CHATTING ABOUT ENVIRONMENT WITH SRI SULTAN HAMENGKU BUWONO X
By: Natalia Trita Agnika
That afternoon, the Sri Manganti Ward of the Yogyakarta Palace was filled with netizens who came with excited expressions. There were even netizens who came all the way from Jakarta. They couldn't wait to meet and discuss with Yogyakarta's most respected figure in an event titled "Ngobrol Santai tentang Lingkungan Bersama Sri Sultan". The event, which took place on Tuesday (15/03), was held by Earth Hour Indonesia in collaboration with the OBSAT program, a discussion program from the website Beritagar.id.
With the theme "Preserving Indonesia", the 178th OBSAT presented Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, GKR Hayu (Penghageng Tepas Tandha Yekti Kraton Yogyakarta), and Nyoman Iswarayoga (Director of Communication and Advocacy WWF-Indonesia) as speakers. Wicaksono or known as Ndorokakung (Editor-in-Chief of Beritagar.id) guided the event as moderator.
Before the discussion began, netizens watched a video about Earth Hour Indonesia. The afternoon event was indeed a series of various activities leading up to the Earth Hour 2016 celebration which will take place on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 20:30-21:30 local time. Nyoman Iswarayoga then explained about the Earth Hour movement which invites the public in various places to turn off the lights for one hour during the Earth Hour celebration. "Turning off the lights is a simple symbol that is a form of commitment to change our daily lifestyle, whose consumption patterns are currently eating away at nature. If we don't change from now on, the phenomenon of climate change will make it difficult for us," he explained.
As a governor and sultan, Ngarso Dalem (a nickname for Sri Sultan-Red) strongly supports the movement to protect the environment. His obligation spiritually and traditionally is only one, which is to carry out Memayu Hayuning Bawana (translation in Indonesian is to beautify the beauty of the world -Red). Memayu Hayuning Bawono is a philosophy or noble value about life from Javanese culture. "The safety of our natural world is only possible well, depending on ourselves. The virtues of a person, such as honesty, will bring about the integrity of society. And finally, human safety is possible because of his humanity," explained Sri Sultan about respecting nature in the concept of Memayu Hayuning Bawono.
In the casual chat, the main environmental problems in the Yogyakarta area were discussed, including the increasing number of motorized vehicles, the reduction of water sources, and the proliferation of commercial buildings. Sri Sultan also explained some of the things that have been done to preserve Yogyakarta's environment, one of which is the development of renewable energy, ranging from wind power, solar power, to the utilization of Nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum L) plant seeds. However, these processes have their own difficulties.
The OBSAT participants, who are active users of social media, were further energized by the presence of GKR Hayu, who is the person in charge of social media within the Yogyakarta Palace. According to GKR Hayu, social media can help tradition and culture to survive in the midst of technological advances.
The conversation got even more heated when the question and answer session arrived. The netizens had prepared various questions. One of them, Angga, a student from Sanata Dharma University, expressed his concern about the research results that showed drought in several places due to commercial buildings. He also asked about the regulations that will be put in place in relation to the increasing development that is heading towards the Sleman area. One of the participants also offered GKR Hayu to utilize the potential of Yogyakarta netizens to participate in developing Yogyakarta's culture in the digital world. The offer was warmly welcomed by GKR Hayu and Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.
Although many still wanted to ask questions, the casual chat had to end at 5:30 pm after lasting for two hours. The OBSAT participants returned to their respective homes with a renewed spirit to preserve culture and the environment through social media and real action.