[PROJECT SUMMARY] Indo-Pacific Intact Forest Conservation:

Issue

2020 and 2021 are pivotal years for biodiversity and climate action. International summits will shape how countries manage natural resources without additional harm to climate and biological systems.

Central to this challenge is the protection of tropical forests and their contributions to carbon storage, biodiversity, and human livelihoods. Though not as well known as the Amazon or Congo basins, the forests of the Indo-Pacific (Fig.1) yield equivalent benefits to people.

In particular, the region’s intact forest systems (large, contiguous forests free of significant human degradation) contribute disproportionately to these benefits. Intact forests provide not only local and regional services but also play critical roles in global climate stability and climate change mitigation.

Urgency

The Indo-Pacific has some of the highest deforestation rates in the world. Over the last 20 years, more than half the forest was lost to logging and land clearing for agriculture and mining. This loss, combined with the burning of carbon-rich soils and peatlands, released 10 billion tons of CO2.

Today, many of the remaining intact forests are slated for further development. On the island of New Guinea, which holds more than 50% of the Indo-Pacific’s intact forests, over 60% of the western half is claimed for forestry products, palm oil production, and mineral extraction, as well as a 4000-km road network already under construction (Fig. 2). Awareness of the value of these forests will be critical to successful conservation efforts.

Opportunity

Building on our 10+ years of engagement with research, natural-history filming and sustainable development initiatives in the Indo-Pacific, Conservation Media will provide a science-based, contextual overview for principal stakeholders advancing low-carbon solutions for climate and economic resilience.

Using blue-chip footage and data visualizations, the media will explain:

1. forest use and loss to date;
2. the ways in which intact forests, as healthy systems, contribute to people’s well-being by supporting human health, indigenous communities, weather patterns, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation;
3. the current trajectory of land-use plans.

The key opportunity is to synthesize and present context to facilitate outcomes toward nature-based, alternative economic opportunities that have been difficult to achieve in the region.

Partnerships

This project is a collaboration with the Indonesian Intact Rainforest Initiative (IIRI), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the UK Climate Change Unit (UKCCU) in Indonesia. These groups are leaders in sustainable forest development efforts in Indonesia and the Indo-Pacific and will represent the key issues at the global summits where media screenings are envisioned.

Timeline and Outputs

An 8-10-minute film to be screened before and during future meetings, including:

• IUCN World Conservation Congress
• Tropical Rainforest Alliance
• World Economic Forum ASEAN
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) CoP15
• UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
• (UNFCCC) CoP26