Civic Engagement in Asia: Transformative Learning for a Sustainable Future

This book confronts issues relating to climate change and sustainable development innovations in Asia, with attention to key issues and applications in terms of advocacy, governance, citizen science, tradition, faith, leadership, and education. With contributions by 31 leading thinkers from countries in Asia, the book presents issues and poses potential solutions for sustainable development, responding to questions relating to problems prioritized by non-state actors for civic engagement. It also puts forward key strategies and methods used for civic engagement. Drawing from diverse sets of practical and scholarly experience and expertise in geographical and social arenas, authors draw from real-time engagement with specific peoples, often associated with civil society organizations, and conduct an exploration of the essential issue of what the world means in the context of different cultures, thus constructively fusing the two key themes of ecology and anthropology. In doing so, this book enables new ways of thinking about human relationships with nature, relating rich and diverse examples of transformative learning. Co-published with Indonesian press OBOR, this is a vital collection for practitioners and researchers working in areas of ecology, sustainable development, human ecology, governance, geography, environmental science and post-neoliberal economics, particularly in an Asian context.

"Civic Engagement in Asia weaves together a set of fascinating stories and examples of sustainable development practice told from the perspectives of non-state actors. Written by a set of top scholars and activists from around the region, it will be an informative read for all those who feel a sense of urgency around the environmental, social, and economic transformations taking place across Asia today”
- Celia Lowe, Professor of Anthropology and International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle

Mochamad Indrawan is a trained ecologist and conservation biologist with more than 3 decades of field experiences.  Indrawan's voluntary  rainforest conservation work  since 2007 included continuous facilitation of indigenous peoples and local communities whose joint endeavor is focused on the establishment of community conservation areas.  Indrawan served as a member of 2 IUCN specialist groups (World Commission on Protected Areas and Red List Authority), and also as a research associate at Kansas University, USA, as well as visiting scholar at Kyushu University, Kyoto University, Japan.  Indrawan's research on Japanese socio-ecological system (satoyama) during his past tenure as Asian Public Intellectual (API) Senior Fellow resulted in cross countries’ comparisons with Indonesian agroforestry systems.  Among the books Indrawan have jointly edited were “Biologi Konservasi” and “Civic Engagement in Asia: Lessons in Transformative Learning in the Quest fora Sustainable Future” which was supported by APN – Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research.  Indrawan is also proactively participating in international scholarly cooperation, e.g. serving as a member of UKRI -  UK Research and Innovation’s Peer Review College.  Believing a megadiversity country like Indonesia needs to develop an adequate number of citizen scientists.   Indrawan is also engaging  with Indonesia Biodiversity Foundation (Yayasan KEHATI), with whom he focused  the mission to rekindle public interests in the biological science of taxonomy.  The books he is currently jointly editing are “Barefoot Taxonomists in a Megadiversity Country” (in Bahasa Indonesia), and “Environmental Governance” are both coming to a conclusion.   Indrawan's latest endeavor involved advising "Plastic Finance", a wonderful new business start up from Indonesia who aim to mobilize plastic heroes from the former "scavengers" of Indonesia.