Pulitzer Fellowship: Tempo Magazine to Investigate Deforestation

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tempo Magazine is one of the dozens of the media representatives in a global investigation project organized by Pulitzer Center touted as the rainforest investigation network (RIN). This project involves 12 media from nine countries, viz. Brazil, Venezuela, Kongo, Kamerun, Malaysia, Philippines, Colombia, Peru, and the United States. 

The journalists in the project will collaborate for one year to uncover deforestation practices in South America, Congo, and Asia and report about the many aspects from policies, governance, corruption, up to the industrial supply chain that leads to deforestation. 

Representing Tempo will be Bagja Hidayat, the lead editor for Tempo Magazine. Beating thousands of proposals from other countries, Hidayat pitched about the Indonesian national strategic projects that had a direct effect on the environment. 

Hidayat explained the common aspects that caused deforestation were the act of corruption and the instigators. Nearly every project proposal identified that those behind deforestation were politicians, industries, and state apparatus. 

He believes these actors often use their corrupt authority to occupy tropical forests for the sake of business—both legal and illegal—and reveal an operating global network since the industries were interconnected. The preservation of Indonesian forests have been under international scrutiny as it is considered to be the last defense of the world’s biodiversity.

“Deforestation in Papua or in the Amazon are connected by multinational industries that produce the products that we use today,” said Hidayat, who has often been involved in many international partnerships.

He believes Indonesia’s biodiversity and conservation of its forests are currently under threats by numerous government policies that are not friendly towards the environment, such as the enactment of the Job Creation Law (UU Cipta Kerja), which puts forth the business aspect to boost the country’s economy. 

“By participating in this network, we will have a greater voice and increase the chances to help guide the government back from a misguided mindset in creating an economic foundation,” said Bagja Hidayat.

Pulitzer Center’s rainforest investigation network project focuses on deforestation as this crisis is deemed to be the main cause of global major issues, such as the coronavirus pandemic, natural disasters and inequality. 

Read: Tempo Wins 4 Categories in 12th Indonesia Print Media Awards

ANDITA RAHMA