On a Saturday in March 2017, Hidayah Hamzah and Clorinda Wibowo of WRI Indonesia, delivered a forest 101 to Hutan itu Indonesia, an open movement consisting of individuals and organizations seeking to protect forests and preserve Indonesia. In the presentation, both Hidayah and Clorinda shared a wide array of topics about forests, starting from definition to the status of Indonesia forests.

Hidayah emphasized the needs for humans to protect forests for the benefit of environment, which ultimately will present benefit for humans’ well-being. Forest absorbs harmful greenhouse gasses that produce climate change, home to more than half of the world’s land-based species and provide clean water for drinking and bathing. Perhaps more importantly, with more than 10 million people being employed in the formal forest sector and around 300 million people living in and around forests, protecting forests is inevitable.

However, Indonesia has been experiencing massive tree cover loss, ranking fifth highest among all countries for annual tree cover loss in the 2011-2013 period. This loss has been largely driven by agriculture development, exacerbated with weak governance in Indonesia’s land sector.

What can we do as public to reduce the deforestation? We can help monitor deforestation, and start voicing out for a change in how Indonesia manage its forests. Now, with the revolution in satellite technology and development of platform such as Global Forest Watch, public can monitor the tree cover loss and use this information to speak up. Clorinda provided a tutorial to use Global Forest Watch to enable Hutan itu Indonesia to continue campaigning for forests protection, especially in Papua where last remaining intact forests are located. Finally, we hope that the sharing session can provide Hutan itu Indonesia with the skills and information needed to grow our love for forests.