Forest clearance for palm oil plantations in Peninsular Malaysia
We have all heard the term before and we all know what it means. We all know it is bad for the earth and that it is occurring at a fast rate. But for the majority of us, this is where our knowledge about the issue ends - and with that, our concern.
The rainforest ecosystem is incredibly important for life as we know it today. The list of resources it provides is endless and its worth to our economy is so high it is effectively incalculable. Numbers have been thrown around over the past few decades, but dollar estimates today are always in the trillions. With every slice of rainforest we burn, log, flatten and replace; we take away more of the very thing that sustains our lifestyle, our health and our ability to live on this planet.
But if the issue is so dire, then why don't we hear about it every day? Mainstream media - the websites we like to visit, the magazines we read, newspapers we browse and shows we all watch - are what we rely on for our day-to-day information. Mainstream media is where the majority of people get their world news from, and it is these outlets that are not telling us the whole story. After all, have you ever heard your favourite news station tell you forests are being cut down at an extreme rate of an acre a second? Alarming news, certainly, but they don't report on it.
Logging Truck, Peninsular Malaysia
The question is why and the answer is simple but hard to hear. What people need to understand is that most mainstream media outlets are money-fueled, money-making companies - they do not (and cannot) provide a free service. Most media is commercial, and this means advertisers have a say in what content you'll receive. For example, if a news program is "brought to you by" a huge fast-food company that clears land for beef farms, then the last thing that news program will report on is deforestation due to the demand of fast-food companies. Information can be slanted, biased or even left out if it means keeping sponsors happy - and this is just the start.
Unfortunately for the forests and ultimately ourselves, deforestation it is not hard-hitting, hard-selling journalism. It happens all the time so it's no surprise or shock, few elite people that we hear about everyday like Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie are involved, and let's face it, it's a complex issue that requires quite alot of background information. Deforestation doesn't sell itself like a double homicide or celebrity mishap, even though it is undoubtedly more significant.
Media companies want you to keep watching, keep reading and keep buying so their prime interest is to sell you what you want to hear, not necessarily what you should hear - and to do this asap. It is much easier and faster to report on a car crash, that has gruesome images and eye-witness reports -than a complicated issue like palm oil plantations.
Media outlets should report on critical issues like deforestation, but do not because they hide behind profit-driven incentives. Many argue that the media only provides us with what we want to know, but I see this supply-and-demand retort as an excuse for the cheap and lazy path that news reporting has gone down.
People don't know how horrendous deforestation is, how forests are important, why we should protect them and how we are connected. Newspapers, television stations, radio stations and more need to step up to the mark and inform the world of this issue. In terms of newsworthiness, it has the potential to grab attention - all it takes is an investment of time and money, which they have. But more importantly, in terms of value to our society: surely promoting the protection of an environment that controls our weather and climate, may have the cure for cancer, feeds and houses millions and is home to exotic creatures found nowhere else on earth... surely that is reason enough for spreading the word.
Finally conservation is teaming up with the big-guns of the media world to spread the word on deforestation. Esteemed conservationist Dr. Willie Smits is teaming up with TakingITGlobal, National Geographic, Virgo Productions and Microsoft Partners in Learning to set up and film DeforestACTION - a project that aims to save the endangered Orangutans of Borneo and their home, the rainforest. DeforestACTION will be made into a movie, Project Borneo 3D. This ingenious initiative combines mainstream media with the environmental messages people need to hear. One of the best parts about it is that it has different elements that will appeal to different demographics. A 3D movie starring young role models is sure to get younger generations watching. Additionally, the DeforestACTION project will appeal to a wide range of interests; drama, action, adventure and inevitably more. Project Borneo 3D is a recipe for success and for making a difference.
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