As you may remember, international superstar Leonardo DiCaprio created a huge buzz in Indonesia when he visited the Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh in March of this year. Although he is known for being an environmental activist with a passion about climate change, the purpose of his visit wasn’t entirely clear at the time.
As it turns out, DiCaprio was in Indonesia to film a segment of his documentary “Before the Flood”. The full 95 minute film was released on National Geographic’s Youtube channel yesterday and you can watch it for free right now.
The whole thing is well worth watching for anybody with an interest in learning more about climate change and the challenges facing the planet. DiCaprio providing strong arguments and dramatic evidence that current policies and lifestyle choices are leading us toward an environmental catastrophe.
But we’re guessing some of you will want to skip straight ahead to the part about Indonesia. If that’s the case, you can fast forward to 46:30 and DiCaprio flying over the smoke choked skies of burning jungles in Sumatra.
Much of the segment deals with the destructive effects of palm oil plantations that have been created by clearing land through the intentional setting of forest fires, leading to the infamous yearly haze problem (which was especially terrible last year but has fortunately not been very severe this year).
Some Indonesian authorities actually threatened to deport DiCaprio when he posted messages on social media condemning the palm oil industry (even though he had already left the country by that time), but Indonesia’s Minister of the Environment and Forestry, Dr Siti Nurbaya, said she wanted to work with the actor to help address his concerns. We wonder how the government will react when they see this movie, which includes the line from one of his guides that “Indonesia is one of the most corrupt countries in the world” in reference to the palm oil companies bribing officials to get permission to burn protected land.
If you want to learn more about the terrifying scope of the haze problem, be sure to check out our documentaries “Sumatra Burning” and “Into the Haze”:
