Bringing Environmental Issues to the Council Chamber

Every time Abi Umaroh opens social media, he almost always comes across news that unsettles him. From environmental pollution caused by mounting piles of waste, to the proliferation of cigarette advertisements around educational areas. The same problems, again and again.

For some people, these issues might be too complex so they prefer to stay silent. But for this student in the Master of Law program at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS), he should take action.

"It feels like these kinds of problems just keep persisting without ever getting solved. With the expertise I have, I hope I can help bring about solutions through policy briefs (policy recommendations/briefs) that actually reach the government's desk," said Umar, as he's commonly known, in early September.

Umar felt driven to become a policy advocacy activist. He believed that lasting change is born not just from campaigns or one-off social actions, but from regulation capable of transforming the system itself.

The opportunity to dig deeper into this issue came when he was accepted into the Youth Climate Impact Fellowship, a collaborative program between the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia and the Yayasan Partisipasi Muda (Young Participation Foundation).

“Of the thousands of applicants, only 20 participants were selected for programs in Medan, East Kutai, Denpasar, and Semarang. I thought this would be a very good start,” said the young man, who was born in Banjarnegara.Umar presented the Sekolah Konservasi Giriwana project proposal to the Directors of CSIS Indonesia and Yayasan Partisipasi Muda at Aston Hotel, Jakarta, October 29, 2025. Personal Documentation.

After completing the training, Umar and his teammates conducted research on the issue of organic waste in the city of Semarang. Their findings showed that most of the waste piling up at the final disposal site actually came from organic waste.

“Household food waste that is not properly managed ends up accumulating as organic waste in landfills, potentially polluting the environment through leachate. This, in turn, creates new problems for the surrounding communities,” Umar explained.

That finding then gave rise to a more concrete idea. Backed by a grant of Rp10 million from the fellowship program, Umar and his colleagues formed the movement Muda Ga Nyampah (Youth Don't Litter), which later gave birth to the Giriwana Zero-Waste Conservation School in Semarang.

The program invites students, both school and university-level, to learn how to manage organic waste through Black Soldier Fly (BSF) maggot cultivation and eco-enzyme production. "Participants don't just get the material, afterward we also equip them with maggot seed stock and eco-enzyme starter, so they can put waste management practices into action right at home," he added.

According to Umar, behavioral change has to start with one's immediate surroundings. Students, whether in school or university, can actually be meaningfully involved in managing the organic waste they generate every day.

This movement later received support from the Semarang City Environmental Agency, through the provision of facilities and technical mentoring. For Umar, cross-sector collaboration is the key to preventing community movements from stalling into mere ceremonial activities.

More recently, Umar also joined the Youth Representative Council (DPRemaja), initiated by the Indonesian Youth Council for Tactical Changes (IYCTC). His focus has since expanded toward tobacco control and Smoke-Free Areas (KTR).

Umar became part of the DPRemaja team drafting advocacy efforts to update Regional Regulation Number 3 of 2013 on Smoke-Free Areas in the City of Semarang. Umar and his team went directly into the field, mapping cigarette advertisement locations using a geospatial approach, then compiled a data-driven policy brief.

The findings left Umar quite stunned. Together with DPRemaja and IYCTC, he identified 364 cigarette advertising and promotional sites, 97 percent of which were located around educational areas in Semarang. These sites had the potential to be seen by 74,578 students every day.

"Most of them were within a 500-meter radius of schools. Yet the new Health Law has already regulated restrictions on cigarette advertising around educational institutions. This clearly violates the rules and needs to be enforced," he said.

That data was then brought before the government through hearings with the Semarang City Council (DPRD), the Education Office, the Deputy Mayor of Semarang, Indonesia's Ministry of Health, and even Commission X of the House of Representatives (DPR RI). Umar and his team presented their arguments based on the research findings and policy recommendations.

For him, advocacy isn't just about voicing criticism. He feels fortunate to have been able to get so deeply involved in shaping public policy alongside the government.

It was this belief that change must involve the community that drove Umar to launch another movement, the Youth Clean Air Movement for Tobacco Control. Founded together with the Indika Foundation and the National Tobacco Control Committee, the movement places students at the forefront of monitoring the implementation of Smoke-Free Areas.

“Together with our fellow members of DPRemaja, we established a movement that involves young people. We work closely with these young actors and educate them about the dangers of smoking, help them understand the tobacco industry's marketing strategies, and teach them the procedures for reporting violations of Smoke-Free Area regulations under local laws. This will later serve as the basis for preparing a policy brief on the Smoke-Free Area regulation in Semarang,” Umar explained.Umar with Semarang Deputy Mayor Ir. H. Iswar Aminuddin, M.T. (left) and Head of the Junior High School Development Division at the Semarang City Education Office Aloysius Kristiyanto, S.Pd., M.Pd. (right), after implementing tobacco control measures and Smoke-Free Areas in Semarang. Personal Documentation.

Even though his activities are varied, they all share one common thread: pushing issues forward through public policy. That's also why Umar founded Lensa Legislasi Indonesia (Indonesia Legislative Lens).

Lensa Legislasi Indonesia is an educational space aimed at introducing the policymaking process to students, both school and university-level. "This is still very new, and you could say it's just getting off the ground. My hope is that more and more young people will come to understand that real change is born through meaningful participation in the legislative process," he said.

For Umar, law is an instrument for improving people's lives. Various problems in education, health, and the environment can all be resolved through sound policy.

Umar's desire to contribute to society actually began taking root back when he was still an undergraduate student. One of the most memorable experiences that left a lasting impression on him was taking part in the KKN Nusantara Moderasi Beragama (Nationwide Community Service Program on Religious Moderation) in Tewang Kadamba Village, Katingan Regency, Central Kalimantan.

Umar (second from left) at the Indonesian Youth Parliament Conference with LPDP Scholarship Director Ir. Dwi Larso, MSIE, Ph.D., at the Leadership and Secretariat Office of Commission II of the House of Representatives of Indonesia. Personal Documentation.

For 40 days, Umar lived among the Dayak community, who live side by side across three different religions. That experience reshaped his outlook on diversity and access to education.

His team initiated the construction of reading corners at houses of worship, early childhood education centers (PAUD), elementary schools, and junior high schools, a small legacy that the community could keep long after the program ended.

In addition to actively advocating for environmental issues, Umar also serves as Field Program Coordinator at the Gerakan Beramal Baik Foundation, a partner of Indonesia’s Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, for a program aimed at helping out-of-school children return to education across various regions of Indonesia. Over the past year, he has coordinated volunteers, conducted monitoring, and worked with local governments across nine subdistricts in western, central, and eastern Indonesia to help vulnerable children regain access to quality education.

When many young people still hesitate to initiate change, Umar has chosen to charge ahead instead. His resolve is simple: contribute to society as much as he can, then make sure that change bears fruit and gets written into something permanent, something people can feel.

Writer: Genis Dwi Gustati

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid

Editor: Al Habiib Josy Asheva