Showing posts with label Think Globally. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Think Globally. Show all posts

Saturday, July 1, 2017

Why do we need social scientists in environmental research?


Risk governance framework

There are many environmental challenges which are threatening ecosystem and global biodiversity. Environmental issue is an interdisciplinary topic which has complex interaction between human with nature system. It has substantive uncertainty and strategic-institutional uncertainty among the stakeholders. Scientific research is required to manage risk of the uncertainties. Scientists have to collaborate in interdisciplinary research to solve wicked environmental problems. Interdisciplinary research generally refers to the process of coordination, collaboration, or investigation by researchers are combined into a public issue with sharing, invention, and knowledge mix between disciplines.

The social sciences research produces strong output that contributes to environmental studies. Social scientists are studying humans in some form or another, this output is required to produce various kinds of socially robust knowledge to address environmental issues. Consequently, it creates potential for knowledge transfer and scalability, praxis planning and policy-making bridges to implement solution for the problems. Scientific research on societal environmental issues requires a full collaborative role of social scientists. 

Friday, November 4, 2016

Climate-smart agriculture not an oxymoron


“Is climate-smart agriculture [CSA] an oxymoron?”, Lisa Schipper, a researcher, questioned in regard to a new farming concept outlined in the 5th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum in Sri Lanka recently.

The concept of CSA was invented by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2010 to sustainably increase productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduce/remove greenhouse gases (mitigation) and enhance national food security and development goals.

The concept has been introduced with a more sophisticated political approach, through a new initiative called the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture. In a new twist, the Global Alliance provides for new ways of green washing “climate-smart” industrial agriculture, with the active involvement of private corporations such as Syngenta, Yara, Kellogg’s and McDonald’s.

The scheme may let agriculture remain a parking lot for poor farmers in Africa and South Asia, but it should not to be continued in the ASEAN region.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Investment planning for energy-agriculture nexus




15th WREC (World Renewable Energy Congress) took place at the Jakarta International Convention Center in Indonesia on 19-23 September alongside the Indonesia Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Summit 2016. It was attended by 457 participants, comprising Indonesians and foreigners from 68 countries. As many as 122 scientific papers on renewable energy are presented at the congress. Some of them are discussing energy-agriculture nexus through bioenergy, geothermal and solar. Participants from Indonesia gained knowledge and network about business, policy and technological developments in the energy-agriculture sector, from from overseas businessmen and experts in the congress.

Renewable energy interventions in an agriculture-food enterprise include the introduction of renewable energy technologies or of energy efficiency measures, which can result in improvement in energy intensity. Each step of agriculture value chain presents different challenges to ensure that the relevant energy services are provided efficiently, cost effectively and minimizing the reliance on the fossil fuel market. Applying the value chain approach, it becomes evident how the value of food products tend to increase as more processing occurs and more inputs (energy, water, packaging materials) are consumed. The energy interventions considered span from solar-power irrigation systems to cooling and cold storage facilities, and from the use of residues for energy production to geothermal energy for food processing. These concepts were explored in the WREC.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Adaptation with respect to water resources




Java is being most heavily populated but having a small percentage of the Indonesia’s water, the island is predicted to face a clean water crisis. Java has less than 10 percent of the country's water, whereas more than 140 million people live on the island, nearly 60 percent of the country's population. The 2015 estimation by Robert Wahyudi Triweko, an expert on engineering and the management of water resources, disclosed that water demand on Java reached 164.672 million cubic meters per year, while the availability of water was only 30.569 million cubic meters per year, leaving a big deficit gap of 134.103 million cubic meters per year. Meanwhile, Kalimantan has 30 percent of Indonesia's water and only inhabited by six percent of Indonesia's population.

Water demand increase is triggered by urbanization. At the same time, it is also affected by climate change. It is started from sea level rise and increasing rainfall, as well as higher peak flood runoff which affected by urbanization. Those occurences increase flood volume in wider risk area. Finally, it becomes new problem which is increasing flood damage in more houses which builded due to urbanization. Therefore, improvements in water management and related infrastructure are important for solving the problems which threatening future economic success. 

Monday, August 29, 2016

Kenapa 230 juta populasi hanya dapat satu emas?




Brasil akhirnya meraih medali emas di Olimpiade Rio 2016 untuk cabang sepak bola putra setelah mengalahkan Jerman. Namun tim putri Jerman sebelumnya mengobati kekalahan ini, untuk kali pertama, mereka meraih medali emas Olimpiade seusai mengalahkan Swedia di final. Hal ini akhirnya membuat kedua negara masuk dalam daftar negara peraih medali emas untuk sepakbola di olimpiade.

Negara peraih gelar juara sepakbola olimpiade terbanyak bukanlah Brasil, Argentina, Jerman atau negara sepakbola yang lain, melainkan adalah Hungaria. Hungaria merupakan tim dengan raihan medali emas Olimpiade terbanyak, bersama Britania Raya dengan tiga gelar. Hungaria menjadi juara pada Helsinki 1952, Tokyo 1964, dan Mexico City 1968. Ada pula Rusia yang menjadi juara Olimpiade dua kali ketika masih bernama Uni Soviet. Mereka melakukannya pada 1956 dan 1968.
Sementara itu, Argentina menjadi negara tersukses di abad 21 dengan kesuksesannya meraih medai emas pada tahun 2004 dan 2008. Pada tahun 2008, di bawah komando Lionel Messi, pemain terbaik asal Barcelona tersebut sukses mempersembahkan medali emas bagi negaranya. Negara lain yang berhasil meraih medali emas di abad ini adalah Kamerun (2000), Meksiko (2012), dan terakhir, Brazil.

Yang menarik, faktanya sejak sistem timnas u-23 diperkenalkan di Atlanta 1992 hanya Spanyol satu-satunya negara Eropa yang berhasil menjadi kampiun. Selebihnya, medali emas dikuasai oleh Nigeria dan Kamerun dari CAF (Afrika), lalu Argentina dua kali dari CONMEBOL (Amerika Selatan), juga Meksiko dari CONCACAF (Amerika Utara dan Tengah)

Lalu pertanyaan klasiknya, mengapa negara-negara tersebut yang juara? Dan jawaban klasiknya tentu karena negara tersebut punya banyak pemain berkualitas yang dapat bekerjasama dalam tim yang juga baik. Berikutnya bagaimana mereka bisa mendapatkan dan melahirkan pemain-pemain tersebut? Negara-negara di atas memilih para pemainnya, Brazil dari 200 juta penduduknya, Jerman dari 80 juta jiwa dan Hungaria dari 10 juta penduduknya di tahun 1968, terakhir kali mereka meraih emas sepakbola di olimpiade. Lalu Argentina, Kamerun dan Meksiko, masing-masing berturut dari 39 juta, 15 juta dan 120 juta jiwa, saat mereka meraih juara.

Dari fakta di atas, hanya Brazil negara yang memiliki jumlah populasi lebih dari 200 juta dan berhasil meraih emas sepakbola di Olimpiade, akhirnya di 2016. Lalu bagaimana dengan raihan Brazil di olahraga lain pada olimpiade saat ini? Per 22 Agustus lalu, dari 471 atletnya Brazil meraih 7 emas dan berada di posisi 13. Adalah deretan angka-angka yang menarik, statistik menunjukkan bahwa negara berpopulasi besar yang bahkan sudah mengirim ratusan atlet di olimpiade, namun masih sulit setidaknya berada dalam posisi sepuluh besar.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

What is (br)exit for climate change?




It has been more than a month after the popular vote of Brexit in the United Kingdom (UK) moved to detach the country from the European Union (EU). Brexit affects many aspects, including climate change. Theresa May, New UK Prime Minister decided to abolish the UK’s climate change department, funding for some combined heat and power schemes is cut with just three weeks' notice, causing outrage among the renewable energy industry and farmers. The decision is potentially a major downgrade for climate as a government priority. In long-term period, it will be a disaster for the climate, both physical and political, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The climate movement is expected to slow markedly. Most obvious are all of the direct impacts will have on environmental policies outright. Brexiteers don't care much for the caps on carbon and free markets, and they are eager to cut through the EU "red tape" of environmental regulations. Worst, many Brexiteers also happen to deny temperatures are rising at all, setting them apart even from Tory comrades. One recent study found that Brexit voters are nearly twice as likely as their "Remain" counterparts to deny the existence of man-made climate change -- with two out of three thinking the media are guilty of exaggerating scientific consensus on the matter. One of them even called wind energy as the biggest collective economic insanity.

Behavioural change in climate action




Indonesia is already affected by climate change with temperatures having risen by between 0.16 and 1.44 degrees Celsius. Drought in some places has caused uncertainty for farmers in the initial rice planting season this year. Climate change is also characterized by chaos in weather patterns in the country. Urgent task will be to take action seriously towards reduction and reversal of global warming, and avoid threats against climate action. I recently found a threat in two Indonesian articles entitled “Does climate change exist?” and “The myths of climate change” in an online platform for idea's marketplace. I am wondering what’s going on in the brains of these climate change deniers?

Friday, August 5, 2016

Titik temu toleransi




Sontak beberapa waktu lalu di negeri mayoritas muslim, isu toleransi dan minoritas heboh bersama kisruh perda syariah yang mencuat setelah penggusuran warung yang buka di siang hari saat Ramadan di Serang. Sementara itu jauh di negara mayoritas Kristen, umat Yahudi, Kristen dan Islam mengadakan buka puasa bersama di sebuah sinagog di London. Di sejumlah negeri mayoritas non-muslim lainnya pun, sejumlah pihak tengah mengembangkan tempat ibadah inklusif bagi semua agama. Inilah dinamika toleransi mayoritas minoritas yang sedang berkembang di berbagai penjuru dunia.

Ada juga dinamika berbeda di Indonesia terkait tema tersebut yang jarang diangkat. Cerita itu datang dari Bali, Island of Gods, dimana muslim menjadi minoritas. Data 2015 menyebutkan muslim di Bali berjumlah 520.244 jiwa atau setara dengan 13,37 persen dari total penduduk Bali yang mayoritas Hindu. Namun dari jumlah tersebut, sebagian adalah pendatang, hal ini membuat jumlah muslim yang menghabiskan Ramadan di Bali semakin sedikit, karena sebagian memilih untuk berpuasa di kampung halaman. Hal ini mungkin juga disebabkan sedikitnya jumlah masjid di Bali, pada 2013 tercatat hanya ada 213 Masjid.

Banyak keadaan yang membuat kondisi berpuasa dan beribadah di Ramadan menjadi lebih menantang bagi muslim minoritas di Bali. Dimulai dari tantangan makanan, sebagian makanan yang dijual di warung dan restoran di Bali tidak halal, bahkan beberapa yang mungkin terlihat halal pun, masih diragukan kehalalannya. Hal ini membuat para muslim mungkin agak kesulitan untuk akses makanan saat sahur dan berbuka. Terutama saat sahur, tidak banyak warung makan yang buka pada jam ini, kecuali di daerah tertentu yang mayoritas muslim.

Soal makanan tidak berhenti sampai disana, sejumlah tempat makan yang tetap beroperasi seperti biasa di Ramadan juga menjadi godaan lain bagi muslim yang berpuasa. Hal ini menjadi salah satu dari kondisi lingkungan sekitar yang menjadi tantangan berpuasa. Kemudian juga situasi di sebagian besar kantor-kantor atau lokasi tempat kerja yang juga tak ubahnya seperti hari biasa, rekan kerja yang tetap makan minum dan tidak ada perubahan jam kerja, menjadi tekanan lain bagi para muslim. Lalu, tata cara berpakaian orang-orang dan para turis yang tentu sangat berbeda dengan di Aceh atau Sumatera Barat, melengkapi tantangan berpuasa bagi para muslim.

Usai berbuka puasa, tantangan belum selesai. Sebagian muslim minoritas yang tinggal jauh dari masjid masih harus menempuh perjalanan jauh untuk tarawih. Jumlah masjid yang terbatas membuat lokasinya pun tidak tersebar cukup merata di seluruh wilayah. Sesampainya di masjid, mereka masih dihadapkan pada keterbatasan infrastruktur. Sebagian masjid tidak cukup besar untuk menampung jumlah jamaah. Alhasil, sebagian muslim harus shalat di halaman dan jalan depan masjid, tak jarang di tengah shalat hujan datang dan membubarkan sebagian orang yang tidak dipayungi tenda.

Jika di daerah mayoritas muslim, mereka familiar dengan azan, bedug, sirine atau penanda lainnya untuk saat imsak dan buka puasa, maka di Bali hal-hal tersebut sangat sulit ditemui. Lengkaplah sudah tantangan berpuasa dan ibadah Ramadan bagi para muslim minoritas yang sebelumnya terbiasa dengan situasi mayoritas muslim.

Dibalik semua keadaan di atas, justru disanalah tantangan berpuasa yang sebenarnya dengan tingkat ujian dan godaan melatih hawa nafsu yang lebih berat. Kemenangan berpuasa disini akan memberi sensasi yang lebih memuaskan dan mampu menciptakan insan yang lebih kuat setelah Ramadan. Keadaan minoritas memberikan daya juang yang lebih besar bagi umat untuk beragama. Namun disamping itu, masyarakat Bali sendiri sesungguhnya juga bertoleransi terhadap muslim yang berpuasa dan ibadah di Ramadan. Dalam ajaran Hindu ada asas Tat Twam Asi yang berarti “aku adalah kamu dan kamu adalah aku”. Ajaran ini diamalkan salah satunya melalui “Tradisi Ngejot” yang merupakan tradisi memberikan makanan kepada tetangga yang berbeda agama sebagai tanda kehidupan yang rukun dalam bertetangga. 

Penduduk Islam di Bali yang berasal dari luar Bali harusnya dapat mengambil pelajaran ini untuk lebih memahami toleransi dan menyampaikannya pada kerabat di daerah mayoritas Islam. Kemudian ini juga menjadi refleksi bagi minoritas lain di daerah mayoritas islam untuk tetap berjuang dalam mengamalkan ajaran agama dengan tetap memperhatikan kaidah toleransi.

Diskursus ini akhirnya akan berujung pada mencari garis tengah atau titik berat dari toleransi itu sendiri. Ketika suatu kaum mayoritas terlalu bertoleransi, maka ini dapat meringankan perjuangan beragama kaum minoritas, hal ini tidak terlalu terjadi di Indonesia. Yang terjadi di Indonesia adalah sebagian kaum mayoritas yang menguasai pemerintah, menggunakan kekuatannya untuk membuat toleransi terhadap yang berpuasa dengan mekanisme ‘penutupan’ tantangan-tantangan berpuasa seperti tempat makan, pakaian dan lain lain.

Hal ini dicoba perbaiki oleh Menteri Agama Lukman Hakim Saifuddin yang menyerukan masyarakat untuk menjaga sikap saling toleransi pada Ramadan, “Jadi harus ada toleransi, saling menghargai dan menghormati perbedaan yang ada pada pihak lain. Umat beragama apapun ketika sedang menjalankan ibadah, kita sepantasnya menghormati yang sedang beribadah. Tapi yang sedang menjalankan ibadah pun juga akan sangat baik kalau juga bisa menghargai dan menghormati yang tidak sedang berpuasa".

Ketiadaan toleransi dapat memicu konflik, tendensi kurang dihargai dan akibat buruk lain. Maka kemudian harga beragama dan toleransi menjadi penting untuk dicarikan titik temunya. Lukman Hakim mempertemukannya dalam istilah ‘saling toleransi’. Lebih sederhana, kita mungkin bisa menemukannya dalam skala toleransi lebih kecil. Di Bali, muslim minoritas menghormati semua saudara-saudaranya ragam agama hingga yang seiman dengan beragam tampilan fisik, mulai dari yang gondrong, bertato, rambut warna, bertindik, dan lainnya, semua berhak untuk beribadah dan disambut kedatangannya di Island of Gods.

God belongs to everyone

Tulisan ini dimuat di Selasar.com

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Transition pathways for achieving bioenergy target

Bioenergy workshop in Bali
The European Commission research programs in partnership with Udayana University and the Indonesia Climate Change Trust Fund recently conducted an international workshop in Bali to discuss a wide range of issues related to bioenergy.

The workshop on sustainability and bioenergy provided an opportunity to analyze the sustainable business and climate resilience of low-carbon transition pathways comprising bioenergy made from crop waste and residue.

The topic remains relevant with the government’s program to boost exports of its agriculture-based products from the processed food and beverage industries in Indonesia. The government plans to develop up to 400,000 hectares of new fruit plantations across the country in the next few years in an attempt to improve both the quantity and quality of local fruit production, to boost exports and survive amid competition against imported products. This plan promotes an energy-agriculture nexus particularly in bioenergy pathways in Indonesia, as fruit waste can also be used to produce biofuel.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Menyikapi Skeptisisme Perubahan Iklim

Kekeringan di Jembrana, Bali

Beberapa waktu lalu saya membaca dua tulisan di sebuah media dengan judul “Apakah perubahan iklim benar-benar terjadi?” dan “Mitos Perubahan Iklim”. Hal ini menambah runyam skeptisisme terhadap perubahan iklim dan membuat saya terpanggil untuk menanggapi dan melengkapi diskursus tersebut.
Tulisan pertama mencoba menghadirkan sejumlah penelitian terkait perubahan iklim dan menyimpulkan bahwa perubahan iklim adalah siklus normal bagi bumi. “Tak Perlu Histeris, tidak perlu menunjukkan kekhawatiran yang berlebihan terhadap perubahan iklim. Kita tidak bisa mencegah terjadinya perubahan iklim. Yang bisa kita lakukan adalah melakukan adaptasi dan mitigasi terhadap perubahan itu. Ada ribuan probabilitas mengapa Tuhan menurunkan bencana pada suatu daerah. Ke semuanya bergantung pada individu yang mendiami daerah itu”, argumen ini menutup ulasan tulisan pertama.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

ASEAN for Asian-African Sovereignty


Asian African Conference, www.channelnewsasia.com


Celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference was done and Indonesia was successful taking its role. Hence, there were only few of concrete deals or agreements from the conference.
 
The final declaration condemned terrorism and transnational crime, and endorsed the peaceful resolution of disputes. But no strategy was endorsed and no commitment made for any new unified action to combat this threat. And initial language calling for intelligence sharing was dropped in the final draft.

The declaration also underscored respect for human rights. However many of the participating countries including Iran, Zimbabwe, China, and Myanmar have been criticized for censorship of the media and suppressing democratic opposition.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Roads to Castle

https://www.kiwicollection.com/blog/game-of-thrones-filming-locations/29968

Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle – George R Martin. Game OfThrone

Recently, I really enjoyed watching the TV Show Game of Throne (GOT). This show is another way to learn about my favorite subject, geopolitics.

Chris O'Regan, a user of Quora, a knowledge website,  said that GOT has drawn inspiration from actual historical  events. The biggest similarity is that the story resembles events that occurred during medieval times in England particularly the Wars of the Roses. There are two houses in GOT, Stark and Lannister. Stark sounds like York and Lannister sounds like Lancaster.

Watching GOT also reminds me of my undergraduate thesis in 2012. I wrote about political contestation between student groups in my university, from a geopolitical point of view. Some people said it was an unusual topic. But in 2014, it was published as a book titled ‘Geopolitik Islam Kampus’ (Islam Geopolitics in University) and until now I still get orders for it . I had also essays published in other anthologies.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Ayo bikin KUE bareng, Knowledge UEveryday! #key


1. Hamalem tweeps! jom nge- (Knowledge Everyday) lagi!

2 jadi setiap hari kita kudu cari knowledge baru dari sumber yg kredibel (buku, Jurnal, seminar, life experience, dll)

3. Why ? Because we believe that knowledge is a tool to open the gate of change. Lets have 'Knowledge Everyday'!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Culture iceburg



1. Jaman pemilu, hari raya demokrasi, masi banyak yang berantem karena 'beda', perbedaan..masi pada sensi #key

2. Kenapa sih masi pada belom dewasa ngadepin perbedaan? Katanya bhineka tunggal ika, negeri banyak budaya, tapi masi sering 'ny(s)ara' #key

3. Coba deh, pada tanya balik ke diri masing masing. Mestinya perbedaan adalah rahmat?. Eits pasti ada yang berontak #key

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Infrastucture Development

Sei Gohong 

Do you know the objective of infrastructure development?. Does it aim to make the villages with local taste change into the big cities with international quality?.

When everyone talked about local infrastucture in their area, most of them concluded “infrastructure development changes level of their area, becoming more urban”. Some people even dont know or maybe dont care with it.

Now, let’s see it from the village level. What does actually happen?.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Indonesia, Ukraina, dan Shevcenko


Orang-orang tak dikenal menyerang wartawan, mengacungkan senjata, dan merebut kamera. Saluran televisi lokal diblokir dan salurannya berganti siaran. Manajer hotel tempat wartawan menginap pun meminta penghentian siaran.

Hal itulah yang terjadi beberapa waktu lalu di Crimea, Ukraina. Wilayah ini berada di semenanjung Laut Hitam dan menjadi jantung konflik antara Moskwa di Rusia, Kiev di Ukraina, dan negara-negara ‘barat’ pengintai lainnya.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Orang(h)utan



“Mengapa harus selamatkan orangutan?. Sementara masih banyak orang beneran yang lebih butuh untuk diselamatkan”

Sejumlah pertanyaan atau pernyataan sekitar lingkup di atas kembali bertebaran akhir-akhir ini, usai berita tentang Pelepasliaran Orangutan oleh BOSF (Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation / Yayasan Penyelamatan Orangutan Borneo) beberapa waktu yang lalu. Hal ini memang hampir selalu terjadi bagi sebagian orang yang belum cukup paham, di setiap program pelepasliaran yang dilakukan.

Jadi, kenapa harus diselamatkan?.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Maritime

Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia, Canada

New year, everyone all over the world, celebrated many things wiht any ways. Firework, music concert, indoor party, religion things, and other shows.
But there is a few things that often forget to be celebrated, to be improved. Most of the common celebration are just symbolic .
Less people who muse about theirself, their group, and their entity in celebration. In term of entity, there is an entity which has very big potential in many sectors. This entity made some other countries attracted from couple hundred years ago. They are Indonesia, which made Portugal, British, Dutch, and Japan came to colonize.
Indonesia has a lot of term for their country ; agriculture, multicultural, archipelago, and maritime. The last term is a classic term which is so weak in its maintenance and empowerment. Not many people who really care or aware with this term : maritime.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

All My Relation

Kids Tour in GHC

Glooscape Heritage Centre (GHC), - which is also called Mikmaq Museum – is one of best native museum in Maritime Canada. They are located in Truro, Nova Scotia. I was volunteering overthere during 3 months in Youth Leaders in Action Programme with Canada World Youth in partnership with Kemenpora RI (Ministry of Youth and Sport – Indonesia).

GHC look like really try to perceive what is real meaning of museum. Muse, in English means 'contemplate'. Then, museum could means a place contemplate the history. Learning, more than just receiving, but also thinking; muses about its value. GHC did this role pretty good.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Christmas, Mikmaq, and Glooscape

Glooscap Statue in Mikmaq Museum, Truro

In the northern hemisphere, there are some people quite open in ‘learning’ and ‘sharing’ culture. They are indigenous people in North America. One of their group named Mikmaq, they live in maritime Canada.
Mikmaq believes to existence of Glooscape in the past, the first human was created out of a bolt of lightening in the sand and remains a figure that appears in many of the Mi’kmaq legends. These legends are stories that are passed down from generation to generation and tell of the Mi’kmaq culture.