Penyang (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. In a private plantation, during the harvest a worker is collecting palm oil fruits from the ground. Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer in the world, with Kalimantan (the Indonesian portion of Borneo island)
How EU banned pesticides are dumped in the Indonesian Borneo, disrupting the ecosystem, and communities’ livelihood
In Bangkal, a small village on the shore of the Sembuluh lake, the local indigenous Dayak population found themselves surrounded by palm oil monocultures in the span of the last fifteen years. “We sold our land and now we are poor - say local inhabitants - The only thing the plantations brought is conflict and pollution”.
The residents in Bangkal used to rely on the lake for drinking water and for fishing. But the massive use of pesticides and fertilisers in the plantations polluted the water: fishes are disappearing and - in one of the most rainy areas in the world - the population now struggles to access clean water.
Palm oil monocultures is deeply intertwined with the massive use of Gramoxone, the infamous weed killer also known as paraquat, that has been banned in Europe since 2007.
Paraquat is manufactured in the UK, by the Swiss company Syngenta. In 2019 Indonesia was the third global importer from Europe. With the Indonesian government trying to silence dissent on such a key sector, and the EU refusing to take actions on banned pesticides export, local communities’ health and future are at stake.
An investigation by Daniela Sala, Adi Renaldi, and Budi Baskoro, supported by the Journalismfund Europe.
Bangkal (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. The village of Bangkal (4000 population) is located on the shore of Sembuluh lake, the biggest in Central Kalimantan.
Bangkal (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. A young girl is collecting a drop of blood from the carcass of a buffalo, sacrificed minutes before as part of Mapas Lewu indigenous ritual. The livelihood (and therefore the survival) of the local Dayak community is endangered by the uncontrolled expansion of the surrounding palm oil industry and the resulting pollution.
Bangkal (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. In the village of Bangkal, on the shore of Sembuluh lake, the local Dayak population (as the various native ethnic groups of Borneo are referred to), gathered to celebrate Mapas Lewu, a traditional ritual intended to cleanse the area from the bad influence of both humans and evil spirits that might threaten people's lives.
Pangkalan Tifa (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. Heni, a local farmer, is spraying the herbicide Roundup among the palm oil trees in the small plot of land she and her family own. She also routinely sprays Gramoxone, with no protection.
Sungai Sekonyer (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. Old photos from Tanjung Puting national park at Henki’s (a local activist) house: old photos. Residents of Sungai Sekonyer, including Henki, used to live inside the national park of Tanjung Puting from which they were forced to leave in the 90s, moving on the other side of the river, where they are now surrounded by palm oil plantations and struggling to make a living.
Bangkal (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. Ena (60 years old) sitting in her family house. She complains that since they were forced to sell their land to palm oil companies they became poor: she regrets the time when she was younger and they could live out of what the forest and the lake provided them. Like most residents of Bangkal she has Dayak (or indigenous) origins and she is the keeper of a special jar believed to be a carrier of good fortune.
Bangkal (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. A man is carrying some wood for the fire on the third and last day of Mapas Lewu indigenous ritual. Next to him, a tank collecting water from a well. Water tanks in Bangkal became a common sight in the village just over the past few years: residents used to rely on water from the lake, but since it got polluted by the palm oil industry, they started digging wells.
Bangkal (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. In the early morning Nouredin (60 years old) sells the fish he caught over the night at Bangkal market. He complains that over the past few years fishing has become more and more difficult. Plants overgrowth on the shore (probably due to fertilizers dumped by palm oil plantations into the lake) made boating difficult and forced him to sail much further, while fishes became scarce and many species disappeared due to the pollution.
Penyang (Central Kalimantan), Indonesia. Herna (48 years old) worked at a palm oil plantation as a pesticide sprayer between 2006 and 2014. She was paid 58,000 Indonesian rupees (around 3.5 euros) a day and she ultimately had to quit due to health problems. She often got dizzy and experienced nausea after she sprayed substances that included Gramoxone, a pesticide banned in Europe since 2007 but still exported. She tried to find another job but, since the palm oil companies arrived, she says, no other job is available.