Mighty Earth ads

Deforestation is bad for business. Time and again, clearing Indonesia's forests and peatlands for agriculture has failed to deliver the goods. The latest attempt is the food and energy estates project, the world's largest deforestation project, where soldiers are being used to force through clearances in South Papua. The reason the soldiers are needed is because private companies won't take on the job alone, and local communities don't want the project either - a clear sign of the likely outcomes. Wiping out forests and peatlands for any reason would be bad enough, but doing it at vast expense for a project that won't work is even worse. As our CEO Glenn Hurowitz says, "Indonesia has proven models that can increase agricultural production while protecting forests, but in the South Papua project they’re not learning from their own success." Instead, they are choosing to repeat old failures. It's time to abandon the food estates project for something that will actually support Indonesia's people and economy. Video: Mighty Earth/Yusuf Wahil

Indonesia is destroying some of the last untouched lowland forest on Earth, with devastating effects on wildlife. In South Papua, the government's food and energy estate project is clearing millions of hectares of natural vegetation to plant rice and sugarcane. This land is home to species found – in some cases - nowhere else on the planet. They cannot simply relocate once their forest is gone. This is particularly devastating as this year’s “Godzilla El Niño” wipes out vast swathes of irreplaceable tropical forest in other parts of Indonesia. Indonesia has shown before that agricultural expansion and forest protection do not have to be at odds with one another, and it can do so again. Clearing habitat that cannot be replaced, for a plan that will not deliver, is not a trade worth making. Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, David Fogarty, Amanda Shendruk, Carlos Marin, Winnie Tan and Xaquín González Veira report for The Straits Times: https://lnkd.in/drCiBfeg Video: Yusuf Wahil / Mighty Earth

Deforestation is bad for business. Time and again, clearing Indonesia's forests and peatlands for agriculture has failed to deliver the goods. The latest attempt is the food and energy estates project, the world's largest deforestation project, where soldiers are being used to force through clearances in South Papua. The reason the soldiers are needed is because private companies won't take on the job alone, and local communities don't want the project either - a clear sign of the likely outcomes. Wiping out forests and peatlands for any reason would be bad enough, but doing it at vast expense for a project that won't work is even worse. As our CEO Glenn Hurowitz says, "Indonesia has proven models that can increase agricultural production while protecting forests, but in the South Papua project they’re not learning from their own success." Instead, they are choosing to repeat old failures. It's time to abandon the food estates project for something that will actually support Indonesia's people and economy. Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, David Fogarty, Amanda Shendruk, Carlos Marin, Winnie Tan and Xaquín González Veira report for The Straits Times: https://lnkd.in/drCiBfeg Video: Mighty Earth/Yusuf Wahil

We're honored that The Bridgespan Group has identified Mighty Earth as an example funding opportunity in their new article, "Five Levers for Philanthropists and Impact Investors to Pull to Help Conserve and Restore the World's Natural Systems." The world lost 6.7 million hectares of primary rainforest in 2024, nearly double the previous year's rate of deforestation. The piece provides a comprehensive framework for funders seeking to address this escalating crisis. Bridgespan identifies five critical intervention levers: designating and protecting lands, limiting agricultural and mining expansion, rehabilitating critical ecosystems, managing wildfire risks, and realigning economic incentives. Mighty Earth is spotlighted for our work on the second lever, limiting agricultural expansion. Our campaigns, investigations, and technical engagement are helping transform the global commodity supply chains driving environmental destruction. By working directly with major corporations even as we wage public pressure campaigns, we're helping shift industry practices to unlock stronger conservation outcomes from the private sector. Bridgespan's framework shows that with strategic capital deployed across these five interconnected levers, we can bend the curve on deforestation and ecosystem loss. For philanthropists and investors looking to maximize their climate and conservation impact, the full report offers actionable pathways forward: https://lnkd.in/evjmg4mz #Conservation #ClimateAction #Philanthropy #ImpactInvesting #Sustainability #Deforestation #forests #Nature Glenn Hurowitz Casey Nitsch Alex Armstrong Molly Dorozenski Tom Kuo Anand R Gopal Ariel Nessel Ken Pucker Heidi Overbeck Annie Sanders Abdul Tejan-Cole Fern NGO

With Indonesia President Prabowo in London today for talks with UK leaders, we’re calling on the UK government to help stop what’s set to be one of the world’s worst deforestation projects. The new strategic partnership between the UK and Indonesia commits both countries to uphold human rights and environmental protection while expanding bilateral cooperation in maritime, education and food security. Indonesia’s controversial Food and Energy Estate project in Papua has so far cleared more than 40,000 hectares of rainforest and grasslands, to grow rice and sugarcane as biofuel, with a total of 3 million hectares earmarked for development, that’s five times the size of London. The lives and livelihoods of hundreds of Indigenous communities on customary lands in Papua are being impacted, with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights investigating the bulldozing of rainforests without communities’ consent and the use of military force to suppress dissent. UK leaders must encourage President Prabowo to change course and halt the destruction in Papua to safeguard human rights and the environment. Yesterday, following the deadly floods in Sumatra at the end of last year, the President pulled the permits of 28 companies linked to deforestation, which had exacerbated the landslides and flooding. These include the operators of a gold mine and a hydropower dam in the vulnerable Batang Toru ecosystem in Sumatra. We urge the President to show this courage again and protect Papua. Images and footage: Yusuf Wahil Glenn Hurowitz Alex Wijeratna Carole Mitchell Amanda Hurowitz Katie Y. Thea Parson Sydney Jones Molly Dorozenski Gemma Hoskins Ben Goldsmith Ed Davey Green Century Bezos Earth Fund Satya Bumi Foundation Fern NGO Avaaz Global Witness Earthsight The TreeMap Peace Brigades International Human Rights Monitor Auriga Nusantara Alex Sobel Maggie Charnley Ruth Davis WWF-UK Yusuf Wahil The Gecko Project Climate Rights International Re:wild Ciliandra Fangiono

Op-ed: Why food companies need to act now to save the Amazon “If chief executives want their legacy to be something other than capitulation to the destroyers of nature, they need to finally stand up for it,” writes Mighty Earth CEO Glenn Hurowitz in Financial Times' Sustainable Views. Deforestation dropped by 69% in municipalities monitored under the Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM) between 2009 and 2022. But the world’s biggest soy traders have just left the ASM, risking a devastating collapse of this conservation success story. Loss of the ASM could reverse years of progress linked to meat and soy destruction of the Amazon and open 1 million hectares of rainforest for soy plantations. Deforestation could increase up to 30% in the Amazon biome by 2045. Soy traders and end-user companies, such as supermarket and restaurant chains, need to uphold standards that reflect the core ASM criteria: - respect the 2008 cut‑off date - exclude legal deforestation - ensure traceability to the farm level - extend protection to the extremely vulnerable Cerrado "Nature needs powerful defenders, including inside big companies. Some have worked hard to support the moratorium. But given the perilous situation, they must do more to save the Amazon and ensure their customers are not dining on deforestation." Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eZyqBSrX