Willie Smits is working to turn the deforestation, caused by palm oil plantations in Indonesia, around.
His district had been deforested because of the desire for palm oil to make bio-diesel (download a BOS report on the threat from palm oil). His organization, Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS), has created 3,000 jobs through reforestation at Samboja Lestari in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. Due to Smits, it’s no longer the poorest district and biodiversity has increased.
Smits practices the triple bottom-line principle of People, Profit, Planet. This from the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) website:
Smits believes that to rebuild orangutan populations, we must first rebuild their forest habitat — which means helping local people find options other than the short-term fix of harvesting forests to survive. His Masarang Foundation raises money and awareness to restore habitat forests around the world — and to empower local people.
Watch him speak in this video. Be careful, if you keep your computer in your lap hold onto it because you will want to give him a standing ovation at the end.
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