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Story Publication logo August 9, 2022

Documentary: 'Backyard Rainforests'

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An aerial overview of a lush green tropical forest and a lake.
English

A project about how the indigenous people and land owners of Peninsular Malaysia are restoring...

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Click here to watch the documentary Backyard Rainforests.

What does a lepidopterist, an art supporter and goat farmers have in common? While Henry Barlow and Angela Hijjas have been growing their own rainforests, Abdul Razak and Intan Jailani are beginner tree seed collectors. With the common goal of racing to save Malaysia’s native tree species from the brink of extinction, the group is suddenly faced with an unexpected mass flowering of the forests.

Seeds by the hundreds of thousands are ripe for the picking, but during a Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, will they be able to save the seeds on time and safeguard a future for these rare trees? Will they be able to reforest Peninsular Malaysia's Central Forest Spine (CFS) to help combat disappearing forests and mitigate climate change? Not just that, the loss of the CFS will ultimately mean the local extinction of the Malayan tiger, Asian elephant and most hornbill species.