Topher White: What can save the rainforest? Your used cell phone
Topher White: Apa yang dapat menyelamatkan hutan hujan? Ponsel bekas Anda
Through his startup Rainforest Connection, Topher White transforms used cell phones into guardians of the rainforest. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
as a tourist,
tahun 2011, sebagai turis,
for the very first time,
hutan hujan di pulau Kalimantan,
of the forest that struck me the most.
yang paling mengejutkan saya.
yang terus berbunyi.
yang terdengar menonjol.
a rhinoceros hornbill.
yang besar, burung rangkong badak.
lain dari kejauhan.
over a great distance.
was in fact a gibbon reserve,
kawasan suaka untuk siamang,
was coming out of the forest that time
yang berasal dari hutan waktu itu adalah
had actually noticed it.
memperhatikan suara tersebut.
rehabilitating gibbons,
merehabilitasi siamang.
to spend a lot of their time
waktu mereka dihabiskan
that takes place on the side.
yang terjadi di hutan.
the insects, and the rest,
serangga-serangga, dan lainnya,
in recordings you heard,
at great distance.
who were posted around this sanctuary
ditempatkan di suaka ini
to guard against illegal logging,
mencegah penebangan liar.
again as tourists, out into the forest,
sebagai turis, masuk ke dalam hutan.
who was just sawing a tree down,
yang baru saja menebang pepohonan,
from the ranger station.
dari pos penjagaan hutan.
to hear the chainsaws,
gergaji mesinnya.
the forest is very, very loud.
hutannya sangatlah riuh ramai.
that in this modern time,
di masa modern seperti sekarang ini,
from a ranger station in a sanctuary,
dari pos penjaga suaka, di wilayah suaka,
someone who has a chainsaw gets fired up.
seseorang menggunakan gergaji mesin.
but in fact, it was quite true.
tapi itulah yang terjadi.
always to come up with a high-tech,
kerap terdorong untuk memunculkan solusi
it has to be scalable,
dan bisa dibuat massal.
while were there was that
kami menemukan bahwa
that would allow us to stop this
yang bisa mencegahnya
already in the forest?
dedicated, three full-time guards,
yang bertugas untuk menjaga,
what was happening out in the forest.
yang terjadi di dalam hutan.
dan ini cukup penting,
out in the forest.
sampai ke dalam hutan.
way out in the middle of nowhere.
tempat-tempat yang tak dihuni.
from the nearest road,
dari jalanan terdekat.
but they had very good cell phone service,
tapi ada jaringan ponsel yang amat bagus.
were on Facebook all the time,
sering memakai Facebook.
that in fact it would be possible
of chainsaws programmatically,
dengan program,
to go up in the trees.
yang dipasang di atas pohon.
to listen to the sounds of the forest,
menangkap suara riuh hutan,
network that's there,
jaringan ponsel yang ada,
to this issue for them.
to talk about saving the rainforest,
tentang perlindungan hutan hujan.
definitely all heard about forever.
didengungkan di mana-mana.
have heard about saving the rainforest
tentang perlindungan hutan
has never changed:
it's super urgent,
ini perlu diutamakan.
have been destroyed yesterday.
sudah hancur kemarin.
about half of the rainforest remains,
hutan hujan yang tersisa.
problems like climate change.
yang bisa menjadi permasalahan besar.
that I didn't realize at the time:
ketahui ketika itu:
for more greenhouse gas
gas rumah kaca lebih banyak
trains, cars, trucks and ships combined.
dan kapal di seluruh dunia.
to climate change.
perubahan iklim tertinggi kedua.
that takes place in the rainforest
yang terjadi di hutan hujan tropis
like the illegal logging that we saw.
yang tadi kita saksikan.
enforce the rules that are there,
di hutan untuk menegakkan aturan di sana,
into this 17 percent
in the short term.
dalam jangka pendek.
fastest way to fight climate change.
untuk mengatasi perubahan iklim.
is heard in the forest,
gergaji mesin dari hutan,
of the chainsaw,
GSM network that's already there
jaringan GSM standar yang tersedia
and stop the logging.
penebangan tersebut.
and finding a tree that's been cut.
menemukan pepohonan yang sudah ditebang.
a tree from a satellite
dibabat habis
penebangan langsung.
and fastest way to do it,
dan cepat,
they weren't able to do it,
melakukannya,
murah dan cepat.
were actually cell phones,
di pepohonan adalah ponsel,
by the hundreds of millions every year,
ratusan juta orang tiap tahunnya.
hanya di AS saja.
which of course we should do,
yang juga perlu kita hitung.
to the sounds of the forest.
that you see here,
kotak seperti ini
engineering challenges
tantangan teknis terbesar
under a tree canopy,
di bawah kanopi pohon,
under a tree canopy,
di bawah kanopi pohon,
solar panel design that you see here,
unik yang Anda lihat ini
byproducts of an industrial process.
proses industri yang didaur ulang.
yang sudah dipotong.
for allowing me to do that.
this is a device up in a tree.
perangkatnya ketika di atas pohon.
is that they are pretty well obscured
tersebut cukup tersamarkan
they are able to hear chainsaw noises
mendengar suara gergaji mesin
about three square kilometers,
kira-kira 3 km persegi,
it would make the area unprotected.
area itu jadi tidak terlindungi lagi.
we took it back to Indonesia,
kami kembali ke Indonesia.
tapi di tempat lain
by illegal logging.
dengan adanya penebangan liar.
illegal chainsaw noises.
suara gergaji mesin ilegal.
Everyone had just gotten back down.
dan baru kembali dari sana.
and they all quiet down,
semua terdiam.
until that moment.
sebelumnya.
to actually stop these loggers.
para penebang ini.
arrived close to where the loggers are.
dengan para penebang.
where I'm actually regretting
the other side of this hill.
di balik bukit ini.
mengikutinya ke atas,
been interrupted before --
event for them,
kembali lagi sejak itu.
they have not been back since.
mereka beroperasi,
the entire operation works,
on the spot was that
menghentikan mereka beraksi,
in real time and stop people,
they won't come back.
kembali.
because we told a lot of people,
kami sampaikan ke banyak orang.
amazing stuff started to happen.
started to send us emails, phone calls.
mengirimi kami surel dan menelepon kami.
throughout Asia,
people throughout South America,
we thought might be exceptional,
pretty good cell phone service.
yang cukup baik.
of the forests that are most under threat.
areanya paling terancam.
really amazing happened,
their own old cell phones.
mendonasikan ponsel bekas mereka.
people who are already there,
yang sudah ada di lapangan,
and use the existing connectivity,
sambungan yang ada,
yang dikirimkan pada kami
that are being sent to us
something else in their afterlife,
ponsel bekas mereka
can be completely recycled,
bisa didaur ulang,
an entirely upcycled device.
alat hasil daur ulang total.
because of any sort of high-tech solution.
berteknologi tinggi.
what's already there,
hal-hal yang sudah ada,
that if it's not phones,
going to be enough there
in new contexts.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Topher White - Conservation technologistThrough his startup Rainforest Connection, Topher White transforms used cell phones into guardians of the rainforest.
Why you should listen
In 2012, Topher White founded Rainforest Connection, a startup which converts recycled cell-phones into solar-powered listening devices to monitor and protect remote areas of the rainforest. Now an established NGO, Rainforest Connection has helped stop illegal logging and poaching operations in Sumatra, and the system is being expanded to three more rainforest reserves in Indonesia, the Amazon and Africa.
With a background in physics and engineering, White worked as web chief of ITER and co-founded Enthuse, a sports engagement and mobile rewards platform. For Rainforest Connection, he’s fashioned a simple device made of discarded cell phones and solar panels that detects and sends alerts when it picks up the sound of chainsaws in protected rainforests, allowing for intervention in real time.
Topher White | Speaker | TED.com