Tumenggung Majid in the Palm Oil

Tumenggung Majid in the palm oil
Uploaded by Films4

Nangkus speaks of the different generations appreciation of the Forest

Nangkus talks about his feelings for the forest
Uploaded by Films4

Tummenggung Tarib in the Rubber Plantation

Tumenggung Tarib interview in Rubber Plantation
Uploaded by Films4

Tummenggung Tarib in the Palm Oil

Tumenggung Tarib interview in Palm Oi Plantation
Uploaded by Films4

Mangku Basemen

Mangku Basemen
Uploaded by Films4

Launch of the dedicated Films4Forests project website

Well, it has been a long time in the making. but we're almost ready to launch the first two parts of the Films4Forests project. In anticipation of the launch we have created a dedicated project website that gives the background to the project and lots of extra information from selected quotes from the film, additional un-edited interviews with the Orang Rimba forest nomads, interactive Google Maps - if you know you're stuff you'll be able to open these in Google Earth too.

Take a look - www.films4.org/FORESTS

Edit Complete: Orang Rimba, Happiness Lies in the Forest

We have just finished the edit of the first film - Orang Rimba, Happiness Lies in the Forest - and now preparing for its release. The current running time is at 23 minutes in total - which is 8 minutes longer than the cut we prepared for RSPO RT5. We will keep you posted on the launch date, but it looks likely to be in the next month, with its release being in 3 parts, and going straight online in High Definition with the help of our partners at Dailymotion.

More shooting today: Ecosystem Services

Our friends at Gekko are shooting one of the final interviews today for the Forests4Indonesia project. This interview looks at the value of the ecosystem services provided by natural forest - and highlights the economic value of standing forest, over simple calculations of timber value and plantation expansion. Ecosystem services include: providing clean water and fresh food; supporting a wider area of land through the nutrient cycle (e.g. leaf litter being dispersed by rivers to flood plains) and essential habitat for pollinating species (keeping our crops reproducing); cultural values (forest and flowers are essential to our friends the Orang Rimba); and the maintenance of rich biodiversity - with Sumatra's lowland forest being the most biodiverse in the world (ref. RSPB Harapan Project).

It is worth noting that pest problems, such as rats and locusts are often associated with largescale monoculture, where the natural balance of predators and prey, and the lack of diversity of animals reflects the lack of diversity of plants - on the other hand natural forest is a highly complex system that works against plague proportions, and thus doesn't require the use of intensive fertilisers and pesticides which are used in mono-cultures, further damaging the ecosystem and clean water supplies for humans.

Voices4Forests screens @ RSPO RT5

With an audience of over 500 delegates from 28 countries, Oxfam presented Films4Conservation's Orang Rimba story to the heads of the palm oil industry, including growers, refiners, traders, banks, goods manufacturers, supermarket retailers and biofuel investors.

Life with the Orang Rimba

Here are some of our first photos from forest life with the Orang Rimba.

Films4Forests First Team Meeting

Sawit Watch Office, Bogor, Indonesia, August 2007

Our first meeting between Films4Conservation, Sawit Watch, Telapak and Cockroach Indonesia to discuss preliminary logistics for the Films4Forests Project

Background to the Films 4 Forests Project

As international demand for palm oil increases, Indonesian rainforest is being cleared at an ever-increasing rate to make way for plantation expansion. Many plantations in Indonesia are subject to conflict over land rights disputes. Thousands of indigenous people who rely on natural forests for their home and survival are finding that they are powerless to stop the conversion of their land. The new demand for palm oil as a biofuel (perversely an “environmentally friendly” alternative to fossil fuels) is a further reason for urgent action. The escalation of these problems is imminent.

There is, however, reason for hope – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is an industry and NGO forum that is making great steps forward in the regulation of this industry. Last year our “Orangutan and human: Conflict mitigation training video” was adopted by many RSPO members both on the production side and in the NGO sectors, this film in turn was funded by the UK supermarket ASDA. This project provided a great insight into how better communications between the often vocally opposed sectors could bring benefit to all. It is with this in mind that we formulated the Films4Forests project concept and believe it will prove a valuable addition to dialogue at RSPO RT5.