Struggles for the Forests

When corporations destroy forests, or restrict or even prohibit access to forest peoples' territories, they place communities' ways of life and their very existence at risk. WRM supports forest peoples' struggles to defend their territories, and their right to decide how to live, and how to use the forests they depend on.

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podcast
Articles 19 March 2025

What do the struggles of women facing land grabbing in Mexico, Sierra Leone and Indonesia have in common?

In the framework of International Women's Day, WRM is relaunching the podcast “Women’s struggles for land”, with stories from women’s collectives from the coastal area of Chiapas in Mexico, the Malen Chiefdom in Sierra Leone and the Kapuas river area of Central Kalimantan in Indonesia. While their stories appear quite different from each other at first glance, we find many commonalities and a strong connection between them.
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Bulletin articles 24 October 2024

PODCAST - Indonesia: Dayak Women Defend the Forest of Tambun Bungai

This article tells the story of a Podcast that is being jointly launched with Solidaritas Perumpuan, a feminist organisation from Indonesia. This espisode is the third in the series “Women’s struggles for land”, produced by WRM together with organisations from different countries. This one tells the story of women's resistance to oil palm plantations, REDD and a large-scale project for food production (Food Estate) in three villages in Central Kalimantan.
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Articles 9 May 2024

The lack of transparency behind Indonesia's New Capital project and how the false rethoric of "Sponge City" is used to hide violations against the Balik People

JATAM East Kalimantan denounces the recent move of the Indonesian Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Basuki Hadimoeljono, to appeal against the decision of a State Administrative Court in Jakarta that the government should make public a number of documents that it had kept secret.
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Bulletin articles 19 December 2023

The Industrial Park KIPI reveals the dirty and destructive face of Indonesia´s “green” transition

President Jokowi calls the Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia (KIPI) “the largest green industrial area in the world”. But in reality, there is nothing green about the KIPI. It will lead to massive fossil fuel use, land and water grabbing, while threatening thousands of people in coastal communities with forced eviction. (Available in Indonesian).
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Multimedia 7 November 2023

Indonesia: Protests against mining for electric vehicles

On October 28th, thousands of residents from Sagea, Gemaf and other villages on the island of Halmahera entered in shock with security forces when they occupied the installatioins of PT IWIP (Industrial Weda Bay Industrial Park) to protest against the company´s nickel mining activities that are destroying their land.
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Other information 25 October 2023

Papua: The Moi Tribe Opposing Timber Corporate Giants

Alamindo Lestari Sejahtera (ALS) Group, that owns and controls at least three timber companies and industries in Papua, is expanding the business of timber forest products exploitation in the customary area of the Moi Tribe through a company called PT Hutan Hijau Papua Barat (HHPB).
indigenous balik indonesia
Articles 13 March 2023

Indonesia: Indigenous Balik reject the plan to evict their villages along the Sepaku river

Indigenous people from Balik tribe in Sepaku Lama Village, North Penajam Paser Utara Regency, East Kalimantan, carried out an action rejecting the plan to evict their villages around and along the Sepaku river for the project management of Floods or normalization of the Sepaku River center of Indonesia new capital city.
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Bulletin articles 12 September 2022

Struggling to Stay Afloat: The People of Pari Island, Indonesia, against Injustice

People in Pari Island are seeing their houses and business more frequently under water. Besides their struggles against corporate-led tourism, four Island’s residents are taking legal action against one of the major emitters of carbon dioxide in the world and hence a major responsible for their situation: the Holcim cement corporation.
Bulletin articles 4 January 2022

The Coercion of the Indonesia’s New Capital City Mega-Project and the Neglect of the Balik People’s Voices

The Balik People will bear the impacts of the plans to build a New Capital City mega-project in Borneo, Indonesia. Government officials and business elites in the country are certainly among those who will enjoy the benefits.
Available in Bahasa Indonesia.

Action alerts 3 August 2021

ALERT! Karen indigenous communities face danger after returning to their ancestral territory in Thailand

They have been living in the Kaeng Krachan forests for generations. When a National Park was created, they started to suffer violence and evictions. 22 people have been prosecuted this year. They could face a jail term of 4 to 20 years.
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Publications 6 April 2021

Attacks on Forest-Dependent Communities in Indonesia and Resistance Stories

WRM Bulletin Compilation. Available in English and Indonesian.

Bulletin articles 9 March 2021

Thailand’s imposition of National Parks: The Indigenous Karen People’s struggle for their forests and survival

Indigenous Karen People from Bang Kloi returned to their ancestral home in the Kaeng Krachan forests, after years of dispossession due to the creation of a National Park. Karen communities are mobilizing in solidarity to the Bang Kloi communities’ right to return home.