Cerita

Scott Poynton muda mendengarkan acara sains yang membahas tentang pohon

"Acara tersebut diisi oleh Richard St. Barbe Baker, ahli kehutanan paling terkenal di dunia dan saya terpukau. Ia memadukan puisi, seni, dan sains," kenang Scott. "Saya baru beranjak usia 15 tahun dan saya duduk mendengarkan celotehannya selama setengah jam. Di akhir acara, saya benar-benar yakin, saya ingin menjadi ahli kehutanan."

Scott Poynton mendirikan Tropical Forest Trust

Beberapa tahun kemudian, di tahun 1999, Global Witness mengeluarkan laporan ‘Made in Vietnam, Cut in Cambodia’ memenuhi pemberitaan media, mengungkap bahwa furnitur taman yang dijual di Eropa dibuat dengan mengorbankan hutan hujan tropis Kamboja. Hal ini mendorong Scott Poynton untuk mendirikan Tropical Forest Trust (TFT) dengan misi utama mengubah situasi tersebut.

Idenya sederhana, sorotan publik dari publikasi laporan tersebut menjadi langkah awal untuk bekerja sama dengan perusahaan dan mendorong perubahan dalam operasional perusahaan. Pendekatan ini masih digunakan sampai sekarang, bekerja di situasi yang sulit antara perusahaan dan Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat (LSM) untuk mendorong perubahan.

Our work in Africa achieved certification for an area twice the size of Luxembourg, protecting forest and the rights of indigenous peoples

We began working with Congolaise Industrielle des Bois (CIB) in the Congo basin, one of Africa's largest timber companies. in 2004 and we got a 450,000 hectare concession certified by 2006 shortly after. Eventually, this led to many more hectares of forest becoming certified, independent of our work.

We also supported CIB to improve their relationship with semi-nomadic Pygmy communities who lived in forests the company managed. The Pygmy communities mapped out their lands using GPS trackers. Community members walked through their territory, highlighting important areas and plotting them in the hand-held devices. With our help, a first-of-its-kind radio station went on air in 2007, broadcasting news in 12 indigenous languages to thousands of local people

The Tropical Forest Trust becomes The Forest Trust. Same mission, Bigger scope!

With the release of the Stern Review, which strongly linked deforestation to agriculture, we realised we could not protect forests by simply focusing on tropical regions, nor on one commodity. We knew we must go beyond wood to have an impact.

That meant the name 'The Tropical Forest Trust' no longer represented who we were. We wanted to bring our model to other commodities like soy and palm oil and stop the bleak future painted by the Stern Report. So, we became 'The Forest Trust'. The same organisation with the same mission, but with a wider vision and scope.

After a long TFT-led intervention guns are dropped in teak plantations in Java, Indonesia, reducing violence and saving lives

In 2001, the sound of gunfire could still be heard in Perhutani's teak forest on the island of Java as armed guards protected the land from villagers, occasionally killing local people and illegal loggers. But eight years later, with TFT's help, every single gun was safely locked away.

Theft from Perhutani's teak forests was high. The solution by the plantation managers was violent. Widespread condemnation and the loss of their FSC certification due to illegal logging led their management to seek a change. Working with us from 2003, the firm found a different solution to end the violence and improve their environmental practices.

Working with us, Nestle pledges to rid No Deforestation from its supply chain, leading to dozens of similar commitments of other companies

2010 was a watershed moment for TFT as Nestle began working with us to transform their palm oil supply chain, committing to no deforestation.

Prompted by a damaging campaign by Greenpeace linking their suppliers with deforestation, Nestle began working with us to help them align their practice with their values. Golden Agri-Resources soon joined as well, launching their own transformation journey.

Along with Greenpeace and GAR, we designed the High Carbon Stock Approach, a clear methodology to identify forest in need of preservation

TFT sets off on a mission to change the lives of smallholder farmers by launching the Rurality programme

With boots on the ground in supply chains around the world, Rurality began supporting smallholder farmers to increase their resilience. Today, the programme has worked with over 1,500 farmers.

Satellite technology joins the fight against deforestation

TFT and Airbus launch a monitoring service called Starling, engineered to help companies protect forest areas and react to deforestation quickly.

A movement awakens as we partnered with Malaysian palm industry players to return thousands of foreign workers' passports

Our work with palm plantations and mills led to hundreds of workers having their passports returned. This work sparked a fourth chain reaction, culminating in Wilmar returning 10,000 passports to their workers in 2018.

We dive into the Earth's soils to make them fertile again, with two key projects in France and India supporting farmers to alter their agricultural practices

As TAs TFT becomes Earthworm Foundation, we solidify our mission to cultivate life in habitats and ecosystems, while ensuring the human rights of communities and workers are respected around the world