World Environment Day is a meaningful day for me because it’s a time when I evaluate my progress in regard to protecting the environment, and enhance my actions as an ecocentric individual. June 5th is a moment for all of us to look at ourselves and ask: have we been ethical towards our environment?
I am from the island of Lombok in Indonesia, where I belong to the Sasak ethnic group. Within our community, there exists a set of traditional laws known as “Awig Awig”. The concept of Awig Awig reflects values, norms, and rules that have been collectively agreed upon and passed down through generations. These principles not only regulate social and religious customs within the community, but also encompass practices related to environmental management and conservation of Sasak land. Awig Awig serves as local wisdom in promoting good practices in water management, sustainable agriculture, conserving forests and land, waste management, and preserving biological diversity.
I choose to implement ecocentric ethics in my life when it comes to my behaviour towards the environment. Ecocentric ethics is when we live side by side with nature, and establish a good relationship with it for a better earth now and in the future. I believe that I, you, they, we and the environment are all equal. If we are ethical towards the environment, then the environment will also behave ethically towards us. The environment never disappoints us, it is we who disappoint the environment by exploiting it.
Being partially colourblind and coming from a minority ethnic group doesn’t hinder me from taking actions that reflect ecocentric ethics. As an ecocentric individual, I do things as simple as carrying my own water bottle, bringing my own food container, and disposing of trash properly. These are contributions we make to the environment, and I believe that there are many young people around the world who care about their environment through small actions like these.
As a young activist, I also take this day as an opportunity to promote inclusivity, because people with disabilities are often the last to be reached when climate disasters occur. Meaningful and inclusive youth participation is needed to solve environmental problems. However, inclusive involvement ofyoung people with disabilities is often only a formality. Young people with disabilities need to be truly involved at each step – from planning and implementation, to monitoring, evaluation and follow-up – so that all actions taken are meaningful, tangible, and on-target.
To address climate change, there is a need for a massive movement of every individual. I am involved in organizations and communities of young people who care about their environment. I am also a student of human ecology, focusing on natural resource management. I visit farmers to educate them about climate action and innovate with them using design thinking processes to address climate action in their agricultural work and improve their productivity.
We have to give importance to the grassroots movement and the movement of indigenous peoples because they are the ones who have been protecting our earth since the beginning, whose practices we need to emulate, adapt, appreciate and disseminate. I invite us all to embrace a “local to global” approach when it comes to mitigating climate change.
Trisna, 21, Indonesia