
Foundation. RANU WELUM is meant “Air Kehidupan” in Bahasa or “The water of life”
in English. Despite of its meaning, the “living water” had to fight with the
fire since 2014.
Peatlands had always been an identity and culture of indigenous people
of Borneo, especially Dayak. According to CIFOR, in 2012, Borneo has 5.7
million hectares of peatlands which is contained carbon 5 – 10 times bigger
than the carbon contained in natural forest. The abundance of peatlands in
Borneo was and will always be the important resources for agriculture for local
people.
Despite of the resources provided, peatlands are sensitive to the
drought. There were almost 25.000 hotspots scattered in the land of Borneo in
2014 – 2015, and these hotspots are fairly sensitive to fires in the drought
season (Bambang 2015). Not only drought season, slash and burn practice done by
the local people in the peatlands also sparked the fires.
Everything seemed all right until El Nino attacked Indonesia in 2015;
when the drought caused massive fire breaks in Borneo, Papua, and Sumatera
islands. The fires produced acid and toxic smoke that affected the health of
600.000 people. The effects also deployed to the neighboring countries; made
Indonesia blamed and shunned. When Indonesia was blamed for the smoke, the
local people fought for oxygen in the middle of fires.
“We had to fight for oxygen. We didn’t have place to hide from the
smoke“, Shinta described the drama that happened in Palangkaraya. Oxygen crisis
was really happening in 2015 in Indonesia, still land and forest fires were
considered as cliché. Through GLF, the horror that happened in Borneo brought a
chill toward our spine in JS Luwansa Hotel Jakarta.
Formed in 2013, led by CIFOR, and coordinated by The World Bank and UN
Environemnt, GLF put forward the landscape approach. Landscape approach is not
only about ecosystem, flora, or fauna, but also the engagement of indigenous
people. GLF, which was held in Jakarta yesterday, is a milestone for local
people to speak their voice and fight for their engagement in front of world’s
practitioners.
Too many things are kept beneath the ground of peatlands instead of
carbon. There might be stories, histories, cultures, or wars. A man has spoken,
does it still require several more men to be heard? Let RANU WELUM be RANU
WELUM without fighting with the fires.
Global Landscapes Forum: Let the irony stop in the darkest year of
Indonesia, but do not let it happen elsewhere.
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