YKAN Voices #UntukIndonesiaLestari

Time to vote for those who can't. The threatened, the needy, the silenced. It's time to speak out for the Earth, which is gasping for air in the face of rising temperatures, which are slowly but surely having an impact on all aspects of the life of the living creatures that live in it.

Welcoming Earth Day 2021, Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN) invites all levels of society to act and speak out for Indonesia, through the theme "Voices #ForIndonesiaLestari", in Conservation Talks on Thursday (21/4).

YKAN presents Nature Ambassadors, namely Vania Herlambang who is also Miss Indonesia Environment 2018, Melissa Karim, who is commonly known as a presenter and MC, and Andini Effendi who works as a journalist. They shared stories and inspiration in the online talkshow session which was hosted by YKAN's Head of Communications Sally Kailola. Through their respective professions, each Nature Ambassador becomes a influencer for YKAN to invite the wider community to care for the Earth.

“During the pandemic, we are afraid of COVID-19. But actually, there is something secretly lurking in our lives, namely air pollution. The issue of air pollution creates a big impact, causes significant economic losses, and damages our health,” said Andini Effendi reminded. The habit of burning garbage, he gave an example, seems trivial but actually has a huge impact on air quality.

This exciting discussion with YKAN Nature Ambassadors is packaged in a quiz format which is divided into 9 topics, namely sustainable lifestyle, mangroves, pollution, garbage, clean water, ecotourism, animals, fisheries, and climate. Each topic has a list of questions that Nature Ambassadors must answer. When choosing the issue of waste, Melissa Karim, who also owns this food outlet, said that as much as possible she minimizes the food waste that is produced per day. Of the five ingredients used, for example, he was creative to make 8 menu variants so that not too many types of food ingredients were left.

In the middle of the chat, Sally also invited one of the Conservation Talks participants to speak up. Among them are Rahma Alia, a presenter who shares stories about applying the concept of recycling in his family; Anggyta Setyorini who was inspired by mangroves and poured it into her contemporary-style paintings; and Satya Winnie, who is usually known as a travel blogger and has a high concern for nature.

“I recently returned from North Maluku and met the fishermen there. It turns out that now they no longer have to go far to sea, they can already get a lot of fish. The fishermen are also aware not to use bombs, tiger trawlers, and only use traditional boats,” he said about his journey to explore North Maluku.

Also present as a special guest, Samsudin Fairy Tale Keliling, who has explored 14 cities in Indonesia since 2016. Oom Sam, as he is usually called, shared his inspiration for his passion for storytelling natural stories. His dedication to saving endangered animals and preserving the environment in Indonesia is a source of encouragement in every pedal swing he carries around the city.

“Humans are just part of an ecosystem. There are other living things that also need attention. If we cut the chain of life, the impact will be on us too. A dead tree, for example, means that animals will run to find other food sources, and human food sources will also be disturbed,” said Oom Sam.

On this occasion, YKAN also gave nature awards to participants who have long supported YKAN's conservation activities through the Membership program. One of them is Tri Soekirman who now also serves as the Executive Director of Photovoices International. This non-profit organization empowers local communities to tell their daily stories through photo shoots to drive policy, as well as advocate for positive change.

As Vania Herlambang said, the commemoration of Earth Day does not mean that we only care about the Earth for one day a year. "Earth Day commemoration is a "pinch", which can create a domino effect and be a reminder that there is still a lot of work that we must do together for a sustainable Earth".

They all speak for the nature of Indonesia. “Speaking #ForIndonesiaLestari” is the theme that was carried out as an Earth Day campaign carried out by YKAN during April 2021. This theme was also raised in the Instagram Photo Contest which is valid from April 1-30, 2021. The best photos will be selected by the judges consisting of Riza Marlon (Wildlife photographer), Melissa Karim (Nature Ambassador YKAN), Gemala Hanafiah (travel blogger), and Herlina Hartanto, Ph.D (Executive Director of YKAN).

In fact, everyone can speak for nature. And everyone has their own way of acting for the sake of nature preservation. “We all live in one place, that is Earth. If we allow our destructive actions to continue, we will leave our children and grandchildren on an uninhabitable Earth," concluded Oom Sam.