Sustainable Footprint

The sustainable footprint in Indonesia

The sustainable footprint project in Indonesia (2005)

Working on environmental education and sustainability education, E-linQ has been cooperating with friends in Indonesia for a long time.
In Indonesia most people are not very interested in conservation and sustainability. But in many places groups are active in NGO’s (Non Governmental Organisations) working on EE (Environmental Education), most of them aiming at educating the young.
One of these (BIMA in Surabaya) invited Loes Pihlajamaa to give workshops on the theme: “Expanding EE to ESD” (=Education for Sustainable Development). Actual because UNESCO has decided the decade 2005-2014 to be the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. This means in short that not only nature and environment, but also social, economical and cultural aspects of sustainability are paid attention to.
In a country like Indonesia it is clear that protecting nature, like rainforests, mangrove and coral reefs is only possible when the local population gets a chance to develop too. Social and economical development together with conservation of nature is the only possibility for both human population and nature.

The destruction of nature in Indonesia proceeds in an alarming speed. Corruption is a big issue in this. But at the same time there are hopeful developments. The new government is fighting the corruption. The people we met are optimistic. There are many small local initiatives. Like the one we saw: where recently the rainforest was cut illegally, now the government cooperates with the local people to plant trees again. They plant trees that will bear fruit, to make the new forest more attractive for the locals; they will probably not cut these trees again. This project also gives work and income to the local poor farmers.

Indonesian landscape with rice paddies by sunrise

During a workshop in Prigen (south of Surabaya) 45 teachers and NGO-ers followed a thorough program on ESD. The content was given by two Japanese people (from NGO DEAR) and Loes from E-linQ. The Indonesian hostesses provided translators and organised discussions etc. Among other things the result is a collection of ‘cases’ on different themes, which will be added to the footprintsite.
After this week we (Loes and husband) travelled to different places, where more or less the same workshop (but without the japanese) was given again adapted for different groups.They were organised by local NGO’s. All counted about hundred people were addressed during the trip.
After the workshop in Prigen we were invited to join a trip to watch the sunrise at the Bromo, one of the sacred mountains in East Java – a very impressive experience.
After that we travelled to Jogjakarta where the workshop was given for a group of teachers and activists connected with the University. Our host showed us the world famous Borobudur and the area where recently 100 000 trees had been planted by his NGO in cooperation with the local population. A beautiful region! Around Jokjakarta there are numerous temples to be found from the pre-Islam area.

In the cities we visited the traffic was extremely chaotic. It seems that everybody has been buying a motorbike recently, preferably a noisy one! This makes walking in the city a very tiring activity.In that sense the countryside is much better.

After a short stay in Seloliman, a centre for cultural and environmental education south of Surabaya (with a workshop for the staff of the centre) we travelled to Lombok (the island east of Bali) where we spent some days on the east coast (with a view of Sumbawa, the next island) where most people are working in the fisheries.
The workshop here was for the staff of the local village school. The local NGO (JARI) is trying to teach fishermen to protect the coral reefs and to replant the mangrove forests on the coast. Discussing sustainable development with the teachers may help to make the local people more conscious of the need of changing their habits. When the coral reefs are gone, their own future is also threatened.
The last visit was to South Sulavesi where we were guests in Puntondo, again a centre for environmental and cultural education. Teachers from all the elementary schools of the district Takalar were invited to the workshop on sustainable development. This centre is the youngest one (opened in 2001). Because of the inaccessible place (a very bad road tot t he village) it is difficult to get many visitors here. The place is on the coast, with very little rain, which means that ground water is brackish and drinking water has to be bought from elsewhere. But what a beautiful spot!

Four weeks Indonesia, three islands, 4 cities and many different landscapes. A country with many environmental problems: the population explosion of the last half century causes enormous problems, very visible at many places. But the hard working dedicated people we met, give us hope that they will solve the problems somehow.

The workshop in east Lombok: sustainable development explained to the local teachers

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Sustainable Footprint

Sustainable Footprint
Projectbureau e-linQ
Nieuw Eyckholt 292P
6419 DJ Heerlen
T (045) 574 11 81
E info@e-linq.nl
I www.e-linq.nl