Life at WRI Indonesia

I still remember how fast my heart was beating when I heard a project was planning for a retreat in Bali last May which requires my participation. At the time, my 6-month-old baby had only begun his complementary feeding period, therefore I was so anxious when I received the assignment to travel for a business trip, which basically means leaving my baby throughout the trip. However, I am very fortunate to be working in WRI Indonesia that implements strong policies to accommodate working moms (and dads!) in the organization.

Papua with an area of more than 40 million hectares is the last frontier for Indonesia's tropical forests, with very high biodiversity and mineral resources. With its natural wealth, Papua becomes a spotlight to investors, tropical forest observers, researchers, national institutions, and international institutions. Papua cannot be separated from political and human rights issues since it was returned by the Dutch in 1963. Often, these two issues are very dominant in shaping the information in the media about Papua. In working in and for Papua, there are a number of important points that WRI Indonesia has built.

Kirana Agustina and Nanda Noor is a colleague-turned-couple who met at the WRI's Sustainability Champions program. Last April, they were able to host a sustainable and socially-concious wedding with closest families and colleagues. Here's how they made their wedding dream came true.

Exploring creativity in finding new ideas is quite challenging for the communications team in the midst of a pandemic situation like today, especially to explore ideas and creativity for WRI Indonesia's digital content. #CeritaKita was developed to share experiences, actions, and perspectives on the relationship between humans and nature to inspire more people to feel close, care for, and build a better earth.

COVID-19 has changed our daily life, including how we work at WRI Indonesia. With all the limitations to prevent the spread of coronavirus, we have to change offline events into online meetings. Before the pandemic, WRI Riau office assists community in more than 10 villages, including smallholder farmers and indigenous community who lives around the forest. In the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, we need to adjust our way of work to make sure our assistance continue.

At WRI, where advancing sustainable development is our purpose, love isn’t often expressed orally or in writing, but everyone showed it in action. Our hearts are dedicated to serving Indonesia in its war against the climate crisis - despite knowing we may fail. Because it is still better to have loved the Earth and lost this war, than to never love it at all.

People usually associate communications with the sole activities of interacting with people or delivering information. Those are certainly part of communications, but there is always a thought process behind those activities. Communications is a science.

The ongoing pandemic has shifted the way WRI does its mission and how I personally live. We are lucky enough to have most of our operations intact, teams functioning and near-zero health cases. Organization-wise, we feel good, but personally, how do I really feel?

Growing up in times when climate change arises and environmental problems such as floods, over-polluted air, and droughts have begun to escalate have propelled Ines Ayostina, one of WRI Indonesia's young researcher from Wahana Riset Indonesia program, to work in the environment sector.

To make sure the goals are achieved, development programs should be based on the real situation on the ground, which include the physical, social, economy, and culture condition of local community. A participatory mapping method is a way for local community to take part and use their knowledge for the development planning of their home.