When people in Tongka talk about their forest, they do not
start with hectares and maps – they start with their ancestors. For
generations, the Dayak Tewoyan people have fished the Barito River,
gathered rattan and honey, and cared for sacred groves where they
ask the forest for guidance and strength.
Today, their
descendants are protecting this forest together with our local
partner organization, Save Our Borneo.
A forest that finally has a
name
Now, nearly 6,000 hectares are
officially recognized as the Tongka Village Forest, finally bearing
the community’s name. Coal and palm oil corporations can no
longer simply draw lines on a map and move in with chainsaws and
excavators. For Tongka, this is more than a legal victory – it
is proof that they are not powerless in the face of land grabbing
and backroom political deals.
How Tongka won recognition
Behind this success lie years of
patient work: villagers walking the boundaries, mapping every
stream and hill, and documenting graves, caves, and old settlement
sites to show that this forest is their home, not “empty land.” Save
Our Borneo has stood with them through every meeting and every
setback, turning local knowledge and community courage into a
powerful case for land rights.
Borneo’s communities under
pressure
Tongka is not alone. Across Borneo,
Indigenous communities are resisting peatland “food estates,”
mega-plantations, and fires that choke the air and harm the
climate. Peat forests that once stored immense amounts of carbon
and sheltered orangutans and hornbills are being drained for
shortsighted schemes that have already failed in the past. When
these peatlands burn, families flee the smoke, children fall ill,
and entire landscapes are reduced to ash.
The Tongka model and your
support
A better way is within reach: securing
Indigenous land rights, restoring peatlands instead of draining
them, and trusting communities that have protected these forests for
centuries. Please donate now to support Save Our Borneo – your gift
will place title deeds in villagers’ hands, bring water back to
drained peat, and show young activists that the world has not
forgotten their struggle.
Your donation helps communities like
Tongka secure a future in which forests, people, and wildlife can
thrive together.
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