WITHIN the past three months, I have been involved into two solid waste management projects, both related to biogas processing, converting waste into renewable energy/gas. One project I was involved with was a Baseline Survey in coordination with UNESCAP and the consultancy team Solid Waste in Indonesia (SWI).
The baseline survey is carried in four local governments in Indonesia: Jambi, Probolinggo, Malang Regency and Malang City. One of those will be selected to host the pilot project of UNESCAP’s Solid Waste Management initiative. I had the opportunity to participate in one of the missions to Jambi at the start of the survey and was able to learn how they coordinate and understand which sites could become part of the baseline survey.
I have also been involved in learning about the solid waste management in Wakatobi Regency, a group of islands in Southeast Sulawesi. I had the great experience of staying two weeks in one of the islands, Wangi-Wangi, to do a field research. I learned about waste management both on government and community levels. By the end of my stay, I was able to acquire information on the cultural, traditional, political and social aspects of sustainability and from what I learned, I was able to envision and produce drawings on how Wakatobi will look like in the future.
While I was working in Wakatobi, I was fortunate to meet Mayor Hugua, an incredibly active man who pursues environment protection and improvement of livelihood in the Regency. Coming from an architectural background, I had the pleasure to support and design the landscape of their new airport. I produced several proposals including an improvement of public space within landscape and even a potential Biogas plant that can be shared within the airport and the surrounding community.
I had an incredible experience working in UCLG ASPAC. I hope my contribution can be another step towards a better livelihood for communities in Indonesia. I hope I can work with UCLG ASPAC again in the future and create more positive impact in Asia-Pacific and around the world.
