Residents alarmed over massive changes to lakefront region: 'The most heart-broken were the women in the village'

Deforestation around Indonesia's Lake Poso threatens rare plant and animal species that exist nowhere else on Earth. 

The destruction of lands due to the high demand for natural resources is also impacting the lives and culture of the country's Indigenous communities. 

What's happening?

As Mongabay reported, deforestation is occurring around the ancient Lake Poso due to oil palm plantations, mining, and farm expansion. 

As a result, various fish species, a unique type of crab, and other threatened species are at a heightened risk of extinction. 

According to Mongabay, "The rapid forest loss around the lake threatens more than just the trees. Forests help to protect Lake Poso's delicate ecosystem by acting as a natural filter."  

Lake Poso also has great cultural significance to the people who call this region home. Traditional communities use this land for fishing, buffalo grazing, and rice fields. However, climate shifts have caused an increase in major floods that threaten their traditional ways of life. Environmental degradation has also played a role. 

"The most heart-broken were the women in the village," a local resident shared with The Jakarta Post of 2023 flooding from a hydroelectric dam, per Mongabay. "They were distraught about the future of the children. When the rice fields turned yellow [from flooding] and we couldn't harvest, many started to cry as they saw their hopes drowned by the water."

Why are deforestation-related losses important?

Forests support vital ecosystems and the diversity of life. When we sacrifice our trees for human demands, we cause species to lose their habitats while impacting water cycles and soil stability. 

There is also the ripple effect of disruption to Indigenous cultures and the loss of traditional knowledge and customs that follows. 

Many Indigenous groups rely upon forests for sources of food, shelter, and medicine. Groups often have deep spiritual connections to the land, giving communities purpose and hope in an ever-changing world as extreme weather events become more frequent and severe. 

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What's being done to protect vulnerable species and communities?

In Indonesia, researchers are informing the public by publishing their studies about the water chemistry of Lake Poso and the importance of preserving shoreline forests to protect water quality. 

Meanwhile, grassroots organizations and Indigenous community members are trying to protect Lake Poso by advocating for forest protection and traditional farming practices. 

Wherever you live, you can fight the impacts of deforestation by taking local action and joining volunteer tree-planting projects. There are also opportunities to support land rewilding programs to turn monoculture plantations into healthy, thriving mixed-use forests. 

We can also draw inspiration and model examples from successful restoration projects in biodiverse areas like the Amazon rainforest, where efforts have reduced deforestation by around 83%.

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