Thank you, John!

Global timber giant Samling has given in to international public pressure and dropped its lawsuit against Borneo’s Forest Defenders. It’s a huge win for Indigenous and environmental rights.

This lawsuit was designed to silence and bankrupt the small grassroots organisation, Save Rivers, that exposed Samling for destroying Indigenous land, deforesting huge swathes of rainforest, and pushing endangered gibbons toward extinction.

The Indigenous led campaign was supported by the Ekō community all around the world. More than 5,800 of us chipped in to help fund the Forest Defender’s legal costs so they could keep fighting the lawsuit.

We helped shine a global spotlight on Samling with more than 33,000 Ekō members signing the petition calling on Samling to drop the case. 5,400 people emailed Samling’s CEO directly amplifying this ask which put so much pressure on Samling it went to the police and tried to file harassment charges against Save Rivers (it didn’t work).

Here’s what a Forest Defender said after Samling dropping the lawsuit:

"We’re grateful for all the international support we received from various organizations, prominent leaders, and the Indigenous peoples' communities. Let’s all continue to fight for the rights of the Indigenous communities and defend the environment."

This a massive victory but the fight isn’t over – though Save Rivers no longer face a lawsuit that would have bankrupted and silenced them, Samling continues to destroy Indigenous land.

But the lawsuit being dropped is proof that when people come together and take action we can win against multimillion dollar corporations. And it’s not the only bad news for Samling. It’s also been revealed that the Forest Stewardship Council has accepted a complaint against Samling for violating its certificate of sustainability.

Samling says it will welcome constructive comments and feedback from the local community in Borneo and it will engage with all relevant stakeholders. And we will be holding them accountable to that.