Buying Back Chainsaws, to Save Forests

A non-profit in Borneo is buying chainsaws from and offering training for alternative livelihoods to farmers involved in illegal logging.

“Through our community education program, we encourage the community to make a better choice before they change their rice paddy fields to palm oil,” says Mahardika Putra, conservation program manager at the non-profit Health in Harmony (HIH). “Then they still have food to eat, harvest a yield a few times a year instead of waiting five years for palm oil to grow.”

The Southeast Asian island of Borneo has lost about half of its forest cover since the 1930s. HIH launched an initiative back in 2017 to begin buying back chainsaws for $200 and provide an additional $450 in financial support to help encourage the farmers to set up alternative, sustainable livelihoods such as opening a shop or beekeeping. The non-profit even opened a medical centre that offers discounts to villagers who have reduced their illegal logging. Recently, a Stanford University study concluded that deforestation has dropped by 70% in the area where the clinic is located. This non-profit’s innovative techniques have created a massive shift for this island, ensuring more excellent habitat protection for wildlife and safer livelihoods for locals.