By: Jihan Faatihah
Every year, Environment Day is celebrated as a call to save forests. In many communities, especially Indigenous Peoples, Farmers and Planters, trees have a deeper meaning. It is not only present as an economic object, but as part of a communal life support system.
In Kaoem Telapak’s work with local youth communities, we see first-hand how trees are planted and cared for as future reserves. It grows alongside children, is passed down between generations, and in many experiences, becomes the most concrete form of protection when crisis hits.
Youth groups as strategic actors for preserving forest
“In Riau, Indigenous Peoples such as the Talang Mamak believe in and view the forest as Mother, where people depend on, where they seek and obtain medicine, food, and ancestral knowledge. Now they are surrounded by oil palm plantations and mines, but the Talang Mamak try to protect Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park (TNBTP) as a sacred space. Even though there are logging practices there, respect for the sacred place makes them keep the trees. The Talang Mamak Indigenous Community began to develop Talang Mamak speciality coffee as an effort to break dependence on the palm oil industry.” said, Agetha Lestari, Kaoem Telapak Campaigner.
However, the situation changes drastically when corporations enter and communities lose sovereignty over their land and living space. As happened in Halmahera, North Maluku, “The community used to manage the plantation independently, but since the land status changed to HGU, since the company entered, they have lost sovereignty over their land. Many have changed professions to become weed-clearing labourers with very low wages. But they did not remain silent, the community distributed about a thousand nutmeg seeds to be planted together as a form of resistance,” Agetha explained.
In the midst of it all, indigenous communities, farmers, and young people who care about their environment persevere. They are reviving the forest. Preserving the forest is saving it from destruction and is part of the way of life that Indigenous Peoples have practised for generations, born out of a sense of collective ownership and responsibility. The forest is an inherited space. Some protect sacred trees because they are part of their cultural identity. Some protect the trees because their roots flow springs for all villagers. This is where we learn: that the most durable forms of nature protection and preservation come from communities that are sovereign over their own living space.
Seeing such a situation, Kaoem Telapak saw an opportunity to collaborate with youth to protect the forest. ‘The collaboration process carried out by Kaoem Telapak is not only on technical training, Indigenous Youth learn to understand structures, build advocacy and documentation, and speak out as subjects who are sovereign over their territory,’ Agetha explained. What Agetha said reflects how building the collective awareness of young people as protectors, thinkers and forest monitors, is a strength, which cannot be separated from the social, economic and cultural context in which the trees grow and are guarded.
One of training sessions
To date, Kaoem Telapak has strengthened the role of youth for climate action and a sustainable future in 17 regions in Indonesia. More than 250 young people have been trained, producing hundreds of documentations from joint forest monitoring activities. The Kaoem Muda network has also grown in various regions: Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Southwest Papua, to North Maluku. Each region brings its own character of struggle, but the spirit is one: to protect what grows for a sustainable life. The Kaoem Muda Network will continue to expand to more regions, build new strengths, and strengthen the solidarity of monitors across regions.
Safeguarding forest trees also means safeguarding the life trajectory between generations. Today’s young people inherit not only the natural landscape, but also the communal knowledge, values and responsibility to carry on livelihoods that honour the trees as the centre of human survival. For young people, imagining the future means nurturing what grows because resilience is not built overnight, but through the life force of trees that are sown and propagated, through the bonds of collective spirit.
Learning to navigate
Entrusting the future to a tree is real: in its heterogeneous roots, there is hope. In their shade, there is protection. And the way we view forests today is a choice to begin again to honour them as the lifeblood of the world’s people.
Restoring relationships with trees lies in the possibility of the future. A collective of courageous, sustainable and equal young people is the key to saving our global environment. It’s time for us to mobilise together.
