The community come from the village of Amdui on Batanta Island, one of the many islands that make up the Raja Ampat Island group east of Sorong, Papua. Batanta Island is covered by lush rainforest that grows right to the edge of turquoise lagoons and pristine bays. The main source of income for most of its inhabitants comes from fishing. There is one large logging operation on the island, run by the Indonesian military.

Logging companies have shown interest in the island’s forest in the past, in particular its merbau trees. This tropical hardwood’s deep red timber is much sought after in countries like China, Japan, the USA and throughout the EU. It is used to make flooring, veneers and furniture. Most locals have seen the type of environmental damage caused by these operations and are wary about any future move to allow them access to these forests.

Yacob Mayor, a local fisherman, is worried about how damage to the forests would affect marine life in the area. He also believes allowing logging companies access to the area would leave nothing for future generations of Batanta islanders.

“Basically, we will say no to the company if it wants to come back again, because they would make us lose everything. For example, a merbau tree needs 30 or 40 years to grow into a mature tree, ready to be felled. On the other hand, our next generation in the next 15 years wouldn’t get any timber for their housing in the future because there would be no merbau left and that would be because of that company,” he said.

In Sawroos Bay (which translates as Saw Bay in English) just beyond the mangroves, people from Amdui have constructed a temporary logging camp. Planks balanced precariously on mangrove trees lead to a clearing where makeshift shelters house approximately 25 people. The din of chainsaws can be heard buzzing away further in the forest. They are here, cutting merbau trees, in order to raise money to build Amdui’s church. The entire project will cost them US$50,000 and they have been working to raise the money for five years. The entire community use the camp and take turns logging, cooking and carrying out to small boats.

The operation is basic and labour intensive. A cutting team look for the largest merbau trees in the area and fell it. The tree is then hand milled on site using chainsaws. Barefoot, a team of four worked on one tree, chainsaws balanced and cutting along a marked line with amazing skill and precision. A large tree will yield approximately three cubic metres of timber and these loggers cut an average of two a day. The timber is then bartered for building materials like cement for the church or sold to timber merchants in Sorong for around US$100 a cubic metre. A pittance compared the US$2000 the same amount of timber would fetch once it reaches the US.

Even though it is hard work with low exploitative returns Augustinus Kapitaraw, an Amdui villager, believes that it is better than the alternative offered by logging companies.

“It is better for the community to manage the timber business rather than a company who will destroy the forest. They will use heavy equipment like bulldozers which will destroy other non-targeted species that might be used by the community in the future,” he said.

There is, however, no guarantee that this community will be allowed to continue to use the forest in this way. The forests in Indonesia are owned by the state and may be handed over to a company that applies to use the land as a logging concession. Greenpeace is asking the Indonesian government to include provisions in its new Forestry Bill that will allow communities to manage their forests.

The people of Amdui think it will take them another two years to complete their church. In the meantime, they continue to be at the mercy of greedy timber merchants. It is people like this that would benefit from the eco-forestry solutions being proposed by Greenpeace. With training, proper milling equipment and a fair market price for eco-timber, they would get more money per cubic metre of timber. Ecologically responsible forest management would mean that they would be able to protect the forest for future generations while also earning an income from it.