Capturing the Last Sounds of a Rainforest

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What does a rainforest sound like before it changes forever?

As Indonesia builds its new smart capital city, Nusantara, an Indigenous community and a team of scientists are racing to capture something invaluable before it’s too late: the sounds of Borneo's tropical rainforest.

Indonesia’s current capital, Jakarta, is the world’s fastest sinking city. Former President Joko Widodo staked his legacy on relocating the capital to Nusantara by 2045. It's a carefully designed, carbon-neutral metropolis twice the size of New York City nestled in the Bornean rainforest.

But what of the forest’s current dwellers?

Sound Guardians—a project supported by the Pulitzer Center and produced by journalists from Scientific American, Mongabay, and Project Multatuli—follows researchers and Indigenous communities working together to document Borneo's rapidly changing soundscape before it disappears.

Using bioacoustics and collaborating with local communities, the documentary reveals how sound can preserve stories of biodiversity, culture, ancestral knowledge, and deep connections to the forest—as construction transforms one of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests.

Turn your sound on and watch the documentary on the Pulitzer Center website.

Best,

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Doménica Montaño,
Program Coordinator

This message appeared in the August 7, 2026, edition of the Pulitzer Center's weekly newsletter. Subscribe today.