Smart Forests Radio Smart Forests

In this episode of Smart Forest Radio, we speak with Sandyakala Ning Tyas from the Mountain and Jungle Explorer Association Foundation (Wanadri) in Indonesia. Sandyakala shares insights from the development of their Tree Guardian program, launched in 1998 to combat deforestation in an area exceeding 1000 hectares in West Java. In 2008, the programme began using digital technology to improve the survivability of adopted trees. It has since expanded to include mangrove adoption and animal and forest protection.
Interviewer: Yuti Ariani Fatimah
Producer: Harry Murdoch
Language note: The interview takes place in Indonesian.
Image: Wanadri Foundation

In this episode of the Smart Forests Radio, we speak with Rob Lewis, an ecologist at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) in Bergen, Norway. Our conversation focuses on Forest-Web-3.0, a collaborative project aimed at incentivising biodiversity data sharing and pro-forestation practices, thereby improving forest biodiversity. Rob discusses the potential of blockchain technologies for open and fairer data governance by ensuring transparency and control of data flows in open and decentralised networks. Moreover, through the tokenisation of biodiversity credits, this system has the potential to financially reward forest landowners for preservation efforts, helping to move them away from revenue sources reliant on resource extraction.
Interviewers: Jennifer Gabrys and Michelle Westerlaken
Producer: Harry Murdoch
Image: Forest-Web-3.0, https://www.forestweb3.com/

In this episode of Smart Forest Radio, we invite Emmy Primadona and Famila Juniarti from the Indonesian Conservation Community Warsi to discuss the implementation of carbon funds in the landscape of Bukit Panjang Rantau Bayur, commonly abbreviated as Bujang Raba, located in the Bungo regency, Jambi province. Emmy discusses how she assures the community that the funding that comes from the carbon project does not mean they are selling their forests but rather demonstrates how the international community values community conservation efforts.
Interviewer: Yuti Ariani Fatimah
Producer: Harry Murdoch
Language note: This interview takes place in Indonesian.
Image: Yuti Fatimah

Within the Netherlands, there are a lot of widely contrasting ideas about biodiversity. The ‘Stichting Deltaplan Biodiversiteitsherstel’ is a foundation that connects parties, including biodiversity organisations, politics, farmers, and local initiatives, together to create plans for biodiversity restoration. Fleur Bokma worked as a biodiversity advisor for this project. In this interview, she discusses the use of indicators, the challenges of measuring and monitoring these indicators, and how to work collectively with organisations that have different interests and ambitions concerning biodiversity. She discusses how digital infrastructures potentially bring diverging perspectives on biodiversity closer together because they can help to create more collective ambitions. The website 'Samen voor Biodiversiteit', provides an overview of all the initiatives and partners involved. It’s a great resource for understanding the diverse ongoing local and national biodiversity projects that are taking place in the Netherlands.
Interviewer: Michelle Westerlaken
Producer: Harry Murdoch
Language note: This interview takes place in Dutch.
Image: Samen voor Biodiversiteit, https://www.samenvoorbiodiversiteit.nl/projecten

In this Smart Forest Radio episode, we invite Benita Nathania, Mirzha Hanifah (Hani), and Hidayah (Iday) Hamzah from the World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia to discuss the use of Global Forest Watch (GFW), an online platform for near real-time forest monitoring in Indonesia. Benita, Hani, and Iday talk about the challenges of utilising GFW in Indonesia. They especially consider complexities related to the diversity of forest definitions and the importance of understanding methodology in interpreting data.
Interviewer: Yuti Ariani Fatimah
Producer: Harry Murdoch
Language note: This interview takes place in Indonesian.
For more on Global Forest Watch, head to Smart Forests Atlas
Image: Nathania et al. (2022), https://wri-indonesia.org/id/publikasi/metode-prioritisasi-peringatan-terkini-perubahan-tutupan-pohon-glad-alert-untuk-berbagai

In this Smart Forests Radio episode, we speak with Pranav Menon, a PhD researcher in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota, about the politics surrounding forest-dwelling communities, forest commons, and digital technologies in India. Pranav focuses on his engagement with the Van Gujjars, a pastoral community experiencing discrimination, on forest claims made through bottom-up mapping practices. Through ethnographic research combined with a handheld GPS eTrex device, he explores ways to generate different imaginations of forest space rooted in pastoralists’ language and life, which can challenge the state’s hierarchisation of land and people. Despite their insurgent possibilities, Pranav also notes that technologies such as GIS might impact the way the pastoral communities perceive and use space, potentially undermining their traditional way of living.

Interviewers: Trishant Simlai and Kate Lewis Hood
Producer: Harry Murdoch

Image: Pranav Menon