John,

Brave Indigenous forest defenders are risking everything to stop palm oil giants from decimating their native homeland in Malaysian Borneo. And they’ve come to us with a desperate plea for help.

Palm oil plantations are destroying massive swaths of the Ulu Belaga Forest at breakneck speed. Local communities quickly losing their livelihoods and access to food and fresh water came together to fight back, mobilizing the public and starting a blockade. But as their movement grew more powerful, so did the target on their backs.

Then, last month, the villagers were hauled into the police station and forced to sign documents agreeing to their own arrest. Now they need to quickly hire lawyers and map their sacred forest to fight back – and protect their right to peacefully protest deforestation on their own land. But they can’t afford to do it alone.

Can you chip in now to help these villagers – and fight against corporate bullies everywhere?

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The whole thing is incredibly shady. The Malaysian government promised to stop all new deforestation for oil palm expansion in 2018, prompting the palm oil company to claim it had stopped all new deforestation. But satellite data and footage from drones (funded by all of us!!) shows forests are still quickly being destroyed. 

14,000 football fields worth of forest are already gone…and the local community is risking everything to protect what remains. 

At the end of last year, villagers put their bodies on the line to block entry to the plantation. Their courageous actions caught the attention of elected officials, who called on the government to formally halt the plantation’s deforestation activities. But as the forest defenders grow more and more powerful, the palm oil company’s threats and intimidation only grow. 

Now, they’re facing a major legal battle, but there’s one major problem: many cannot afford legal assistance. And without it, they’ll have to abandon their fight. 

The palm oil giants responsible hope that these intimidation tactics will silence the villagers for good. But what they don’t know is that OUR movement has their backs and will come together to help keep their fight going. Will you urgently chip in just a little to fight against corporate bullies everywhere?

I'll donate $3I'll donate $4 I'll donate $5I'll donate $9I'll donate another amount

 Your donation will help power Ekō and our campaigns worldwide fighting for people and the planet.