Aspects of Postcolonialism Critique within Environmental Communication Efforts in Indonesia : Case study of Environmental Organizations in Jakarta and Bali

Abstract: Covering the issue of climate change is not always talking about what we as humans can do to save the planet. For many people in the Global South, it is about climate injustice – how the marginalized become the most affected people by climate crisis, yet they contribute to so much less emission compared to the people in the North / Western countries. Adding the concept of Anthropocene to that shows a larger problem of inequality. Applying postcolonialism perspective towards environmental issue means questioning the idea that the knowledge that Western countries produced are the absolute truth. This thesis builds on case studies of organizations in Jakarta and Bali and their grassroot approach, from experience and challenges to be in their line of work, to listen to the voice of the practitioners as it shapes the field of communication for development and social change. Postcolonial critique concepts from McEwan (2018) are used to analyze the practices of environmental communication towards their target and the public, but also to highlight structural and external challenges that they may face in doing their work. Result of the interviews identified the notions of 1) Indonesian postcolonial identity, 2) Neoliberalism tendency, 3) Power relations, 4) Knowledge produced in the ‘West’, and 5) Non-inclusive development practices / Representation issue. This thesis highlights several identified challenges, from how certain local and cultural practices are sometimes overlooked within sustainable development practices, how foreign concepts and the use of English poses problems within the communication process, international project-based development approach presented problems for the local environmental organization, and how the slogan ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’ that are popular within environmental discourses should be rethought to shift the paradigm that global environmental issues are not as global as certain people might think.