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From: TEDtalksDirector
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  • I want to comment on the BMW ad at the end. For one, not all of a barrel of oil can be made into diesel fuel, much of it can't 'can't be made into diesel. If we want to switch our entire fleet to diesel, the market would have grown so much (cause it would take over 20 years) that the fuel that might be saved would be eaten up by all the new cars. We need a fundamental shift, that using a 3klb vehicle to transport a 160lb body is simply not a good idea. We need to drive less, carpool etc.

  • i salute this guy! =)

  • i'm in tears

  • You know when i feel like giving up. I turn to TED.

  • Love this video. Gives hope.

  • Amazing and very inspiring. Great teaching tool. I was looking for some permaculture videos and was very fortunate to have came across this video.

    Thanks for sharing.

    TGW - USA - Louisiana - Beaureagard Parish

  • God bless you. You are doing a great job!

  • Today, he came to my school and he talked about his project. It was amazing, I am now going on to his rainforest and helping him out on things! :D

  • any update on this project?

  • amazing guy. amazing project!

  • What your creating here is a prison. Every movement is monitored by satellite - YUCK!!! Are the corporations investing in this going to remove the surveillance of the forest in the future? - NO WAY. The thing that the world needs is freedom to be beautiful. Imagine running through a pristine forest thinking you are free but every aspect of your being is watched and recorded. Sounds like a prison to me. The families can look after it without being watched. The corporations should fuck off

  • @createdwithcare well this is an experiment. I understand your point. However if we had hundreds to thousands of these it would not be feasible to spy on them all. But you're right, this could easily be turned into a new form of feudalism or reservations. In fact the way things are going, the govt may decide this is what's needed to reverse years of corporate slaughter and endorse Dole and Monsanto owned forests. That's why regular people have to get into this 1st while they still monoculture.

  • @TheShadowlin even spying is subject to resource allocations, so it is just impossible. Power structures in the USA for example only have to buy congressmen, what people like you and I do with their lives is of no importance, when those people can own the superstructure

  • @createdwithcare even spying is subject to resource allocations, so it is just impossible. Power structures in the USA for example only have to buy congressmen, what people like you and I do with their lives is of no importance, when those people can own the superstructure and stick a sword up your ass indirectly by creating a neoliberal system that gives you no healtcare and no job insurance. We are serfs already

  • Huge respect for his mindset, perception and persistence. This is correct and compassionate way to put knowledge to use.

  • How can I help? This is truly magnificent. Thank you Willie Smits.

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  • This dude is a genius and a BAMF.

  • After the first outburst about the applause nobody wants to clap after that lol

  • This would be a great project to bring to Haiti right now. I understand that Haiti used to look like the Dominican Republic in the past.

  • I didn't knew or believe such man could exist !

  • Jaw droppingly amazing!!!!!!

  • Bravo!!! I'm excited...there's always hope!

  • We need more people like Willie Smits, and this CAN be you ...

    Where there is a will, there is a way *****

  • was a nice dose of positivity

  • is there an update?

  • Man.. I talked to this guy and take a picture at the Indonesian Ambassador House in DC in 2005. He was so passionate about Indonesian biolife, especially Orang Utan.

    I believe he lives in Borneo now...

  • When I need a little hope, Willie's work helps me get there.

  • REVOLUTIONARY!!!

  • "no no no no no no no"

    Half a minute in and I already love this guy. The TED audience claps way too much.

  • This certainly is worth a standing ovation !!!!! Just Wow !!!!!

  • What the hell... who are the 10 people who down-thumbed this?

  • @sdrawkcabgnipytmi people with short attention spans or people who were looking for borneo forest porn.

  • That man is a real hero

  • Inspirational :'3

  • Loved it. End to end. Not theory bit actual practice. Every tedster should follow lead.

  • i love biology.

  • Chapeau!!!

  • this is the best video on youtube...

  • My hero.

  • Willie Smits is my hero too!!!! Thank you for this amazing inspiring awesome brilliant video!!!! Bless I wanna work with Willie!!!! :)

  • willie smits is the man

  • WIllie Smits is for sure one of the heroes of the 21st century who risks even his life to save the Orangs who give the climate change a face!

    He deserves at least the alternative nobel prize unless the real one and not these dumb so called scientists!

    Willy deserves all our help and money, I've been a loyal supporter of his project and never regretted it. Google BOS and donate NOW!

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  • I urge everyone to see this.....what has been dine inspires hope....I bet you he sleeps well at night. Congratulations!! Hangintreefrog

  • I love the momeny 1:15 or so in when he stops applause...

  • sounds like the 'cultuurstelsel' only done correctly this time :D

  • Permaculturalists have been doing this stuff now for a few decades.

  • I see his effort together with Geoff Lawton and Paul Stamets as the creative suite of superheroes that we should support

  • its not hard to feed everyone man woman and child that needs to be fed, print some money and give it to them. thats all our govs do, if our gov really cared about this issue there would be manditory donation systems for people that earned above certain salary margins, you make 50,000 per year and dont have a family you must take care of 1 child, you make 50million you must take care of 1 village, or just roll rockerfella he has 1/3 the worlds wealth after all i am sure he can flip the bill nps

  • That is one of the most ignorant comments I have seen on youtube. Ask your self this question, how many children should I have if I only make so much per year? That question does not come up when you have someone else supporting your children. Your solution is the same as welfare in America and the old saying, I apologize if this is not verbatum, "You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a life time." So what is more prevelant Handouts or Edu

  • AGREED one of the most ignorant comments I have seen on youtube

  • um...."print some money and give it to them" ?.....idiot ever heard of inflation. That would make their situation ever worse dumbass. don't just throw money at people, give them a way to learn how to get out of it

    i agree such an ignorant comment

  • lol you nobs its a play on how useless they money system is, one man has enough money to feed and cloth the entire world and you have the audacity to say that we have a poverty problem, we dont have a hunger or poverty problem there is more than enough of everything to go around we have a greed and a consumption problem, also how short sighted of everyone to think that giving help from one country to another "isnt worth the inflation" should get you all sterilizied

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  • We dont have a hunger or poverty problem, seriously? What rock have you been living under? Take a look around. We do have a poverty problem. We do have a hunger problem. Look at the statistics before you start spreading your misguided propaganda. Audacity? Well you, I believe, would be very well acquainted with that particular word. Getting a bit touchy? Cant take a bit of a challenge to your theory? You are weak, and your theory is weak.

  • Education is the solution not throwing money around. Just giving out money is clearly shown to not be the solution. Ever heard of the debt problems in countries in Africa and Latin America which resulted by your idea of just give them money. Lending done by the IMF and the World Bank just buries Third World countries in debt, debt which they cant get out of. Theres a resulting vicious cycle of borrowing to pay of the debt and more borrowing to pay of the interest from having borrowed money.

  • your quite hostile for someone accusing me of being touchy

    Seems you need a little perspective on what "Problems" are.

    for 600 billion US $ you could give 6 billion people 100k each, this means you could easily feed and cloth every man woman and child for many years or develop world wide sustainability programs

    My point is that money doesnt matter its what you do with it that counts and we dont use it for the right reasons, without money everything is still here you know....

  • Education is key. Dont be so arrogant as to not consider it. Maybe you will learn something.

  • There is an asymmetrical distribution problem caused by exploitation is made possible through the manipulation of power and sadly by the ignorance of some political leaders. Throwing money around causes more problems like inflation. Inflation once started is hard to control, can spiral out of control and leads to situations like that in Zimbabwe. Printing money left, right and center caused inflation and now there is an economic crisis. Inflation causes hunger and poverty. Learn some economics.

  • I want to see this happen in Haiti. people there are so poor they often eat mud. they need his help.

  • He can most definitely change the world.

  • Utterly mindblowingly amazing and inspiring. This was a privilidge to watch.

  • absolutely amazing. totally inspiring

  • There is no words (I actually sat here, trying to think of them) to describe the honor and respect this man deserves.

  • AWESOME!!! DAMN THATS AWESOME!

  • Can this be done in Haiti?

  • Men like him gives hope for the future !

  • 09:38 "Rape Seed"

    Do you see it?

    ROFL

  • He means Brassica napus, see wikipedia.

  • Oh my gosh, no sense of humor... rated this 5 stars.

  • be the change...

  • I guess it's fine to introduce feral species to a place that has already been destroyed.

  • This guy is like... captain planet! He IS the environment.

  • This is an icredible story of inspiration and hope. VEry well thought out and implemented. I really enjoy the oall encomappssing approach including local community and code of honour accountability.

    Bravo! Let us all learn form this and see how we can come up with similar solutions to complex situations.

    rh.edbd

  • Every single minute was completely woth it!

  • This man opitimizes a Scientist, a Hippy, and a CEO living happily in the same brain.

  • Wow I am very impressed with this man. This is a great idea, and one that could help undo a part of what humans have done to the environment. Not saying it was wrong what we have done in the past, but this will help us in the future.

  • The man is an absolute genius, and a fine human being too. A true example to our species.

  • Awesome presentation. I hope this kind of project spreads fast.

  • When I see comments like the one left from wendallstro it makes my blood boil to see ignorance that some people hold. Its astonishing to read that this person thinks that everything will be fine because oil consumption is dropping... well thats because weve used nearly all of the dead remains of plant and animal species that have died over millions of years in just over 100 years. Or have you forgotten how dependent on oil you actually are? You need to educate urself and be part of the solution.

  • In fact he was refering to Indonesia. He was Dutch but now Indonesian. Most of the greenhouse gasses come from the cleared peat swamps in that country and indonesia isnt a very industralize country.

  • He is an Indonesian national. He was originally from the netherlands.

  • great ideas. i think more people should study these models and copy many of them.

  • incredible. It gives me hope that communities can reclaim the devastated land and enrich themselves and by simple happen stance move the world towards a sustainable future.

  • hey i would GREATLY appreciate if any1 could help me with something: i have 2 rain vids that are originaly 25mins long, i changed my account to director i even waited like half a year but still i cant make any vids longer than 10 mins.. can any1 help? again id really appreciate it

  • greenhouse gasses

  • this is too positive...

    need more.. gloom and doom.... gotta turn on the news!

  • the world needs more people like mr smits. one less wendallstro wouldn't be noticed.

  • i like how he tries to blame the deforestation on america. what a joke

  • i like how that's all you took from this talk.

  • no i watched the whole thing and enjoyed it a great deal, but i get super tired of hearing about carbon this and oil that. I do not buy into that whole theory. I comment him for the work that he is done though.

  • Considering that most of our energy comes from fossil fuels, don't you think it's important to talk about it?

    Just to feed you, it takes 10 calories of oil for every calories of food you intake.

    Or do you claim that oil is renewable?

  • Until last year, the world's oil demand has consistently risen. Only massive price hikes and a recession reduced demand. I recommand you look at the data from IEA.

    I doubt environmentalist should be blamed for the current crisis.

    I do believe that Bush should be judged in The Hague for war crimes. But it is beside the points. Most politicians, left and right, are blind to this issue of energy.

  • Cool!

    Great stuff, hope this project hyper-expands.

  • this is the best vid I've seen in 2009

  • The point isn't restore it to 100% as it was before. The point is restore the basic of the rainforest and its relationship with humans as well. This talk is to give hope and it's possible to be profitable, to unite a broken community, and to save the environment.

  • Well, I think it is a good project, but I still don't think the rainforest becomes as rich and complex as it was before it was cut down. Also, the project is very small, it should at least be 100 times bigger to make a significant effect. A similar project is Malua Biobank, only this project is much bigger than Samboja Lestari

  • It can become as rich as complex as it was before deforestation, but it will take at least a few decades for biodiversity to increase to previous levels. As ddwkc said, if man can make a living and profit (and not just in pecuniary terms) from the rainforest without having to alter it, that is indeed a great leap forward (to use a Maoist phrase).

    And, yes, for a significant effect to occur such initiatives as these should be exercised on a larger quantity and scale.

  • great project if in right hands!

    i hope the best, its great and essential!

    huge financial backup on this mission!!!

    nice tracking device advertisement smitty!!!

  • That's an excellent project, extremely impressive on each and every aspect. Wonderful.

  • Sounds like a good idea, but once you have cut down a forest in general it will never come back anymore the way it was, include the billions of plant & animals species, cause a natural forest depends of a whole natural ecological system.

  • I don't think the point of this lecture was to argue that clear-cutting is now "okay". It's just solving a very old and very big problem in a practical way.

  • this is true, but using this model will at least reduce the influence of our destructions

  • wow this man is incredible. nobel peace prize for him.

  • This guy's expertise is needed in the Brazilian rainforest.

  • This is amazing.

  • Can anyone tell me if there is anything like this happening in different parts of the world, apart from the one mentioned in the video?

  • Wow, Awesome!! We all can and will need to learn from Willie in fixing the global environmental problems created and caused by the big greedy corporations that are trying to destroy our planet!!

  • I want a rainforest at home. Where can I buy one.

  • try at the rainforest store... :/

  • This is fantastic. So much work and the results... great. This is the way to stop climate change

  • Mycorrhizae is key to regrowing a forest.

  • This man was so great! they give them standing ovations, we can use the richness, the science in a proper way like helping us to build a forest that can help more lives. and to save the world from green house effect. if i will be a rich people someday this is my first project or plan to be a nature lover, and save more lives.

  • sounds like The Man Who Planted Trees, except IRL

  • we have to do our part.

  • awesome

  • Thats amazing.

    Really complicated though.

    There must have been a huge amount of planning involved

  • wonderful. greatly wonderful :)

    I hope more politicians would watch this and assimilate his example.

    bravo.

  • This was awesome.

    If I had money, I would invest in stuff like this around the world.... and get a nice kickback in a decade. :D

  • Very good, we need him in Victoria Australia. when i was a kid my boots would sink in the mud in winter. Now it is a desert, with no rain and no small insect life, there used to be heeps of all sorts of life there.

  • yeah, i agree that this should be the model for future economy. to help out the people while helping out the environment as well :D kudos to Willie! he definitely did a great job!

  • reverse deforestation and reverse exploitation rulz

    this may be the best kind of help and investment for those fucking people

  • Great to know that somebody's off saving the world, while I spend my time sitting on my ass.

  • This is one of the best TED talks I've seen, even better than the TED prize winners

  • ...that was breathtakingly amazing.

  • Those orangatans made me sad.

  • A breath of hope, based on practical principles, cultural sensitivity and the wonders of botanical science...brilliant and inspiring.

  • Great idea with the subtitles! Other languages that could be good to translate this into, would be: Portuguese (Brazil), Hindi, Bengal and Assamese (Eastern India and Bangladesh), Burmese (Myanmar), Vietnamese and Thai, and also African languages that are spoken in the areas where rain forests grow.

  • This is the guy which whom the greedy capitalists should be re-modeling themselves on. He knows the way to the future for humanity.

  • fascinating story, his passion really comes through in his presentation. I too hope that his successes continue.

  • I am so glad someone is working out the mechanics of how to rebuild the rain forest. All I'd ever heard or read was very pessimistic on restarting the forests.

    Wish I was Bill Gates just to help support this outstanding work!

  • can anyone answer me..what does he mean at the end when he said that the solution is integration? integration between who?

  • I took it as the integration of the local people and the rebuilt environment.

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  • My answer would be between humans, animals and the forest equally.

    ~Expect Miracles

    Shane

  • wow, i really hope he has a lot of students that can apply this to many other places in need. especially the difficult to corrupt part, that is brilliant, this man has thought it all through..excellent.

  • I thought it was Will Smith lol

  • well done man the key is to teach people to love and respect nature it have Begin from small children you have the money to do it I do not have it I have the will to save forest jungle animals plants tell me about it scientific mostly do not speak same language as locals do not understand do not listen in my experience you have to open your heart listen respect make a relation from heart to heart so it works

  • That works fine, except when there's reforestation required in areas where a minimum wage is in place or that no one is willing to work in the middle of no where for $10 an hour, then good luck getting people do hard labor like that out there.

  • I would work for $10 an hour :)

  • in many-many places around the world people would be VERY happy to work for $10/ DAY!! You have no idea ...

  • Sure, but if the country is really going to have more illegal immigrants come into the countryside to work for minimum wage.

  • "the country"??

    As far as I know the most destructive deforestation is going on around the equator, where illigal immigration and high minimum wage usually are not the greatest concerns ...

  • fantastic speach and plan. i hope this takes hold! brilliant

  • wow help him out

  • is there any point of saving any species? arent we only fighting whats natural and fucking things up even more? if a species cant survive w/o our help they shouldnt survive. am i wrong in this thinking and if so why?

  • Yes you are wrong because you are thinking backwards. The species cant survive because we make it impossible for them to do so; for instance we destroy their homes not because we aren't helping them survive. The natural world can take care of it self, so long as we don't interfere with its process (biological/geological succession...etc) give it a chance. That's different from saying it needs our help.

  • You are wrong because you base this on normal natural selection which evolves around niche forming and energy competition. Since mankind started tapping into stored energy that was no longer part of the cycle, we broke the natural order of things. We tipped the scales by cheating, using oil etc etc. Darwinian laws dont apply here. In the presence of unaided man, the urangutans would have survived

  • Brilliant.

    I'm intrigued by the piano in the background...hope they upload some piano playing soon!

  • My favorite TED Talk - Benjamin Zander: Classical music with shining eyes

  • I'm not sure why someone gave you a thumbs down for that....jerks.

    Anyway yeah I watched that Benjamin Zander talk probably three times and nearly burst into tears the first time...lol. He was brilliant!

    And I shall raise your -1 thumb down to a zero!

  • HAH! I quoted him in one of my English papers, that thing where he talked about giving everyone an A and giving people something to live into rather than a standard to live up to. Still failed though. =P

  • They had Nellie McKay on it a while ago, definitely worth seeing.

  • Thanks I'll check it out!

  • Apes > humans

  • before restoration takes place,

    ecocide needs to be prevented.

    before ecocide stops, people's perceptions and identities need to change.

    above all, seeing trees and life as dollars and numbers and things needs to stop.

  • This was fascnatin . twud been better if his voice didn't hipnotizzzzz me.

  • i love how he stopped the clapping

  • amazing, astounding, mind blowing and world shaking... probably THE most impressive TED talk I've seen yet - and I've seen almost all of them

  • I have a question. I saw that there are no subtitles. I think that in order to make these projects a normal global effort, that there should be integration, Ive noticed that there are no subtitles in your videos. I would like to colaborate and make the subtitles for some of these videos (spanish) I believe my country could benefit from these great ideas, I would like my non english speaking brother to learn these topics. Where can I send you the subtitles or what steps should we take to makethem

  • You may have better luck recieving a response if you click on the channel link and send a personal message. If not from there, you may be able to find additional ways to contact them by searching "TED talk" on the internet.

  • Thank you.

  • brilliant, no losers. all winners

  • best talk. ever.

  • This is beautiful, magnificent and inspireing.

    To jest piękne, wspaniałe i inspirujące.

  • This has to be the most inspiring and charming talk I have ever seen on TED. What a charismatic man!

  • What a remarkable human being he is! Thankyou for this beautiful, inspirational post... this gives me hope and restores my faith in humanity!

  • This is awesome, there is still hope....

  • this is excellent; an increasing understanding of how dynamic nature is. fungi & bacteria are keystone organisms in any forest.

    every tree represents an entire community of plants, fungi and microorganisms, and it takes centuries to restore it to a truly natural state.

    we need, more than anything, to learn not to clear-cut in the first place.

  • *****

  • Well worth the standing ovation. If we had a million more like him our world would be an even more wonderful place.