Season 2, Episode 16: Dina

In this episode, host John introduces Dina from Jakarta, Indonesia, as they discuss climate action, rainwater collection, and the impact of climate change in Indonesia. Dina shares her journey into environmental activism, her experiences at COP 27 and 28, and her hopes for future climate actions and forestry practices.

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Transcript

0:00

(Indonesian) everyone. It means, hello, everyone in Indonesia. My name is Noor Mauliddina my nickname is Dina. I am from Jakarta, Indonesia. And right now we are on climate action figures.

John: 0:21

Well, hello and welcome to the 16th edition of season two of Climate Action Figures. You may already know that my name is John and this week on the show you get to meet Dina. For this week's quick fix, we are going to pick a third card from the fun box of I Love My Planet that viewer Twila sent in to us. And We're running a little low on quick fixes. That is some action that you are taking to better the environment and we love to hear from you. So please send us your quick fix into climateactionfigures at gmail. com or message us on Instagram or Facebook or even make a comment on YouTube. If you've got a quick fix to share with us, we will feature it on the show. But back to Twila's for the day. Today's card says collect rainwater. It says collect rainwater. Collecting rainwater is good for the environment because it preserves water supplies. You can leave it out for animals to drink on hot days, and you'll be a superhero for the birds. And houseplants love rainwater too. So that is thanks to Twila. Thanks for that quick fix, Twila. On that note, welcome, Dina, to the program.

Dina: 1:43

Hello, everyone.

John: 1:44

And what do you think about Twila's quick fix today?

Dina: 1:47

I am born and raised in Jakarta, and It's quite often we have a rainfall in here and about collecting rainwater. I think, It's really great because most of the Indonesian household in Jakarta, we use ground water for our daily use.

John: 2:04

Wow. So, and it's such clean water that you can actually just drink it.

Dina: 2:09

No, we were going to use a filter. So yeah, we, we're going to drill a hole, like from my apparent experience, they drilling holes for about like 20 meters to the, to the ground and then we use a water filter.

John: 2:27

Okay. Well, it's wonderful that you use that water that's right nearby you. Now, speaking of water, being in Indonesia, this is a country with a great deal of low lying coastline. Is climate change a big thing on the minds of the Indonesian people?

Dina: 2:43

Maybe if you saw on the news that a lot of happening in Jakarta, even our government they already make a plan or even they want to move our capital city, Jakarta to another, island, which is called Kalimantan Island. One of the reason because our ground, it's sinking. One of the reason is it's not just a rising sea levels but because our overuse of groundwater. And then, since we are located in coastline city, I think we experienced it a lot of, unpredictable. Weather, weather patterns, and especially people that living in the coastline, they are facing a very threat of displacement

John: 3:24

How did you become interested in caring for the environment? how old were you when this became an important thing in your life?

Dina: 3:30

I will say thanks to my father's influence because he's a civil engineer. Also in the past, he has a business selling a tree seed. So actually that's happening because during the Asia final crisis during 1990. And then he trying to switch off the business from civil engineering to another business and he told me that during at a time Selling tree seeding., he planted about almost like 1 million I'm so inspired by him. and, uh, when, During my high school, I was inspired to be marine biology because I saw on the documentary about what's happening in Australia, like Great Barrier Reef, and also a lot of that. And then I aspire to be a marine biologist, but unfortunately at the time, there is no like specific major in Indonesia. For marine biology and I should go to Australia in the nearest country. They have such a really great marine biology course. I raised it by Asian tiger mom, so she doesn't want me to go abroad. And also I'm the first generation in my family if I want to study abroad, and I'm trying to figure out which major that still related to marine biology and then I find out about my ma my major forest resource Conservation, and then since then, I'm more interesting about this.

John: 4:55

So is it unusual for a woman to be involved in forestry there? Are there more women than in forestry right now, Indonesia?

Dina: 5:03

Yeah. I want to tell you about the interesting story because when I decided to take like a marine biology or like a forestry course in Indonesia, people like, huh, You are women, because in the past. Those kind of course is almost related to engineering course. So yeah, it's male dominated. And however, after COVID, a lot of youth from city. They want to study about forestry. And also, at the same time, a lot of women, they want to, interesting to study forestry.

John: 5:32

Now are there some foresters, many foresters in Indonesia who are really concerned about the environment?

Dina: 5:39

A lot of They are interesting about what's happening about the climate change but I will say I think one of my friends is a youth activist and indigenous people. Her name, Laetania Belai Djandam. she is from Indonesia. Technically, she's not forestry. But she's growing up with forestry environment, I would say she's a youth expert in Indonesia if we talk about anything climate action and indigenous people. I got inspired from her. I want to be like her

John: 6:10

And that inspired you so much, I'm told you went to COP 27 and COP 28, is that right?

Dina: 6:16

before I met Laetania I have no idea about how forestry and climate action should be working together. And then after I met her in COP27 in 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, I'm just like, oh, this is how it works. If you want to be youth activists,

John: 6:35

so you actually met her at cop 27

Dina: 6:38

Yes. Yeah.

John: 6:39

Were you interested in cop 29?

Dina: 6:41

Yes, I am really interesting about cop 29 because last year one of my friends He's from Germany. He make a Snapgram story. the next COP 29, it's going to be a more focusing on forestry. COP 29 is forestry COP. So he just taking a photo and give a comment on that. And I was like, oh my God. I mean, as forestry and I, what I experienced during COP 27 and COP 28, not a lot of forestry student attending cop, so I'm really, really excited with COP 29.

John: 7:14

now. You were interested in cop 29, but yet you did not go. Do you want to tell us why that was?

Dina: 7:20

Unfortunately I couldn't attend the COP 29 this year in Baku, Azerbaijan because I will say that if I'm being a student as a first graduate it's more easier for me to gain a lot of funding to support me to come to COP 29 I have no idea why this year, they trying to cutting down a lot of conference badges to attending a cop 29 I'm trying to get a virtual badge so we can attend virtually. And, and the funny thing that I couldn't even secure a badge. I have been already asking a lot of my friends that they are the leader of their youth organization. They told me, Oh, I'm sorry. We couldn't provide you a virtual badge. But we could provide you a physically badge to come to COP29. And I told her how I can come to COP29? It's really expensive that's one of my challenge this year.

John: 8:16

Wow. So the badge is your identification that allows you to attend the conference, right?

Dina: 8:21

Yes, yes.

John: 8:22

You couldn't get one at all.

Dina: 8:23

No, no,

John: 8:24

So let's go back to COP 27 and 28 since you did experience those in person after you attended those did you find you were more or less hopeful than before. One of our audience members wanted to know what you, what you thought about that. So thanks to Tina for that question.

Dina: 8:42

There's a lot of climate anxiety about oh, what's happening after COP, you know, we don't have any hope especially related to nature and biodiversity. Of course, I'm gonna feel hopeless, but again and again, I took a lot long flight to go there. And I met a lot of amazing people. And it makes me more patient to giving awareness that please make nature and biodiversity or ocean as well as a top main topic and main discussion, not just like, you know, we are a forestry professional trying to make our own dialogue. So I'm more getting patient to to giving a more awareness and maybe create more community to pushing down about this topic,

john--he-him-_3_12-04-2024_200003: 9:24

Now, Dina, Tina had a second question for you. She asked, as a result of your attendance at COP 27 and 28, was there anything that shifted for you, that changed for you, maybe particularly in regards the Indonesian forestry practices?

squadcaster-fe8a_3_12-05-2024_095956: 9:42

Yeah, one thing that I'm so interested in after attending especially COP28, so, Indonesia, government, Brazil, and Congo, they're trying to make an alliance, especially for, sustainably forest governance. I think it's really interesting because this country is very famous. We have like such a rich biodiversity sector a lot of country depending on our carbon as well. And I hope that especially for upcoming COP 30 in Brazil, those alliance already got implemented and already working towards that.

John: 10:15

we had another audience member David who sent in a question. You are involved with YOUNGO. We've talked with a number of Youth from the YOUNGO organization. And David was interested in that. So he said he went onto the website and it says in quotes YOUNGO references a UN where youth is sitting at the decision making tables and is taken seriously. Do you believe that's happening?

Dina: 10:41

Well I'm part of YOUNGO as well since 2022 after I'm joining COP 27. First of all, I cannot speak on behalf of YOUNGO, but I'm going to share my experience as a YOUNGO member. And currently I am being one of the contact point of our Working Group. It's called Nature's Echo. And what I observed from my other friends, friends, they are on the ground. They do as they can to give an intervention echoing what they need and then give a lot of input, especially for parties. I will say, yeah, that's really important about especially if youth participate in the, this. Formal discussion. And that's what I see from my, my friends. They really do such amazing job on this.

John: 11:37

before we let you go, Dina, we should ask you if you've chosen a climate action for us today.

Dina: 11:44

It's related to what we talk at the beginning of our conversation. I will say collecting rainwater. Like we, what we have done in my house we make a holes in our ground. That's one of the climate action. What I've done and also in Indonesia when I'm taking a bath we have like like a habit. It's called a kayung. I'm not sure how I can explain it in English, but in Indonesia, yeah, it's called kayung. we take a bath. With a lot of water in there. We showering with a lot of those like a cup holder and it's quite big, actually. And what I have tried to do is that I taking a shower, which is that less using a lot of water, especially a ground water. That's what I'm trying to do. Right now.

John: 12:30

So it reduces your water consumption?

Dina: 12:33

Yes, it reduces my water consumption.

John: 12:36

And last question today for you, Dina. What gives you hope?

Dina: 12:40

It's quite hard to answer, but you know, my hope that as a youth, and especially as a forestry graduate. I hope that for the future, wherever in formal discussion I hope that nature, biodiversity, nature and biodiversity and ocean, a topic is always part of the main as I mentioned it to you before, like not just part of formal dialogue between the professional in this field.

John: 13:09

Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Dina.

Dina: 13:12

Yes, thank you so much, John, for inviting me, and yeah, so I can in as a forestry from Indonesia.

John: 13:20

And thank you, listener or viewer, if you've joined us on YouTube. We will be back again next Tuesday to hear from another fabulous, fascinating, and far flung climate action figure. Until then,

Dina: 13:33

go figures!