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Raniatil Wada, a 3-year-old girl, pours ash from burnt trees and peatland soil onto a chilli plant as she helps her father at Sebangau district in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan province, Indonesia, September 18, 2019. | REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Raniatil Wada, a 3-year-old girl, pours ash from burnt trees and peatland soil onto a chilli plant as she helps her father at Sebangau district in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan province, Indonesia, September 18, 2019. | REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Pandemic Slows Transfer of Forests to Indonesian Indigenous Communities

Handing over state forests to Indigenous and local communities is a complex process — and coronavirus has slowed down field work.

Orang Rimba tribe member Neliti, 45, is pictured in the forest of Bukit Duabelas national park, Sumatra, Indonesia in June 2020. | Anggun Nova/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation

Orang Rimba tribe member Neliti, 45, is pictured in the forest of Bukit Duabelas national park, Sumatra, Indonesia in June 2020. | Anggun Nova/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation

Sumatran Forest People Adapt Ancient Health Rules for Pandemic

The Orang Rimba are retreating further into the jungle to protect them from COVID-19, which could help preserve their way of life.