Amarizni Mosyaftiani (ELP 2024) | CEO and Landscape Architect, Rimbun Landscape, Indonesia

While a first-grader, I was excited when my aunt who lived in Jakarta visited and took me to eat grilled corn, meatballs, and steak at various cafes on the hilly outskirts of my hometown, Bandung, Indonesia's fourth largest city. It was late at night and we were discussing nature and her work as an environmental activist. Even though I did not understand what was being said, I used to listen to my aunt's discussions with her colleagues about biodiversity loss, the importance of environmental protection, the REDD+ program, and many other issues related to the environment. Perhaps the topics were absorbed into my head like vitamins and then flowed into my bloodstream, because as I grew into a young woman, those memories inspired me to pursue a degree in biology and study ecology and conservation in order to solve a problem I had heard about as a kid. By the time I realized it, I was no longer pleased with the presence of more cafes and even resorts in my hometown's hills because they caused deforestation, harms to agriculture, as well as collateral damage from flooding and erosion.

After graduating and working as a facilitator to empower local communities to improve  infrastructure, I was still dissatisfied with my contribution to nature recovery and sought additional "vitamins" to boost it so that I could apply my knowledge to the restoration of degraded land near my hometown. While nine months pregnant and raising a child, I earned my master's in landscape architecture and became a licensed architect, advancing native ecosystem recovery planning and design. I believed I could pursue my vision despite family obligations. I think there may be a possibility that my child may pursue a master's degree because I often take him on ecological restoration research in Bogor's Ciliwung River near my university. Though it was a joke, I knew my son was extremely resilient, which helped me achieve my educational goal.

I wondered how I could contribute to environmental protection. Being accepted into a business incubation program after graduation seemed like a good way to start my own landscape architecture firm, Rimbun Landscape, but I felt like a snail. Working to restore degraded land by designing and building productive and native landscapes, which I advocate for, while learning about business complexities, was lonely. However, amazing opportunities to join in regional government and worldwide collaborative projects emerged. I coordinated a project on urban forest management research in seven Jakarta and Bandung urban forest areas, led more than 15 young professionals, and collaborated with an international organization, three Indonesian universities, and three government agencies to improve urban forest management, which enhanced my capability as a landscape architect and founder of Rimbun Landscape.

Active participation in scientific associations also earned me travel grants and a fellowship. Furthermore, I was offered the opportunity to work as a Restoration Fellow at the Society for Ecological Restoration for the past two years on the Global Biodiversity Standard project which aims to certify biodiversity outcomes in restoration sites around the world. It is unbelievable! I am now employed as a SER Policy and Practice Specialist to continue working on that project and assisting with Global Biodiversity Framework-related activities. This work also revealed that many global guidelines are available but are not widely implemented locally. This inspired me to apply global guidelines to local contexts, particularly indigenous cultures, to reconnect with and assist in the recovery of local ecosystems and communities. For example, reducing deforestation on the outskirts of my hometown, Bandung, and halting building construction to prevent flooding could be addressed.

I am grateful to God for the opportunity to positively impact more ecosystems and communities, as well as attending the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program. The Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program has provided me with a thorough understanding of how to build personal resilience in the face of wicked and difficult problems. It also gives me the leadership skills I need to deal with problems that do not have easy answers. Through leveraging our personal experiences and expertise in this Environmental Leadership Program, both fellow participants and I are empowered to create inventive and locally relevant solutions. 

Blog cover image provided by the blog author, Amarizni Mosyaftiani