This film, produced by WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia), starts with a villager in Aceh, Indonesia, explaining carbon trading. “I don’t really understand,” he says, “but I think it’s ‘cold air’ that may be sold to other countries.”
Later on in the film, we find out that Fauna and Flora International told him that, “By protecting the forest, we might be able to sell the carbon.” He hadn’t heard of REDD.
The film shows a range of aspects of REDD in Indonesia including protests outside the 2010 meeting of the Governors’ Climate and Forest Taskforce in Aceh. Hendro Sangkoyo, the Director of the School of Democratic Economics, appears several times in the film, explaining what’s wrong with carbon trading. The main problem being that it does not reduce emissions and therefore does not address climate change.
Other people interviewed include WALHI activists in Aceh, Kalimantan and Jakarta. In addition to activists, the film includes interviews with proponents of REDD. Rachmat Witoelar, Presidential Special Envoy on Climate Change, explains that “REDD is very effective for a forested nation like Indonesia… REDD could be a success that could benefit Indonesia.”
The film includes footage from the Kalimantan Forest and Carbon Partnership project in Central Kalimantan and from Ulu Masen in Aceh. Villagers in Aceh joke about REDD and what it might mean:
Have you heard about Ulu Masen?
Never.
What about REDD?
What? Rod? Hey Yasmah! Do you know red? Rod? What is rod?
Gak adakah orang lain yang lebih bagus yang bisa melakukan voice over untuk film ini?