Borneo's ancient jungles offer new insight into modern life
Borneo's ancient jungles offer new insight into modern life
Sebastien Blanc, Agence France-Presse/Malinau, Indonesia
Many of us suspect it as we trudge to work in the morning, but
scientists studying some of the last primitive tribes in deepest
Borneo say they now have proof -- modern life is, indeed,
rubbish.
A team of experts has spent months comparing the lives of the
Punan people, who still live as hunter-gatherers in the forest of
Kalimantan, with those of tribe members who have been lured away
by civilization.
Not surprisingly, many of the Punan's dreams are dashed on
arrival in the big city, however the scientists say that even
basics like food, health and quality of life also turn out to be
much worse in town than the forest.
While it is unlikely the findings will encourage jaded office
clerks to shed their suits and head for the jungle, researchers
hope they might preserve ancient traditions by warning the Punan
and other tribes what they risk losing.
"They want modern life, they want to wear T-shirts and jeans
and drink Coca-Cola, they are attracted to all these things,"
says Edmond Dounias, of Center for International Forestry
Research team.
"But what they underestimate is what it will cost them in
terms of their way of life, their culture and the benefits they
gained from the forest."
Only a few hundred thousand hunter-gatherers remain on Earth,
among them the Punan who roam the lowland forests of East
Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo, which despite its lush
appearance, is no garden of Eden.
Hazards such as malaria and parasites ensure that only one
percent of women and two percent of men reach the age of 65.
Infant mortality rates are some of the highest in the world, with
a third of children dying under the age of five.
With many Punan -- who traditionally stretch their earlobes
with heavy brass or gold piercings -- now settled in villages,
they are more prone to outbreaks of disease than in the past when
nomadic lifestyles kept them isolated.
According to 2003 statistics there were 8,956 Punan in East
Kalimantan, of which 4,500 are now living in and around Malinau.
For more than two thirds of Punan questioned by Dounias and
his team of ethnologists, access to healthcare is reason enough
to pack their meager belongings into a dugout canoe and paddle
down river to the nearest city.
Their destination is Malinau, a boom town whose population has
leapt from 20,000 to 50,000 in four years as migrants pour in to
work in the nearby coal mines and the lucrative, and often
illegal, logging industry.
In Malinau, 1,400 kilometers northeast of Jakarta, residents
live in houses with electricity, wear Western clothes, drive cars
on recently tarred roads, talk into cellphones and, when they
choose to, drink Coca-Cola.
But, says Dounias, once they arrive in the city, many Punan
find themselves treated as second-class citizens, unable to
afford the healthcare they aspired to and exposed to problems
like drug and alcohol abuse.
"They have lost benefits of the forest such as clean water
which has become a real problem near the cities because of
pollution and use of pesticides," he says. "They also no longer
have access to their culture of mutual aid."
Robbed of the rich resources of their forest environment, the
diet of many Punan also suffers, with their choice of varied
bushmeats, fruits and nutritious roots replaced by a limited diet
of rice and low-quality meats.
Their tradition of eating regular snacks found in the
undergrowth is replaced by consuming unhealthy pre-packaged food
such as potato chips or fat-laden cakes, leading some young Punan
to develop weight problems.
In an effort to encourage the Punan to stay put, the Center
for International Forestry Research is working with local
authorities and medical groups including Medecins du Monde to
take medical help to remote villages.
Greg Clough, a communications specialist at the forestry
research center, says the study could help influence government
policies over land use, particularly in Kalimantan where precious
forests are under threat.
The widespread illegal felling of Borneo's prized trees are
pushing indigenous people to abandon the land they have occupied
for centuries, many willingly taking cash and sometimes jobs from
the loggers.
"These findings will help decision-makers hopefully make more
informed choices. They will have some idea about how their
decisions might impact on local people," Clough said.
Dounias, who presented his team's findings to local leaders at
a meeting in Malinau last month in the hope that they will pass
them on to Punan communities, says their study also applies to
hunter-gatherer's worldwide.
These include pygmy tribes in Cameroon and the Central African
Republic, whom he has studied for 15 years, and the Yamonami
people of Brazil's Amazonian rain forests.