Saving The Sumatran Tiger with Alena Bendová

Before I begin today's show, I want to mention the very important wildlife ranger challenge September 18th in Africa.

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Hello, this is Catherine, your host of the podcast, your positive imprint.

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Exceptional people rise to the challenge.

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What's your pie.

The declining state of affairs for our environment worldwide means that we need to come together.

Work together with other people and other governments.

We cannot turn back time but we can move forward with conservation and preservation.

My guest uses the word rewild to sometimes describe her initiative and that of justice for nature forest for children.

Alena Bendová is from Czech Republic, which is where Justice for Nature is rooted.

Their vision seeks a balance between human civilization and nature through active preservation of the environment and animals.

Alena Bendová shares her positive imprints and the organization's international vision which opens the door to the wide public to take responsibility

and also an active role in saving nature and animal species on the planet earth.

it was partly shooting there and there in this area, we are buying land to protect rainforest and, , rewild the areas which were Palm oil plantations or some other destroyed areas.

And because it's on the border with the, with wilderness with primary forest, the forest and the nature it's taking the area really quickly.

So it's really great to see that the it's actually is working that we are protecting the area that it's thriving.

And, in this area, we have, , the land of a size, a hundred and ninety five, hectares.

(almost 500 acres)

And it's a private reserve Green Life.

And in there we do , anti-poaching patrols.

Our commando, our guys are locals Indonesians, and, some of them are former poachers actually.

So this is a great to see that people can actually change and we can give them opportunity to make their living in a fair way in some way that the give

So this is a, this is the part in Indonesia, the Green Life Project.

We, of course we work with the local community wider community, and the main species the umbrella species, Sumatran tiger, critically endangered specie, and orangutans, elephants, and so on.

The , last year we had this

conflict with local people with tigers.

So maybe I can talk about it later, but we just, spread our activities into this anti conflict team and resolve the situation.

Um,

You mentioned orangutans and you also mentioned Palm oil.

Yes.

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil from the fruit of oil Palm trees.

Unfortunately, this tree is replacing other trees and vegetation.

Palm oil is used in many products.

Read the ingredients on the back of your packages.

Biofuels are made from Palm tree oil as well.

The problem with this has been the heavy deforestation and destruction of our biodiverse forests

which were habitats for the endangered orangutan, the rhino, and so many other animals, not to mention the greenhouse gases going into our atmosphere.

So what can you do and what can justice for natureand Alena Bendová do?

Well, the question of Palm oil this industry it's so big.

So far, didn't have a chance to, do some, bigger impact on this.

What we do is education of people, local people, children, and we're showing them the way first the children, it's a paradox.

They live on the border with a beautiful ecosystem and beautiful park and they don't even go there.

They are afraid and they don't know the value of it all.

So we are opening , their eyes and, spread the awareness into local people, about this treasure they have and about the necessity to protect it, at any cost.

we see the way and we are trying to give them this opportunity or suggest them this way.

We see, the way in, like sustainable ecotourism.

We saw it in in Costa Rica.

And they're pretty successful after 30 years of this way.

We can see it's working and the Costa Rican economy is based on ecotourism.

, this is how it should be because it's helping the preservation and people are actually interested to see those ecosystems.

So it's important to make this transition, but in Indonesia it's way harder.

And it's a Palm oil industries.

It's too big.

So for people in all around the world, they can just, do the boycott of the Palm oil, products or some products containing Palm oil.

But still , it's the huge question because most of the Palm oil is used for biofuels.

So it's a matter of big businesses to, to change this.

And I hope that this might start from some enlighting of individuals and it might get up to upper levels of these businesses.

It's a huge topic and huge challenge, which we can 't fight by ourselves because we are only a small NGO (non-government organization) and this

So it's a matter of politics and , national economies and everything.

And in this case, the big businesses, the players, the corporates are involved.

Normal people or regular people can maybe boycotts the companies using the Palm oil boycott products.

And, through this education we do, I always suggest people to prefer local things and, some eco things and maybe consume less of all things.

And what we do is for local community, we offer the awareness of the value of the forest that it's bigger actually than the Palm oil plantation.

If they destroyed the forest, it's gone forever.

And it's a big loss because they can have money, they can make money through the

environmentally friendly tourism, eco tourism, and they can make a lot of money, for years and for the future.

But once you cut the forest puts there, the Palm oil trees and it's just the Palm oil trees they're producing the nuts only, I don't know, 20 years maximum or something like this.

And after that, it's all for nothing.

You know, it's this this quick profit principle, and it's a shame to do it like this.

so we are trying to get involved those local people more into this way, into this ecotourism, as we saw it in Costa Rica for example.

Because of this pandemic people lost their jobs or opportunities.

And of course the tourism in Indonesia is so far, even these days it's closed.

So those people are looking for some opportunities how to earn money.

And it's a worldwide problem.

These local communities are doing more poaching activities.

So that's a really bad side effect of this situation.

This situation brought so many wrong and bad side effects on nature protection.

Those people need money.

And Rangers, for example, they don't have a, full salaries or they were cut off from their job for that because of the situation and those problems, poaching smuggling and, you know, illegal logging.

It's all just in a bigger scale through the pandemic, it went to crazy craziest big level and even in our area because of course we are in some little area

It's a couple of days back when they found that tiger is there, you know, poached tigers

Oh, no.

It's just the so, so wrong.

And so many people just don't know this cause and this effect of this pandemic.

So people are lack of money.

So they going back to do more illegal activities.

So this is why this situation is even worse for nature.

Of course, there are some good things because there is not a, such a huge amount of tourists and travelers.

So the nature can have a little break from it.

But on the other side it's not protected that well.

And this is the thing.

We tried to have the patrols and all the activities on the same level, but we are fighting the financing as well these months.

As the poaching is on the rise, those people were killing even pigs and deer for their food, which means that they killed food for tigers and tigers were moving closer to villages, and to this habited areas.

And some local farmers, they got their cows, but they don't have any, shelters for them or some place where to, to close them.

So they keep the cows only tied on the rope by the tree, on a national border of a , national park where tigers live lives.

So we were solving this tiger conflict , I guess it was one or two.

They were killing cows.

And of course people went mad and they had this economical damage.

So, they were mad and for this reason, our tiger commando started to work as a, as anti conflict team to solve the situation.

We raised money for first for, of course, for the education of the farmers because we needed to give them all the information and all the context that it's not easy just to kill the tiger and problem solved.

So we needed to deal with the situation and calm the community and bring the solution.

So we did the shelter for the cows and the fence so, they can put the cattle in it for the night.

And since we did this campaign or actions, the tiger, went back to the forest and there were no more killings.

So this was, for example, one result of our activities.

It was connected with this COVID situation and and this rise of poaching activities and everything.

So this was one really hard situation for tigers and for us as well.

Alena, I am so glad that you had the money, the funds to build the fence and to help the farmers with the shelter.

And I think that when you reach out, when any organization reaches out to a community that is not understanding or not able to help themselves because of economic detriment, they will in turn,

And educating others around them that people do understand that the work you're doing is helpful and you're right taking care of one tiger doesn't solve the problem.

The solution was to keep all of the tigers away in getting the cattle sheltered.

Thank you.

Thank you so

Okay.

for doing that.

I'm just so sad because the job you were doing, you were moving forward and then of course the pandemic hit.

with the government, I know that you weren't able to work or you can't really work with the government of Indonesia and that's still the case today, right?

Yeah it's it's really hard.

This thing is really hard because there is no such a will to cooperate on these things.

And as there is a poverty in Indonesia, they might be easily corrupted.

So this is something we are still fighting.

All those, I don't know, 10 plus years, it's a, the will of people because on one way, they see you as an opportunity.

And as a, we say like a walking wallet

That's not how I would want you to be seen, but yes, you're right.

So it's just the thing there.

They have big expectations, we justcan't open door for them and they need to do it by themselves.

And this is hard because they don't have this morality or to work or to work harder because they don't need to.

For some people, for even officers in some state bureaus, it's it's, you know, extra work.

So this is really hard in Indonesia.

Of course they are good people, they're hardworking.

Couple of them we have as colleagues and they're volunteers.

So journalists, for example, so those people are active.

But the state level of the nature protection, it's really hard.

It's really hard to get them involved more.

Yeah.

You mentioned morals.

How do you instill morals with regard to the environment and wildlife, when you're in a country where there is such economic turmoil?

It's just people, need to understand first and then see maybe some profit.

Let's say even if it's that we are educating their children so they have maybe some better opportunities for future they're smarter.

We were trying to do it through kids because kids, bring this knowledge into the families and we saw it on some example in Costa Rica again that one, one amazing lady she's a sea biologist

And they took them on the boat, on the sea for snorkeling and those kids, they were, of course they were afraid first.

And, but after they tried are so excited, they were, Ican't just describe it as she told us.

She was so amazed that with the fact they were excited that those fish are colorful and they are moving actually.

And th all the ecosystem is colorful and beautiful, and they never saw it.

They saw fish only on ice dead or on a plate.

So.

This was the change.

And they brought the change order, that experience and the change into their families.

And some of those parents that are fisherman dads, they started to work with the project actually, and they quit fishing at all.

So those are the beautiful examples.

How through kids, you can bring the values.

These kids can grow up with these values instilled and these experiences.

But then when they get older, something happens, whether it be their economic hardship or something, and then it just, they totally change and they become not all of them.

Of course.

And I think that you mentioned today with economics, I think that's really a key player in the future of planet, environmentally for animals and for us.

And how are we going to provide an economic sustainable earth?

It's just going to be decade after decade of going in there and saving the tiger.

There's listeners out there that, that have ideas and I certainly would want them to, work their positive imprints with these governments for change.

is there anything else about the Rangers or anything that you wanted to share about Indonesia?

Yeah.

I can mention the Blue Life Project

which is on the Pulau Banyak Islands close to Sumatra.

And we have second base camp and we have second patrol for the sea activities and this protecting of sea or Marine life.

And this project suffered the most from the lack of fundings more expensive for guests and for everything.

So for the equipment.

So, that's where we needed to cut our activities.

But meantime, we had time for repairings of the camps because as the Indonesia is close to our volunteers are not coming and not helping.

And our

camps were,

able to come out and help right now?

Is it because of

uh, yes, because Indonesia is closed for tourists..

Okay.

Okay.

So, so most of the volunteers that go are outside of Indonesia.

Yes.

Our volunteers are mainly Czech and Slovak people coming from Europe to, to work there in our reserve or on our programs, but they can't.

It's the whole year.

Actually we lost, I don't know, more than million crowns and it really hurt the programs and we needed to just cut it to the, core of our activities.

We needed to stop for example, securing of the turtle nests on a Bangkaru island cause it's far and it takes a lot of money to get there and everything.

So this is what we needed to stop.

So we have news or information that there's a poaching going on again.

And we needed to cut the waste program, the garbage program for the villages because as we collected all the rubbish, we take it always on a boat with volunteers to the main island to a landfill or for recycling.

This is stopped for now or on a minimal level.

We still provide villagers there some bags, but we are not able to keep it running, this program.

But the good thing is we started through pandemic, the education there again for kids from those communities.

At least we can continue in this activity and it's through our co colleagues and volunteers who are Indonesians Indonesian teachers.

So this is great.

This is running.

So it's still on the track with education, but for the ranger or for patrol actions it's a bad situation now.

So this is a pity.

we need, we really need to get some more fundings.

We are trying to do some campaigns in Czech Republic for fundraising for people to donate.

Even a little amount of money, you know, $5 or something, but monthly, this makes a huge difference.

So,

Obviously issues with COVID and I know worldwide

organizations, funding has gone down because people aren't, so many people are not working steadily is what they were before COVID so it's, and then it's hitting the wildlife in ways that I never even thought really.

So I'm very glad that you're bringing this all to our attention so.

Do you send the teachers information?

Do you provide resources to them so that they can teach the students?

How do the teachers provide the education to the kids in school?

well, we don't have any educational program or scripts or some books.

We just started with the, those teachers.

We gave them the information and motivation and, , all the package of of the knowledge and, what they should share with the kids and give, tell the kids.

But they already know that's why they are doing this job.

We can provide them a little money for some material or for their work, but it's still, it's a half, half volunteering.

We are supporting it or supporting it some little fundings

to keep this this project and program running.

still volunteer coordinator

Yeah.

**************Justice for Nature, and you are still the PR person and you're still the fundraiser, even though have seen and felt this downfall

When it's feeling so low, some of those days, what keeps you going?

So what can you share with listeners keep them motivated and to bring motivation and attitude.

They call it environmental grief when you're just depressed by all these situations and big problems you possibly can't change and help.

Well, it's still there.

Our reserve is there and we have our owners and people who trusts us and the local people, we can't let it all down because of some virus or something, some

We can't lose this.

We play for everything for our future, for those beautiful creatures, the orangutans and tiger.

So we can't, we just can't stop.

We need to continue.

And we are very lucky we find this extraordinary man.

I want to mention.

And his name is , Zbynêk Hrábek, he's a Czech,, but he's living five years already in the , Indonesia.

And he's looking after the programs there and the Green Life Reserve

and he's the boss for the patrols and all the programs.

So to him goes huge credit.

He decided to sell all his stuff one day, because he it's a beautiful story.

And this beautiful nature it's actually something he want to live for.

So he sold all his stuff and moved into Indonesia and he live, he lives there for five years until these days.

And he's really doing his best and it's his life, you know?

So this a colleague of mine is Zbynêk.

I really want to thank him or put him in this podcast here, because it's a huge credit of his, to take care about all the programs.

And it's the thing that he's not working for money, you know, he's just a, he's just living there.

And it's a kind of , a thing of it's our attitudes to this, of who, for us who are close to the core or who are leading this project.

Once you see through this we call it simply the matrix and you find true values, the beauty of nature, the necessity of protecting it, because all the artificial

So once you see it, you can't go back.

That's why.

Even if you , don't have much to eat, or for example me, I'm here now, this broadcasting it's from my mom's flat because for these days I needed to really to save money I needed to, for some months come back home.

We are all struggling this situation, but we can't just quit this activity no matter what.

And I can continue.

The founder Milan Jeglík and Zuzana Koloušková, they just live this really modest life, but they're traveling, they're filming there.

They have a couple of months of work and education as a business.

And then a couple of months for this work in the field, filming, cutting all the movies, hard work in the field with the Rangers and everything, and they just

don't get paid for this.

No it's I just wanted to mention it because we do this work and it's important because we are people, we are just not some kind of entity where people who began this project and it's not always easy.

It's mostly hard.

And it's really a struggle, for example, for me to to get the funds for the projects.

But we are all of us, we are trying to get the funds, but for me, the hardest part is to see how billions millions and I don't know all the money of the world are just you know, circling around businesses.

Business must run, you know, and everything.

But if I compare the amount of money with which we are working and can make such a huge things

it's just nothing.

It's a drop in the ocean of all those money for those businesses.

And for those luxury things, people are buying.

This sometimes makes me sad because donations to us come from, middle lower and middle class people.

This is for me the hardest part.

And it's a matter of values.

For me it's an endless question, how to bring values to those people to understand.

But unfortunately I think it's only the experience, so

No,

know

you're reaching more people than you think You're amazing.

And I'm so glad that you mentioned your colleague over in Indonesia and say his name one more time.

his name is Zbynêk

hrábek.

Yeah.

him and I appreciate, of course your founders.

You have so much more to talk about to share.

And so many more inspiring words to bring to the listeners we're going to about Costa Rica and your new initiative next week.

Before we end the segment on and Justice for Nature and the Blue Green initiatives, you have already provided us with amazing, inspiring words, but I certainly don't want to end

Thank you for this ending.

One of the main objectives of our projects is to inspire people, to activate people, to bring them the awareness and the right values.

And we have some ethical rules and some ethics we are trying to spread through the education and we do education, not only for kids, but for adults and for public as well.

We are open for everybody, for everyone to join and help by their abilities or possibilities, whether it's money or time or skill.

So I, I really wish to inspire people.

We are not arrogant in this thing that we can change the world and save all and save everything.

But we will be like an example for people that even if you're small, even if you don't have much money, you can do good things for nature and for the future generations and

And with the Goodwill, I think there, there might be magical, big things happening.

Alena, even with your environmental grief, you are providing justice for nature.

And Thank you.

so much for sharing your positive imprints and listeners.

You can go to learn more about Alena and the program justicefornature.org

Thank you so much.

And remember September 18th, run with Rangers, race for wildlife, and join me next Monday for part two with Alena Bendová, . The rewild of Costa Rica.

Your positive imprint.