Building the Resilience of Farmers in Central Java
Earlier this year, UN CC:Learn, UNESCO Jakarta, The Climate Reality Project Indonesia, and Youth for Climate Change Indonesia launched the Youth Leadership Camp for Climate Change (YLCCC) 2017 initiative in Indonesia.
By Mr. Aditya Pradana
“We believe that one day it will be realized and young people will play one of the roles in the process of climate action.” — Mr. Aditya Pradana
At 20 years of age, Aditya has already contributed to the field of agriculture, through his research project focusing on reducing climate related disasters in farms. In particular, he has been able to develop disaster risk mapping which farmers in Central Java, Indonesia, have benefited from. With the same goal in mind, Aditya has implemented strategies to protect local farmers from financial and agricultural losses related to climate change.
Other environmental and climate change related initiatives that he’s involved in, include: highlighting the importance of water efficiency, increasing climate change awareness among children with disabilities, and being part of youth movements concerned with environmental protection. At the Tribal Climate Camp, Aditya enjoyed participating in trainings on collaborative experiences to set up an inclusive climate change agenda with a focus on the importance of intergenerational roles in solving climate change issues.
Full interview below.
1. What issues are you trying to solve and how do you think you can contribute?
My friends and I are conducting research and community service related to climate disaster and environmental restoration in Dieng Plateau, Central Java, Indonesia. In particular, since 2014, we have been actively conducting an agroforestry research to reduce high environmental degradation in the Dieng Plateau due to intensive potato farming. The results of the research have been socialized with the community and actions to reduce erosion have been implemented. In 2017 we began focusing on reducing agricultural losses due to cold temperatures by frost, a consequence of climate change. This caused people to lose up to tens of millions of rupiah. Therefore, we developed a mapping of disaster prone areas for farmers to plant potatoes in safe areas and recommended mitigation action to minimize climate disaster losses. Furthermore, we encouraged climate insurance for agricultural investment to protect farmers from climate related or hydrometeorological disasters. The efforts we have undertaken encourage the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals as well as of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction. In the future, we will continue to actively engage in community service-based research in other areas of Indonesia to participate in assisting problem solving on environmental damage and climate related disasters.
2. How do you think you can address climate change?
The issue of climate change is a very broad and cross-cutting to many sectors. For me, addressing climate change can be done by solving environmental problems at the community level and by educating the public widely using scientific findings. Research activities are a very important foundation for assisting climate change policy making as well as controlling environmental conditions. Therefore, in the future I will be actively doing a lot of research and collaboration with many stakeholders for community service based on research findings, so the solutions offered can be effective and solve problems in a real way. I will use social media strategies, climate campaigns, and fun focus group discussions with the wider community, so that people can understand the research results easily and participate in implementing joint solutions to reduce the impact of climate change.
3. Can you briefly present your experience with the YLCCC?
The Youth Leadership Camp for Climate Change (YLCCC) has been an unforgettable experience, as it not only taught us the science of climate change, but also about leadership to become an agent of change and implement initiatives in society. We learned how to become youth influencers in the field of environment and climate change, through adaptation and mitigation strategies as well as social media campaigns. During the YLCCC we also adopted green lifestyle activities including using tumbler, saving plastic and sorting waste, to be applied further in our daily life.
After the YLCCC, we developed various projects to address climate change, which we also presented at the Tribal Climate Change. To raise awareness on climate change and the importance of Water Efficiency, a social media strategy was implemented. We also conducted research and community service for farming, disaster risk mapping, implementation of insurance and strategies to protect financial and agricultural losses from frost. The research publication will be released through the Indonesian Journal of Geography and will be presented at the International Conference on Tropical Agriculture and International Conference on Environmental Resources Management. Additionally, we promoted peer education to increase awareness on climate change among children with disabilities. The last project was related to environmental care and climate change movements with the Environmental Geography Student Association from the Universitas Gadjah Mada.
4. How was your experience at the Tribal Climate Camp?
Participating in the Tribal Climate Camp (TCC) 2017 is a very meaningful memory for my life. TCC taught me the importance of intergenerational roles in solving climate change issues. American indigenous people work together between generations, not only the adult generation but also actively engage the youth and the elderly in taking part to reduce the impacts of climate change. The cooperation effort, inclusiveness and great concern of tribal societies in the United States on climate change issues should be an example for many part of the world. During the TCC, lessons learned focused on the formulation of climate change adaptation and mitigation agenda for the vulnerable communities who experience the impacts of climate dynamics, especially at the local level. At the TCC, I also participated in field visits in the territory of the Nisqually Tribe and at the Rainer National Park, to learn about the glacial melting problem. The training increased the delegates’ capacity to perform action to protect the climate and encouraged community action. Through this forum, we understood that cooperation between generations is required to realize the global climate change goals that are stated in the Paris Agreement.
5. What’s your biggest take away from participating in the Tribal Climate Camp?
The biggest take away from my participation in the TCC is a collaborative experience with many parties in setting up a climate change agenda. Pleasant camp learning becomes an important positive point in the implementation of the TCC. We also learned through exchange among people from different experiences and backgrounds who developed a vision for climate change and environmental sustainability. The cultural exchange, ideas, and insights provided to be a valuable experience and an important lesson in my life.
Mr. Aditya Pradana was one of the three young leaders to receive the “Tribal Camp Award” and participated at the Tribal Climate Camp (TCC), hosted near Seattle, United States from 30 July — 4 August, 2017.
Originally published at www.uncclearn.org.
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About UN CC:Learn
UN CC:Learn is a partnership of more than 30 multilateral organizations supporting countries to design and implement systematic, recurrent and results-oriented climate change learning. Through its engagement at the national and global levels, UN CC:Learn contributes to the implementation of climate change training, education and public awareness-raising.
