Lipstick, orangutans, and students. Three distinctly unique things all connected through the issue of deforestation. Deforestation has had a profoundly negative impact on the world around us, with a startlingly steep upward trend. One area where its effect is especially profound is in Southeast Asia, specifically, the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Borneo and Sumatra are the only habitats of the orangutan, the critically endangered apes you've no doubt seen, whether in a nature documentary or The Jungle Book. Orangutans used to be all over Indonesia and Malaysia, but due to intense deforestation, their habitats have been reduced to just those two islands.
How does lipstick play into this? Well, one big reason why the forests that orangutans lived in were slashed and burned was because of palm oil plantations. Palm oil is a common ingredient in lipstick. How do students, like you, the reader, connect with lipstick and orangutans? Through the large and varied amounts of change you can bring to the conversation surrounding deforestation, the orangutan's biggest antagonist.
One way you can advocate against deforestation is by helping the organization Plant for the Planet. By becoming an Ambassador, you can gain a deeper understanding of the crisis and the best ways to go about forest restoration. Through the program, you can gain materials for small but impactful actions, like giving a speech on deforestation to your school, prompting other students to begin their own journey of change. You could also join a Youth Summit Talk, and meet with other engaged youths and listen to key educational speakers on different factors of reforestation, like how it can be financed. One of the bigger actions you can take is organizing a tree planting event.
Social media is the best place for truly gaining views and publicity on deforestation, and is therefore the best platform to raise awareness on the issue. Taking after the Kenyan podcast host Abigael Kima, starting a podcast on climate change is a great way to build a following of people committed to the cause. Shifting through different topics each week is a great way to cover a lot of ground on the rich topic of climate change, and adding a call to action in every episode will help gain a lot of active followers.
Another great activist to gain inspiration from is Hamira Kobusingye. As a Ugandan climate justice activist, Kobusingye posts provocative images on her social media of herself with an unapologetic message written on a cardboard sign. These images can be easily shared across different social media platforms, and don't require a long caption for people to understand your message.
One caveat to overreliance on social media is your demographic reach. Digital natives, or people ages 16-25, are the ones who interact with posts pertaining to climate change and deforestation the most. A study that researched many different social media accounts related to environmental activism found that platforms like TikTok and Instagram were best for highly visual and narrative-driven videos with humor, as they performed 3.7 times better than purely informational videos did.
The study also conducted interviews with 35 youth environmental activists and identified five key strategies for advocacy. These included information sharing, alternative representation, networked mobilization, corporate and political pressures, and lifestyle advocacy. Utilizing two or more in one post is bound to gain high engagement, garnering success in raising awareness about issues like deforestation.
Ultimately, deforestation is an issue plaguing many endangered animals, and you, as a youth, can bring about change in all sorts of ways. While it may seem like a daunting task, students have the tools and power to draw in large swaths of peers due to the power of social media, and these tools are integral for spreading awareness.