Sustainability and securing a future for Indonesian coastal communities

Coastal scientist Zulung Zach Walyandra has an important message for communities in his home province in Indonesia.

“I want to make people understand that our environment has great value,” he said.

“When we protect the environment, it will give sustainable benefits to the people, rather than just exploit the environment for a short term.”

Zulung’s dedication was evident in the work he did with the Australia-Indonesia Centre from 2021 as part of research into seaweed villages.

Zulung was one of four researchers who lived in a small Indonesian fishing village for 18 months as part of a Partnership for Australia-Indonesia Research (PAIR) project to investigate seaweed farming practices.

He and his young family recently moved to Australia where he is studying for a master of environmental science at the University of Melbourne, specialising in governance, policy and markets.

It has been quite a journey since we first met Zulung at the village of Pitusunggu, South Sulawesi, in 2021.

Zulung’s passion for the marine world stems from childhood, growing up in the small seaside village of Bantaeng, from where he would fall asleep to the sounds of crashing waves.

At Universitas Hasanuddin in Makassar he studied fisheries and aquatic resource management before working for a non-governmental organisation focused on tuna fish.

“It feels as though I’m never far from the coast and this is probably just what I need because I love swimming and fishing,” he said when reflecting upon his career journey.

Zulung and his wife Rafika Ramli have strong Australian connections.

Rafika previously completed a masters degree in law from the University of Queensland and is currently researching the impact of climate change on vulnerable people. This work is being done at Monash University through the Australian government’s KONEKSI scheme.

The couple lived in Brisbane for more than a year while Rafika completed her degree during which time Zulung worked as a volunteer with a marine society club.

Zulung has enjoyed the challenge of living and studying in Melbourne, “improving my knowledge and capability”.

“It has difficult moments but there are many benefits and there are opportunities for personal growth for me and my young family.”

Rafika loved Brisbane with its purple jacaranda trees, balmy weather and relaxed populace, admitting to “culture shock” when they moved to Melbourne with its faster pace and colder weather.

“But I am grateful our little family can accompany my husband especially since we just welcomed our [second] little one in April,” she said.

“My daughter here is definitely enjoying her new life, especially at school.”

While lamenting Melbourne’s chilly weather and sea temperatures, Zulung admires its integrated public transport system and feels at home given the substantial number of people from the Bugis and Makassan communities.

“It makes me happy and feel not so far from home if I hear several people talking to one another in my own mother tongue,” he said.

Zulung plans to combine his policy preparation and environmental economics skills to bring benefits to his home community, helping coastal residents to enjoy the benefits of the ocean without depleting it.

“Based upon my experience of environmental economics in the eastern part of Indonesia,
especially in South Sulawesi province, I see that natural resources play a vital role to people, mainly in coastal communities,” he said.

“Managing the resources sustainably will guarantee the people’s livelihood and food supply, balance the climate and support other sectors such as tourism and small-scale business.”

Zulung knows commercial fishing is a livelihood for many people in South Sulawesi and that in coastal areas there is often no alternative source of income.

“Giving value to the environment will make us defend it. Do we want to lose something valuable in our life? Absolutely not, right? That is why we should reveal the true value of the environment.

“Government, academics, industries and fishers must collaborate to implement sustainable policy and follow the market demand to get more value on fishers’ products,” he said.

Research such as Zulung’s in the field of aquaculture and reducing microplastics is set to be continued in the recently-announced PAIR Sulawesi program with a significant focus on sustainability and climate change.

Feature image by David Sexton and PAIR.