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To raise awareness about forest protection, a villager from Java Island, Indonesia, embarked on a surprising challenge: walking some 800 kilometers on foot ... in reverse. Having left on July 18 from the east of the island, he hopes to reach Jakarta on August 17 in hopes of meeting the president.
Sweatpants, high visibility vest, mirror attached to his chest: with this surprising equipment, a villager from the island of Java has the crazy ambition to walk 800 km on foot, in reverse. Its goal is to make the world aware of the protection of Indonesian forests .
As the Guardian reports, Medi Bastoni, 43, began his march on July 18th. He plans to travel 30 km a day, buy food in stands on the road and sleep in mosques or police stations. His destination: Jakarta, which he hopes to reach August 17, Independence Day of the country, to meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
The villager wants to ask the head of state for a symbolic seed that he will plant at the foot of Mount Willis, a volcanic massif on the island of Java. The tree will bear the name of the president.
A reverse for the environment
" Everyone has to worry about nature, Willis. Not only me. People on the slopes of Willis, the younger generation, "he told local media Surya.co.id . Medi Bastoni hopes, through his action, to encourage environmental activists in the region to continue their efforts.
Asked about the reasons for this long walk backwards, Medi gave a philosophical answer to the Indonesian press. He said that on the occasion of his country's Independence Day, he wants Indonesians to " look back, " remember the history of the nation, " the services of the heroes who fought for independence of the country ".
Indonesia, the world's largest producer of palm oil
The environmental situation in his country is all the more disturbing as Indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm oil and the development of palm exploitation is accelerating the destruction of its primary forests.
According to a survey published by Greenpeace in September 2018, several multinationals (Nestlé, L'Oréal, Mondelez, ...) are involved in the destruction of tropical forests in Indonesia, despite commitments remained for many dead letter.
Greenpeace revealed that the activities of 25 palm oil producers (which supply the multinationals) had destroyed, since the end of 2015, more than 130,000 hectares of forest - 13 times the size of Paris. 40% of the deforested areas (51,600 hectares) are found in Indonesian Papua, one of the world's most biodiverse regions and previously untouched by the palm oil industry
" The palm oil industry is taking root right now in Papua and is deforesting at an alarming rate. If we do not stop these unscrupulous producers, then the magnificent forests of Papua will be destroyed for palm oil, like those of Sumatra and Kalimantan, "alerted Cécile Leuba, campaigner for Forests at Greenpeace France, in the investigation.
Last March, the Indonesian government threatened to leave the Paris Climate Agreement if the European Union maintains its plan to ban the use of palm oil from the list of its biofuels by 2030 .
► See also: Palm oil: Indonesia threatens to withdraw from the Paris Agreement