Climate Change Information Still Lacking Among Rural Communities

CLIMATE CHANGE INFORMATION STILL LACKING AMONG RURAL COMMUNITIES By Ageng Wibowo Jakarta, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The survey on climate change conducted by BBC Media Action has revealed that discussions on climate change do not affect rural communities and more significant efforts are needed to address this problem. The research report titled, "Asia Climate Survey in Indonesia," received here on Tuesday, claims that the community`s behavior and response to climate change indicate that public awareness campaigns are not properly disseminated among rural societies and fail to guide these communities on how to adapt to the climate changes they are currently facing. Similar surveys were conducted in several Asian countries, with responses from 33.5 thousand people in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Vietnam. "The Climate Asia survey is designed to examine people`s experiences and perspectives of future climate change mitigation efforts. Most importantly, we need to consider the human perspective," said Damian Wilson, Director of Climate Programs Asia. Wilson noted that although the survey had confirmed the significant efforts made to provide information on the impact of climate change to rural communities, it also indicated that many people in the countryside and in small towns continue to struggle with the impact of environmental changes and are ready to do more to secure their future. Meanwhile, British Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia Jennifer Anderson stated that she supports Indonesia`s goals of meeting domestic climate change targets, achieving green growth, and ensuring a sustainable future. "I hope these findings will help all stakeholders to find the best solutions to address the climate-change issues," remarked Anderson. Research results showed that the most vulnerable groups in Indonesia are those who received little information on how to respond to the changes occurring in their environment. In fact, 15 percent of five thousand Indonesian respondents said they would even change their jobs in response to environmental changes, but most of them simply do not have enough information on which to base such a decision. The number of people who understand how to respond to environmental change is still very low. At least 61 percent of rural residents found they were not as informed as those who live in major cities. The same number of people also claimed they did not know of any sources of information that are available to help them respond to environmental change, unlike people in urban communities. The Climate Asia survey aimed to prioritize this issue in discussions on global climate change among decision-makers. This study also highlighted 20 major groups that should be targeted to receive further information, including community leaders, farmers, and fishermen in Indonesia. A respondent in Riau said he could no longer cope with the floods that had recently occurred. "I cannot sleep when it rains heavily," the respondent remarked. According to Sahabudin, a cocoa farmer in Kakong, it has become increasingly difficult in recent years to perform agricultural tasks. "Normally, we harvest cocoa beans twice a year. But since 2009, the harvest has occurred only once," explained Sahabudin.