Dealing with the Climate Change

Already in mid-November, the rain was still very seldom, the longer the drought and hotter. While was waiting the traffic light switched into green at the intersection of Bypass Ngurah Rai Street – Hang Tuah Street, she paused under a shadow of a tree, somewhat out of the road and a bit away from the traffic light that was red, leaning on the steering handlebar of her bicycle, the mid-forties female stared the digital information panel on the side of a red-yellow-green row of light bulbs. The orange light of numbers and letters indicated that the air temperature at the time, 00:42 pm was 40 ° C! Wuihh, it was really hot!

Her sweat out of almost the existing pores. Grains of salt water from the base of her hairs down to the forehead and temples, through the neck joined the other sweat beads running down the two main rivers. The front river was through the valley between her breasts, continue down to the stomach, some was flowing to the belly hole, and the over flow of sweat lake was spilled down and being absorbed into the denim jeans pants.  The back stream is formed between the shoulder blades, just above the arrangement of the vertebrae, also came down to the back-below of waistline, the hipster pants. The pants were wet, and the sweat did not stop until there but still flowing in both legs to the back of the knees to the heels, and was absorbed into the cotton socks. She had a time to drink water from refillable bottle perched on the bicycle basket of discarded packaging sachet materials of white coffee. The drinking water was warm, made her throat wet and cooler after the tunnel almost choked because of thirsty.

The two paragraphs above mere the picture of the weather conditions effect lately in the capital of the most famous province of Indonesia. The disorder seasons occur on earth, including the island of gods, in this Bali Island. The challenge of climate change is faced with more challenging of a challenger who never give-up against the ecological problems. She, the female immigrants did not want to come into the pseudo solutions that made worse to the problem of environmental degradation. For more comfortable, she could have used a taxi and took refuge in the air-conditioned cool cabin, or use the motorcycle that consumed fossil fuel, so no need to drain the self energy boost the pedals and linger in the street under the hot afternoon sun.

Honestly, the root causes of ecological problems, is the desire of human species in pursuing economic aspects. The paradigm of the social status is largely determined by the ability of the economy, the amount of money, deposits in bank accounts, had property in form of lands and houses, especially if this species have assets, the money-producing machine, such as boarding houses, mini-mart, midi-mart, supermarkets, hotels and so on, more and more, but always felt lacking. The human species changed from homo-sapiens into homo-economicus, who cannot feel have enough. They become greedier to exploit the nature. It is true that "greed never walk with green".

Back to the crazy woman. She was one of a hundred passionate persons in city changing, to make the city a better place for everyone.  They are united in a global movement named "I'm a City Changer". The city changers have the spirit and courage to face the challenges of climate change and have lofty ideals and a commitment to restore conditions of urban settlements become more natural, cleaner, healthier, safer for all citizens, and to be more comfortable than the current state. He and 99 friends were getting debriefing form matriculation efforts to achieve 100-0-100 sustainable urban settlements in 2019. The matriculation is about drinking water public services, zero slums, and good sanitations for all.

A hundred City Changer Indonesia got the matriculation in Jakarta at the end of September to early October in the framework of World Habitat Day 2014. They are 100 City Changer Indonesia, the first lifting prepared as agents of change in the region where they lived today. A City Changer is expected to be attempting to build collaboration and synergy of the stakeholders in the city, from the public sector, private sector, and civil society sectors.

For this purpose, the City Changer Indonesia for Denpasar City has developed an action plan document. This document is the result of the analysis and synthesis of interaction communication with various parties, observations focused on three locations, and the general condition of Denpasar City, which is also as the part of Sarbagita regional area, for approximately eight months since become citizens of the city of Denpasar. This action plan document has been presented by the City Changer Indonesia and discussed at a meeting of the parties in the conference room of Praja Madya in Mayor of Denpasar building on November 6th, 2014. The meeting was chaired by A. A.Ngurah Rai Iswara, the Secretary for Economic Affairs, and attended by I Nengah Muliasa, the Kertapura Neighborhood Leader, some other officials of village and sub-village region, SKPDs (region working unit) Denpasar city representatives, representatives of BKM, PNPM Urban Coordinator for Denpasar City, the community of EcoSanur Movement, Chief of PPLP Working Unit - Cipta Karya, Ministry of Public Work for Bali Province, and the representatives of BAPPEDA Denpasar.

The proposed action plan for the city scale (city-wide) are: Urban Learning Community Revitalization; POSYANIS for Building & Environment; Citizen Media (Periodic) Monthly of 43 Villages; and GIS (geographical information system) for housing, neighborhood  & settlement.

And the proposed action plan focused on three locations, are as follows:

1) The Village of Sanur Kauh, especially the neighborhood of Pekandelan : waste management with the 3r (zero waste) movement ; managerial empowerment and revitalization of Depo Palasari; grey wastewater recycling; rain and water management.

2) The Village Kesiman Kertalangu, especially the neighborhood of Kertapura : waste management with the 3r (zero waste) movement; grey wastewater recycling; rain and water management.; green open space arrangement .

3) The Area of Sanur Beach : waste management with the 3r (zero waste); mangrove planting & maintenance of plants there; wildlife habitat rehabilitation for Bali turtle and Bali crab; development of bicycle pathway, pedestrian pathway, and green open space arrangement.

The proposals of action plan is expected to cost 40,603,370,000 IDR (forty billion six hundred and three million three hundred seventy thousand rupiah). It is expected that the financing can be addressed jointly by the development actors and stakeholders of Denpasar sustainable urban settlements. The national government, in this case the Ministry of Public Works, will participate 30% of all outstanding budget.

Fourteen days, since the discussion meeting in Denpasar Mayor's Office, the Bugis-land origin nomads woman, who had been long domiciled in Jakarta and now based in the city of Denpasar - trying to observe carefully, either through hearing, sight, directly, or via media information technology, the responses and reactions of various parties on the proposed action plan. There are some bland and apathetic people, there are some waiting watchers, there are two persons look somewhat of antipathy and resistance, questioned the legality of a city changer, and there two persons look so enthusiasm to the action plan.

This proposal re-raised by the city changer of Denpasar City in the form of social media status of environmental or ecology issues without mentioning the phrase "city changer action plan". These status got enough attention, both from residents of Denpasar and other facebook-ers over the world.

Indeed, the existence of these city changers is rather unique, even a speaker of city changer matriculation presupposes them as aliens which released in regions of the earth to build awareness and collaborations with the local inhabitants and shouting: "let's save the planet!"

City Changer Indonesia's first generation, a hundred persons is not like permanent civil servant who has the public number of employment (NIP) for what they doing. They are merely sustainable settlements activists by passion and by decree. The decree was issued by PBL Director, Cipta Karya General Director in Ministry of Public Works no. 216/KPTS/DIR/PBL/IX/2014 on the Determination of Sustainable Settlement Activists in the Framework of World Habitat Day 2014, had received a debriefing form of City Changer Matriculation for the key indicator achievement of 100-0-100 in order to sustain the city settlements.

City Changer Indonesia has a commitment to:

1. Fostering innovation and change for the better in realizing a sustainable settlement program, through 100-0-100 targets in 2019, the achievement of universal access to water and sanitation as well as cities without slums;
2. Conduct outreach and promotion to raise public awareness for the realization of a sustainable settlement program (100-0-100);
3. Build a network of sustainable settlements activists community across the city / county in the territory of Indonesia;
4. Being a pioneer of community assistance to formulate the vision, mission and strategies for achieving the target 100-0-100;
5. Being a leader in the development of settlements based on local wisdom through the Habitat Agenda Partners Indonesia (HAPI) in the local region;
6. Perform independence initiative and partnerships with various parties, such as universities, private sector, local governments, and community self-supporting institution, in a variety of neighborhood development efforts;
7. Advocating for policies to support the realization of the vision of sustainable urban development.

So, what made this crazy woman and all ninety-nine comrades attempt to build awareness and take action concretely with the community? There are ten reasons someone would become a city changer: 1. City as the challenges of the 21st century; 2. The population continues to grow in numbers; 3. City without slum; 4. Dealing with climate change; 5. In order to reduce the GHG emissions; 6. Urban areas as economic opportunity; 7. City as the future of the next generation; 8. For creative and productive city; 9. We love our city; 10. Now it's time to change!

Denpasar,  Friday Wage, November 21st in 2014

by

Anita Syafitri Arif / Anetha Athena

City Changer Indonesia – Denpasar City