Farwiza Farhan, Rendering Dutiful Service to Aceh Forests
Born into a well-off family, with a college education and having working abroad, has not made Farwiza Farhan complacent. When she noticed the forests of Aceh, her birthplace, devastated, she had the urge to return home.
Farwiza Farhan
This article is a document of the story published on Friday, 15 April 2016, with the title “Rendering Dutiful Service to Aceh Forests”. We republish this article in appreciation of Farwiza Farhan, who was included in Time100 Next and whose photo graced the frontpage of Time magazine.
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A four-wheel-drive car halted on an ascending road. A woman skillfully jumped down from the open back and then passed through bushes to find the roaring chainsaws that were felling oil palms. The woman was Farwiza Farhan, Chair of the Aceh Forest, Nature and Environment Foundation (HAkA).
At the end of December 2015, she joined in monitoring the felling of illegal oil palms that entered the protected forest of the Leuser Ecosystem Zone in Tenggulun village, Tenggulun district, Aceh Tamiang, Special Region of Aceh.
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Domiciled in Banda Aceh, Farwiza had to travel by land for 8 hours to reach Aceh Tamiang. From the hub of Tamiang city she continued her trip for around two more hours to arrive at the location of oil palm tree felling. There was a feeling of happiness, watching the removal of the oil palm estate that had been grown in the protected forest.
“The function of the forest must be restored,” said Farwiza.
On that day, the illegal oil palm estate, covering an area of 1,070 hectares within the protected forest, was eliminated. The owner of leasehold, who should have opened the estate in another land-use area, had opened it in the protected forest. Environment advocates such as HAkA, the Leuser Conservation Forum and other environment activists urged that the estate be destroyed. Their endeavor was fruitful. Aceh Tamiang regent Hamdan Sati directed the felling of the illegal oil palm trees.
Returning to Aceh
Farwiza was born in Banda Aceh. Her parents are well off. She lives in the complex of lecturers of Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh.
Since childhood, Farwiza has been close to nature. Behind her house there was a jamblang (Java plum) tree. When jamblang was in season, she joyfully climbed the tree to pick its fruits.
When she visited her grandmother in Medan, North Sumatra, she frequently bathed in the river in Batee Iliek, Bireuen. This river had clear water. “It was in the past. At present, even a little rain makes the river water muddy because the upstream forest is damaged,” said Farwiza, as she talked with Kompas, in Banda Aceh, on Sunday (10/4).
I realized that the coral reefs found on Weh Island, Sabang, were far more beautiful than those in Langkawi, Malaysia.
After graduating from senior high school in her hometown, Farwiza continued her study at Science University Malaysia. She majored in marine biology. There, she studied oil palms from their business perspective to the natural damage they cause. She was also diving frequently to research coral reefs.
“At the time, I realized that the coral reefs found on Weh Island, Sabang, were far more beautiful than those in Langkawi, Malaysia,” she revealed.
Farwiza Farhan
Several years later, she furthered her master’s study in the Department of Environmental Management at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia. Apprenticing in a mining company in that country, she declined the offer to enter a permanent contract. She witnessed herself how mining wreaked havoc on the environment.
“I chose to go home to Aceh. I wanted to be involved in environmental conservation. Aceh has natural wealth in the form of forests, wildlife and a gorgeous sea,” said the woman who is now finishing her doctorate study at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
Through HAkA, Farwiza, along with other environment activists and the public, are carrying out advocacy to fight environmental crime in Aceh. HAkA was set up in 2012, several months after the Leuser Ecosystem Zone Management Agency (BPKEL) was dissolved. Farwiza originally worked with BPKEL.
I chose to go home to Aceh. I wanted to be involved in environmental conservation.
HAkA focuses on regulatory advocacy. Today, Farwiza and eight residents, through the Movement of Aceh People’s Challenge (GeRAM), are contesting Regional Regulation (Perda) No.19/2013 on the Aceh Spatial Layout Plan. The Perda does not include Leuser as a national strategic zone.
According to Farwiza, the regulation is opposed to Law No.26/2007 on Spatial Layout Designation and Law No.11/2006 on the Aceh Administration.
Not simple
Farwiza is well aware that countering companies and the government is not a simple matter. However, she is always optimistic that the movement jointly formed will be rewarding.
She related the experience when residents challenged PT Kalista Alam, the company that burned peatland in Rawa Tripa, Nagan Raya. At first, residents were pessimistic about the chances of defeating the company. With a long struggle, they succeeded: PT Kalista Alam was found guilty and required to pay a fine worth Rp 366 billion (US$24.02 million). “What we struggle for is not to serve personal interests, but rather the interests of Aceh and future generations. Devastating our forests is the same as ruining our own homes,” she pointed out.
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In the view of the oldest of five siblings, Aceh forests play a major role in the world. The world has high hopes that Aceh forests will be safeguarded. High-ranking figure Leonardo DiCaprio even joined the campaign for the rescue of Aceh forests, especially Leuser. At the end of March 2016, Farwiza accompanied Leo to observe Leuser and the elephant conservation center in East Aceh. The world’s attention to Aceh’s forest conservation was also reflected in the nomination of Farwiza Farhan as a potential recipient of Whitley Award 2016, an international honor for environment campaigners.
Nevertheless, Farwiza has remained humble. For her, the nomination proves that the world needs Leuser. “When the world needs Leuser, why should we Aceh people scrap it. Erasing Leuser is equal to removing the Aceh identity,” added Farwiza zealously.
BIO DATA OF FARWIZA FARHAN
♦ Born: Banda Aceh, 1 May 1986
♦ Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology, Science University Malaysia
Master’s degree in Environmental Management, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Doctorate study (in progress) – Cultural Anthropology and Development Study, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, Netherlands
♦ Activity: Chair of Aceh Forest, Nature and Environment Foundation (HAkA)
♦ Award: Nominee for Whitley Award 2016
This article was translated by Aris Prawira.
