John,

Predatory palm oil companies want to tear up a New York City-sized swathe of Indonesian rainforest – a sanctuary for birds of paradise, rare fish and endangered tree kangaroos.

But the Moi Indigenous people, who live in this sacred place, are fighting back – determined to defend the lush lands their ancestors have peacefully inhabited for centuries. And we can help them do it.

In a huge win for the Moi, an Indonesian court recently ruled that the tribe has legal rights to its ancestral lands – meaning they could expel palm oil giants from the forest if they can prove it is part of their territory.

But gathering the evidence needed to protect this cherished forest is arduous and expensive, and the Moi can’t do it alone. That’s where we come in.

If we all chip in, we can help hire the experts needed to carefully map the land with GPS, document hunting and fishing patterns and survey historical sites – pulling together definitive proof that this land belongs to people, not rapacious corporations. And we could step up campaigns to end palm oil destruction everywhere. Are you in?

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The Moi’s ancestral lands lie in Sorong district, West Papua, where a new ‘special economic zone’ is giving cover to rampant mining and deforestation. With government and powerful corporations both backing development, the case for tribal land rights needs to be watertight.

Grassroots group Pusaka is working hand in hand with communities on the ground to stake their claims to this precious forest. But they’re a tiny organization, with limited funds, in a race against time. They urgently need our help.

John, with your support these heroes can boost their work to safeguard this unique ecosystem, running a major effort to map indigenous rights in Sorong and using this proof to challenge palm oil permits in court.

They can train local activists in advocacy and corporate campaigning too. And with anything extra we’ll ramp up the pressure to stop palm oil exploitation globally.

This kind of mapping has already helped win big victories for indigenous groups globally – like compensation for the Batwa people in Uganda, who were brutally forced from their lands. It could be a turning point in the fight to end palm oil’s savage land grabs too.

Can you chip in now?

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