Christopher Theriot interned with the World Wildlife Fund in Indonesia.

"Going to Indonesia to work in the newly formed Corporate Engagement and Policy unit at the World Wildlife Fund was a leap of faith for me and WWF-Indonesia. I had never been to Indonesia and WWF was not in the market for graduate interns. Almost everything was handled through an exchange of emails between the Washington DC WWF office and Indonesia. Finally, in mid May, I reached Nazir Foead, the director of Corporate Engagement and Policy Unit, on his cell phone. We talked about potential projects and WWFí¢â‚¬â„¢s priorities. Then I said, í¢â‚¬Å“What do you think, should I come?í¢â‚¬  He said, "Yes." And I replied, "Great. I am coming!" A few weeks later I said goodbye to my family and two children and boarded a plane to Singapore en route to Jakarta. í¢â‚¬ËœExpect the unexpected,í¢â‚¬â„¢ I told myself. And thatí¢â‚¬â„¢s what happened from the very beginning. After sitting on the runway for hours and then the airport for 3 more hours, my first flight was cancelled and I went home with a free ticket. After a few days in Singapore, I arrived in Jakarta with no place to stay, no knowledge about the city, and little clue what Ií¢â‚¬â„¢d be doing at WWF. 

So how did it turn out? Challenging, yes, rewarding, yes, confidence building, for sure. I never understood. I had the opportunity to work at the forefront of several important sustainable finance projects such as Indonesiaí¢â‚¬â„¢s potential debt for nature swap. I learned about carbon trading and avoided deforestation and Payment for Environmental Services.

I traveled to Borneo to for a field visit to Sebangau and to write a report on canal blocking, a strategy to save the peat forests and prevent forest fire. I visited Bali and took a trip to the oldest national park in the country which is home to 65 highly endangered rhinos. On my last day, Nazir and I talked about a possible return trip to Indonesia to work on implementing the debt for nature swap and to potentially assist with a global public/private WWF effort to recruit climate friendly industries to Indonesia. Overall, the work came in fits and starts and I was never really well integrated into WWF office, partly because my manager was traveling so much and for partly due to organizational reasons I never really understood.

Overview of the work/research conducted

I worked under Nazir Foead, the director of Corporate Engagement and Policy. I also worked closely with the Executive Director, Mubariq Ahmad and the director of Communications, Elshinta Suyoso-Marsden.

Strategy

Wrote a strategy memo of the US í¢â‚¬“ Indonesian Debt for Nature swap

Under the US Tropical Forest Conservation Act, Indonesia has the opportunity to redirect $20 million in debt owed to the US towards conservation projects. Working closely with WWF-Indonesia leadership, I wrote a strategy memo in collaboration with WWF leadership that was used to prepare for meetings with the Indonesian government and to develop consensus with other NGOs (The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International).

In mid July, representatives from the Washington D.C. WWF office came to Jakarta to meet with the various ministerial departments of the Indonesian government, the US embassy, and other embassies. I attended several of these meetings and observed how WWF works as a catalyst and resource to advance conservation. I participated in meetings at the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Coordinating, and also went to the U.S. Embassy.

Drafted a proposal on Sebangau dam building

Several years ago, Indonesia created its 50th national park on the island of Borneo called Sebangau after years of tireless lobbying by WWF-Indonesia. In Sebangau National Park (568,700 ha), located in Central Kalimantan, over 4000 km of canals crisscross the park and drain water from the peatland swamps. Dried peat swamps can lead to forest fires and impede reforestation. Beginning in 2005, WWF Indonesia has promoted a strategy of canal blocking and reforestation. The canal blocks or dams are built by local contractors. This land management approach has successfully raised the water table and lowered the incidence of fire in pilot study areas.

The success of the project has attracted corporate attention. I made a field visit to Sebangau with a global telecommunications company and an Indonesian company that may fund the construction of additional dams and support a tree planting initiative. I drafted a proposal that detailed the success of the canal blocking intervention that may become a proposal to secure further funding. This memo involved working closely with the WWFí¢â‚¬â„¢s field office in Central Kalimantan and interviewing experts in dam building. I learned that various NGOs engaged in canal blocking are hesitant to share data and results. Sharing data from different pilot projects would make a stronger argument for canal blocking across Indonesia. 

Policy Analysis & Research

WWF-Indonesiaí¢â‚¬â„¢s Corporate Engagement unit has been operational for just a year. As it works with companies, it is important to understand the track records and corporate governance of target companies. To assist with this profiling, I contribute to the development of WWF Indonesiaí¢â‚¬â„¢s first comprehensive corporate social responsibility database.

A second research project to which I contributed was to compare the Equator Principles with the World Bankí¢â‚¬â„¢s IFC sustainability measures. WWF plans to work with Indonesian banks to assist them in voluntarily reviewing their lending standards, especially in relation to companies and projects that impact the natural resources or landscape, e.g. palm oil plantations.

Communications, Outreach, and Institutional Partnerships

I edited the annual report and numerous communication documents for internal and external communications. Reviewing the annual report helped me appreciate the range of contributions that WWF-Indonesia makes on the conservation and sustainable livelihoods front. WWF-Indonesia works with communities under a collaborative management model that includes training and community development in the form of sustainable livelihoods such as aquaculture, craft making, and ecotourism.

At the invitation of the head of the species program at WWF who is also a professor at the Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) or Bogor Agricultural University. At IPB, I lectured a PhD environmental policy class. The title of my talk was í¢â‚¬ËœWhat can Indonesia learn from Costa Rica?í¢â‚¬â„¢ I compared Costa Ricaí¢â‚¬â„¢s environmental transformation with sustainability steps Indonesia could take. IPB is Indonesiaí¢â‚¬â„¢s premier agricultural science-based university.

As a final project with the three University of Michigan interns, I conceived and planned a U Mich Environmental Finance presentation on the Debt for Nature swap, Payments for Environmental Services, and the carbon markets and avoided deforestation. (See attached flyer). We gave this presentation at a highly reputed bookstore in Kemang.

I spent considerable time planning and coordinating a US visit to the University of Michigan (with much help from Lisa Yee-Litzenberg and Cindy Cleveland). I helped write the PowerPoint presentation and proposal to engage future students and possibly faculty in research on Indonesian sustainability challenges. 

In addition to the aforementioned projects, I was invited to several meetings with WWF staff and experts from outside the organization. I had hoped to attend more meetings but there were two challenges. Many were held in Bahasa Indonesian. The second constraint was that my manager, Nazir Foaed had a heavy travel schedule (Singapore for a week and China) as well as many high level meetings with companies and government officials where it was not culturally feasible to include me. 

What I gained professionally

Organizational knowledge. I worked with three senior people at WWF including the Executive Director, the director of Corporate Engagement, and the Director of Communication. I built strong trusting relationships with these people. They gave me great insight into the political and financial challenges facing a global NGO as it strives to implement large scale conservation and biodiversity projects as well as corporate engagement initiatives.

International network. I developed an extensive network of relationships and contacts in Indonesian. This network may be the stepping stone to a future job in Indonesia.

Language and cultural skills. I took language classes and made many Indonesian friends who educated me on the culture and the history of the country.

Strong sense of teamwork. I was able to advise a number of expats and as well as my fellow interns on their research projects and initiatives related to conservation.

What I gained personally

Put simply, my trip to Indonesia and work at WWF helped me develop as a person on a number of levels. The trip to SE Asia gave me a window into working in international environmental policy. It built confidence on a number of levels. Consider that I had to travel half way across the world to a mega city in a developing (Muslim) country, to build trusting relationships at the office and in the city, and to define projects and deliver results to various managers who took an interest in me.

Outside the office, I found opportunities to build community with a variety of Indonesians. On a run one day, I stopped at some public tennis courts which led to a series of tennis games with local Indonesians. I even took some lessons from a self taught pro who spoke little English. I also joined another community when I found a yoga studio nearby. To get around the city, I bought a bicycle. People were quite stunned to hear that I would brave the traffic and the pollution. I found it the most efficient way to get travel short distances. Another way I made strides to learn about the culture and to build relationships was by working very hard to learn the language. I worked with two teachers and constantly practiced my language skills." 

Internship Details

Organization	World Wildlife Fund - Indonesia - Jakarta, Indonesia
Employment Sector	Non-Profit
Student's Field of Study	Environmental Policy and Planning
Topic Areas of Internship	Sustainable Forestry and Conservation
Duration & Dates	8 weeks, starting 6/18/2007
Paid or Unpaid?	Funded by Marshal Weinberg Fellowship Program