Sound guardians
As Indonesia builds a new capital city, the race is on to preserve the sounds of the rainforest before they vanish forever - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
In the lush rainforests of East Kalimantan, Indonesia, the natural sounds are deeply intertwined with the lives of the Balik people. However, as development encroaches on their surroundings, the once omnipresent calls of wildlife are dwindling, a trend accelerating by the day. The capital city of Jakarta, grappling with overdevelopment and climate change-induced sinking, is set to be encircled by a new metropolis, Nusantara, which directly threatens Abidin's homestead.
The burgeoning city noise is encroaching upon the acoustic environment Abidin has come to depend on, raising concerns among researchers that it may already be driving away local fauna. To document this impending loss, filmmaker Leah Varjacques from the US follows the efforts of Abidin and a research team led by bioacoustic scientist Wendy Erb from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Together, they meticulously capture audio from diverse locales within the rainforest, from cave interiors to treetop canopies, with the ultimate aim of preserving the rainforest's sonic landscapes. This endeavor seeks to safeguard the culture and ancestral wisdom intrinsic to these natural soundscapes, ensuring they are not irrevocably lost to the relentless march of modern life.
Written by urgent.news from Aeon's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
