Recapturing the Lamasi River
With mining permits were issued upstream of the Lamasi River in South Sulawesi, farmers downstream saw a threat to their livelihoods. With the help of local activists, they drew up an ordinance to lay claim to their land.
December 10, 2013
The basin of the Lamasi River in Luwu regency, South Sulawesi, was a lush emerald-green. Rows of bamboo and fruit trees filled the 50 hectares of land. The crystal-clear riverwater had endowed this earth with great fertility. Paddy fields and plantations lay scattered around the area. Some 75 percent of the 60,000 residents here were farmers, with fish and shrimp breeders also among them.
One of the farmers, Habibah Amalia Haq, 39, owned three h
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