Forest Guardians: When Young People Lead the Fight Against Deforestation | SLICE EARTH | FULL DOC

The forest is a system of complex and complex situations, and the trees are their symbols. There are many types of animals and plants in the forest, and they depend on each other. On about one-third of the earth's surface, most of the earth's biodiversity is found in the forests. They are present on every planet in every possible form and at every moment. Their symbol is the place whose history is connected to the human race. And today they are all in danger. East Africa is particularly affected by the deforestation of the Uganda forests. This is also a country that has been most active in protecting the youth environment. In Kala, Leah Namva started a strike on every Friday in 2019 and adopted Greta Thunberg's invitation. I started my activity at the age of 15. My government was less worried and people were less aware of climate change due to deforestation, and I decided to do something about it when I met the members of my team. We started a team called Fridays to Future Uganda. We organize and organize strikes. We spread awareness. We clean the seabed. We plant trees. Yes, I think we are the biggest in Africa. A young student who likes to plant more trees than eat cake on her birthday quickly attracted the attention of the media. Leah fights for many issues. For water and air, against plastic pollution and for forestry in her country. She is regularly invited to water and air summit meetings and meetings. Is it fair to choose more profits than life for the leaders of the world? My goal is to plant more than 10 lakh trees. Oh, what is your goal? In the last 20 years, Uganda has lost about 10 lakh hectares of forest, which is about a third of its total forest area. In a country where population growth has been very fast, forest is also being created along with the expansion of cities and farms. But according to the government, the main reason for cutting forests is to make charcoal from wood. Electricity is limited to a small part of the population and there are still more stoves running on wood and charcoal in the country. Before removing and selling charcoal, it has to be heated for two weeks. Often due to being associated with illegal cutting, the production of charcoal has spread throughout the country. The impact of forest cutting on the environment, biodiversity and water and air is very big. With Friday for Future Uganda, Leah has set up a plan to plant a tree on her birthday so that anyone can plant a tree and celebrate their birthday. These are eight months. Oh, that is where that is. Then that is. No, this is. This is the tree that I planted on my birthday last year. The 700 trees I was talking about, there is one. We go there. They are in one line, one. Do you want me to show you? This is one. It is big. This is one. This is one and a half years old. You can see how big it has become. Only 15% of the forest area is left in Uganda. That is why such trees are rare in some forests. It is called Musi. Due to her project, Leah is slowly re-planting a small forest in the outskirts of Kala. Once upon a time, large forests were cut down in Uganda and now they are only some clean and safe areas, in which the country's special vegetation and wildlife are still present. Since the year 2000, more than 95% of forest cutting in the world has taken place in high-density areas. The Ushna Cutting Forest is home to more than half the species of plants and animals in the world. While there are about 454 species of trees in the forests of Europe, compared to this, there are more than 16,000 species in the Amazon rainforest in Ara, located in the far west of Brazil. After completing her studies, Leon Nielsen Dilva has dedicated herself to forestry. Here, like many other countries, the forest is such a place where people live, eat, work and dream. I have always lived in the jungle. My parents and grandparents were rubber pickers. They used to cut trees in the jungle and cut rubber crops, which were cultivated in Europe at that time. My father has also cut a lot of rubber trees. So, I grew up in the jungle. There are many Swadeshi people in this area. My great-grandparents and great-grandparents were also Swadeshi and I have a special relationship with the Ashahika people. It has been three years since I cut my first crop in Yurka Atame Center. Today we have acai mango, uetu and coco. I have seen many dreams about the jungle and I know its stories. When you enter the jungle, you have to take permission for it. You should know where you are going and what lives there. I go to the jungle in search of medicine because it is also a market for us. We go there to collect our food and to look for materials for our homes. It is actually very big. We go to the jungle to pray, to get treatment. We go to the jungle to free ourselves from pain. The Ashahika community of Benipako established Yurka Atame Center and then Yurka Tasaransi Center on the Ammonia River. The second aim of these places is to protect the Ashahika culture and to stop the cutting of forests. The youths are trained in traditional knowledge and agriculture. Leona Benki's cousin was 18 years old. Now he is the president of Uranka Tassaren. In the coming months and till the end of the year, we will plant about 100,000 plants here. We have also planted plants in other communities in Alto Juruwa. We have planted plants in the vicinity of the Ashahika community on the Ammonia River. And we have planted trees in Hayodol for a project run by the youths. Here our community is like a family. Here are the people of Anava Ashinka. Here are the children of Robert Tappers and the people of the city. We welcome the students of the school children, the students of the municipality and even the students of agricultural engineering, who come to talk to us about land and forest. Here we provide our knowledge. We learn with the Swadeshi people and the Swadeshi people also learn with us. There are debates and gatherings in the Urena Atame Center. Swadeshi and non-Swadeshi people can discuss and study the best ways to work on our land. The center established by BENI creates a permanent relationship between Swadeshi and non-Swadeshi people. This is an important step, especially considering the differences with these communities. In the whole country, their land recognition process has not yet been completed. But Brazil is not the only country that fails to respect the rights of its Swadeshi people and their land. Sweden's ever-increasing forest area actually hides a reality that is just as sad. The country is often praised as an ideal environment-friendly nation. But its forest management is very controversial. The state-owned company Swades cuts deep into the semi-area north of the country. They are the last Swadeshi people of semi-Europe. The forests of the former Boreal forests are being replaced with coniferous trees. These single crops are sprinkled with development fertilizers and cut down. Lainia Bachmann Lulea is an 18-year-old student. She is active in many groups, including Fult Bana, Nature and Youth Sweden, which is an organization of young environmentalists fighting to save the remaining forests of Sweden. I have a special connection with the forest and nature because I have lived outside all my life. We used to go hunting, fishing and picking berries and mushrooms. There is something in every season that you can choose. This is a long one. If it is of the right species, it has actually been classified. Yes, I think its color is very beautiful. It is in danger because it needs a lot of old trees and forests to grow. It is called Gaunla in Swedish. Lichen is a major contributor to the history of semi-territorial forests. In the winters, it provides up to 80% of reindeer's food, which can keep them alive until the spring. It grows on the ground of ancient forests or grows on the branches of old trees. But modern winemaking techniques have cut these ancient trees and destroyed the forest floor. This is a real problem for semi-territorial forests, some of which give their lives to the hunt of reindeer. In Sweden, the age of permission to cut trees is decreasing. For example, at the age of 8 years or more, the trees begin to grow again. So when they start getting food for reindeer again, they cut them again. As a result, Swedish forests are now unable to provide enough food for reindeer in the winter. And farmers like Henrik Andersson are forced to buy them extra food. I now feed them once every day or every other day. It depends on the weather and whether they are hungry or not. If they are very hungry one day, I can feed them for two days. So you can see how much extra food they get from nature and how much extra food you have to give them because they are so hungry and how do they know that they are coming. If they are really hungry, they will come straight to you. If they are not so hungry, they are a little scared. We separate the reindeer from the herd once a year and then mix them with the rest of the year. It mixed the deer among the owners and then we come here and separate them. We can show that this is actually a very old place where we may be from the Law era and still they can do whatever they want. We are not allowed to say no. We can only stop the cutting for five years. They can kill us today or five years later. This is the only thing that you can see from here and it has been cut directly outside the corral. You take as little as you need to stay alive so that you can give more to the next generation. But now we can't give anything to the next generation. It's a shame. Yes, they make a lot of money. But what's left now? Nothing. You can't show your grandchildren the old forests in Sweden. I saw an old film about the Vilupti Rebellion. I was very impressed by how organized it was and how they could shut down London. So I called them and said that we need help. We have a lot of problems with the jungle logs here. And then we made a project and it turned out to be the Vilupti Rebellion. Henrik Andersson contacted the Vilupti Rebellion and then met with Landfam. You can find a place every other day. During this time, I was a social media influencer for a working group and at the end of the interview, I felt that it was a big responsibility to do something against Swedish exploitation and slavery by a large number of people. From there, we started planning our first project, which later turned into the Forest Rebellion. For many months, Greenpeace has been carrying out operations in the Forest Rebellion area. The Swedish state does not consider this area as a co-property. Therefore, forest companies can cut down the forest without consulting the forest management authorities. The team has kept an eye on the site to see if there is a plan to cut down the forest and to put pressure on the forest companies. Here in Sápmi, there are times of severe winters and the forest can be cut down in a day or two. So, we are here mainly to ensure that no wood is cut and to be active so that whenever wood is cut, we can stop it. According to a study conducted by the Swedish University, if we continue to cut wood in this way, all forests will be cut in 20 years. And when we come here, they ask us, why didn't you come 20 years ago when you really wanted to save the forest? Now only the last part is left. Oh! Very soon we will reach the road leading to the left and wood-cutting area. The SPHCOG company is planning to cut wood next to the Reyndier dam and will also destroy the last primary forests of this area. This is a sign from the school side. They are marking the place where wood will be cut and it is all around the dam. And if you look at the branches above, you will see this black hanging sign. This is not only around the crab, but also due to the very few remaining trees, it is very bad. This place actually represents the struggle going on here. We have put a green signboard on all logging sites in Mono, and it is written on it, do not log. With this village, the direction is missing. There is no direction, basically. Since its establishment, the Forest Rebellion has implemented a management process on the basis of direct action and non-violent physical contact to promote forest machinery and public awareness. In January 2022, Greenpeace called on the Forest Rebellion and many other organizations to join the army and draw attention to the semi-village situation of Mono. Four Green. Its CEO announced that he himself will meet the representatives of Moyo and consult them. In our experience, they can say such things and they have said this and then taken it back. However, it was not one and then logged in. And we have heard a lot of stories from different villages of SA that how these logging companies are adopting all kinds of measures to do as they please. Despite the harsh criticism of forest management policy, the cutting of forests in Sweden is increasing. The increase in wood is due to the global demand in the forest pressure of Sweden. The dilemma is that today wood is being used mainly as a fuel. It is far from the clean renewable energy that was promised. Forests are also used to make wood, which includes cardboard, which has increased in recent years. Recycle packaging products are coming faster instead of plastic. But cardboard, glass, cutlery and straw hide such a production process which is not as suitable for the environment as it seems. And finally, 80% of the forests cut here will be included in the environment in less than 3 years. The forests of Brazil are also dependent on the mercy of the global agricultural market. It was also a grazing land and a person cleaned it here. This area was untouched. It was a primitive forest. That man cleaned everything to make a grazing land and to raise cattle. Then he gave up and grew trees again. But it took more than 100 years to make this area again and to grow big trees. To make this area prosperous, we planted Kua Chu, Acai and Cocoa. There are many Kua Chu trees here. Yes, I have often seen the forest growing on the ground. A few years ago, our youth group bought a piece of land and we planted 5000 trees. We have been working on it for 3 months. Then some people came and set fire to it. They set fire to everything. House, garden, everything. They said that we cannot work on this land because it is for farming, not for cultivation. So to avoid problems, we left there and never went back. Then we worked on another land last year. People came and set fire to our gardens again. This year, the center was set on fire again and the land was set on fire. This is the border of our land. And there is a neighbor. He is an animal herder. He was burning from his side. And since there was no protection to stop the fire, the fire came to our land and some plants were set on fire. It was fortunate that we were able to control the fire. The neighbor cut the forest there to increase his land for cultivation. That's it. Let's go and see something else there. Shona Hawk Global Witness has a senior advisor who is a non-governmental organization that fights against the looting of natural resources. One of the main reasons for cutting forests is the production of palm oil, soy and beef such as agricultural products. Due to the expansion of these industries, land is often snatched from the hands of local people, who use it for livestock farming or even for things like manure forests. Forests are necessary for water circulation in the ecosystem. They are really important for biodiversity, which is necessary for the propagation of crops. And that's why it is not a competition between forests and food. It is actually a competition between local people who already know how to live with their local resources and are strong-willed selfish people who are trying to make money. Between 2000 and 2018, 88% of forest cutting is responsible for agricultural expansion. Half of it was converted into agriculture and the rest into livestock grazing. A total of more than 153 million hectares of land has been taken up for agriculture, which is equal to three times the size of France. The production of palm oil alone is 7% of the global forest cutting. In Southeast Asia, about 30% of the forests have been converted into oil fields. In Latin America, soy is the main culprit and cattle are at the top, where 70% of the forest-cutting areas have been converted into grazing lands. Most of the food produced on these forest-cutting lands is associated with industrial agriculture for the market. Still, forest cutting is one of the main reasons for global warming. It is estimated that 15-17% of the greenhouse gas is generated by the disappearance or absorption of polluted forests. Forests also control the water cycle and thus affect local water and air. Uganda is paying the price for it. In 2020, it was one of the most affected countries by drought, floods and landslides. The Ugandan government is ignoring these dangers. It is supporting the establishment of agricultural and industrial companies at the cost of its remaining forests. When I started my activity, my main focus was to raise awareness to tell people that what we are going through, who we are dealing with and what we can do for it. Because my government is just destroying whatever is left. Recently, they destroyed a forest for sugarcane. What does this mean? You know, they don't care about climate change or its consequences. Children, those who are so naive about the effects of climate change, are facing the consequences of climate change that they don't know anything about it. Namaskar to everyone. My name is Omlia Namirahe. I am a student like you. I am in the 5th grade and I am also a climate activist. Does anyone who is fighting against climate change understand English? Yes. Or do you want me to use Ugandan? English. Yes. In two ways. What is the cause of climate change? Yes. Climate change is being caused by the deforestation. What are the effects of deforestation? Drought. Wind. Soil erosion. Deforestation. And drought. That's why we don't want to live in such a situation. I want to create a generation that cares about the future. That's why I start with the children of the schools here. We change the system. We change the mentality. We create such a generation that actually cares about the future. They are not just greedy. In fact, they know that we have to do everything in a sustainable way and in favor of Mother Nature. The thing that made me a climate activist was that I saw how deforestation affected people. You know. I was watching it on TV and then I saw these devastating pictures on TV. You know. It was a school submerged in water. Then your school is submerged in water. And then I saw people's houses. But this can also happen in the dark. And we have talked about the causes of deforestation. So what can we actually do to keep life on earth? Yes, trees. So that they can deforest. She is saying to plant trees so that they can deforest carbon dioxide. Clap for her. Okay. Stop cutting trees. Stop cutting cheese. Our mothers will not be as affected as we or our fathers. But if you sit with your mother or father or your brothers and sisters, then you tell them what is really going on. They will understand. Teach them to care. This is called sensitivity. This is actually something that we can all do. You know that you can't really stop the deforestation. But you can talk to someone else about it. What should we stop? Deforestation. What should we stop? Deforestation. Due to the inactivity of the government and these customs, everyone is taking the support of the environment to wake up the youth and stop the destruction of forests. At some point, it feels like you have to do something. And especially when your lecturer is telling you that we have a responsibility to do something. Because we are the last generation to do something for me. So I was thinking, what can I do? Big, big, small, small, small, small. And this is only when it is around the first group. It took me a little time to connect with XR. I was like this. Yes, I can see that it can be good for such a group. But I am not like that in reality. I don't cause trouble. I, you know, I try not to cause trouble. But at one time, I was watching a live stream due to an inactivity and just seeing people standing with their bodies, something happened inside me and I was like this. Oh no, now I have to do this. Oh, this is pretty good. Let's stop here. Deforestation organizes a training program for all so that talented people can be taught how to act. Deforestation is mainly done in the winters in the north of Sweden because the snow machines are allowed to reach the fields of the jungle which is very wet in the summers. So when you want to stop these machines, the first thing you have to learn is how to stay in the temperature of minus 30 degrees for many days. We are setting up a military tent for a training camp where talented people will test how it is to sleep in the cold and how you do everything in the cold. What is 45? Sure, who? Clear. Good. So, this was the same place where I stopped the road. So I stopped this part of the road. I felt that they were not doing anything for the water and air in Luleå. So I thought that when I tested everything, I thought that leaving the deforestation, so I thought okay, I will do deforestation and see if it has any effect or not. And I thought that I would have to show the commune how desperate I am. So I was sitting there alone when I was not even 18 years old. The people sitting in the cars were very angry and could not understand anything. And some of them were like, no, she is still young. Like, this is such a phase of her life that she will have to go through. Oh, which is sad because it is not so. In addition to doing business in Luleå, Linnea also regularly goes to the site of deforestation. Here she meets other workers who are just as affected by it. In the deforestation training course, all parts of Sweden and other European countries are included. That's why Greenpeace started talking to the commune and that's why what we do is that we go to all these different areas and check if wood is being cut there. We want to tell you some things that you can use in the future. Competents learn practical ways to stop anti-logging, mining and mining machinery. We are going to learn how to climb a rope. This is the fastest way to climb and get off a tree And when you are in deforestation, you often have a skypod or a small camera or a small swing or something in which you can sit in which there is a safety line which is either connected to the Vaniki machine or directly across the road. Sitting on the road and bus platform or swing to stop the goods, to stop the police from coming, to stop the posting machines from coming. And if they cut it, then you fall down and possibly die. That's why the police don't want to do this and until they don't take you down, they won't be able to do anything. So first of all, there is a rope which you will use to go up and down and then pull the bus. That's it. This is fancy. If the police are coming and you just need to climb the tree, this will be enough. You just like him and then he leaves. Okay. Very good. Some fruit. Very good indication. The plan of the Forest Rebellion is not only to save some forests, but also to give their generation a chance to change the system morally. People of my generation are called the disappointed generation. That's why the worst thing with water and air pollution is that you feel different. But when you see other people working and you have a desire to take care of the society and the planet, then it makes you strong and makes it possible to do something. Being an activist means that you have the power to change things with other people and we are not social to believe in it. That's why the training camp of the Forest Rebellion for people to believe that they can make a movement to bring change in the society that they want to see and try harder. Okay. I think they are both ice. Yes, I think. I'll see if I can do it or not. That's it. Someone was saying that sometimes ice. It doesn't pass through the chimney but there is a gap between the chimney and the tent. In Uganda, protesting is already a form of civil disobedience. Water is important to life. Is it there? There. I thought I was writing that life is important. Okay. Life is important. I can't make fish. This. My life. What is this? I want to go. We have to clean this community. You guys. Just stop the killing of forests by the dead. Okay. We understand you guys. We are going on the same path. My first strike was strange for everyone. People on the streets what I was doing. Even my family didn't understand what I was doing The level of awareness was very low. But I got a positive response from people. I got positive reactions Those who are telling me that whatever I am doing should be stopped This day to teach On Friday nosety is not going to school only because of water- air pollution just because of heavy rain and what do I need education on agrarianism? Cause the water- air pollution Question What we want is to stop this water- air pollution I find it very difficult to become a firefighter in my country and in my government. They have very little concern about the effects of climate change on their people. I have been arrested two or three times. As soon as they see the youth, they feel that we are a political threat. So look at the scene where I am protesting and I have been arrested. What does this mean? I am trying to do something in accordance with the environment. Something to raise awareness. But instead they are attacking me and arresting me. Why? We are stopping them. What? Oh, plant that tree. Plant a tree. Plant that tree. Plant a tree. Everyone says, Plant a tree. Let the dream come true. That's it. You wait. Someone is here. I am here. You come and plant a tree. Plant a tree. Now we are planting hope. No, this tree. This is my plan. But in some countries, it is risky to speak up for the protection of the forest. Amazon is a violent war zone for land and resources. This was intensified between 2019 and 2022 during the J.R.Bosar's presidential campaign and continues today. We were threatened. We were told to be careful because some people wanted to harm us. This is because of our work in this area. This is very jealous. My cousin Benny was threatened. His brothers were threatened because of the fight at that time. To save their land and get rid of the woodcutters, they fought. Today, in Brazil, the laws of Brazil are not respected. They are big companies that enter the foreign market with machines and extract gold and wood. Many leaders in Brazil are being killed because of this because they were fighting for nature, land and their rights. Brazil is one of those countries where to protect your land, you have to face security, criminal charges, coercion, threats or even worse dangers. We will keep a minute's silence to remember the people who died in the flood. Global Witness records the number of land and environmentalists killed every year. Today we see that awareness has increased, but enough steps are not being taken to deal with the problem. And in some cases, the dangers are increasing. Often these murders are in remote and rural areas. Often there are people who are not powerful. They are ordinary people. Often these murders are done without any fear. Families do not get any justice. Communities do not get any justice. And this leads to other types of threats and attacks. We also know that often ordinary people who raise their voices for the protection of their land, forest and water, have to face very powerful self-interest. We often see the murders associated with some special industries. And we see again and again that mining, agriculture, woodcutting, and other basic agricultural schemes are often associated with these murders. In 10 years, 1,733 people have been killed in an attempt to protect their land. That is, one person every two days. Due to the difficulty of gathering and collecting information in some areas, these figures have come down a lot. Even though they represent only 5% of the world's population, indigenous population is still in greatest danger. One third of the people killed every year are indigenous. Of these, 68% were killed in Latin America, and 342 were killed in Brazil. 85% of them were killed in the Amazon of Brazil. Behind these figures are the sad stories of men and women fighting for the protection of their land. These people who protect their forests are not doing it just for themselves. They are fighting for everyone, for the coming generations. We are dependent on nature. We are 100% dependent on all life on earth. If this life disappears, then humans will also die. This is what worries me. I am doing my job. I want you to do your job too. The team of Leon Nilsen and Sente have planted about 20 lakh trees so far. Their intention is not to stop here. Now they are being invited from all over the world to present their model of agriculture. Our work has been very hard, and today we can see the results. A standing forest. This is really satisfying. In 2022, the second largest contributor to the deforestation of forests, the European Union, passed a law banning the cultivation of these crops in its area. This is an important law, and in the same year, Brazil's President Lula Dilva announced the Cutting of Forests Zero Programme, which can give hope to the people living in the jungles of Brazil. In Uganda, Leah has planted more than 10,000 trees in just three years. And the Tree Programme on her birthday has sown seeds all over the world. Today, many young people follow her example and plant trees to celebrate their birthdays. Look, one, two, three, go. Birthday trees. Bring the trees too. Okay, let's start planting. Yes. Bring it here. Bring the bear. Bring it now. Let Ezra plant. Hold your tree. Keep it there. Then put the soil inside. Okay. You are all going to plant your own trees. Without my help. Do you know how to plant a tree? Whose tree is this? This is Ezra's tree. Good boy. High five. Come with me. The tree was on the other side, very far. Now I'm planting. Welcome. This way. So I'll keep planting and planting until I finish the whole jungle. Now it will be called Leah Forest in the north of Sweden. The forest continues to help the semi-independent people claim their rights, In addition to these big wins, they are also building a real community to shape the world of tomorrow. It is remarkable how easy it is to make friends with fellow workers. We can do this because we do it together and there is someone who is fighting for you and for your thoughts. If this is not friendship, then I don't know what it is. Then this is the same species that I am planting. But this is five years old. But my trees are two years, 2.5 years old. But if they look like this five years later, and they look so beautiful.