JAKARTA — Indonesian conservationist Farwiza Farhan says she couldn’t contain her tears when she learned that the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation had selected her as a recipient of its Emergent Leadership prize this year. “My heart is so full, very touched, and could not believe what I’ve just heard. Am I dreaming?” Farwiza told Mongabay Indonesia in an interview on Aug. 29. The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation on Aug. 31 announced five recipients from five countries of its annual prize: Farwiza from Indonesia, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong from Vietnam, Miyazaki Hayao from Japan, Karma Phuntsho from Bhutan, and the Rural Doctors Movement (RDM) from Thailand. As a founder of the Forest, Nature and Environment of Aceh Foundation (HAkA), Farwiza has devoted most of her work to the conservation and restoration of Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, a 2.6-million-hectare (6.4-million-acre) rainforest expanse in northern Sumatra where some of the world’s most critically endangered species have found their refuge. She dedicated her latest award, dubbed Asia’s Nobel Prize, to the people who have worked alongside her to protect and save Leuser from the imminent threats of monoculture expansion, road development and hydroelectric dam construction. “I’m only a small part of this massive movement,” Farwiza said. “This isn’t just my award, but it’s a recognition for everyone in the field, friends at the grassroots level, and the coalitions.” The Leuser Ecosystem is the only place on Earth that’s home to rhinos, tigers, orangutans and elephants. Image by Junaidi Hanafiah/Mongabay Indonesia. Farwiza, after rescuing a baby…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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