A look at promising projects in the social and economic environment of the forest, forest utilisation and sustainable development. Ecuador The Yasuni Indians in Ecuador were first discovered by American missionaries in the sixties, followed by American oil companies who found resources in the primeval forest. Suddenly river pollution posed a serious threat to the many-centuries-old and intact world of the Yasuni. With clever types of resistance, and international support from science and development assistance organisations the indigenous people developed visions which offered a basis for a material existence without destroying the forest. Kenia 26 women from Kenya who have been planting trees for the past quarter century are at the centre of this documentary. They are not part of the nationwide reforestation movement which has become more widely known thanks to Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Mathai. They represent an independent group of people, who, following a brief phase of support from and motivation by the state, decided to take charge of their own destiny. A destiny which is closely entwined with that of the trees. Indonesien We keep receiving news of illegal logging, slashing and burning and the unrelenting destruction of the rainforest in Indonesia. As part of our Forests of Hope project the film by David Höner and Iris Drisse shows that there are alternatives to exploitative forest use in Indonesia. The film introduces two strategies for sustainable and ecological forest use. > Download filmflyer (PDF)		TV-Documentary (series), 2005 Director: Iris Disse, David Höhner (Ecuador/Indonesia) Cristina Karrer (Kenya) Photography: Reinhard Köcher (Indonesia), Otmar Schmid (Kenya) Editor: Catarina Mona (Ecuador), Patricia Wagner (Kenya) Production: Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion Co-production: ARTE Producer: Werner Schweizer Werner Schweizer Production Coordinator: Tami Berkovits Commissioning editors: UTA Capel (ARTE) World sales: Accent Films International (TV)